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WoW Moviewatch: Goblins: How You Like Me Now?
There's one thing that has me excited about Cataclysm, and that's goblins. So getting to see Goblins: How You Like Me Now? was like a dose of pure joy shot up my spine with the power of a thundering herd of elephants. Not only do I love those little green bastards, but JMSBuddha has really put together a great video to feature them. Sure, worgen get to show off their Gilnean Like Me movie, but worgen don't have rocket cars. Or rocket sharks. Or rocket rockets. And they're not green. So check out these goblins, and tell us how you like them now. 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 machinima@wow.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Druid Boy
SacredPlea seems to be the group name for the Nagrand-themed artists who brought you Holy Pally. That video went over surprisingly well. While it's still a relatively popular song and SacredPlea was still doing a fairly standard parody of it, the use of draenei and different techniques successfully separated Holy Pally from the much more common belf rap genre. Of course, now they're following up with Druid Boy. This is a parody of Rihanna's hit song Rude Boy. I admit that I'm not familiar with the song, so I may not be burned out on it. For a fresh look at the music, though, I enjoyed what SacredPlea did with the lyrics. I still had a bit of trouble hearing the singer's voice, but overall, I enjoyed it. 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 machinima@wow.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Icecrown Raiding
I have a confession. I not only stop, but I also collaborate and listen. In fact, back in my high school days, I was known to go crazy when when I heard a cymbal and a hi-hat with a souped-up tempo. Hey, it's kind of timely. I totally had my gleek on when Mr. Shue busted out Ice Ice Baby last week. With that information, it's understandable that I instantly fell in love with Icecrown Raiding by Propostris and Bloodvein Movies. Both the lyrics and video did an amazing job capturing that original classic by Mr. Van Winkle. Of course, the parody is obviously tailored towards World of Warcraft. In that sense, I think Icecrown Raiding will help forge a new way for night elf rap, making Propostris a new contender for the WoW-rap throne inhabited by belf rap. Ultimately, this is a fun video. I guess if you don't see any irony or fun in Vanilla Ice, then you probably won't dig it. That being said, if you have any embarassed fun left in your heart for the Running Man, you'll definitely enjoy it. Be sure to note the cityscape behind the performers; it's a dead-on homage to the original video! 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.
Jace Hall raps in music video 'I Play W.O.W."
Work Warning: While there's no nudity in this video, there's certainly a great deal of scenes featuring scantily clad dancers. (And maybe a dancer or two that we'd all really appreciate being a bit more cladded.) Jace Hall has managed to level up the genre of Belf Rap videos with his musical creation, I Play W.O.W. (Although, he does admit to playing a blood elf paladin.) The four minute video contains about four dozen common references that all of us WoW fanatics should be able to identify with, right down to no one understanding our MMO obsession. Hopefully not too many of us can empathize with Mr. Hall's mom, though. The song is actually incredibly catchy, and I'm almost a little ashamed to admit I'm going to have it stuck in my head for a while. Jace Hall does a great impression of both the stereotypical angry rapper, while still immediately fading into that excited, giddy gamer who's excited to be around his fellows. The slight send up of Felicia Day was a little funny, my favorite part was the guy cruising around in the orc mask. This video has certainly made me put Jace Hall on my YouTube subscription.
WoW Moviewatch: 1 Minute Machinima Entry
This is our second time talking about Frozen Deathknight, who worked with Erunno on an entry into Alienware's Rise to Power contest. This movie is Frozen's first solo machinima (at least, according to the video's soundtrack), and was created to be a 1 Minute Machinima Entry into Baron Soosdon's contest to win a StarCraft II machinima key. While we'd normally be covering the rest of the Rise to Power entries today, I wanted to take a break and remind folks that the Baron's contest ends this Friday. If you're looking to enter, you should get your video finished up and off to the gnome-master. Frozen's video soars, in my opinion, in terms of his voice acting. His voice work is smooth and interesting, and the language is very crisp and clear. That might sound like lame feedback, but a lot of machinima's voice-work can be very difficult to actually hear and understand. Frozen's soundtrack stands out in that regard. The video is a quick bit of fun. It's light-hearted, moves fast, and is worth every second you spend watching it. Sure, there's no blood elves rapping, but you have to take what you can get. Given Frozen's ability to frame a skit in such little time, I'm very interested to see what he might be doing next. 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: Blue Sunny Day
The subtle mix of Jonathan Coulton and Spiffworld continues to go together like peanut butter and jelly. I obviously can't speak for Mr. Coulton, but I feel like Spiff manages to nail a video to each song with absolutely perfect alignment. Spiffworld's newest release is a take on Blue Sunny Day and continues the monster-as-focus history from Cruel, Cruel Moon. As the story goes, Jonathan Coulton debuted Blue Sunny Day in Chicago. Originally, Coulton wanted to create a happy song. But the dual meaning of blue (that is as the color of the sky, but also as a metaphor for sadness) struck Coulton with inspiration. Who could be blue about a nice, sunny day? The answer is obvious: a vampire. The lyrics of the song don't directly reference the protagonist as a vampire, but there was no way Spiff couldn't make the video about a blood sucking fiend. Great job to Spiff on another wonderful video. These are always a treat to which we look forward. 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: I'm on a Mount (NSFW)
Warning: This video is Not Safe For Work. It's got cursing. In fact, it has cursing about every 5 to 15 seconds. Lots of cursing here. If you click play, please do not be surprised by cursing. They use naughty words. If this offends you, don't watch this movie. We've got plenty of other content for you today.I generally try and keep videos featured on Moviewatch to a reasonable level of "acceptable in any venue." People watch these movies at work, around kids, and in front of their aging grandmothers. Today's video, however, has a very high level of cursing in it. Why would I feature this parody video, titled I'm on a Mount?Because it's freaking awesome. Granted, I'm a pretty big Lonely Island fan anyway, and generally enjoy their stuff. But Nooglide has managed to do more than just make a filk-version of I'm on a Boat (also NSFW). I feel the creator has truly captured the feel, spirit, and general tone of the original video. If the Lonely Island guys had been writing this song about WoW, this is probably the song they would have written.Nooglide is, granted, probably not the first person to create a I'm on a Mount video, but this version's animation also is similar to the absurdist approach of Lonely Island's original piece. The surprise Murloc attack, also, was incredibly funny.I'm totally going to have this stuck in my head all day. 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: Rise from your Grave
This review will actually be a little difficult to write, but mostly because I don't think the editors would like it if I spent the entire time typing "Oh my god, look at the cute undead gnome!" over and over again. I'll have to rely on "content" and "writing" to get by.Rise from your Grave is a quick story-based music video by Little Sweegy. Turns out, Little Sweegy is Gnomechewer's girlfriend. She dedicates the movie to him, thanking him for helping her learn how to create machinima. It seems like he's done one hell of a job of teaching, because Rise from your Grave is an awful lot of fun.I like the grainy effects used to give the video a semi-horror feeling, or maybe just a nostalgic vibe. The gnomes running around in action is pure win, and a welcome relief for anyone who might be a little Belfed-out right now. Also, I find the idea of a Gnome Death Knight raising companion warriors from the grave to be absolutely compelling, in every way I can imagine. If my own Death Knight weren't already created, I might be rolling an undead Gnome even now.Great job, Sweegy! I can't wait to see more from you. 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: Eternity's End
Eternity's End by Deathmatic is one of those World of Warcraft films that really tests my knowledge of lore. Deathmatic is creating this movie based on the Warcraft III campaign of the same name. This is the first three minutes or so of his movie, and he released it both as a preview and to try and get some feedback about what could be improved.I was actually kind of surprised to hear Deathmatic describe himself as a newbie, because he's doing one hell of a job so far. The voice acting is great, and the scripting seems pretty strong. (And this is where my own inexperience may play a role, if this voice-acting is actually from the Warcraft III game.) In terms of pure animation, I think Deathmatic's chosen some pretty good shots. The way he's pacing and framing each character keeps any scene from lingering too long, and he seems to be leaning towards an appropriate flair for the dramatic. Overall, I'd say he's doing good work, and he just needs to keep up the great job.Click here to check it out yourself. 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: Two Fellas
Warning: Spoilers about this movie appear in the review.Like almost everyone else who is regularly featured in WoW Moviewatch, Silverlined Productions are busily grinding away on their movie presentation for BlizzCon. However, Nixxiom took a break from that effort, and threw together Two Fellas to keep us entertained during the interim.As the video itself warns, Nixxiom didn't spend an inordinate amount of time building the video. It's interesting to note, though, he said it took three hours on the long end. That's a good point for folks who are new to machinima. This brief, short clip took three hours. It's important to keep that in mind when evaluating how much effort machinima authors spend creating their work.The story is pretty short. A pair of humans are chilling out in Lakeshire, talking about how a pretty good movie was spoiled at the end by some randomness that didn't make any sense. Then a nun appears, who turns into a worgen. And then, randomness occurs. The final line of the movie is something like "I'm gonna rape you."I found the bit pretty funny and enjoyed the movie. But the politically aware person wonders about that final line. Since the whole point is "this is random and crazy," I don't imagine there's any harm meant. After all, a common PvP phrase is "I'm gonna own you!" You're not really referencing slavery with that phrase, and Nixxiom wasn't trying to make light of rape as a subject. It was just a phrase. Still, it stuck out in my head, and I thought I'd mention it.Overall, this video was actually a lot of fun, and I totally tip my hat to Nixxion. Thanks for the taking the time to put something out there, even while working hard on your BlizzCon efforts. 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: 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: Maw Trailer
This is the trailer for Grubthar's upcoming feature-length movie, Maw. The premise of the movie centers around a small group of orcs who are chased out of Khaz Modan by the Alliance. With nowhere to go, the war party sets sail to the west. A similar group of Alliance soldiers gives chase to the horde. When both arrive on a distant shore, events take place which will "test their honor and seal their fates."The basic kernel of Maw's story sounds decent, but something about the trailer didn't really click for me. I think I felt like the trailer was focused on the dragons more than the orcs. And while I would love a dragon movie, and am reminded of the White Drake because of it, I don't think that's what Maw's going to be about. On the other hand, I could be overthinking this.Ultimately, though, I'm a fan of story-based machinima, and I look forward to seeing what Grubthar delivers. Click here to check out the trailer.[Via Myndflame] 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: Trev and Eroth Episode I Trailer
Tipster "Snark" sent me a note about the Trev and Eroth Episode I Trailer by Fudgewartz. The full movie is due out very soon, so we'll know pretty quick whether this trailer will turn into the promised series, or just fizzle out.I couldn't quite make out the premise of the story, but it clearly involves at least one or two gnomes. Therefore, I hope it turns out to be awesome. The voice acting sounded fun, but the dialogue was definitely a little muddled. The author said that some of pre-production work wasn't quite finished, so hopefully that's one of the things that improves before the final release.The series is expected to have six main installments, with a few scattered "shorts" after its conclusion. Here's hoping it turns out well! I can't guess what's up with the Terminator head, though.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: Leeroy 5 - For the Horde
Occasionally, we're reminded that WoW Moviewatch isn't just machinima. It can be live action movies, also. Today's film proves exactly that, because there's no way I could pass it up. Herculean Productions has released their new episode, Leeroy 5 - For the Horde.I love this Leeroy as much as I loved Leeroy 4. They're having fun, and totally rocking out with their enjoyment of the game. The little gags and spoofs are done with a deep affection for the subect, and that translates into a bouyant film experience. The special effects are just enough to convey the game events they're describing, and the team uses creative angles to make the "inside" of an instance believable.As a significant note, however, the predictable "Leeroy Jenkins" jokes finally made their way into the series. Considering the cultural history of Jenkins to WoW players, I found the references satisfying.So, click here to check out Leeroy 5. You'll either thank me, or flame me. Either way, I think you'll have some fun with this movie.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: World of Warcraft -- Haikus
In honor of today's featured movie, I was going to write this entire post in haiku. It's possible, but I don't think it would have been convincing or effective. Still, I wanted you to know it was on my mind. You can share a little "ha ha" with me at our little untold joke.World of Warcraft - Haikus was created by John DeVeaux for his film class at Emily Carr University. The project was to use pieces of "found footage," and fit it together in the context of a haiku. John took pieces from official trailers -- some are based on gameplay, while others come from different sources -- and framed it inside several text scenes.The machinima is awesome, but it's all official stuff so I'm not really surprised. What impressed me, however, was John's sense of poetry. He pulled official game language to create several haikus, all with a very strong sense of urgency and epic intent. Each haiku lends importance and inspiration to the video, and I think ultimately created a much stronger experience. If John progresses into his own machinima, I think he could create some impressive stuff.
WoW Moviewatch: Sisqo + WoW = The Gnome song
And now, for something completely different, check out Yumfries's Sisqo + WoW = The Gnome song. I was tipped off to this video by Selserene, and I'm really quite glad for it. This video is a lot of fun, and it has more than a few "laugh out loud" moments.The lyrics to the song are hilarious. I think the poetry touches an inner gnome in all of us. Who hasn't watched a Shetland Rogue get their groove on, and thought, "I like it when the gnomes go boing boing boing"? Yumfries was clearly aiming at comedy with his parody, and he did so in a light-hearted, harm-free way. I prefer parody that isn't mocking or belittling, and Yumfries isn't out to make fun of anyone in particular. He's just poking fun at the whole too-seriousness in all of us.The video itself is pretty funny, too. Behold the glorious battle between Gnome and Draenei. I have it on good authority from D.E.H.T.A. that no actual stags were hurt in the filming of this video. Like the lyrics, I'm pretty sure Yumfries was just out to have a good time with his animation. It held my attention and made me giggle. The movie has a couple cut scenes with additional jokes and skits, so it's got a little something extra for those of us with short attention spans.My hat's off to you, Yumfries. You have joined the Gnome Hall of Fame for a great parody video. I have to admit, when I saw this video for the first time, all I could think was "Brilliant!"
