Michael T. Bhatty (left) acting and directing in a school kid's version of the Planet-of-Apes-theme in the early '80s. shot on Super-8.

Cinematics are movies, though the term covers more that cinema or TV but games-cutscenes as well, be they ingame or pre-rendered.

As I started as a 12-year old kid shooting movies with an old super-8-camera - enthrilled during that time by movies like STAR WARS and therefore eager to find solutions to all those topics where people said 'can't be done here' - I always loved writing screenplays and bringing independent production to live.

Michael T. Bhatty was Lead Game Designer for SACRED (2004) and created - among of other things - story, world, cinematics and action gameplay of that AAA-title.

Using the art of digital animation I envisioned and supervised and sometimes trimmed cinematics for games as well, bringing those areas together where movies meet games.

Michael T. Bhatty

Merging the technological and aesthetical aspects of a production is my way of directing to achieve a creative supervision along the logistic set up. Thus I think it is vital to find answers to...

"How much cost this special effect and what will it provide to our story?", "How does the light-setup influence our scenic atmosphere?", "What influence have the specific shots and their editing order to the narrative time and flow?", "How do I build emotions by using an organic sound design?" or "how do i manipulate my audience in a dramaturgical way?"

Michael T. Bhatty experimented as a media and art student a lot with lighting, special effects, story telling and all aspect's other's said they can't be done in Germany... well, suit yourself!

Having a background on Martial Arts like Karate, Iaido, Body combat, along with Fencing and Arching I love to do action in a "cinematic" way. Believability is more vital than realism in my concept. As doing "actionesque" combat-sequences is a very time-consuming task, I think it is vital to choreograph the scenes prior to the shooting - if possible working as closely with the performing actor as possible.

Michael T. Bhatty loves fencing and martial arts. Having directed his share of the martial arts and special moves for SACRED, one can actually find his style in SACRED, 2004.

Regardless if one is talking about a film or a games production, regardless if a real actor performs on the set or in his motion-capture-suit, visualising the written words is the first step to a successful choreography. Thus I work with screenplays, still and animated storyboards and production schedules. Working together with the other team members, crew and cast of course is vital to give room to spontaneity and artistical improvistion, thus allowing identifiction with the role and the tasks at hand for all members of the team.

To improve the expression of a scene is something I don't restrain on the mechanics of image composition only or on the acted performance of gestures or mimics. I strongly encourage the usage of sound and the acoustic composition. Thus when writing a screenplay I play with the narrative impact of sound-FX, emotional manipulation of music, voice acting and atmosphere.

Doing what others not dared during the '90s. a fast paced action sequence including dark elves and orcs written and directed by Michael T. Bhatty as a media and art student.

It is my concept to combine the creative directing with the logistical tasks of project management to master the neccessary chaos our art form drags along;-)