Illegal-Danish
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15 Minutes of Fame: Clint Hackleman of Myndflame machinima
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about.The subject of this week's 15 Minutes of Fame has actually carved out many, many more than a mere 15 minutes on his own. Clint Hackleman is known to WoW fans as the force behind Myndflame, the team responsible for such wildly popular machinima as Illegal Danish: Super Snacks, Learn 2 Play and Epic Flight Form. So who's a Myndflame fan? Blizzard, for starters. "How can something so familiar feel so foreign?" Blizzard asks rhetorically in a news update on its main site about the Illegal Danish III Prelude. "... If you're a World of Warcraft player who feels something is missing from the StarCraft universe, the creators of the Illegal Danish series have sensed your internal disturbance, bringing you a hilariously off-kilter redux of the StarCraft II cinematic trailer, now with 100% more Gnome action. It's about time!"We thought it was about time, too, to go behind the scenes with Hackleman and get the story behind Myndflame's blazing success.
WoW Moviewatch: Illegal Danish 3 Prelude
Adroit machinima fans are probably already aware that Myndflame has been diligently working on the third installment Illegal Danish. The premise of this new Illegal Danish is that Van Kraken has created his ultimate brew, the Flask of Ten Thousand Souls. The flask is so powerful that only by combining it with the power of the Illegal Danish can it be consumed without fear of death. The bad news for Van Kraken, though, is that it can only be used by a gnome. So, obviously, Van Kraken needs to find and corrupt a gnome to do this deed. The new movie looks to be the same riotous fun as the previous Illegal Danish films, so it was pretty exciting when we learned Myndflame released the Illegal Danish 3 Prelude.The prelude focuses on the star character, an ambitious gnome named Dirti. In this series of events, he undergoes a dark transformation into "Dirti G", making him incredibly powerful under the supervision of the sinister Van Kraken. If you didn't realize it right away, this prelude is a parody of Blizzard's own preview for StarCraft 2. I'm obviously a pretty big fan of the video, and it actually made me (briefly) considering a new Rogue.Check out the preview yourself by clicking here. It's definitely worth your time. 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: Adventures of Puff & Lilpuff - Episode 7
Warning: The language in this piece is not safe for work.You can only very tenuously call today's piece a "movie," which might disqualify it for being featured on "Moviewatch." However, Myndflame's "Adventures of Puff & Lilpuff - Episode 7" targets the same audience of WoW players who would recognize them from their epic series, Illegal Danish. I wanted to make sure Moviewatchers didn't miss out on the comedy.Of course, part of the news here is that Myndflame will be releasing the prelude to Illegal Danish 3 on July 3rd, 2009. This particular episode of Puff & Lilpuff features a petition thread on Gameriot, encouraging the Illegal Danish folks to include the nominal characters in the machinima.Overall, this mostly-audio series is pretty funny. It's rooted in the body of work Myndflame has created, and is definitely a creative use of characters. Over the seven episodes we've already scene, the interaction between Puff and Lilpuff has become more complex and involves. I think that the series will continue to build on this intricacy, and will probably become a staple of many a WoW player's weekly game routine.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 special: 7 movies you should know
Machinima's a pretty big topic. Depending on who you talk to, "machinima" could include story-based movies, PvP footage, boss kills, music videos, and even videography of altered in-game landscapes. There are uncounted thousands of videos about World of Warcraft roaming the internet, so it can be very difficult to know where to start.In honor of the ticket queue for BlizzCon 2009, Moviewatch presents seven machinima movies and machinimators you should know. Certainly, these aren't the only 7 movies or authors you should know, but they do include some of the most popular staples of the art. If you find yourself chatting it up with a machinima enthusiast around the BlizzCon water cooler, you can probably be certain they've seen these shows.We went for variety in this selection, choosing videos with different styles and subjects. They certainly aren't listed in "countdown to the best" format, since trying to rate these videos like that would be dang near impossible. Instead, they are simply listed alphabetically, according to the creator of the movie.Check out the selection behind the cut.
Cinemassively: Slim Jim
For some videographers, machinima can be a lucrative business. Myndflame, the creators of the Illegal Danish series, have made a full time living for over a year now producing machinima for clients. Using World of Warcraft, they've recently released a commercial for Slim Jim, the beef jerky stick. In the ad, they focus on a knight that has problems rescuing a fair maiden until the product is introduced.While WoW is a popular machinima platform, Blizzard has imposed a Fair Use Guide that restricts how machinimators can profit from their work. In the case of this specific video, Slim Jim most likely received a content use license from Blizzard.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]If you have machinima or movie suggestions from any MMO, please send them to machinima AT massively DOT com, along with any information you might have about them.
Cinemassively: Illegal Danish - Escape from Orgrimmar
Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar is finally out. I've read the comments and I felt like I was in the middle of a war zone. You're either going to love this film, or hate it with a passion, depending on how long you've been waiting for the release and whether you play World of Warcraft or not. All I ask is that you keep an open mind. For further thoughts on the release, I've written a full review on our sister site, WoW Insider.Illegal Danish 2 picks up where the first, Illegal Danish: Super Snacks, left off. The "Illegal Danish" guild is under attack by Van Kraken, Basutei discovers his feminine side, and Dirti realizes that he's not cut out to be a hero. Along the way, there's a pirate adventure, a video game duel, and several epic battles.Myndflame may have missed their tentative release date by a year, but I believe it was worth it in the end. The soundtrack fits, the post-production work is amazing, and the voice actors are right on the money. Just about the only thing I didn't like was the credits. Either way, IDEFO is one of the best Machinimas I've seen come out of WoW.
WoW Moviewatch: Illegal Danish - Escape from Orgrimmar
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/pc_games/WoW_Insider_reviews_Illegal_Danish_Escape_from_Orgrimmar'; (Given how anticipated the release of Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar was, we decided to bump up the notification and review. WoW Moviewatch will resume it's normal posting schedule tomorrow.)One of the longest running jokes in Machinima history finally came to a close today with the release of the long-awaited sequel to Illegal Danish: Super Snacks. Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar was originally announced right after the premiere of IDSS, with a scheduled release date about 6 months later. However, it had been pushed back for over a year, leading many to compare it to Duke Nukem Forever, which, coincidentally, debuted a brand new trailer several weeks ago.Around the same time that 3D Realms was releasing their DNF trailer, Myndflame made an announcement that IDEFO had a scheduled release date of December 31st, at 6pm EST. It would coincide with a real life wrap party to ring in the New Year. However, fans flooded the site, literally and figuratively. Not only were 75,000 people trying to access the site, but someone was also attacking it at the same time. Given the holiday, it would take some time to fix, thus not appearing until 2008.Previously on Moviewatch...Read on after the jump to see the full assessment ..
Cinemassively: Illegal Danish - Escape from Orgrimmar Trailer II
If you thought that Armageddon would come before IDEFO, then fear not. There are just 5 1/2 short hours until the premiere of Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar. Yesterday, we showed you the first trailer, released in July 2006. We previously showed you the latest trailer, HMS Theramore, in early December. As you can see, this trailer was released a full year after the first one. The intended debut was for Blizzcon 2007.Myndflame is inviting their fans to ring in the New Year Machinima-style. They'll be having a cast party in real life, but they're opening up live chat so that you can celebrate with them, starting tonight at 6pm EST. If you are unable to attend the event, don't worry! I'll be featuring it here tomorrow for your viewing pleasure.Happy New Years, my fellow Machinima lovers! Here's to many more exciting videos in 2008![Via Myndflame.com]
Cinemassively: HMS Theramore
Myndflame is committed to releasing the sequel to their smash hit Machinima, Illegal Danish: Super Snacks. Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar has been a year in the making and they're still working on it. I hear that the full movie will be "coming before Armageddon," but you don't have to wait to get your IDEFO fix!To tide us over, they've released another scene from their film. This short clip is a musical adventure filled with wonder and excitement. HMS Theramore is a parody of the broadway musical, HMS Pinafore. Created in World of Warcraft, it's about a ship captain, Puff, that sets sail with his guild. Are you looking forward to the full release?
WoW Moviewatch: HMS Theramore
If you're a fan of World of Warcraft machinima, chances are you're waiting for the next episode in Myndflame's Illegal Danish series, Escape from Orgrimmar (and if you aren't familiar with Illegal Danish, there's no time like the present to catch up by watching the original episode, Illegal Danish: Super Snacks). And while Escape from Orgrimmar isn't ready quite yet, Myndflame is placating us with this clip from the finished product, which also works as a stand-alone parody of the musical HMS Pinafore. (And for better-than-YouTube quality, check the DivX version.)Previously on Moviewatch...
Interview with Myndflame: Where's Illegal Danish 2?
While wandering the BlizzCon floor on Saturday I ran into the Myndflame team. Clint Hackleman was kind enough to spend a couple of minutes to speak with me about "Escape from Orgrimmar," the much-anticipated sequel to Illegal Danish. I was very eager to speak with him considering that those of us who attended the first BlizzCon were promised Illegal Danish 2 would be released the first day of BlizzCon 2007. Here's what he had to say.When asked about the delay in releasing the film, Clint said that they considered the film not ready yet, and much like Blizzard don't want to release an inferior product. Myndflame was showing an updated trailer of the machinima on the show floor, and when I asked if I could get a copy to show the readers, Clint let me know they were only showing it at BlizzCon. So I asked the ugly question: Why was the film not ready yet? What happened? The answer is the World Series of Video Games happened. Myndflame was invited to set up a booth at the WSVG, and with that a potential partnership looking towards good things to come. Good news for both sides, but bad news for the fans waiting for another Illegal Danish piece. But take heart, Clint says that the film will only be two weeks behind, and then we will finally be able to see the next chapter in the story.I also was interested in how they make films. Clint mentioned that Myndflame has been a professionally sponsored machinima studio for a year now, so he and his brother D.W. focus only on turning out movies for us to enjoy. A piece normally takes about 9 months to make, 6 months of writing and composing and 3 months of actual production. This seems like a long time, but their goal is to create a piece that is about 24 minutes in length, so there is a lot that goes into such a long movie. All in all, I was very pleased with the info I received talking to Clint. I know if I got an invitation to visit the WSVG I would probably be a bit behind on my projects as well. Good luck guys in finishing up the film, and we'll keep an eye out for it when it hits the presses.
