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WoW Moviewatch: Inventing Swear Words 5
Inventing Swear Words has been one of my favorite Oxhorn machinima series. Its lighthearted, playful nature won me over early, and the unmistakable pokes at WoW culture frequently made me laugh. It's been a year since the release of Inventing Swear Words 4, when Mortuus and Lacy got married. In this final chapter, the team has an epic plan to finally force their new swear words on the entire World of Warcraft. It's got all of the cameos you'd want out of the final chapter of a saga, a great resolution, and the same fun music you'd expect from Oxhorn. Mr. Horn does assure us the characters will be back in other works, which makes me happy. I love those guys.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: Apparently not capable of love
The Spiritwolf created Apparently not capable of love a while ago for a Machinima.com contest. The movie was created by capturing still images from Model Viewer. Then, Spiritwolf animated the images in Flash. Add music from an unknown artist, and this music video is created. Spiritwolf warns in his Myndflame page that this video isn't premiere resolution, but I actually didn't find the quality bothersome at all. I wasn't sure at first how I would feel about the animation style. Ultimately, I'm glad I took the risk. While I wouldn't want to see this animation style become a mainstay of production, I think it works very well for a one-off music video. The images provide a sort of artistic feel, and coupled with the kind of angsty lyrics to the song, gives the whole piece an overall funky kind of groove. Everything's fun to look at, and it has a kind of awesome, silly feel to it. 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: Things You Need
Things You Need is a submission to the machinima category of the 48 Hour Film Project by Stone Falcon Productions, Oblivious Films, and Slashdance. It's a little raucous, and a little rowdy, so your mileage on this film is going to vary according to your taste. It's the story of a down-trodden gnome who encounters a magic shop, gets a tub of magic paint, and hijinks ensue. I really enjoyed the first part of the film. It was cute, amusing, and the musical portions were pretty darn funny. I loved the shop owner, and the dialogue and play between the two characters. It was lighthearted, fast paced, and totally worth the time. I'm not as sold on the gnome's female companion, created using the magical bucket. She's stereotypically vacuous and unsatisfying for the gnome, who decides to erase her. There's two schools of thought on this. The first is the obvious concern about the misogyny, the creation of a "perfect" woman, the exploitation of her, and the immediate use of her for base purposes. The other side to that discussion, of course, is that you can interpret the piece as a criticism of that kind of behavior, questioning the motives and character of a man who would do such a thing. Ultimately, though, I don't know if there's a lot to be read into it except a joke, and whether or not you find the joke funny. Like I said, your mileage is going to vary. [Via WarcraftMovies] 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: The Scourge trailer
We're sticking with our theme of preparation for Wrath of the Lich King by looking at the trailer for Cold Entertainment's upcoming The Scourge. "The Scourge" is a two man-project about a peasant who's involved with the Scourge war just before Warcraft 3. The antagonist will be affected, of course, and doesn't stay "a good guy" through the events of the movie. The trailer definitely worked to get my interest. I liked the dark and gloomy animation style, and the use of heartbeats to underscore tension. The trailer does have a few cliches, like the angsty-man-kneels-by-a-tombstone. But these things are cliches for a reason, and the trope communicates that some tragedy is affecting the central character. And since genre pieces are almost always character-driven, focus on the antagonist is valid and to be encouraged. My only real criticism of the trailer would be pacing. The fades between action/imagery to verbiage then back to action/imagery are a little slower than I'd like them to be. The narrative hook is lost in the long transitions, and we have to be re-engaged several times throughout the trailer. [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: Rise of the Lich King
We know that the new expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, will take us to Northrend to fight Arthas. But if you haven't played Warcraft 3 and The Frozen Throne and seen the story of how Arthas became the Lich King, you may well wonder what all the fuss is about. Blizzard released a three part series of short stories about the Rise of the Lich King, (and we have our own summary here at WoW Insider) but now there is a movie version as well. This is a compilation of machinima before machinima was an art form for the masses -- Blizzard used their own animated sprites within the game to tell the story, with good actors providing their voices in between (and sometimes during) battles. Sylvictus has recorded these scenes from Warcraft 3 and presented them here for us over at Warcraft Movies. Even though it clocks in at a whopping 52 minutes, Sylvictus said that he had to cut a lot of things out in order to keep the story even that short: Fall of Sylvanas and her freedom which lead to the founding of the Forsaken. Sylvanas betrayal and failed murder attempt on Arthas. The 3 dreadlords that takes control over Lordaeron as well as their war with Sylvanas. The perils Arthas and Anub'Arak faces in Azjol-nerub. The scenes with Sapphiron, most Muradin clips etc. Although I agree it's probably better to keep the movie to a manageable size, I would have personally liked to see this extra footage too. Perhaps one day Sylvictus will do an expanded version, or a movie all about Sylvanas. Keep in mind that you'll want to skip this if you intend on playing through Warcraft 3 and enjoying the story experience first hand. If you don't have the time or interest, however, you may enjoy this taste of what it's like.Previously on WoW Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: 10 Paladins clear Karazhan (almost!)
We've profiled movies of a Paladin soloing Blackrock Depths. We've even seen one solo Blood Furnace. Now, ten of them have banded together to tackle Karazhan. And they manage to clear it all the way until the last two bosses, Nightbane and Netherspite. Not bad for a class that constantly beats up on itself for being gimped.The video is 26 minutes long, but enjoyable. The first part is RP related to the quest and the fights are at double speed. The music choice is very good IMHO and the humorous moments really help move it along. The shot of all 10 Blood Elf paladins dancing naked on the table was definitely a highlight. These are 10 players definitely enjoying themselves. Check it out.Previously, on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: Starcraft 2 gameplay from BlizzCon
Yesterday at BlizzCon it seemed to be all about Wrath of the Lich King at least as far as announcements are concerned, but Blizzard will soon be releasing Starcraft 2, and BlizzCon attendees were the first to get a chance to play the game. WoW Radio gave us their take on the SC2 gameplay. I know what I got to see of the Starcraft 2 new AI looks amazing, and I am hoping to get a chance to sit down with the game myself today.
WoW Moviewatch: Azerothian Supervillains, Episode 3 teasers
BlizzCon begins tomorrow, and with it comes the world premiere of Azerothian Supervillains Episode 3! Ian Beckman has crafted it as his entry in the X-Fire Video contest they'll be holding there. Hopefully Episode 3 will be available to those of us who can't attend BlizzCon in person tomorrow too. If you are attending though, be sure to find Ian there and tell him his movies are really funny!While we wait for the real deal, I bring you two teaser trailers to whet your appetite. (Click on the jump below for Teaser 2, or click the following links for Azerothian Supervillains Episode 1 and Episode 2).
WoW Moviewatch & World Wide WoW: Azeroth Movie Top 3
You already know that World of Warcraft is a global phenomenon, but did you know that machinima is international too? This show is by AFK Pl@ayers, a group of Taiwanese machinima makers who have done some quality work and earned an exalted reputation in Taiwan. It pokes fun at those "best movie of the week" countdowns that you sometimes see on entertainment shows with a hip young host getting excited and showing you the latest trailers. Most of it is in Chinese with English subtitles, but you'll be happy to see that one of the movies they show a trailer for is actually in English! Personally, I think this is classic, but I hope you all don't mind subtitles too much. English-speakers are truly lucky to have so much great media produced in our own language, whereas other countries are used to watching dubbed or subtitled Hollywood films all the time. You may not be able to understand Chinese, but I think you may get a sense of their emotions from the tones of voice they use when they talk -- their Chinese voice acting is excellent, and their little bit of English acting is quite good too, considering it's their second language!Previously on WoW Moviewatch...
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: Unidentified
This short machinima is excellent comedy of the absurd. The reference to identifying things comes from a feature in Diablo, where new magical items would have to be identified by a character called Deckard Cain before you could use them. "Unidentified" starts out with a scenario showing how it might be if WoW was like that too, but then it just gets random and strange and very very silly.
WoW Moviewatch: Nihilum Vs. Teron Gorefiend
Releasing the third video in their 3-part series, Nihilum has posted their live-realm kill of Teron Gorefiend - another boss of the Black Temple. This is certainly quite a feat for Nihilum to have succeeded in so many encounters in such a short time. They also have rumored that they are "making progress on a certain encounter, but are not ready to show a corpse shot yet." Stay tuned for more progress in post-2.1 content!
WoW Moviewatch: Nihilum Vs. the Shade of Akama
Nihilum has done it again, this time posting the second video in their 3-day trilogy: The Shade of Akama! This is the 3rd boss in the Black Temple. I'm not sure if this was a world-first kill, but it is confirmed that it is a live-server kill (and not the PTR). Great job, Nihilum! Keep on pushin that content for the rest of us to drool over!
WoW Moviewatch: Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer
It's not every day that we find a preview for an upcoming machinima that's entertaining enough to post on its own, but if there's any trailer that's worth watching purely for its own merit, Oxhorn's Inventing Swear Words 3 Trailer is it. I can't say if the trailer is going to have anything to do with the latest installment in the Inventing Swear Words series, but it's full of entertaining movie references as well as the colorful personalities of Oxhorn, Staghorn, and Mortuus. Want to see more of Oxhorn's best? Check his website for the latest on his work!Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: The man song
Just how manly do you think a pink haired gnome could be? Personally I never thought of gnomes as being the epitome of manly, but this one certainly feels that he is! In this cute video submitted by Seraya, we're treated to dancing Night Elves (surprise, eh?) a human wife who knows just what she wants, and the gnomish husband who sings his manly song telling us all about who rules the roost in his family. Having never listened to the Bob & Tom (radio) show before, the song was new to me. Hopefully if there are more silly songs from that show available, this machinima creator will create some more videos. Once you do, send them our way so we can all enjoy them!
WoW Moviewatch: Grand Theft Shaman
Being both a Shaman and a huge fan of Grand Theft Auto (can't wait to play the new one in October), this mashup made me laugh and laugh.At first I thought it would be better with an Orc, but the accent (and the joke in general-- a foreigner coming to a new city) works much better with the Draenei. And is it me or does that Phillip Glass soundtrack go perfectly with WoW machinima? Bravo.[ Thanks, wuddersup! ]Previously, on WoW Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: ElfOn
In today's installment from machinima-maker Oxhorn, we are introduced to ElfOn, a fine product if I've ever seen one. (And for those of you who don't watch enough late-night television, he is parodying an actual commercial -- but while I remember the "I hate your commercial -- I love your product!" schtick, I can't for the life of me remember what was actually being advertised.) And for those of you who simply can't get enough of Oxhorn, see his homepage for more!Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: World of Final Fantasy
Well, our friends over at WarcraftMovies.com have done it again; this time recreating our favorite MMO with the old-school stylings of Final Fantasy! Watch and enjoy and bask in the retrospective nostalgia. For those that happen to have no idea what the Final Fantasy series is, let me enlighten you. The series began in Japan in 1987 with a turn-based cartridge game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Square. The series is still alive and kicking, having released Final Fantasy 12 just last fall. The classic menu style, music, and Chocobo reference are amazingly funny. I love this video! [Thanks, Kakashisan on Mal'Ganis]
WoW Moviewatch: Snackey's Journal - Episode 2
Stone Falcon Productions hasn't been idle since releasing their last machinima piece, Snackey's Journal. In fact, they've already put out a sequel, starring everyone's favorite murloc, Roberto! Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: Associate Professor Evil Kills All Beggars
Machinima-maker Oxhorn brings us another short video this week -- and I think we can all agree with Associate Professor Evil (my question: what exactly is he an associate professor of?). Kill all beggars! For a higher resolution version you can check out Warcraft Movies and for more of Oxhorn's finest you can check out his homepage.Previously on Moviewatch...
