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Cinemassively: Bodysnatchers
Phil Rice, one of the original machinima oldbies, released a music video for the Aniboom Radiohead music video contest. In the video, he combines Second Life, Moviestorm, Paint Shop Pro, CamStudio, and Virtual Dub to make an impressive anymation piece. For those unaware of the term "anymation," it means using any and all tools you can get your hands on to create a digital expression.Phil involved dancers from SL, sets from Moviestorm, and drawings from Paint Shop Pro in Radiohead: Bodysnatchers. According to his blog, he had 55gb of source footage, a whopping 72 video tracks with an average of 16 compositing layers, spent 250 hours on the video, and rendering it out took 3 hours per minute of final film. Hopefully this will inspire others to break out of the box and combine more platforms.[Via Machinima for Dummies]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: Windlight - Fleef's Second Life Sojourn
With Windlight mania turning the heads of even the harshest SL critics (Sorry, Hugh!), it's safe to say that it will become a staple of Second Life Machinima. FLeeF, aka Frank L. Fox, not only managed to capture the beauty of our new skies, but also provided the score for the film! The song, "From Agnes, Flowers," was written for his mother. All together now: "Awwwwwwwww."Previously known for his hilarious Moviestorm film, Morning Run Amok, FLeeF provides great examples of just about every sky preset available, including a wintery blizzard scene. One notable moment offers comic relief - the blinging snowman towards the end. He also highlights some of SL's great architectural feats, like the Ivory Tower of Primitives. If you've been skeptical about trying Windlight, this video may seal the deal![Via Machinima for Dummies]
Cinemassively: Beast
Sometimes a video provokes so much emotion that you forget it's not real. In the words of Beast creator, Dr. Nemesis, "So far, facial animation has been very limited in Machinima. To get emotion across, most of us have had to rely on good acting, a well chosen sound track, and the viewers imagination, but not facial expression." In his current film, he uses Crazy Talk, Motionbuilder, and Sims 2, to overcome this issue.When the scene opens, you see two men. One is tied up and the other is yelling at him. As the story unfolds, you learn that the man in captivity has deeply wronged the other man, to the point where he has nothing left to lose. With each facial expression, punch thrown, and gut-wrenching confession, you feel his pain.While this is not traditional MMO Machinima, you can learn from the tactics he used. In the future, Second Life will be part of a hybrid-Machinima movement. Filmmakers are already using multiple programs to blend their works, such as MovieStorm, Poser, Crazy Talk, and iClone. As merging mediums becomes popular, I believe we'll see a whole new level of quality work coming from the community.
Cinemassively: ad absurdum
Today's Machinima comes from Phil "Overman" Rice, of Zarathustra Studios. Best known for his breakout hit, Male Restroom Etiquette, this time he tackles video game terms of service. This is the first of a series of short films using tools, such as MovieStorm and Second Life, that are free of messy IP rights entanglements. They will air every Friday on his website, and on his blip.tv channel.As the video begins, we are introduced to Charles Bowbuck, the spokesperson for Abokey, a piece of photo-making software. He outlines some absolutely ridiculous terms of use, which would not be acceptable anywhere other than video games. So why are they accepted in video games?Phil highlights an important problem that many Machinimists face. In most platforms, they are not allowed to own, create, or profit from their work. He advises viewers to read their preferred video game's EULA. The most essential point of the video is that "Machinima is not theft."You can see the video after the jump, or download it from his website.
