Some Directing Questions

Hi guys, I hope this is in the right category. Still new here. Been a reader for a while, but am currently writing my first story, A Certain Love, here on the episode platform. I have a few questions of things I just have not been able to figure out on my own with the guides/youtube/trial and error. If anyone can help, please give step by step directions: I have a brain injury and it is really easy for me to get confused with the writer portal, so I really need a step by step how to if anyone knows how to conquer the following:

  1. Having family members match the features of the MC. I made the family members match my design of Jo, but I have let readers fully customize her and the main love interest. I have noticed that some of my favorite stories allow you to either fully or semi-customize certain family members, or not doing them at all, so I think it’s writers choice. Someone just showed me my first snap shot of their perspective of my story, how the characters look from their eyes, and it was so heartwarming and amazing. I’d like for them to have that kind of full immersion in my story by having the family members match SOME of their features; like maybe even just complexion and eye color. Can anyone tell me, step by step please, how I can put that in my story so that the family automatically adjusts to the same skin tone the reader chooses for the MC? (and, when I add in this feature, I won’t have to do any special referencing to it later on in the story, will I, like special coding or anything?)

  2. I had the same kind of query with the name of the MC. I thought about letting the reader name themselves, but, I am deeply worried that that means I will need to change every line of dialogue in the story. Yet, I am not discouraged from reading stories that don’t let me pick the name at all; some of the best ones choose for you. But, if not for A Certain Love, I’d like to be able to have this feature in maybe my next story. So if anyone can tell me, step by step, how, I’d be grateful.

  3. I’m having a little trouble with having male characters walk to a different place on the screen while maintaining their height. I’ve reviewed several guides and videos trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong, and can’t seem to. Any advice?

  4. I haven’t really experimented with zooms, or different positions on the screen. My characters have mainly all been in the same zone, facing the same direction, instead of where other writers may have one character layered over another when they’re about to kiss, or dancing, and one character has their back to the camera, and the other doesn’t. If someone could explain, I’d appreciate it.

I know a lot of this stuff is in the guides or videos, but I’m writing here because I haven’t been able to understand them. My brain injury challenges me in certain ways that I’m still getting used to, and, some things are more difficult for me; and I just can’t understand the guides or the videos. Other things, the tutorials and videos and script templates just click for me and I’m fine. So, the things that I’m struggling with here, I’ve already attempted to figure them out by reading every guide in the book on our portal, and by viewing several different videos from fellow limelight writers. (oh, and I am using the limelight style, if that matters for coding or directing). So, I’m not so much asking for someone to give me a link so that I can go and try to figure it out on my own; I’m reaching out to see if anyone has a way to give me tips/step by step directions, directly. If it’s too much of a nuisance, I understand. I just have to ask. I want my story to be great, and for it to be read and enjoyed by as many people as possible and, I don’t want my disability to act as a hindrance here.

This is really long. I’m sorry. Writing is innate for me, and how some people talk too much, I write too much. Um, thank you. If anyone reads A Certain Love and notices some things that are a little hanky, that I may be doing wrong, and you think I should know, I cannot promise I can necessarily adapt to that particular feedback, but in this particular post, this is where I think maybe it could be most helpful. I’m not afraid of constructive criticism, but, please don’t be mean.

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  1. For matching the family members here it is explained in detail how to do it:
  1. Naming character is typed in choice - here in detail how to do it:
  1. for walking - if you are using spot directing for placement of the characters , you will have to use spot directing also for walking because the simple directing reset the hight to the defoult.

So find the new spot where you want to have your character to walk to and use command “walks to”

example:

&CHARACTER walks to spot 1.280 93 0 in zone 1 in 2 AND CHARACTER does it while walk_neutral_offset_loop

  1. I would divide it on 2 things

First the layers - layers work so that what is more close to the screen (to reader) is on higher layer than what is in distance.

Here explained more in detail:

Regarding the zooms - the best is to try to experiment with zoom - there is really no rule on how to use them it is more about the directing style. Zooms help to make the story visually more attractive. So the best way is probably just to experiment with them a bit to find your own style.

While having a dialogue aspecially if it is a longer one zooms can help to keep reader in. What you can for example

start the scene with reset zoom and then make slow zoom on both the characeters.
When one of them says something important zoom only on him. Or then zoom only on the other to show reaction (like if he is surprised atc)

You can use zoom to increase feeling…for example girl is running away because somebody is hunting her…you can zoom just on the running legs which will increase the uncertainity who is it and why is he after her.
Or you can make shaking efect with zooms… or even use easing function to adjust your zooms

There are for sure many other posibilities how to use zooms.

Here more to zooms themself:

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