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WoW Moviewatch: Back to the Sunwell
Sometimes you just need to go back, not just back to the good times of Cataclysm or Wrath, but all the way back to the Sunwell. Let me tell you a story: Twenty five people, gathering for a month, night after night, just attempting to get the positioning and coordinated movement down for Kalecgos. And after that? Everyone had to pull 1,400 DPS just to get down Brutuallus, followed by a march to the end. Do I want to go back, back to the Sunwell? Heck yes I do. And after this skillfully edited video, you will too.
WoW Moviewatch: Hump Day
It's not often you see a commercial parody in a WoW machinima--well, maybe parody isn't the right word. This Brad Bergman video isn't so much making fun of the commercial as it is recasting it using WoW as footage, instead of the original. The manipulations around the characters mouths and the clever use of idle animations are what really sell this clip. Unusual as the genre may be, it's worth a shot. Give it a watch if you get a kick out of WoW-ified film audio, and I hope it brings a smile to your face, as it did mine! Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Lie
SimTgirl produces some incredible visuals in her video, and Lie is no exception. I'm not in love with the song, though it isn't bad, but SimTgirl managed to drag out some shockingly emotional moments and convincing narrative in the video. I especially liked the home video effect, which settled realistically into the overall piece. The biggest drawback in this video is the font, lettering, and spelling. I get where the lyrical accompaniment was going, but some brutal editing was needed in a few places. Overall, Lie was good, but spelling words wrong can be disastrous to the final effect. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: ABATAP
This is more than just a movie we wanted to be made. It was a movie that had to be made. ABATAP is an Azerothian remake of Avatar, featuring all the blue-skinned trolls you could ever want. Somewhere between an epic remake of an awesome movie and a giggle-worthy parody of Azeroth's environmental issues, this might be the finest thing I've seen the week. Take some time, check it out, and let us know what you think! Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Seed of Hate: A Warrior's Tale
Seed of Hate: A Warrior's Tale is a machinima created by Kenneth Clark to tell the story of his game character. Fan films like this are at once some of the finest things to come out of World of Warcraft but also the most difficult to pull off. It's easy to fall into self-aggrandizement, and you usually have to rely on art and technical skill to grant gravitas to the whole thing. Clark seems to be treading that water nicely. This trailer promises visuals and narrative motion, as well as just enough back story to hope the full version will actually have something to say. All in all, the trailer looks pretty good, and we can hope the final comes to solid fruition. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: The Fall of Gnomeregan
This is a mindblowing tour of the The Fall of Gnomeregan, with a strong flair for storytelling, eye-popping graphics, and a smooth, riveting soundtrack. This is one of those rare, story-based machinimas we just don't see very often. I'll let Harmon Productions describe the work: This is a Machinima/Animated retelling of my first ever Machinima video "Plight of the Gnomes" with Gnomeregan and most WoW assets converted into Source Filmmaker and rendered there besides some spots composited in. A huge chunk of the work was getting Gnomeregan and other things into the engine and making it look as best as possible, and despite some weirdness here and there I think it's a success. If you take the time to watch this video, I think you'll agree with Harmon. It really is an amazing piece, and probably one of the best you'll see for a while. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Do You Wanna Raid Old Content?
Silver Letomi busts out a parody of a favorite snowman tune from Frozen with Do You Wanna Raid Old Content? After all, we're all stuck in the lull between expansions, and the old drive to keep pushing is getting harder and hard. Somewhere between a nostalgic reminder of raiding days and the angsty longing for a game partner, Do You Wanna Raid Old Content? is a fun live-action video from a great singer. Also, shout out for the Bad Wolf. We all totally see what you did there. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Breath of Life
Breath of Life is a breath of fresh air. Nan the Mistweaver's new music video falls somewhere between an epic, narrative drama and sheer operatic amazingness. Her mastery of the animation itself is impressive, even if the special effects were a teensy bit heavy in places. The music selection was spot on. (Like you could go wrong with Florence and the Machines.) And to back all that up, Nan took the time to piece together a classic, WoW plot among multiple races, factions, and hearts. Breath of Life represents a rare kind of machinima we don't see very often these days, and I'm going to be a fan for a long, long time. Make sure to leave her a comment and let her know what you think. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Winds of Murlockia
Slightly Impressive steps forward in time to brings us a vision of the next expansion (after that warlord one), named Winds of Murlockia. And while we've seen plenty of expansion parodies in the past, Impressive's nod to the soul-crushing history of raids gone by is appreciated. Oh, sure, rose colored glasses help us reminisce about week-long rep grinds, but I think we're better off these days. So kick back, snort some soda, and enjoy the future playable races we all really want. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Cold as Ice
It's been a while since we've seen a Britney Spears song turned into WoW Machinima. Killer Cookie stepped up to the plate and produced Cold as Ice. It's one heck of a video, featuring some appropriately interesting and creepy shots, blood elves dancing, and some interesting graphical tricks. At this rate, I'm pretty sure all the blood elves just sit around in Silvermoon dancing up a storm. That seems to be their reason for existing. Well, that and the whole magic thing, but if there were an Azeroth race made with Britney Spears videos in mind, it would be blood elves. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Lowbies: Episode 2
It's been a while, but Slightly Impressive just released the second episode from his series, Lowbies. We left off in the first episode with a bunch of lowbies attempting to kick their healer after not being able to get rid of the overzealous hunter. You know the type. And hey, we've all been there: Kick-happy group members in the Dungeon Finder don't really care who it is. Once they have the itch, it's unstoppable. Poor panda. I'm still not sold on the series quite yet. It's described as a "daytime television series about PUG drama," but there hasn't been any real development. PUGs suck. We know. Although these guys are strangers, will we see future episodes from a character's perspective? Or multiple? That might give us something to really bite into! I liked this episode of Lowbies nonetheless -- can we get that ominous thunder sound effect in game when kicking? Please and thank you, Blizzard, xoxo.
No sequel planned for The Craft of War: BLIND
Uber-popular (and uber-cool) WoW machinima The Craft of War: BLIND has spurred more tipline emails than we can count, even after posting about it a second time, and rightfully so. Percula's work on the video was incredibly impressive and it was a joy to watch. The bad news is that Percula recently updated the video's YouTube description to let everyone know that no, a sequel is not planned for the video. He says that he was laid off earlier in the year and had to quit WoW to focus on finding a job, and in the time since, his interest in the game has waned. That's the bad news! The good news is that he still plans on making other animated videos, just likely not WoW-based ones. And for those interested in seeing what he's come up with between the release of BLIND and now, he says to look for upcoming Id Software releases, which he had a hand in. Too bad about the discontinuation of the series, but at least this means that we won't get a hojillion tipline emails for BLIND II, right? A boy can dream.
WoW Moviewatch: Castlevania: Wisps of Dracula
Your appreciation for Castlevania: Wisps of Dracula by Noblejazan will vary depending on your knowledge and experience with poorly written fan-fiction. The author took an "original story" written by a fan of the game Castlevania, and put it into machinima. Mind you, Noblejazan used an actual fanfiction. The resulting video is somewhere between a hyperspeed parody and a weeping nod to the phenomenon of fanfic.This video has all the very best tropes. It has senseless tragedy, dashing heroics, an invulnerable, rogue hero, and a hint that the real Mary Sue has yet to be born. (I'm sure Rhonin is just around the corner for the next installment.) The author is careful to pronounce the actual language from his chosen fanfiction, and the movie moves so fast it feels like you're on a sugar-fueled rollercoaster ride. I especially like the word-art flying across the screen, to help make sure you don't miss any details.Although I was a little confused when I first pulled this video up on WarcraftMovies, I laughed out loud when I played the YouTube stream. This video is hilarious work, though I'll admit I'm not sure of the gimmick could be repeated. It's definitely worth the few minutes watching. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Happy Up Here
Happy Up Here is the new machinima by that maestro of Gnomes, Baron Soosdon. He spelled out the premise of the video best when he said, "So, I was flying around in Elwynn and found this lonely little house in mountains. It had no residents so that had to be changed!"Happy Up Here shows the same inspired music choice as the Baron's previous works. According Soosdon himself, he's not done "area creation" before this video; he just wanted to make a video that would help folks smile. Considering the laughs and smiles the gnomes seem to be having, I think he succeeded. The little gnome resort he's created looks like it would be a rolicking good time, complete with dance space, rockets, swimming pool, bars, and more.This is definitely a fun video to watch, though I could see some folks might be confused if they're looking for something like Little Nikita's action. This video just doesn't work that way. It's a short vignette of fun, and just meant to be enjoyed in its bite-sized lightheartedness.If you have trouble with the YouTube stream, you can also see Happy Up Here on Vimeo or WeGame. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Warcraft Meets Star Trek
At first, I wasn't entirely positive how I felt about Warcraft Meets Star Trek. The author, who goes by muffstermunch, doesn't have a lot of credits to his name yet, and does say this is his first full-length music video. So, while I was definitely interested in the idea, I wasn't sure what to think.As I fired up the YouTube stream, though, my beloved Draenei fiancee saw it over my shoulder. Recognizing the song from old Dr. Demento shows, she started laughing at the dancing gnomes and immediately yelled, "Oh my god, that's awesome!" So, if nothing else, that experience instantly won me over.Warcraft Meets Star Trek is one of those machinima pieces that is just plain fun. The sheer ridiculousness of the WoW models chosen to represent the original cast is brilliant. The idea to use of a brooding Night Elf as Spock was particularly inspired, in my opinion. While the ending credits could probably be shorter for most people's tastes, I think the author has created an overall laugh-worthy, fun music video. The author definitely won me over with his freshman effort, and I truly hope to see more comedic bits from him. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Alliance vs. Horde - Episode 1
We've seen WoW-based Mac commercial spoofs before, such as the epically famous Frost Shock. BroncoTV is now continuing the legacy with their own donation to the effort, Alliance vs. Horde - Episode 1. The series will be focused on the two player factions, and their ongoing argument about who is better and why.This particular episode digs up the old chestnut about who has the best girlfriend and why. I admit, I had a brief chuckle when the dwarf claimed Onyxia as his girlfriend. I guess I can't blame him, as there was something a little fetching about her appearance in BLIND.Ultimately, I thought the video was amusing, and I really look forward to more. I think the later episodes are going to get better, though, as the authors expand their development of the two main characters. As these figures "grow up" in the comedy series, I think the dialogue will get even better. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: Valley of the Damned, Episode 01: Forbidden
Valley of the Damned, Episode 01: Forbidden is the first part of an ongoing series by Cerinne, whose previous credits were mostly focused on raiding videos. Valley of the Damned is a character-driven story which takes place before the Scourge Invasion and the Third War. Lady Fierine Calloun is a noblewoman who comes to Dalaran to be trained in the ways of magic, and begins uncovering more about the "dark arts" than she was expecting.For a first episode from a relatively new machinimist, I was fairly pleased with Valley of the Damned. The voice acting needs a little polish, but I thought the actors did a pretty good job portraying their characters. The scripting did a good job of setting the pace and tone for the series' world, but hopefully the next episode will be a little faster paced.The animation is based purely on in-game graphics, with the odd filter thrown in here and there. I actually found that to be a strong point in favor of Valley of the Damned, because it lets the viewer "live" in the story the same way they'd escape into the game. It roots the episode to our in-game experiences, instead of creating a wholly different world which just happens to be using WoW graphics.[Via WarcraftMovies.com] Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
WoW Moviewatch: The White Drake
Warning: There are spoilers in this review.Story-based machinima have been a little few and far between lately, so I was incredibly excited when I first spotted The White Drake by Erunno. According to the author, he actually started the film as a method for testing the power of his new computer. Since the movie was an experiment, he opted to not use any voice acting. I think that decision worked out incredibly well for him, as the movie's silent, somber mood is only enhanced by the lack of dialogue.The animation is very clean and crisp. I enjoy the layered look to the imagery, since it helps reinforce the stark contrast of the characters against their environment. The story itself is tight and simple, providing a concise narrative payload. To sum up, something is amiss in the Argent Crusade, and an assassin must sneak into the camp to set things right. He executes his mission, and then makes good his escape. As the movie closes, Chromie, the coolest dragon in lore, makes an appearance to congratulate the assassin.This is another great piece by Erunno. If this was just a test of his computer, I look forward to what he might do in the future when he really puts some effort into it.[Via WarcraftMovies.com]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch
WoW Moviewatch: Candyman
Iryzia created Candyman, a music video featuring the music by Christina Aguilera. The tip about this video comes to us from Nessa, who rightly compares it to Demachic's "Britney Belf" ouevre. And while you may or may not find Blood Elf performers "your thing," I think this is actually a great use of the models. Their elegant hair and broad movements match the genre of the song pretty well.Of course, I'll admit it was a tad jarring to see the three Blood Elf women dancing and singing it up in the Stormwind auction house. As the video proceeds, though, it becomes pretty obvious that it's just the room being used as a stage. Iryzia's attention to movement, dressing, and setting reinforces the beauty of the video. I especially love her use of red curtains, as the vibrant color helps bring the video to life.I think Iryzia could produce a lot of cool stuff, and I'm hoping she keeps honing her skills.If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch
WoW Moviewatch: How to paladin XXXII
Just when the world seemed dark and without hope, just when it seemed like there could be no victory, just when it seemed everything that's right and good about the world would be extinguished like a match between Arthas's forefinger and thumb . . . a hero arises. And that hero is Shepiwot.How to paladin XXXII is the continuation of Shepiwot's How to paladin series, obviously. It's hard to define Shepiwot's genre exactly. He's created something entirely his own. It's not PvP video, obviously, and it's certainly not Belf Rap. But, ultimately, it is unique and without peer. But as I sit here, watching it over and over, like decyphering the Dead Sea Scrolls, I can tell you that it certainly is "How to paladin."I will close with this simple comment. Holy crikey, I can't believe there are thirty one other installments in this series. Talk about a legacy! I look forward to "How to paladin XXXIII."[Via WarcraftMovies.com]
