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WoW Moviewatch: Transmog Shop (NSFW)
Warning: This video is Not Safe For Work. There's some occasional cursing and Princess Theradas flaunting her Willendorfer assets for several seconds. I'm always excited to see new work from renowned machinima artist Ian Beckman. Mind you, I'm a bit biased since the two of us are acquainted (we briefly attended the same university -- he made me choke on my drink once while doing his Azerothian Super Villains Akama voice). Today's video is a parody of the song Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, featuring Wanz. The parody tells the story of a goblin on his quest to look awesome using vanilla tier gear and transmogrification. As a machinima parody the piece certainly does its job in recreating the original song and music video, but it's definitely not Beckman's best parody. The lyrics don't really capture the original, lacking both the fun humor of Macklemore's rap lyrics, and the energy and clarity of Wanz's chorus. In regards to the latter point, I think this is part to Beckman doing his best to imitate Wanz's deep vocals but not quite being suited for it. Pulling in another singer to do the part probably would have made it better. I'm probably being a bit unfair in my critique though, simply because I'm so familiar with Beckman's work. If this was produced by some no name machinima artist I'd probably be perfectly happy with it. You also have to consider what an incredibly difficult song Thrift Shop is to parody, with its many layers of instruments and vocals. Beckman certainly nails the distinct sound of the original and that's no small feat. I really do love the concept of this parody, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that Beckman might keep working on it to fine tune some of the shortcomings. As an afterthought, I have to say I enjoy how this video clip fits in with the rest of Beckman's work. He's been playing since vanilla and it's always interesting to see how that inspires his present day work, like That's the World of Warcraft That I Used To Play. Transmog Shop gives off a similar vibe to Beckman's Gotye parody, using a new WoW feature to harken back to the old. It offers a nice contrast to other popular machinima and parody artists whose works tend to only reflect the current expansion. 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: Azerothian Super Villains - Episode 8, The Final Chapter
Azerothian Super Villains have been a staple of the WoW movie community for years. Ian Beckman's unique take on Kael'thas, Illidan, and the other high-end bosses have been hilarious, iconic, and inspiring. As we are now facing the end of an era with the Cataclysm of Azeroth, it has become time for the final chapter of Azerothian Super Villains. The final chapter has been worth the wait. The story is just as good for someone brand new to the series as it is for someone who's been following Beckman's work for years. The video is about 12 minutes long, so be sure to watch it when you have time to settle in for the whole show. The time will be worth 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: Azerothian Super Villains - Episode 7
This is a movie that will bring screams of joy to many of you. Ian Beckman has released Azerothian Super Villains - Episode 7. Kael'thas continues to be the mainstay of the series, with his trademark voice and childish antics. Little shivers of glee still shoot up and down my spine at Beckman's masterful portrayal of the Dark Belf Lord. My favorite part of this episode is the Team Rocket parody. Something about Arthas leading his team in a cute little poem just feels right. While I'm not foolish enough to believe Blizzard would include such a thing in Icecrown Citadel, you better believe that poem's going to be in my head every time I show down against him. The story progresses fairly well, with the old gang reunited by the end. I don't know. I love all of the characters, but Kael'thas steals the show to such an amazing degree that I sometimes feel like Illidan is hogging the Dark Belf Lord's limelight. The final teaser does seem to promise more in the future for Kael'thas, so here's hoping the next installment isn't too far off. 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.
Cinemassively: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 6
In January, we introduced you to a World of Warcraft machinima series, Azerothian Super Villains, by featuring the five episodes that had been produced at the time. Ian Beckman is back with the sixth episode, "The Virgin Kael'thas," a humorous video about Illidan's plot to take over the isle of Theramore by distracting the leader, Proudmoore. When he realizes that there are no other options, he enlists Kael'thas, the village idiot of the group, to complete the job, but as always, there are some complications ...[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.
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 6
The moment you've been waiting for has arrived! It's hard to believe that a whopping five months have gone by, but Azerothian Super Villains - Episode 6 has finally been released! Ian Beckman went all out in the production of this sequel to his popular series. It wouldn't be complete without a voiceover from our favorite guest actor, Drewbie, though!You know the drill. Illidan plots something evil, Kael'thas screws up, and everything goes awry. However, there's a lot more depth (and laughs) to it than that. In this episode, "The Virgin Kael'thas," Illidan plans to take over the island of Theramore, but needs Kael'thas to distract the leader, Proudmoore, in order to carry it out. When Proudmoore is discovered to be Jaina, a lady, will he be able to carry out his mission?[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: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 6 Teaser Trailer
Ian Beckman has remained tight-lipped about the plot of the highly anticipated sequel to his Azerothian Super Villains series, which is scheduled to be released on the 4th of July. However, Kael'thas was all too happy to discuss how ASV6 would turn out if he were the director. While we're not too sure about his sanity, we wish him all the luck in getting his version of the series bought. In the meantime, keep your eye out for the real version of Episode 6!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 2 Machinima, Episode 1
Ian Beckman, the creator of Azerothian Super Villians, and Drewbie "I've never met a cameo I didn't like", have teamed up to help WoW machinimators everywhere. How 2 Machinima is a new series that will explain the art of machinima in-depth. Episode 1 focuses on WoW Model Viewer, WoW Map Viewer, recording programs, chroma keying (greenscreening), and how to put your footage together to make the scene. I look forward to the second tutorial![Thanks, Ian!]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: Azerothian Super Villains 5 commentary
Ian Beckman (whom we interviewed a while back) recently released a DVD-style commentary video about his latest machinima, Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 5. In the video, Ian, and guest star Michael DeCamp, discuss the making of ASV5, as well as reveal some surprising facts about the film. At almost 11 minutes, it's quite informative.For example, they point out the guest appearance by Drewbie, the disastrous Blackbird contest, and many of the special references that they made about real life events. They even briefly mention how they filmed scenes in the movie! Most of the content will spoil the film for you, so if you haven't seen it yet, I suggest watching Episode 5 first.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: Azerothian Super Villains
I know what you're thinking. "Moo, this is Episode 1, and they're up to Episode 5!" However, in order to see the fifth episode, I need to start you off at the beginning. Trust me when I say that it's worth it.Azerothian Super Villains is an award winning Machinima series, set in World of Warcraft, that is written and produced by Ian Beckman. It is about a group of sinister individuals whose evil plots don't always go the way they're planned. If you're into well-timed comedy, then this is the series for you! [Via Warcraftmovies.com]Read on to see the rest of the series ...
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 5
It's been a few months since we've had our last Azerothian Super Villains fix. However, Episode 5 is finally out, and I must say, it rocks! The Stockade Redemption focuses on Illidan's frustration with his team. When he is sent to prison for past crimes, will the gang save him or attempt to take over?There are many goodies packed into this episode, such as the cameo by Drewbie (He sure gets around!), and the custom courthouse by Pinkhair. The pop culture references were current and spot on. If you enjoyed the fifth episode in the series, check out the high resolution version![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Supervillains 4
Appropriately titled "The One Where They Kidnap Thrall." And for once, the combined might of Illidan, Kael'Thas and Archimonde are able to pull off their dastardly plan to rule all of Azeroth. Except for one little problem. Which you'll have to watch to see.The fourth episode of this popular series holds up the fine tradition of comedy established by the first three. If this is your first exposure to this series, be sure to check out installments one, two and three.Episode five is promised to be in the works.Previously on Moviewatch...
Machinima Europe nominees announced
Lots of good news recently on the WoW Machinima front -- both for fans and artists. First, we had Blizzard's recent "open letter" to the machinimators of Warcraft letting them know just what they can and can't get away with. In that, they also offered a contact to the artists on how to get more information if the letter wasn't good enough to codify things. Follow that with some fabulous new machinima out recently from Oxhorn, Baron Soosdon, and many others.And then we see on the Machinima for Dummies blog, and in a great tip mail from Hugh, that Machinima Europe has announced their nominees for this year. Among the many entries from all across the world are a few solid entries from WoW! In the "Best Commercial/Game" category, we have 4 commercials for MtvU by Oxhorn. Later down the page we see that Oxhorn has received another nomination for yet another machinima -- Hark! Hear the Wails in the "Best Sound" category. Further down we see the third and final WoW nomination into this years' Machinima Europe awards, Azerothian Super Villains (Episode 3) by Ian Beckman. Hopefully they both will come away with awards and even more recognition for their fabulous creativity. Best of luck to all of the nominees this year, but especially to our WoW machinimators -- without whom, WoW Moviewatch (and many lunch-hour viewings) wouldn't be possible. [Thanks, Hugh!]
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 3: Hello, Maiev!
The Azerothian Super Villains return for third episode, where they, surprise!, try to take over the world. If you're not caught up on the series you may want to start with episode 1, "Propaganda," and episode 2, "Kaelzilla" before watching "Hello Maiev." And if you'd like to see a higher quality version than YouTube provides, check the Azerothian Super Villains website. Enjoy!Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 2: Kaelzilla
Illidan, Kael'thas and Archimonde are back with their evil plans to make plans of evilness. They have their own website now, and their ambition, if not their intelligence, is growing larger by the day. This time, they turn to an old friend for help in thinking up what to do, and things get... out of proportion. My personal favorite of the villainous trio is Illidan: I love the way his voice actor gets his accent so right, and drops in plenty of running gags and references to other movies.Click here for Azerothian Super Villains, Episode 1.Previously on WoW Moviewatch...
