[Community Effort] Wonder movies and images

Leoreth

Blue Period
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東京藝術大学
Recently I have received asks about how to best contribute to the mod. I still think this is by helping me compile resources where the mod still lacks them. I have decided to prioritise the project already started once in this thread: add wonders, or at least static images for the new wonders added to the mod with 1.16.

Here is a summary of my guidelines for this kind of content:
I have been thinking about the ground rules for this:
- full movies are great, but I would rather have a static image for every wonder than movies for a few wonders
- movies need to be in *.bik format
- wonder movies from the base game are around 20 seconds long, please try to keep this limit. Longer than 30 seconds is definitely not acceptable
- if possible, try to use images, footage and sound in the public domain. However, if you find great content that is not in the public domain, it is not inherently inadmissible as we can claim fair use within reason
- if the wonder still exists resembling its original appearance (some wonders were modified or fell into disrepair before modern times), actual film/photography of the building is preferred. In that case, make sure not to include elements that give away the modern timeframe (e.g. cars, modern buildings, people in the shot)
- if the wonder does not exist in its original appearance anymore, both contemporary and anachronistic depictions of the building are applicable. Contemporary depictions may be lacking in quality, while anachronistic depictions may be lacking in accuracy. Make a decision about what is acceptable, or combine both.
- I think the Civ2 wonder movies provide a good example of how to use modern and contemporary/anachronistic historical media to create wonder movies where applicable

I think the problem with those sorts of efforts in the past was that I am still a bottleneck for people's contributions, and this time I would like to organise things in a way where I am a blocker as little as possible. I see the following steps to the whole process:
- finding video/image files
- converting the files into the right video/image file formats
- including the files into the mod as a wonder video via XML
- me approving the file content

Only the latter requires me specifically, all the other steps can be done by other (and potentially different) people. Of course, my approval should come before someone makes the effort of including the content into the mod.

Also, part of the problem was that I did not take enough action when things were actually proposed. Toward that end, I have created a public Google Sheet where you can enter submissions for movies/images, we can track their state, and I can easily check them out and approve them. This way, I know what's out there and people know what the status of their submissions is.

Click here to edit the wonder movie suggestions spreadsheet

We can start by entering content from the previous thread into this spreadsheet.
 
List of wonders that require wonder movies:
Code:
* Added 72 new wonders:
    * Apadana Palace (Arithmetics, Zoroastrianism): free Monument in every city, +50% improvement construction rate
    * Dujiangyan (Writing, Rice): +1 food on river tiles
    * Jetavanaramaya (Aesthetics, Buddhism with Buddhist or Hindu state religion): +1 food from Artist
    * Al Khazneh (Currency, Judaism, Oasis in city radius): +1 trade route in all cities
    * Nalanda University (Philosophy, Buddishm with Hindu state religion): +2 research per state religion building
    * Gondeshapur (Medicine, Zoroastrianism): free Medic improvement for units built in the city, +1 food from Scientist
    * Prambanan (Politics, Hinduism with Buddhist or Hindu state religion): +25% food stored on growth in all cities
    * Salsal Buddha (Artisanry, Buddhism, Camels): trade routes remain connected during war
    * Iron Pillar (Steel, Hinduism): free Forge in every city
    * Cheomseongdae (Scholarship, Confucianism with Buddhist state religion): +1 happiness per 10% research rate
    * Mount Athos (Ethics, Orthodoxy): double great people points from buildings
    * Krak des Chevaliers (Fortification, Islam with Catholic state religion): free Castle in every city, defeated city defenders retreat to your capital
    * Monolithic Church (Guilds, Incense, Orthodoxy): +2 commerce from Priest
    * House of Wisdom (Alchemy, Islam): +200% research from great people discoveries
    * Old Synagogue (Commune, Judaism): +2 gold from Jewish buildings
    * Santa Maria del Fiore (Patronage, Catholicism): +100% great people birth rate
    * Alamut Fortress (Compass, Islam): +10 experience for espionage units built in the city
    * Silver Tree Fountain (Paper, Silk, Paganism): free great person is born when a great general emerges
    * Saint Sophia's Cathedral (Doctrine, Orthodoxy): +1 food from Merchant
    * Gur-E-Amir (Cartography, Islam): city receives additional culture equal to gold pillaged in conquered cities
    * Kremlin (Gunpowder, Orthodoxy): +25% defense in all cities, +1 movement for civilian units
    * Vijaya Stambha (Companies, Hinduism): free City Defender I promotion for units built in the city, +50% great general birth rate within own borders
    * El Escorial (Exploration, Catholicism): additional gold for every acquired colony
    * Torre de Belem (Optics, Catholicism): +100% foreign trade route yield
    * Saint Thomas Church (Humanities, Protestantism): +2 happiness in every city
    * Itsukushima Shrine (Logistics, Buddhism): +1 great people rate per water tile in city radius
    * Oxford University (Academia, Protestantism): +1 research from specialists
    * Potala Palace (Statecraft, Buddhism): +1 great people rate per hill in city radius
    * The Bourse (Economics, Protestantism): +2 free Merchants
    * Image of the World Square (Geography, Islam): +1 trade route per culture level
    * Emerald Buddha Temple (Civil Liberties, Buddhism): no unhappiness in the city
    * The Louvre (Civil Liberties): +2 free Artists, +2 culture per controlled wonder
    * Shalimar Gardens (Horticulture, Islam): excess health counts as happiness
    * Salt Cathedral (Geology, Catholicism): +2 commerce per state religion building
    * Amber Room (Geology, Protestantism or Orthodoxy): other civilisations are more willing to enter into defensive pacts, shares golden ages of defensive pact partners
    * Hermitage (Sociology): +10% research per culture level, technologies cost -25% less in trade and espionage
    * Guadalupe Basilica (Sociology, Catholicism, different continent than the Catholic holy city): +1 gold per Catholic city on the continent
    * Abbey Mills Pumping Station (Thermodynamics): free Sewer in every city
    * Bell Rock Lighthouse (Metallurgy): +1 trade route in all coastal cities
    * Chapultepec Castle (Nationalism): +1 unit experience per culture level
    * Crystal Palace (Engine): +2 free Engineer
    * Menlo Park (Electricity): +25% commerce with power
    * Tsukiji Fish Market (Refrigeration, Rice): +1 food on water tiles
    * Brooklyn Bridge (Labour Unions): free Levee in every city
    * Neuschwanstein Castle (Journalism): settling a great person restores 25% of great people points
    * Metropolitain (Pneumatics): +1 commerce per 2 culture on buildings in the city
    * Mole Antonelliana (Assembly Line, Catholicism): +2 production per peak in city radius
    * Nobel Prize (Refining): extra great people point when a great person is born in a pleased or friendly civilisation
    * Chateau Frontenac (Refining): free Railway Station in every city, +50% Railway construction speed
    * Las Lajas Sanctuary (Microbiology, Catholicism): +10% unit heal rate in all cities
    * Palace of Nations (Civil Rights): congresses occur every four turns, cities cannot be demanded in congresses, other civilisations are more likely to approve your congress requests
    * Golden Gate Bridge (Infrastructure): +1 commerce from Scientist and Engineer
    * Bletchley Park (Radio): +50% chance to avoid spy detection, +50% chance to detect enemy spies
    * Sagrada Familia (Macroeconomics): +1 production from Artist, +25% production converted to commerce
    * Crystal Cathedral (Television, Protestantism): +1 happiness per 10% gold rate, +2 commerce from Priest
    * The Motherland Calls (Power Projection, Central Planning): a free unit is draft every time a unit of level three or higher is lost
    * World Trade Center (Globalism, Free Enterprise): +50% corporation commerce
    * Berlaymont (Globalism, Multilateralism): +2 possible defensive pacts, +1 free specialist per defensive pact
    * Atomium (Nuclear Power): +1 research per nuclear weapon in the world
    * Iron Dome (Laser): +50% intercept chance in own territory
    * Harbour Opera (Tourism): +1 food per two excess happiness
    * Lotus Temple (Tourism, four religions in city): +1 food per non-state religion in all cities
    * Gardens by the Bay (Ecology): +2 commerce per excess health
    * Burj Khalifa (Aerodynamics, desert): +2 food, +2 commerce on desert tiles
    * Hubble Space Telescope (Satellites): +3 research from satellites
    * Large Hadron Collider (Superconductors): +100% research
    * Channel Tunnel (Robotics): +100% trade route yield with friendly relations
    * Oriental Pearl Tower (Telecommunications): +2 research per city population
    * Skytree (Telecommunications): +1 production from Scientist, +1 food from Engineer
    * Delta Works (Renewable Energy, only flat land in city radius): +1 food, production, commerce on water tiles
    * Global Seed Vault (Genetics, tundra in city radius): +1 research per Farm, Paddy Field, Orchard and Plantation resource
    * ITER (Fusion): provides power for all cities on the continent, +1 commerce per power consumed in all cities
 
Please enter it into the spreadsheet.
 
Youtube is great for sharing, but inconvenient for actual inclusion into the mod. Please make a BIK file of the videos available as well.
 
There are not many videos of Jetavanaramaya and including only stupa made it feel "dry".
You might find the video here useful -- cut the sound, take a snippet from the end so the people are distant but still visible for a size comparison. Sorry I can't help you with converting to bik format; I am a complete neophyte with stuff like that.
 
As for BIK, I remember doing conversion using the VLC player? Not sure.
 
Finally managed to watch them. I really like the footage and music choices. I think one thing you could improve on is the ending, the music cuts of a little bit too suddenly and sometimes not on the tonic of the melody, which makes it sound especially jarring. Maybe you can work with the footage a little more to let the music conclude and let it sit for at least half a second or so. If you could avoid showing the tourists at Al Khazneh that would be great too.
 
I recommend using Audiotrimmer when cutting the music, it supports fade-in and fade-out.
 
List of uploaded videos, pt.1
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IywnCTL0SNPsHnpBzUbhVqoHCXT2mSgb
Videos are uploaded in .mp4 formats for now.

Cheomseongdae
- footage & music from a video uploaded by K-Heritage TV
Spoiler :
Chateau Frontenac
- footage from a video uploaded by fairmontfrontenac
Spoiler :
- music from a copyright-free video uploaded by Halcyon Days
Spoiler :
Dujiangyan
- footage from a video uploaded by the National Library of China (国图空间)
Spoiler :
- music from a copyright-free video uploaded by Music Screen: Royalty Free Music
Spoiler :
 
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List of uploaded videos, pt.2
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IywnCTL0SNPsHnpBzUbhVqoHCXT2mSgb
Videos are uploaded in .mp4 formats for now.

Salsal Buddha
- footage from a NHK documentary uploaded by fvon
Spoiler :
- music from a copyright-free video uploaded by TheMindOrchestra
Spoiler :
Berlaymont
- footage and audio from a video uploaded by European Commission
Spoiler :
Opera House
- footage from a video with creative commons license uploaded by Allan Psaila
Spoiler :
- music from a copyright-free video uploaded by No Copyright Sounds - Best OF
Spoiler :
 
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List of uploaded videos, pt.3
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IywnCTL0SNPsHnpBzUbhVqoHCXT2mSgb
Videos are uploaded in .mp4 formats for now.

Belem Tower
- footage from the civ2 wonder video for Magellan's Voyage
Spoiler :
- footage from a video with creative commons license uploaded by zeicom
Spoiler :
- image with public domain license from piqsels.com

- music from a video with creative commons license uploaded by Mario Valente
Spoiler :
 
Any feedback/suggestions are welcome. Could be helpful in making more videos in the future as well.
 
I realized there's still some National Wonders (National College, National Monument, Central Bank and National Gallery) as well as specialist buildings (I think Administrative Center and Manufactory) that are still missing either a static image or a video. Should we put effort into making these a reality as well? If yes, is there anything important that should be noted when making an image/video for these? For example, should the videos depict those wonders and buildings in earlier or modern eras or would just whichever be okay?

I was also thinking, maybe a static image or a short video could be nice for your first cathedral building as well or what?
 
It would be nice to have them for all one-instance buildings. It would not work for cathedrals because there is no way to only show it for the first building.
 
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