Theater Mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was tweaked so players could "browse it like watching a movie on Netflix," director David Vonderhaar said in a recent interview with Activision's Dan Amrich on One of Swords.
Theater Mode includes a new wave of social features, including film bookmarking and additional metadata tags like game mode and stats. Victories are sorted separately, since players are most likely to record and keep them. A new Community tab lets players keep track of friends' Theater Mode activities, and players can now upvote and downvote films made available to the community.
New filmmaking features in Black Ops 2 are meant to cater to both serious filmmakers and casual players. Films can now be compiled from up to 20 clips, which can repeatedly be combined into a single clip and combined with 19 more for longer films. Black Ops 2 also brings back the dolly cam for smooth, rolling shots, and the camera can be attached to any object. Game footage can also be shot from the first-person perspective of any player.
For players who aren't into film editing, the Highlight Reel features lets the game call up what it thinks are you best moments for you. The game then ranks these moments on a five-star system, stacking the highest rated parts and collecting them into a montage.