Frequently Asked Questions
01/2007
Hey all...with my schedule being so hectic lately, I decided to compile all the questions that were emailed to me, or otherwise ignored in the forums due to my lengthy absences. The excitement has settled a bit from the release of KOTOR Episode 1, and as we get set for production of KOTOR Episode 2, I thought it was a great time to fully address some of your great questions, comments, and concerns. So here we go... we'll start with general and technical questions, then move onto questions regarding Episode 1... and finally we'll wrap things up with what I think is the most interesting section, based on the two follow-up sequels (Episodes 2 & 3) Enjoy!!! ---Kevin
(Editor's Note: You'll notice this section is labeled 'III', thats because on the official FAQ it is the last section, but I wanted to start with this section on the boards)
III. GENERAL/MISC QUESTIONS/ TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Q. By the way, what country are you from Kaydon?
A. I am from the United States, born and raised in Southern California actually- though I've temporarily relocated to Austin, TX for a movie shooting late Spring/early Summer.
Q. How did you create those mysterious camera movements?
The is a "free roam camera" cheat in the X-Box version- I have it memorized when I'm "in production" (ha, sounds silly), but it escapes me now. Check out gamefaqs.com under KOTOR and you should find out how to do it.
Q. How did you place Atton in the cantina and Atris in the council [in Episode 1]?
Atton in the club was easy, I simply grabbed footage from him in KOTOR2 in the Polar Region base next to a cantina-looking wall. I then color corrected it in Final Cut Pro to match the general color scheme of the club on Taris. Atris was a bit more tricky, the results of which I'm only about 50% happy with. I composited her into a background shot of the Jedi council on Dantooine, using Adobe AfterEffects to digitally remove her from footage of KOTOR 2. Adding her line was tough too, considering I added her to existing fully-edited footage. It was late in the editing process, so the music was already laid in- not fun!
Q. I have one question for you: what programs/tools did you use to make this amazing movie? What software did you use?
Thanks for the compliment! I used Final Cut Pro to import and edit the footage, Cool Edit Pro for some of the more difficult music transitions (and to create a few sound effects), Adobe AfterEffects for adding the sabers to the training sequence and any compositing work, and DVD Studio Pro to buid the actual DVD. I also created the DVD menus in Final Cut Pro. Video work was done on a Mac, a lot of the audio work was done on a PC.
Q. Can't you photoshop some hair onto Logan's head? LOL
I like the fact that our main hero is bald - I know it goes a tad against the norm of the Star Wars movies, but then again this takes place 4000 years before, so...
Q. How did Kaydon capture the movie and load it into his computer?
For the first 70 minutes of the film the original footage was filtered from the X-Box into a VCR and then out to a Cannon GL camera, then loaded directly into FCP using the log and capture feature. For the last 50 minutes, the original footage was imported into the GL straight from the X-Box into a TV (with monitor capabilities) - which made the quality a lot better. Expect that method for Episodes 2 and 3.
Q. I've been watching your KOTOR movies on youtube and I really want to see the whole thing and I think I read something about a DVD with the whole first episode... How can I get this DVD?
As far as me sending out hard copies of the DVD, I wouldn't hold my breath. There are a lot of legal matters and crossroads to deal with on that end, so I want to be safe. However, there is a torrent up at piratebay.com - search "Knights of the Old Republic", it should be near the top. You can get it that way. There's a DIVX version of the movie floating around somewhere too...
Q. Will each of the parts of the KOTOR Movie have a title - other than Episode (insert number here)?
Yes. I consider Episode 1 to be "Knights of the Old Republic" - though Star Wars: KOTOR: Episode 1: KOTOR sounds a bit repetitive, I think it's a fitting title. Episode 2 and 3 will each have their own title as well, as well as its own opening crawl- which we will be doing in-house.
Q. It would be nice if there were some subtitles under the whole movie (not just aliens, but for everyone).
I assume this is for non-English speaking fans of KOTOR, and I definitely would love for everybody to enjoy the movies, I just don't have the time (and actually the bilingual skills) to do something like that. I wish I could!
Q. Do you have some kind of script (or anything with the dialogues written on it) so I can translate them to Spanish and make some subtitles??? (I haven't got enough English level to just hear the dialogues and write them down, but I can try if necessary) I think that would be great, because many other people would be able to watch your film...
I actually do not have any sort of script of the final edit, but adding on to that earlier question, I welcome anyone if they want to add subtitles or translate the movie to do so!
Q. Hmm, "Logan Starr", eh? Original, in a "You're not a 7th Level rogue from Forgotten Realms with elven boots of speed, Mithril Chain +1 and a Longsword +1" kinda way...
Uh...thanks! I think. The two 'r's I feel make it an acceptable Star Wars name. I wanted to stray away from those randomly generated names like Frenfgal Dannon and Rew Dsuion. happy And my Longsword is +4 by the way, whatever that means!
Q. Is the torrent [for the Episode 1 DVD] supposed to be 4.3 GB big?
That's typically the size of a DVD - one that is fully playable for all DVD players. This way, you can enjoy Episode 1 on your stereo and entertainment system in your living room, as opposed to just your computer. There is a DIVX version floating around somewhere, look on the TFN boards for that.
Q. I am going to continue seeding Episode 1 for quite some time (something that I admit that I don't do often. IMO a wonderful file like this needs to be shared by everyone that is a Star Wars fan).
Thank you!!! It's awesome that some of you are still being self-less with your bandwidth and giving other people a chance to download the DVD. I know when I get the chance, I'm seeding it- your support helps bring new fans into the mix, so thanks again!
Q. One question: The "main character", his lips won't be moving in the [movies], will they?
On the PC version someone was able to switch the character skins and have Logan's mouth move- it looked great, but it was on a modded PC version and the time it would take to always be swapping it around just didn't seem worth it, especially since most people who screened it forgot about the lips not moving by about 5 minutes in. Just concentrate on Logan's eyes, and your mind will fill in the blanks!
Q. I'm not sure if this was discussed already, but I was wondering how you extracted the videos from the game. Did you use the PC or Xbox disc? And depending on which you used does anyone know how someone could extract the movies from an Xbox game?
I used the X-Box version, and basically fed the feed from the X-Box into a media device (either a VCR or a monitor-enable TV) and fed that into a camera.
Q. How did you remove the blipping-sound when you click on a dialog?
Most of the reaction shots and shots of Logan talking I used were captured by just sitting on the screen waiting for you to make your dialogue selection. Sometimes I'd sit there for a minute or longer. I did this for all but I think one scene in the movie. Sharp ears should pay attention to the Dungeon Club scene with Mission. Oops!
Q. Kaydon, I don't suppose you have a synopsis for the whole trilogy kicking about?
Man, I've just answered 100 questions - I think I'm going to pass- haha, but you'll soon find out! For now, read the back of the videogame's box!
(EDIT: At this point I had answered all 100 questions - FYI! I just wanted to post this section first, though in the FAQ, which I will be posting for download as a Word file, it is section 3)
Look for the next part, with your questions regarding KOTOR: Episode 1, sometime shortly! In the meantime I invite you guys to respond to some of the questions/comments here! Text