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What is The Movies all about?The game is beautifully simple to learn, yet hugely engrossing and entertaining to play. Based on an original idea from games designer Peter Molyneux, you'll find yourself in charge of running your very own Hollywood movie studio, making movies and (hopefully) leading it to greatness. The game plays through from the birth of cinema to the present day and features technological advancements, major historical events, movie-making fads, and a whole lot more. The game starts in the early 1920s and will go on until 2005. But the game won't stop there, as you can keep playing for as long as you like with all of the game's technology unlocked and available to you to play around with. For a more comprehensive overview of the game please click here. So what do I have to do exactly in The Movies?There are three major aspects to The Movies, though you're free to choose your level of involvement in each. These are:
On which formats is The Movies game available?The Movies is available on PC and will be release on Xbox, PS2 and GameCube in 2006. Where can I buy my copy of The Movies?The Movies can be bought in every offline and online gaming stores worldwide. To buy your copy of The Movies online; please visit this page - on the Lionhead website - or visit the official game site at www.themoviesgame.com. How long can my movies be?The movies you create can be as long as you want them to be. The average movie length however is likely to be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, but if you want to invest more time and money into your movies, then you could create a movie that lasts two hours with the game's easy to use but highly powerful Advanced Movie Making tools. What codec is used in the rendering?When your movie is finished - all sounds and texts are in - you need to render it to make it a video file. The movies are rendered with the WMV9-codec, which is the best option for streaming. After rendering you can upload the file to this website for others to watch and rate. Note: only movies exported from the game are eligible for upload to this site. Am I supposed to make trailers or mini movies or what?You're supposed to make movies. You can make them whatever length or structure, so long as it's entertaining and doesn't get anyone into trouble. Which genres of movies will I be able to make?There'll be five main movie genres in the game: Action, Comedy, Romance/Drama, Horror and Sci-Fi. However, these merely act as guides, meaning you'll easily be able to create sub-genres such as dramatic war movies or hilarious romantic comedies. topWhat is the Movies Online ?The Movies Online is the Community Website of The Movies Game where people can upload their own movies, watch and vote for movies from other players, download extra content from the Prop Shop, etc. The Movies Online is the place to be when you want to learn more from your fellow movie makers or if you want to show your master pieces to the world! Can everyone join The Movies Online?The Movies Online is the Community Website of The Movies Game where people can upload their own movies, watch and vote for movies from other players, download extra content from the Prop Shop, etc. The Movies Online is the place to be when you want to learn more from your fellow movie makers or if you want to show your masterpieces to the world Can I upload every movie I make with The Movies game (page 32 of the manual)?Yes; you can upload every single movie made with the game to The Movies Online. You'll have to stay within the limits of your personal web-space though; but deleting older movies to upload new ones in not a problem. What happens to my movie once it's uploaded?Your movies will be entered – automatically – in the different Charts. There will be other competition on the website where you have to subscribe to participate. Can I use everything in my movies and upload them?If we're talking about game content – sound effects, props, costumes, sets and scenes – then yes, you can use everything. However, we have to point you to our Terms of Use for more detailed regulation about The Movies Online, the use of subtitles, custom sound effect and copyrights... Do I have to pay extra to use The Movies Online?No. The online element of The Movies is free. For watching movies and giving them a rating and a comment you'll only need to register at Lionhead Studios - http://registration.lionhead.com . If you want to upload movies and participate in the Charts to win Online Money; you'll need a copy of The Movies Game and register in order to do so. Can I download movies from the website to my computer?Yes, on every movie page there's button to download the movie to your hard-disk. You can watch them first through streaming and then download it to watch them over and over again. What are the different titles a Studio can get?Every Studio gets a title according to their quality and experience. The different titles are; (starts with) Greenhorn, Wannabe Big Cheese, Junior Studio Manager, Promising Studio Manager, Respected Studio Head, Celebrated Studio Head, Highflying Moviemaker, Big Fish, Movie Mogul, Movie-making Legend For more detail about the Terms of Use of the website, please visit this page. TopWhy is my movie no longer being displayed on the website?Your movie may have been ‘removed’ from the website, in which case it is probably because it contained prohibited content and was deemed inappropriate for display on the website by our monitors. Anyone who has had a movie removed should have been notified by email and should have been directed to the section(s) of the TOUs that has been violated. Do you own my movie when I upload it to your website?No. You have created your movie by combining the various assets/content supplied with the game (and perhaps adding your own content) and as such you are the ‘author’ of your movie and own it as a ‘work’. However, you do not own the assets/content supplied with the game, which belong to Lionhead. Can I add any music I want to the movies I want to upload to the website?No. Apart from the music tracks that are provided with the game, you may only add music which either you have created yourself (and which is therefore original to you) or which you have specific permission to use. I believe there is an uploaded movie containing my property without permission.Please send an email to complaints@themoviesgame.com stating ‘Name of the movie’, quoting the url from the address bar, and the reason(s) for the complaint. Why have I been banned from uploading my movies to the website?You will have been banned because you violated the terms of use on several occasion and to a significant extent. You will have received a warning. We want this website to be an enjoyable experience for all those looking at the movies. Your continued violation of the terms of use will have given us no alternative but to ban you. Can I sell my movies either on eBay or anywhere else?No. The assets/content supplied with the game and which are used in each movie created using the game belong to Lionhead and commercial use of these assets/content or use for any form of financial gain is strictly prohibited. Lionhead does not permit use of the game, and any assets / content supplied with it, other than in accordance with (i) the End User Licence Agreement which you agreed to when installing the game and (ii) the TOUs. How can Lionhead use my movie when I upload it to the website? Am I entitled to a fee or royalty if Lionhead uses my movie?No. By uploading a movie to the website you grant Lionhead a non-exclusive licence to use your movie without charge or payment. Lionhead will generally only use your movie for promotional and marketing activities connected with the website, the game and possibly other products developed by Lionhead / Activision; for advertising purposes; for competitions; etc. Top
If you want a screenshot for the thumbnail link to your movie, simply move the slider to your favourite shot in the movie and click the online thumbnail button on the right of the screen.
Once the movie has rendered, move back to the front end (main menu) and click 'Online'.
And you're done. topThis site streams video content using Windows Media Player. Install the latest version to ensure you have the browser plugin to view video content Whichever browser you use you can always download the content to your machine for viewing locally. In Internet ExplorerThis site streams video content using Windows Media Player. Install the latest version to ensure you have the browser plugin to view video content In FirefoxOne of our community memebers has written a great tutorial on our forums explaining how to setup your FireFox in order to play Windows Media. Click here for more. In other browsersWe do not explicitly support other browsers. topVirtual credits are earnt in 3 different ways Credits for uploading moviesEvery time you upload a movie your account receives Virtual Credits. The amount of credits is influenced by the in-game movie quality measurement, and your studio's standing in this site's studio chart. To increase your movie quality pay close attention to the screen that appears when you release your next movie to see what goes into judging its quality, work hard on your weaknesses and lots of lovely virtual credits will soon be yours! For your first upload, you have no standing in the online studio chart, but as a welcoming bonus you get rewarded as if you were the best studio on the planet. Subsequently, the higher you are in the chart the greater your rewards are. Important: Remember that if you delete a movie within seven (7) days you'll accrue a penalty charge. Your credits will be decreased by the amount the movie was credited in the first place. Credits for people viewing your moviesThe first time every registered and logged in member of the site views, or comments on your movie you get a small credit bonus. Credits for achieving high chart positionEvery month, an award ceremony takes place wherein a snapshot of all the online charts is stored for posterity. The top 25 movies overall, and in each genre, the top 25 studios, and the top 25 stars all receive significant credit bonuses. Credits for writing useful reviewsOther members on The Movies Online will be able to rate reviews. This is a new function that we implemented so people can report unuseful ratings and reward people who write useful ones. For each useful rating you'll receive 1 VC. topThere are many different ways to show your movie to as many people as possible. The more views and ratings your movie gets the higher it will be in the Charts, so visibility is very important and we've got a few ways to help you with that. You can start by making a poster and upload it to the website so it shows up on the frontpage. We also have code (embeddable player code) for every movie that can be use on personal websites, blogs, mySpaces, etc. topA Box Office Factor is calculated for every movie on the site using the three following numbers:
The higher your movie's average rating is, and the more registered users to have seen it, the greater your box office factor will be. However the longer your movie has been released for, the harder it is to achieve high box office factors. topOnce you have uploaded at least one movie, you are able to buy and download extra content for your game installation. You will see the amount of virtual credit you have in your account at the top of the screen. Visit the PropShop and browse the content available. When you have selected your items, click the checkout link to preview and check your purchase, then click the purchase link. Once you have purchased your items, click the link on the subsequent page which starts the game and directs it to the online screen from where your downloads will be detected and installed. Alternatively simply start the game yourself, go to the online screen and similarly the downloads will be detected. You must restart the game after the downloads have been completed. topWhile playing The Movies you are set a list of conditions, known as Achievements, to fulfill in order to unlock exciting new facilities and sets to fill your movie studio. There are nine different types of Achievement each with four levels of difficulty, they are:
* the exception to the rule is Consistency Quality which only has 3 levels of difficulty - go figure! In Addition, if you have bought and installed the expansion pack, Stunts & Effects, then you will be eligible to win these additional awards.
As you fulfill the required conditions and win each Achievement, it will appear on your online Studio Page. The highest level of difficulty you have reached for each Achievement type is represented by the colour of the icon on your page; bronze, silver, gold or platinum. The list of Achievements displayed on your Studio Page are only as recent as the last movie you uploaded, so upload a new movie if you want to show the world how much you've achieved in The Movies! top |
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The Movies © 2002-2006 Lionhead Studios Limited. Lionhead, the Lionhead logo, The Movies and The Movies logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lionhead Studios Ltd.