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Nominees announced in 6th Annual Bitfilm Festival
This year's Bitfilm Festival will be a tight race. There are five nominees from MMOs, with the rest being from a variety of platforms. Last year, Olibith took home the top prize with a World of Warcraft machinima, but this year is anyone's game!The 2008 Bitfilm MMO nominees are: Baron Soosdon - I'm So Sick (WoW) Dopefish - Among Fables and Men (WoW) Olibith - The Ballad of the Sex Junkie (WoW) Markus Rupprecht - idealistic (Second Life) Trace Sanderson - The Dumb Man (Second Life) Voting takes place between May 1st and July 1st, 2008. In order to rate the nominees, you'll need a Bitfilm account, but they do offer the chance to win audience prizes for participating!
Bitfilm Festival nominees announced
Bitfilm, a festival that takes place in Hamburg, Germany, announced the shortlist today for their sixth annual event. Among the nominees are a whopping three from World of Warcraft. Despite WoW machinima only being a formidable contender in the last two years, Olibith took home the top prize last year with I'm Only Sleeping!The WoW nominees for 2008 are: Baron Soosdon - I'm So Sick Dopefish - Among Fables and Men Olibith - The Ballad of the Sex Junkie From today until July 1st, you can sign up for an account and vote on your favorite machinima. The top prize takes home 1500 Euros and an award plaque with a suggestive looking female robot on it! However, voters also have a chance to win prizes based on active rating.
Cinemassively: Rage & Rapture
If it didn't contain color filters, it wouldn't be a Baron Soosdon film. Rage & Rapture is no exception, as he blends World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 3 to create a surreal party atmosphere. It is the story of an undead shadowpriestess that launches an attack on the Alliance, stalking them from location to location. However, it's hard to imagine that violence could look so good, as you find yourself immersed in a world that doesn't even resemble WoW!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: Rage & Rapture
Baron Soosdon never ceases to amaze me. Since he took on the job at Machinima.com, he's been steadily producing stellar machinimas that really raise the bar for the rest of the WoW machinimators. While there's still no plot to speak of (or is there?), Rage & Rapture is about as visually stunning as you can get!Baron is infamous for teaser shots of his upcoming projects on his blog, and this one is no exception. Set to a drum and bass track of the same name, by Quadrant and Cease, the movements are fast-paced and intense. It really makes you wonder how he does all of this with just Sony Vegas 6 and Particle Illusion!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: Twill for the Kill!
We all started from somewhere. Baron Soosdon was kind enough to show us his humble beginnings. While Baron's first effort, Twill for the Kill!, was better than most, it isn't even one tenth as good as his current movies. He admitted to us that he had a vague idea of what chroma keying was, but didn't know how to properly use it in a machinima. We hope that this encourages you to keep trying, even if your freshman project isn't the best![Thanks, Baron!]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: Kake Buk Island Teaser
Now that Baron Soosdon has landed a comfy job as Community Manager at Machinima.com, he has time to make lots of movies -- or trailers, at least! His next project is a cross-game video, Kake Buk Island, using World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 2004. There is an extensive list of guest voice actors tied to the project, including Drewbie (Insert cameo joke here!), Olibith, Tuesday Smith, and Vilaeryn. Since this movie seems to have a plot, yet he doesn't describe it to us, let's make one up for him![Thanks, Baron!]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: The Device Has Been Modified
Let's say that Gnomeregan merged with Aperture Science. What would happen if you installed GLaDOS on mechanistriders? Baron Soosdon put that question to the test, in The Device Has Been Modified. If you like Rick Astley, Shepiwot, and Linkin Park, then this is the machinima for you! Baron turns World of Warcraft into the belly of the beast, as the heroine, a lone gnome on a journey to save her life, must fight her way against the rogue MechaMurlocs and mechanistriders. Will she survive, or will she go the way of the weighted companion cube?[Thanks, Baron!]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.
Cinemassively: Big Blue Dress
Before there were the Baron Soosdons of the World of Warcraft machinima world, there was Cranius. When we'd ask WoW players what videos were in their top 10, Big Blue Dress came up quite often. He's back at it with his latest video, Darrowshire, but definitely download the high quality version of the video that started it all.Cranius wrote and sang the title song, which posed the question of why these manly men should have to wear dresses during their battles. You'll find PvP, singing gnomes, and plenty of nostalgia. You see, this machinima was made back in February 2006![Thanks, Cranius!]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: Baby It's Cold Outside
I chose some lighter fare for today while you get your patch 2.4 fix on. Garritt Windspire, of Windspire Entertainment, made the cutest music video in World of Warcraft. Being a short one myself (but not that short!), I find gnomes absolutely adorable. Baby It's Cold Outside is no Baron Soosdon production, but for what it is, it works well. While I liked the video, there were some obvious flaws with it. The aspect ratio seems wonky, and the page turns are pretty cheesy. However, I thought that the surprise in the middle broke the music video up nicely. What's your favorite WoW music video?Previously on Moviewatch ...
Baron Soosdon hired by machinima.com
Machinimaker Baron Soosdon (you've seen his work here multiple times before) has been hired as a community manager over at Machinima.com. His first order of business as a CM seems to be to create some exclusive movies, "a series of some sort for starters." He'll also apparently be handling other WoW-related machinima content, and he asks for ideas about contests as well, so we can probably look for those, too.Seems like the perfect place for him to be, and it's terrific to see that such a talented "machiminauteur" is going to be getting paid to do what he's good at.[Via Machinima for Dummies]
WoW Moviewatch: Streamline
It looks like Fishface went a little filter-happy this weekend. He created Streamline, a short music video based on the Pendulum song by the same name. As Baron Soosdon said on the video page, it would be a lot better if the cuts were in sync with the music. In addition, the L70ETC band didn't really fit in with the type of music that he used.Otherwise, I found it to be enjoyable. There's not much of a plot to go on, so just sit back and enjoy the billions of color filters that he applied. If you liked Streamline, check out the high resolution version![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Voyage
From the WoW machinimator that brought you 300 Moonkins comes Voyage, a mixed-media adventure. Voodooray blended music, machinima, and clips from both music videos and real movies to create an alternate reality. In fact, it's so convincing that he had to post what he did to it for us to believe him!He included scenes from 300, Underworld, and two different music videos. In some of them, he even digitally removed the real actors! Look out for cameos by Salma Hayek, Baron Soosdon's Nikita, and a crazy looking bird.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Olibith gets old
Machinimators have quickly learned that if they want special 3D animations or sets done, Pinkhair is the man for the job. Previously known for his Warcraftmovies Christmas Spirit Contest entry that narrowly missed being in the top three, he has helped artists such as BaronSoosdon and Ian Beckman in his spare time.In honor of Olibith receiving double platinum on WCM for "I'm only sleeping", Pinkhair finished a timelapse of the saucy filmmaker using Lightwave. He has stated that if there is interest in learning how to do it, he may post a tutorial. If you would like to see a tutorial, join #machinima on Quakenet IRC and let him know! [Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Shpongle music video
This next machinima, Shpongle - Once Upon the Time of Blissful Awareness, doesn't have the fancy WarcraftMovies intro, or even a thumbnail. It's no Baron or Yume, but what it does have is heart. It's a great first attempt.You can tell that bawavax tried his best, which is more than I can say for some first efforts. Aside from going a little effect happy in certain spots, I really enjoyed his use of Particle Illusion in various elements. Hopefully he'll refine his technique and come out with something even better soon![Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...
Cinemassively: Rock Rockin' Tha Spot
(Warning: The management has asked me to make it clear that this video is Not Safe For Work (NSFW). If pixel nudity, language, or Olibith offend your delicate Victorian sensibilities, do not click after the jump.)When I heard that Baron Soosdon was making a new music video, I chased him down only to find out that it might not be suitable for our audience. Awful things immediately ran through my head, so I was pleasantly surprised that Rock Rockin' Tha Spot wasn't that bad. Yes, there's some unsavory moments, but you'd really be missing out if you didn't watch.Baron is a Machinima master, skilled at making World of Warcraft look like an MTV video with a million dollar budget. He was able to finish this video much sooner because he used more in-game footage versus model viewer characters. However, with the way he blends colors and light, you can hardly even tell it's WoW anymore.[Via BaronSoosdon]View Rock Rockin' Tha Spot (NSFW) after the jump ...
WoW Moviewatch: Rock Rockin' Tha Spot
(As the pic above states, that was one of the safest pics I could link. The management has asked me to make clear that this music video is very Not Safe For Work (NSFW). It contains language, pixel nudity, and Olibith, who warrants a NSFW tag on his own ...)Baron Soosdon has been teasing his blog readers for over a week with pictures of his latest music video, Rock Rockin' Tha Spot. RRTS is a visually stunning masterpiece that will have you dancing in your chair, but it leans more towards the MTV crowd with it's content. However, it's totally worth watching, if for no reason other than the copious amounts of cows![Via BaronSoosdon]Previously on WoW Moviewatch...View this heavily NSFW video after the jump ...
Last Week on Massively: WoW-related stories
This week's round up of WoW-related posts on our sister site Massively spans the range from NSFW to Tauren Chefs. You can click on the links below or subscribe to a special WoW-only Massively feed.Building a better MMOusetrap: PPOrnography in gamesHow is the ESRB rating system affecting your favorite MMO?The WoW starts now!A Second Life fan tries World of Warcraft for the first time. Read her impressions of an MMO newbie.WoW comic artist on keeping the fans happyThe MTV Multiplayer staff interview the penciller behind the World of Warcraft comic.Animations to die forShould WoW have encounter specific death animations?A tale of grinding, sucking and snowboardingShould WoW add a snowboarding mini-game to make it more casual? Kyle Horner investigates the ramifications.Behind the Curtain: Great ExpectationsCraig Whithers uses this week's Behind the Curtain column to explore expectations players have going into many of the major MMOs (including WoW) and how well each game fulfills them.WoW Europe spotlights noted machinima artistsMachinimist extraordinaire Baron Soosdon is interviewed by WoW Euorpe. Hear what he has to say about his art. Also, Olibith has his own interview exploring how he approaches his popular work.The Escapist spends a day in the life of a WoW addictNot all stories about playing WoW are downers about too much time in Azeroth. This one is about how WoW brought two people together.Is that a Tauren in the kitchen?A book of real life recipes based on in-game foods? Sounds familiar.MMOGology: Leaving homeIn his weekly column MMOGology, Marc Nottke asks "Do you have to stop playing one MMO to start a new one?"
WoW EU Valentine's card contest is on
World of Warcraft Europe is now accepting entries for its annual Valentine's card contest. European players are invited to create a card using screenshots and/or original art showing their love of WoW. Twenty winners (five per language) will receive a Gurky key. The key can be redeemed in-game for a summonable baby pet murloc. Looking through last year's winners, I'm very impressed with the original art as well as how creatively players were able to modify screenshots. Hopefully this year we will see even more experimental entries. I'd love to see a few done in the visual style of Baron Soosdon (a nonsenscial but stunningly beautiful Valentine's) or Among Fables and Men.Unfortunately, for you pet completists, the reward Gurky is only available through contests. If you're not a player on the EU servers, you'll still be lacking this prized non-combat pet. Hopefully, the US WoW servers will be offering a similar contest in the future.The WoW Valentine's seasonal event, Love is in the Air, begins February 10 and goes through February 15. Love is in the Air and on WoW Insider. Check out our continuing coverage of the event and our guide to earning the achievement. And you better hurry; the holiday only lasts five days!
WoW Moviewatch: Arithmomania
Artists like Yume, the creator of Arithmomania, and Baron Soosdon are proving that you don't need a storyline to produce a quality machinima. With a heart pumping soundtrack provided by Dogzilla, Yume uses a variety of transitions and filters that would normally bog down a movie. Here, it all fits into place.You won't find much of a point to this video, but if looking upon the vast scenery of WoW makes you sentimental, you'll definitely enjoy it. The editing is right on target, and the filters are applied to coincide with the music. I'd have to say that my two favorite scenes involved the spinning stats, and the split screens that slowly moved in opposite directions. If you liked Arithmomania, definitely check out the high-res version.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch...
WoW Moviewatch: How to Boobadin - Epixs Mount
In an effort to become closer to the great paladin master, Shepiwot, Baron Soosdon has released his tutorial on "How to Boobadin" for your "Epixs Mount." It is 1 minute and 14 seconds of pure joy, set to the sweet sounds of the Guitar Hero soundtrack. Baron fans may notice that this is second time he has emulated his idol, with the first being "LOL, Lightwell."If you're not familiar with the "How to Paladin" series, by Shepiwot, it is about a seriously ADD paladin that finds himself in a variety of PvE situations. Throw in some death threats, out of control camera action, and text presets, and you've got a recipe for a seizure, or 25 ... Whose tutorials do you prefer?Previously on Moviewatch...
