Full Mission Video Walkthrough - The Process of Making the Series
1. Download the Audio
The audio is mainly downloaded from the NASA Audio Collection. The missions varied in length, hence each mission has different numbers of tracks. Gemini 3 had 8 tracks to download compared to the complete Apollo 13 series which had 30+. Files are available in MP3 and WAV format.
2. Edit the Audio
Once downloaded the MP3 is inserted into AUDACITY where it can be edited. Silent moments and extended static can be removed. Care is needed not to mistake static for voice communications, and to help me achieve this I use the mission transcripts, reading along as I edit. Each 6 hour track could take 2-3hours to edit and will result in about 2 hours of usable audio. Once edited the track is cut to about an hour and then saved as a new MP3.
3. Screen Capture
The video sequences are screen captured using Magix Movie Edit Pro 17. This is also the programme I use for video editing. Orbiter Spaceflight Simulator (OSS) with the Apollo NASSP and AMSO add-ons is used to animate the flight where stock footage is not available. OSS is started at the right point in the mission and screen capture records the action. While viewing the animation I listen to the MP3 and try to show what is happening by listening and reading the audio/transcript. This way RCS and rocket burns can be simulated. In OSS you can use the thrusters/engines with keyboard input. Once the whole mp3 track is completed the video is imported into Magix.
4. Add PAO Captions
Again, using the transcript to ensure I don't miss an announcement I add captions to the video. PAO announcements usually begin with mission elapsed time, distance from earth and velocity information and it is these that are captioned. This gives the viewer a snapshot of the timeline he/she is watching. Sometimes I use the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) to show the timeline. This has to be screen captured.
5. Final Touches & Rendering
There are occasions where extra screen captures are needed, for instance for major events like launch or when two perspectives are better to see whats going on. These sequences are added to the main video. For some videos there can be up to 10 videos and four audio tracks playing at the same time! When all this is done the video is rendered in MP4 format.
NOTE: There are of course portions of the mission where footage is available and the OSS is not needed. Because the audio and video footage is often recorded at different speeds the process of marrying the audio to the video can take quite a long time and a lot of patience.
Each 1 hour video takes about 8 hours of work to complete.
Contact Me
If you would like to contact me about the FM series etc please use the form opposite.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards - LM 5
