I love the idea of creating little nuggets of cinematic genius using GTA V’s rather cool video editing mode, but when I actually sit down to use it all the creativity drowns out of me. At best, I end up using it to throw cars at Trevor. Fortunately, there’s a whole community of more creative-minded Tarantino wannabes out there, and less than two days after the Rockstar blockbuster’s PC launch, we’ve already got some interesting stuff bubbling to the surface.
Well, I suppose you could charitably describe a man in his underpants hurling himself around a beach interesting. In fact, underpants are something of a theme. I bet you’d never have guessed.
Outside of naked rampages, I found Ultrabrilliant’s ’Gardener’, a haunting study on the nature of violence, both moving and thought-provoking. Melonium’s minimalist thriller ’Welcome to Los Santos’, meanwhile, contains perhaps the most harrowing ‘man throws himself into gas station and explodes’ scene in cinematic history.
So maybe the editor lends itself better to bite-size chunks of silliness, but some creators, like DanzNewz, are attempting something a little more profound. His Sins of the Past is a very smartly directed little tale that makes full use of GTA V’s impressive weather effects. Flauge Studios’ trailer for crime comedy Most Wanted, which they eventually intend to turn into a web series, is perhaps the most accomplished creation I’ve seen so far, with some really well-done voice work, even if it veers into ’Bad American Comedy’ territory a little too closely for my liking. We reported earlier this week on ’Running Man’, the very first movie created using the editor, and a bit of a peach.
It’s still early days of course. People are only just getting to grips with the tools, so most of what’s available is filmed using the basic video sharing function, which lets you record and then edit your in-game footage, rather than the much more robust Director Mode, which allows you to choose characters, setting, lighting and so on. The fact that we’ve already got some intriguing stuff coming out bodes well for the future. I’ll keep an eye on the scene to bring you all the latest from the glamorous world of (GTA V) film. Like a less motivated, talented and eloquent Roger Ebert.
