clint-hackleman
Latest
Breakfast Topic: Have you ever wanted to make your own machinima?
Most people know that I play a discipline priest in World of Warcraft. I play holy and shadow a lot too, but nothing really beats hopping around, casting bubbles on people, and preventing near death experiences. In League of Legends, I pretty much do the same exact thing, minus the hopping. In League I play a support champion named Janna, and most of what she does is float around, cast bubbles on people, and prevent near death experiences. I guess I just like bubbling things. I've always suspected it had something to do with the fact that the first game I ever owned as a kid was Bubble Bobble on the NES. Want to know what you do in that game? You hop around blowing bubbles at things. Anyway, ever since Wrath, I've wanted to make a video where my disc priest starts out shielding the raid on the heroic Lich King encounter, before accidentally falling through the platform and into a 2-D platform game (similar to Bubble Bobble). There she would have to use her bubbles to navigate levels and fight monsters. The problem is I don't really think I have what it takes to make machinima. Sure, I can hit the record button and film my character running around on a live server, but I don't think I have the patience or artistic talent to do stuff like Percula or the Hackleman Brothers. What they do is closer to animation, and animation is pretty intimidating to a second-rate artist like myself. Still, it doesn't stop me from dreaming. Maybe one day ... What about you? Have you ever wanted to make your own machinima? If so, what would it be? A short spoof, a feature length movie, or an ongoing series? Furthermore, what would it be about? Would it be the love story of your blood elf mage, or an epic war drama starring your human paladin?
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 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.
Myndflame publishes a guide to machinima law
Last month, Clint Hackleman over at Myndflame machinima attended and presented at Stanford Play Machinima Law conference. As you might expect, he came out of the conference with a heightened respect and understanding about how machinima law works. Building on the relationships he's formed, as well as lots of leg work, Hackleman has been publishing a machinmator's guide to Blizzard & Machinima Law.So far, there are three parts of the guide available. Part 1 deals with some of the very basics, but probably the most important section is understanding "commercialization" and what Blizzard's rules about it. A super quick summary of commercialization is "using a product to make money," but you should take the time to check out Myndflame's guide. He's obviously a bit more thorough about the explanation.Part 2 of the guide talks about Blizzard's Fair Use policy for machinima. I'd consider this guide a must-read for anyone who wants to create machinima. It deals with how Blizzard supports machinimators, but also warns about where you'll encounter the limits of that support. For example, machinima using Blizzard properties should be "T" rated movies -- they don't want Blizzard icons getting mixed up with unsavory subjects. Part 3 of the guide deals with music, which is a key component of any good movie. A good film has to have a great soundtrack, after all.I think Myndflame's guide is a pretty interesting read for anyone, even if you don't plan to make your own WoW movies. It gives some perspective and analysis to how much Blizzard strives to work with their community, and definitely shows what a vital, thriving society WoW machinimators can be. I appreciate the insight, and the work is a pretty fun read over all.
WoW Moviewatch: Acolyte 1.5
What is it about Darrowshire and stunning machinima? This is the second video in about a month to come of the Eastern Plaguelands quest line. Last month, we featured the work of Cranius and his musical talents. Now we're pleased to feature a star-studded film by Firebolt Productions, Acolyte 1.5. You may recognize them from their second place win in the Warcraftmovies Christmas Spirit Contest, Ugly Goblin's Christmas.Acolyte 1.5 is not without faults, as it feels like half of the video has ads for websites. However, what we are finally presented with is an engaging storyline full of action and excitement. Don't miss the voice acting by Clint Hackleman, Drewbie, and Olibith, as well as the musical composition by Nathan Allen Pinard![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 ...
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: Illegal Danish - Escape from Orgrimmar Trailer I
The World of Warcraft Machinima event of 2008 is coming in less than two days! Myndflame will be premiering the sequel to their wildly successful Illegal Danish: Super Snacks, entitled Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar, on December 31st, at 6pm EST. We previously covered their latest trailer, HMS Theramore, in early December, but I thought we'd take a look back on the earlier trailers.To give you an idea of how long people have waited for IDEFO, they released their first trailer in July 2006, calling for it to premiere in the fall of 2006! We'll be covering their second trailer tomorrow, with the movie coming on New Years Day. To see it on New Years Eve, visit the Myndflame website and join the live chat. [Via Myndflame.com]
