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WoW Moviewatch: Code Monkey
On this beautiful Sunday afternoon, we'll continue our Staff Picks series by sharing Robin Torres's favorite machinima. It's not functional or elegant but maybe manager wants to write machinima himself. Here's what Robin said about Code Monkey: Code Monkey was first machinima I ever watched. It was also my first introduction to Jonathon Coulton's music. It's a fun song set to a fun video and still one of my favorites. Experienced machnima viewers know that Spiffworld provides all the JoCo love you could ever want in machinima form. Plenty of WoW fans learned about the performer through Spiff's ambassadorial work. 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: Skullcrusher Mountain
So, unlike many among us, I didn't learn about Jonathan Coulton through sheer cultural osmosis. I learned about him through machinima. In fact, my proto-love of JoCo was entirely created through this video... Skullcrusher Mountain. Not to be too frank about it, but it took me some time to realize that JoCo wasn't entirely a WoW filk artist. I know that seem crazy but my deep love of Spiffworld's work led me astray. And while I now have a more nuanced understanding of JoCo and Spiffworld, I still look back to Skullcrusher Mountain with the sense that the song was written for WoW. Anecdote aside, this video is still a legend. Over 1.3 million views testify to its glory. Enjoy your stay! 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: Aquaman's Lament
Long before mogging became common parlance among us WoW players, a man named Spiff put together an amazing video that recreated the look of superheroes. In Aquaman's Lament, you can see just how effective WoW's palette can be to mimic Batman, Superman, and others. Which costume is your favorite? I'm partial to Batman, although I have to admit that Wonder Woman's is pretty amazing. Regardless, Spiff did an astounding job of recreating these characters. When I think of theme transmogrification, this video springs immediately to mind. 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 Captain's Wife's Lament
With BlizzCon about two weeks away, the WoW Insider staff is celebrating the wild, wonderful world of WoW machinima by revisiting some old favorites. Work warning: This video is based on a single ribald pun. While it's not cursing per se, anyone who hears the song will get the innuendo immediately. Kelly recommended today's staff favorite: The Captain's Wife's Lament. Originally a song performed by Paul and Storm, it was transcribed into machinima form by Spiffworld. Spiff is known for his brilliant interpretations of JoCo's work in video, and he gave the full treatment to The Captain's Wife's Lament. The strength of the video is that it's a short, single-theme joke. Spiff dives right into the innuendo, has fun with the video, and doesn't artificially draw the video out any longer than needed. The Captain's Wife's Lament is fun and ripe for a quick laugh. 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: Re: Your Brains
After looking at Code Monkey at the end of last week, we were swarmed with suggestions for another classic Spiffworld video. In this careful review of corporate life, Spiffworld uses JoCo lyrics to set up a thoughtful metaphor about the struggle to retain individuality in the face of an impersonal workforce. Also, zombies. Re: Your Brains is actually my favorite JoCo song, and Spiffworld does a fine job of it. Even if these early graphics were somewhat unpolished, they are tone-perfect to the music. It's easy to see why Re: Your Brains is a long-time fan favorite. 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: 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: Let's go retro with Codemonkey
I'm hijacking Moviewatch today, so that I can spotlight one of my all time favorite machinimas: Codemonkey. Jonathon Coulton's song, the fact that he released it under the Creative Commons license and Spiffworld's movie-making skills combine to make this a fun video to watch.Sure, Codemonkey is 3 years old or so, but it's fun to look back on the good stuff, right? And it's nice looking at a Booty Bay without all those wannabe pirates picking on the guards.If you were to take over Moviewatch to play your favorite machinima, what would you choose?
WoW Moviewatch: Cruel, Cruel Moon
You may have missed it, but there's been some talk lately about whether or not Worgen could be a playable race in the next expansion. In light of that discussion and the overwhelming amount of love shown yesterday for Spiff's The Future Soon, today's featured movie is Cruel, Cruel Moon. The recommendation was made via our own Elizabeth Harper, who apparently has a friend who's quite the fan of Spiff.The song Cruel, Cruel Moon was written by Paul & Storm, who spend a lot of their touring time with Jonathan Coulton. The song is about a man who's begging the moon not to rise, because his beloved partner is likely to turn into a werewolf. Spiff's video captures the lighthearted feel of the song excellently, and the whole thing moves at a wonderful pace. I have a lot of appreciation for this kind of music, since it tends to last long enough to enjoy the joke, without overstaying its welcome and dragging on too long.During the credits, there's a bonus feature song. Frogger! The Frogger Musical endcaps the whole video perfectly. 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 Future Soon
As you probably have heard, BlizzCon is only a month or so away. With the machinima contest becoming a bigger and bigger event at the Anaheim gathering every year, WoW Moviewatch is going to periodically feature the victors of BlizzCons-past. We want everyone ready to be the very best peanut gallery we can possibly be. One of the best ways to do this prep-work, of course, it to take a look at some of the videos that have impressed BlizzCon judges already.The Future Soon by Spiffworld was first posted on WoW.com in August 2007. It's one of the (many) Jonathan Coulton videos we've seen over the years. Spiffworld definitely does a great job of bringing the music to "life." That's a skill he's continued to display as recently as a few months ago, with the Coulton song Shop Vac. The Future Soon picked up a runner-up award in the Action/Adventure Category in 2008. 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: Shop Vac
I can't help it. I'm an absolute fangirl when it comes to Jonathan Coulton and Mike "Spiff" Booth. That's why when Michael Gray let the team know he was having Internet problems, I simply had to jump in and share the most recent Spiffworld WoW machinima, Shop Vac.Spiff notes at the end of the video, this song is all about suburban angst, and how people want to live there until they realize the 'burbs are kind of boring. As he says, "This phenomenon is exemplified in the shop vac, a tool found in many suburban garages for sucking up leaves, dirt, nails, or whatever. When you first use a shop vac, it seems like the most awesome thing ever. But then you realize it's just a vaccum cleaner." Another fun aspect of the video is the return of one character from previous videos. See if you can spot who it is causing trouble once again. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for what must be the saddest achievement ever. Now, with all that said, check out Shop Vac for some lunchtime movie fun that doesn't suck. (Pun intended.)
WoW Moviewatch: The last goodbye
This is a hard post to make. I've grown so fond of the commentary and insults that it's difficult for me to tell you that today is my last day at WoW Insider. I've received an opportunity to work in machinima that will allow me to help machinimators in a whole new way. However, my replacement, Natalie Mootz, is an excellent blogger and I'm sure she'll make you proud! I'll miss you guys.Instead of being overly sappy, I thought I'd do a top five list of my favorite machinimas and scandals: Here Without You - This love story is three and a half years old, but has stood the test of time. First of May - This extremely not-safe-for-work video caused a riot on Valentine's Day! Thaenor Chronicles: Chapter One - The only movie where I've been accused of ruining a PR campaign. Tunasushi - The time I accidentally blogged a movie with questionable subliminal images. How to Paladin: Insanity Remix - I honestly have no words to even describe this video ... 9 Crimes - A bonus video that was blogged before I got to WoW Insider, but touched me nonetheless. Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: WeGame contest winners announced
The winners of the WeGame machinima contest were finally announced last night. Of course, I blogged about all three top World of Warcraft entries already. Pinkhair's The Robber Baron of Warsong Gulch took first place, Martin Falch's Divided Soul took third, and Firebolt Production's The Way of Life took fourth. Congratulations to everyone!Since the winners were already discussed, I'd like to show off some of the Honorable Mentions. Today's video comes from Mike "Spiff" Booth, otherwise known as the guy that makes Jonathan Coulton music video machinimas. It may surprise you to know that the soundtrack to Live is by Paul and Storm, though!If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: Braaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnns
Today's Cinemassively is straight from the archives of 2006! Back then, an artist named Jonathan Coulton was cranking out a song a week as a form of self-promotion. Among the songs was this little ditty about a coworker gone zombie with some not so reasonable demands.Re: Your Brains, in World of Warcraft machinima form, is a hilarious take on zombies calmly requesting brains, instead of just rushing to get them. Created by Spiffworld, it was his first of many JoCo videos, racking up 1.6 million views so far![Thanks, Korrak!]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.
About the Bloggers: moo Money
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more About the Bloggers.What do you do for WoW Insider?I write the daily machinima posts for both WoW Insider, and its broader MMO sister site, Massively.What's your main right now?This won't make me very popular, but I actually don't really play WoW. I did for a while after it came out, but I'm not a very good grinder and it just got lonely.This is an outrage! How dare you write about WoW without playing it?That's actually a really good question. I got my start in machinima roughly two years ago when I was hired to promote it in Second Life, an oft-mocked virtual world. Through experimentation with machinima, as well as the education that I provided to others, I became known as one of the "It" people for machinima in SL. When Second Life Insider folded into Massively in November 2007, I volunteered to write the daily Cinemassively. After about 45 days straight of blogging them, WI asked me to do the same for WoW Moviewatch!Read on to find out more about the Notorious M.O.O. ...
Cinemassively: Mr. Fancy Pants
We've all had those moments where we're sure that we're the biggest and the best at something. Then someone comes along and steals our thunder. Jonathan Coulton and Mike Spiff Booth know how we feel.During Jonathan's Thing a Week project, he came up with Mr. Fancy Pants, a whimsical look at the perfect pair of pants. While Coulton's songs are mainly reinterpreted by Spiffworld as World of Warcraft machinima, they are actually released with Creative Commons attributes, so they could be used in other MMO machinima too!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.
WoW Moviewatch: Mr. Fancy Pants
It's been three months since Spiffworld made his last Jonathan Coulton machinima, Chiron Beta Prime. However, the last time I blogged about him was the V-Day Riot of '08, and I'm still in therapy. This time around, the worst you'll see is a second of human buttocks, and it's in context with the story ... about pants. It'll be over before you know it!If there were a machinima about my life, it might be Mr. Fancy Pants. There's shopping, dancing, and ... pantsing? Wait. Scratch that. I don't want another riot on my hands. Just join me in the Fancy Pants Parade![Thanks, Drewbie!]Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: Chiron Beta Prime
Spiffworld has created another fantastic Machinima using the Creative Commons licensed work of Jonathan Coulton, the man responsible for the internet hit "Code Monkey." Coulton's song, Chiron Beta Prime, sets the scene for this WoW video about a family laboring away during the Christmas holiday. It also happens to be a present from Mike Spiff Booth to JoCo, whose birthday was on December 1st! "Awww!"I'm pleased to see the Christmas Machinimas flowing in at a nice pace so early on in the season. If you have made an MMO holiday film, let us know![Thanks, Krystalle!]
WoW Moviewatch: I feel fantastic!
Here's another in a long line of videos made by Spiffworld using the music of Jonathan Coulton. This one deals with a day in the future when we might have a "buff" (pill) for everything, and whether or not that might be a good thing... Also, be sure to keep an eye out for a special appearance by a previous video character who is once again up to no good.Previously, on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: Betty and me
In this edition of Moviewatch, we drop in on an excited Dwarf and his lovely Night Elf wife who are expecting their very first baby! With a little help from their Doctor, that is... Kind of makes you appreciate just how strong that Dwarven ale must be if he hasn't been able to figure it out. Although when taken together with Oxhorn's Anti-Elf Anthem, suddenly you begin to understand why those Dwarves don't trust Elves either. Previously on MovieWatch...
