So, you want to make a machinima/sims 3 series/sims 3 short movie?
Can't figure out how to get smooth angles? How to get rid of those hideous thought bubbles, plumbobs, and effects.
Can't figure out how to get your sims to stay still or do a certain animation?
Once you follow these steps.. you will finally be able to master Machinima!

What you will need:
A Game Recorder (In-game works too, FRAPS is optional)
Tiny Texture Replacers Combined by HystericalParoxysm: http://www.modthesims.info/d/425036
No Drift/Lower Level Free Cam Camera Mod - Updated For Late Night by aikea guinea: (Recommended but optional) http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=345987
A good amount of custom content
NRaas Animator (Animation Hack): http://www.the-isz.com/nraas/index.php?topic=182.0
(optional) NRaas DebugEnabler: http://www.the-isz.com/nraas/index.php?topic=75.0

[COLOR=Green]Step One:[/COLOR] Editing Initial Files
Go to your Electronic Arts folder in Program Files and then to your Ini folder located here: C://ProgramFiles/ElectronicArts/TheSims3/GameData/Shared/NonPackaged/Ini...
From there.. look for a file named "VideoCamera.ini"

Right click on it and select copy, then paste it to your desktop.
Go to your desktop and rename the file "VideoCameraBackup"
(We did this because the game sometimes has trouble updating when you change the ini files)
Go back to the original folder and click and drag the file out of the folder and onto your desktop. This time, we are going to open this file. So, open the VideoCamera.ini file
Notepad should open it and this is what you should see:

Scroll down to the very bottom, there you should see a section named "LerpDuration"
LerpDuration is the speed at which the camera will take to transition from one perimeter to another perimeter.
You should see something like this:

It may value a different number depending on what you change it to or what the camera mod changes it to. If you want slower perimeters, you want to increase the value of the LerpDuration..if you want faster perimeters, you will want to decrease the value.
but for normal perimeters, you may just want to change the value to 30
so now it should look like this:

Now, go to File/Save NOT SAVE AS... Close out of Notepad and then click and drag the VideoCamera.ini file back to the Ini folder.

UPDATE: June 9th, 2011
If you are having troubles saving the VideoCamera.ini file, or if you cannot save the file due to it being "Read-Only".. here's how to fix it:
Right click on the VideoCamera.ini file, and then go down to properties. You should see this:

As seen at the bottom in the "Attributes", Read-Only is checked. Simply un-check this. Now it should look like this:

Click "OK" and now you should be able to save the file without any troubles.

[COLOR=Green]Step Two:[/COLOR] How to use the "Camera-Man" Mode
First thing you need to do is install all the mods that I referenced "Tiny Texture Replacers, No Drift, Animator" They should be installed in the correct directory in order for them to work! (C://User/Documents/ElectronicArts/TheSims3/Mods/Packages)
Nowgo into your game. In order to get into Camera-Man Mode.. all you have to do is simply press "TAB" or the button with two parallel lines.
There is should hide majority of the UI (User-Interface)
How you control the Camera-Man is a little difficult,
D= Go Right, A=Go Left, S=Go Reverse, W=Go Forward, Q=Go Down, E=Go Up, Z=Zoom In, X=Zoom Out, SHIFT+A= Rotate Left, SHIFT+D= Rotate Right. They may be hard to remember, but just fool around with it to get used to it.
Now, if you move your courser around, it moves the camera.. You DONT want that!
By playing around with the camera man and it's keys, position the camera to the angle you want. Now, once you are there.. press one of the following keys: SHIFT+ 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9. This saves the perimeter.
Now.. go to another angle. and do the same EXCEPT do not use the same number you used to save your other perimeter. So for example. I save a shot at SHIFT+6, and another at SHIFT+7. I can use any other number for any other perimeter i want EXCEPT 6 and 7.
Now, once you have your two perimeters saved, simply press one of the numbers of the saved perimeter. This will make the camera transition smoothly to the next perimeter.
So for example. I have my two perimeters saved, I simply press 6 (JUST 6) and it transitions back to that perimeter.. I can also press 7 and the camera will transition back to perimeter 7. If you do not like the way the camera moves, try positioning the camera somewhere else or at a different angle. So say, I don't like how it transitions to angle 7, i simply adjust the camera to a different way that seems good to me, and press SHIFT+7, This will override the old perimeter 7 with your new perimeter 7

REMINDER Try not to make too many transitions in one shot

[COLOR=Green]Step Three:[/COLOR] Slow Motion-Fast Motion Perimeters
So, back at step one when we were editing the LerpDuration.. we changed that to 30..
But remember, if you want a fast transition.. you need to decrease the value and if you want a slow transition, you need to raise the value.
But, let's say you want to make a dramatic machinima.. and you can slow the camera down.. but not the sims. That will most likely throw off the meaning of the machinima. SO, if you want your sims to move in SLOW MOTION, there is a simple cheat you can type in.
First, open the cheat window (CTRL+SHIFT+C) and typer "SlowMotionViz 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,or 8" Not literally all those numbers.. just one of them. (Ex: "SlowMotionViz 5")
These will literally make the game render slower, and better... So you can mess around with the different values and see which one you like best

Now, there is no cheat for Fast Motion.. but unlike slow motion, Fast Motion can be edited in a video editor without choppyness

[COLOR=GREEN]Step Four:[/COLOR] Using Useful Cheats and Hacks
So, Im pretty sure people would not enjoy a machinima with plumbobs and thoughtbubbles over sims heads.. so this is quite simple to do.
Open the cheat window, (CTRL+SHIFT+C) and type in "HideHeadlineEffects True"
This will hide all thought bubbles and plumbobs

But say, you don't like the music effects or the Sleep Z's.. Well, No cheat can hide those unfortunatly.. but luckily HystericalParoxysm has made a mod that hides all of those annoying effects. Just make sure you have the Tiny Texture Replacers Combined installed

Now, say you want sims to stay still and stop trying to do other things while you are filming. This is simple and requires no Mods.
Go to the three dots in the right hand corner of the game.. and then select options.
Go to the gameplay options and make sure Autonomy Level is on 0 or No Free Will. They should no longer wonder without permission.

If you want Animations on Command.. this is why we installed the NRaas Animator. This mod simply hacks all in game animations. How you use it is simple. Click on the sim that you desire for the animation. You should see an option named "NRaas" Click that and you should see another option named "Animator.." click that. Now you should see two options named "Animation by Category" And "Looping Animation". Animation by Category lists all the animations in categorys with less confusing names. "Looping Animation" lists all animations for there in game names (ex: a_Happypose_y) Choose one and your sim should play that animation

[COLOR=Green]Step Five:[/COLOR] Finishing Up - How to Record
This step is very short and simple
When filming, you are going to want to record the shots for your machinima
So, simply press "V" or the camera in the corner of the main UI
to stop recording, simply press that same button again
your video files can be found in C://User/Documents/ElectronicArts/TheSims3/RecordedVideos

Recording With Fraps (Optional)
Most people prefer Fraps because the quality of it. Unlike the in-game recorder..
Well first, you have to have Fraps
Secondly, sense Fraps doesn't hide the games UI like the in-game recorder, which does.
(which is why many people do not use it)
Simply press F10, this will hide the UI so you can record.

Have Fun!
Tutorial by SeeMyu

Thank You!
This is very useful!!! :D

Im glad I could help

mm one question... when i record suddenly all my sim movements and everything becomes slower... It never happened before, how can i fix this?
Thanks in advance :D

slower as in laggy? or slower as in slow-motion?

If it's laggy, you might have messed with the graphics and that's what usually causes it.
if it's in slow-motion.. you must have typed the "slowmotionviz 1-8" cheat.

I can't think of anything else that would cause this.. lol

Yeah slow as in laggy... :S
Is there anyway to fix this? Cuz it's just when i hit the in-game record button... Btw i'm really sorry i keep asking questions and disturbing :/

ah, no worries. You are not disturbing me in any way

hmm.. It may just be your OS, maybe try NRaas Overwatch mod? It makes the game a little faster.. but I can't think of anything else to fix it. It may be all the game can handle

mmm... ok thanks again! I guess it's just me having problems with the little free space i have left in /:C ... Cuz when it was nearly empty my game used to work faster... anyway I guess imma give a try to a sims 3 movie with ur advices! :D
See ya! and thanks again

Very good thread for the finer points on directing, thanks for having it up! (*one of these kinds of people who need the finer points to not go 'huh what'* XP )

However, I've been having a difficulty with editing the VideoCamera.ini file, following all instructions, but when I do File>Save (and not File>Save As but File>Save, to be clear), I get prompted to give it a name, thinking I want to save it as a .txt rather than over itself. In trying to overwrite the VideoCamera.ini file it tells me it's a read-only file. I followed all other instructions and have gotten the same result both before and after the Generations expansion patch (Had 6.2 previous, Ambitions/LN with basegame), and attached a screencap showing the error. OS-wise, I use Windows 7.
Is there any way around the read-only mechanism, or have the permissions of the VideoCamera.ini file changed over time?

Yep, simply go to Properties and then "un-check" the Attributes: Read-Only. Then click OK.
Now, you should be able to save the file without having to rename it

EDIT: Updated Tutorial, thank you Linen!

HI. Thanks for the suggestion to your tutorial here! The only thing I haven't done (besides not using frapps -ha ha) is that I had never changed the lerpDuration...when making movies. It's always been at 2.0 <hmm> maybe this is why my movements are funky at times. :/ So now I changed it your 30.0 and have to see what the difference is all about and will get back to you if I have any problems.
P.S. I also had the problem of changing the video camera like Linen did but I just changed it and copied it in Documents and then cut/pasted it from there... so hopefully that worked okdoing it that way.
Thanks so much for this very easy to understand step by step turorial!!! It is very helpful!!!! :D

Hi,this is very helpful post,I've been looking for something like this like,forever! But,since I'm not really known with the installing mods to the game,could someone explain to me how to make NRaads Animator work in the game? I've seen in some installation examples some 'Mods' file in TS3 file in Program files but I don't have that folder there. Do I have to make it or is it because I didn't update my game? Thank you in advance!

How to install NRaas Mods and the requirements are located here

Thank you very much, I'm sure the problem is why the Animator doesn't show up in the game is because I didn't updated it but I wil

hi! i read the first half , and all i saw was the files for where the camera is , unforntunley , i dont have game data , will i still be able to do it?<3 but 10/10 , amazing!

If you have no game data, how is your game functioning properly? I suggest that you try reinstalling to get the game data back. But yes, you should still be able to do it without game data.. except for slow camera transitions.. you need the videocamera.ini file to do that.

Question, Even if I change the LerpDuration from 2 to 10 and there is no visible changes. The movement of the camera is still the same. Am I doing something wrong?

2 to 10 isn't a big difference, but it should be noticeable. Do you have any other camera mods installed? Make sure you don't, and then restart the game. If you do, remove them and try again. Also, make sure you are saving the ini file when you have finished editing it.

I am running Sims 3 on Windows 8, and I followed the steps exactly. For some reason it still does not work for me and says it's changed in the .ini file but is still at a 2 second Lerp Duration in my game. It this because I am on windows 8, even though I have the exact same files as in the tutorial?

Jdub - Make sure you are saving the file! If not.. obviously it will not update in game mode. That's the only thing I can think of to be preventing it from working.

Also, if you have any other camera mods installed, make sure to remove them. They will conflict and cause things like this to happen.

Thank you, I'll look through my .packages. Do you know of anything to look for that would make the mod not work in particular? Like other well known camera and machinima mods?

Any mod that changes the actions of the camera itself. I don't know any mods in specific, unfortunately.

I don't seem to have a GameData folder in C:\Users\user\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3? Could somebody help ?

EDIT: Nevermind, sorry, I found it in my Origin Games folder.

P.S. Thank you so much for the tutorial!

Sorry to post this topic has not had a reply for a month.

About the camera movement, I set Ctrl 5 for the first camera and set Ctrl 6 for a second camera. When I play it, the drift movement is little bit fast. I like the camera drift in slow movement.
Do I have to set SlowMotionViz to make the drift movement slow?

Best regards
---
I have "No Drift/Lower Level Free Cam Camera Mod - Updated For Late Night" installed in my package folder.

Nope. Slowmotionviz 1-8 only sets the gameplay speed to slow motion, not the camera movement itself. You need to refer to Step One in the tutorial and edit the lerp duration. The higher the lerp duration value, the slower the camera takes to reach the next perimeter.