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WoW Machinima: The basics
(Dell is holding a machinima contest, which we'll discuss shortly. They asked me to write a tutorial to help new machinimators get their start.)Every day, I feature a video by some brave soul that dived in head first into the world of machinima. For those that aren't familiar with the term, it stands for machine and cinema. The literal definition is movies made in a 3D gaming platform. Using this basic guide, as well as the other tutorials and resources available to you, you'll be creating your first project in no time!Here is what you'll need if you want to make a machinima for free: WeGame camera - A free capturing program GIMP - A free image editing program Audacity - A free audio editing program Windows Movie Maker/iMovie - Free video editing programs that should have come with your appropriate system [Thanks for originally suggesting this, Bryan!] Read on for optional and advanced tools, plus additional resources ...
Web2 Delight
We've looked at applications like Photonic, a Flickr client which removes the web from "web 2.0" (the web navigation, anyway) and offers a smooth desktop experience for browsing photos. It seemed likely that we'd see a similar application which would bring a blitzkrieg of media from similar sites to your desktop. Hey, look at that, we were right: Web2 Delight is here to help you while away the hours trolling YouTube, Veoh, blip.tv and your favorite photo sites for something worth all of the time you invested looking. Web2 Delight makes it simple to search and save content, with saved searches, multiple and scheduled downloads, export capability and slideshow functionality. You can browse photos as thumbnails, lists or combination views. There's even a Cover Flow view, which I think should be put to good use making Flickr flip books. The software, of course, allows you to stream video previews before opting to download that horrifically long clip which you'll subject in-laws and co-workers to later ... watching their face intently to make them feel uncomfortable if they don't laugh, of course. And now it's on your iPod and you can share it with perfect strangers. It's a great interface, though, and makes browsing these sites very smooth. I obviously have issues with some of the more tedious bits of content which I've personally been subjected to, but that's not the fault of this software. Web2 Delight is every bit as brilliant (or mundane) as the media you dig up with it, which I suppose means that the ultimate responsibility lies with you. Of course, f you're already losing an hour or more a day to sites like YouTube and Veoh, well, this might just get you back enough time to mow the lawn. And -- after downloading the demo and uncovering all that extra time -- you can spend the twenty bucks you won't be paying the kid next door on registering the software ($19.95). Oh, and to be fair, we do find our share of gold on Flickr.
Cinemassively: Suzanne Vega performs The Queen and the Soldier
This music video is straight from the archives, dating back to August 2006. Infinite Vision Media brought Suzanne Vega into Second Life for a special performance and interview. Despite setbacks, such as extreme lag from 80-100 people in the sim, and the guitar not fitting her frame properly in-world, she forged on. Among other songs, she sang The Queen and the Soldier, which Tao Takashi commemorated in machinima form. To this day, the emotions evoked by this video still make this blogger tear up.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: The Fat Cow V, and some bad news about Stage6
Chrille just released another Fat Cow to his PvP series. Fat Cow V contains duels against hunters, warlocks, rogues, 2v2 with frostmages, 3v3 with priests and warriors, and world PvP, as well as some artsy scenes. I would link to a high-quality version, but Stage6 ruined Christmas.[Via Warcraftmovies.com]Previously on Moviewatch ...Read on about why Stage6 gets a lump of coal this year ...
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 ...
Sprint adds classic cartoons to (pricey) video offerings
We can't really see how it could get better than classics like Mr. Magoo, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Dick Tracy, and Casper, but it sure wouldn't hurt if Sprint dropped their ridiculous prices they expect you to pay for the privilege. Sprint is offering up their new Saturday Morning TV channel, featuring cartoon classics, along with Blip TV for comedic shorts and animations, and Comedy Time with six categories of stand-up comedy for whatever fits your mood. The problem is, Sprint expects you the shell out $5 a month per channel you'd like to watch, which can rack up pretty quickly, and shouldn't take more than a few channels to start rivaling a basic cable bill. We'd like to think we're as sensitive to a random Rocky & Bullwinkle craving as the next guy, but we'd much rather satisfy the addiction with some sort of package deal. That's all we're saying.[Via MocoNews]
