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EVE Spotlight: An interview with Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm
EVE Spotlight is a biweekly feature in which we interview prominent members of EVE Online's player community or development team. Every two weeks, we'll be shining the spotlight on a player or developer who has a significant impact on EVE to highlight the efforts of EVE's most influential people. EVE Online is well-known for its community's awesome cinematic productions, and no film is more renowned than the incredible machinima Clear Skies. Directed by Ian Chisholm, Clear Skies seamlessly merges in-game EVE footage with scenes composed using Valve's Source development kit. The films follow the adventures of captain John Rourke and his crew aboard the Minmatar Tempest class battleship Clear Skies. With more luck than sense, the Clear Skies crew continually finds itself in sticky situations but manages to come out on top. The first Clear Skies film won the award for best long-format film at the 2008 annual Machinima Filmfest, and a second film solidified the series' huge cult following. Clear Skies has even inspired other players like Kyoko Sakoda to produce their own cinematic masterpieces set in the EVE Online universe. The third and probably final film in the Clear Skies series was released earlier this week, absolutely shattering all expectations. In this massive edition of EVE Spotlight, I interview Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm to find out all about the production of Clear Skies III.
Clear Skies 3 machinima undocks to excited EVE fans
Three years ago, the EVE Online community stood in awe of the incredible EVE machinima Clear Skies, directed by Ian Chisholm and written by Ian Chisholm and Richie Powles. Featuring a combination of space footage filmed in EVE and scenes inside ships composed using the source SDK (Not Garry's mod), the 40-minute masterpiece delivered an impressive blend of action, story and British humour. The film spawned a cult following both inside and outside the EVE community, going on to win the award for best long-format film at 2008's annual Machinima awards. Fans cried out for more, and around a year later our patience was rewarded with Clear Skies II. It was somehow bigger, better and more polished than the first film, with a wide range of new voices and some old favourites making a return. We once again followed the adventures of captain John Rourke of the Minmatar battleship Clear Skies and loved every minute of it. The film was a huge hit with fans, but with the story wrapped up in a somewhat neat package and Ian expressing a desire to take a break from production, we weren't sure if a third film would ever see the light of day. Fans of the series were excited to find out this week that Clear Skies III has now officially undocked. Skip past the cut to watch the Clear Skies III trailer and find out about the third film in this incredible series.
Clear Skies III teaser trailer released
EVE Online is a game known for producing some fantastic screenshots and video footage. Fan-made videos like Kale Ryoko's Future Proof and Dire Lauthris's Day of Darkness II have proven incredibly popular even among people who don't play EVE. Among the impressive cinematic trailers and PvP videos, one film has always stood out as undeniably the best EVE video ever made. Created partly in EVE Online itself and partly in HalfLife 2's Source engine, Clear Skies follows the adventures of John Rourke and his disheveled crew of a Minmatar battleship that always seems to find itself in trouble. The first part of the Clear Skies series won first place at Machinima Filmfest 2008, confirming that it wasn't just a hit with EVE's playerbase. The second installment of this popular machinima was as big a hit as the first, securing a cult following of fans demanding a third part to John Rourke's epic space saga. Creator Ian Chrisholm said that he was taking a break from video-making for a while and might then move on to other projects rather than making a third installment in the series. Fans of the series will be glad to know that not only is Clear Skies III definitely being made, but it's also only a few months away from completion. Ian released a trailer for the upcoming video to excited fans earlier this week, stating that the film will be released in three or four months Skip past the cut to watch the trailer in full HD.
GWC podcast interviews EVE Online's first lady of piracy and Clear Skies film maker
We just came across a great podcast the other day that's focused on all things sci-fi: Galactic Watercooler. Although it's not a gaming podcast, their latest episode (#176) is all about EVE Online. The GWC hosts are apparently really into playing EVE and they talk about the game's setting of New Eden in the context of David Weber's Honorverse series of military sci-fi novels, drawing parallels between the two in terms of strategy and technology. They also discuss the things they've seen and done in their time in the game, from their first steps into (and fleeing from) PvP to a run-in with a virtual prostitute. (You're free to do many things in EVE's sandbox... but that is probably not one of them.) The hosts are given a hand in relating what they've gotten from the game experience in EVE Online by two notable players. Ian Chisholm, the creator of the award-winning Clear Skies machinima and its excellent follow-up, explains how he tells his own stories in the game visually. He also discusses what drives him to invest so much of his time and effort into the projects, and the technical challenges in making Clear Skies a reality. A fantastic interview.
Clear Skies 2 now ready to dock on your computer
For those of us EVE Online players - or just fans of great machinima - who have been patiently waiting for Clear Skies 2, the wait is over! Ian Chisholm and his crew have managed to crank out Clear Skies 2 in amazing time, offering up yet another exciting adventure in the dangerous space of New Eden. As with everything awesome that we want omg right now - the load on EVE Files is insanely high right now. May want to consider using the torrent for the moment, if you can. In the meantime, while you're waiting for the download, may we suggest you check out the trailer for Clear Skies 2, or perhaps our exclusive interview and behind-the-scenes look at the making with the creator! If it's still going after you've checked all that out, there's always the bloopers from the first Clear Skies, which are made of extra-special awesome. [Thanks, CrazyKinux!]
Full trailer released for EVE Online machinima Clear Skies 2
If you're a fan of machinima, films made using video game graphics engines, there's a good chance you've heard about Clear Skies, an imaginative blend of EVE Online's far future setting with Half-Life 2 character models. Massively has taken a good look at Clear Skies in the past and had the opportunity to speak with the film's creator, Ian Chisholm, about what he has in store for us with Clear Skies 2. However, rather than just reading more about it, why not check out the trailer? We've got an embed of the full Clear Skies 2 trailer for you below the cut. Enjoy!
EVE Online's official magazine E-ON releases latest quarterly issue
E-ON is the official magazine of EVE Online, released quarterly and one of the most focused sources of EVE content out there. We've spoken with E-ON in the past and a few of us on the Massively staff are regular readers -- our EVE columnist Brendan Drain has been an E-ON contributor himself. The Spring issue of E-ON is now shipping and although it doesn't have the instant gratification of clicking on a hyperlink, there's some excellent content there that we really want to mention to our readers and in general point out that E-ON has a lot to offer EVE Online players.This issue's cover story is "The End of New Eden" by Jim Rossignol and is an inquiry into the dreaded question of when the game will finally run out of steam. Sad as it is, all MMOs end eventually. Or do they have to?The E-ON cover story looks at how different EVE is from the other MMOs running. Since EVE is really all about what happens in New Eden, an open sprawling galaxy where players do what they choose, the game isn't necessarily tied into expansion zones, new classes, certain quests or raid bosses. In other words, EVE doesn't suffer from the pitfall many MMOs do in that players quickly progress through the new content and then have nowhere else to go. EVE is unique in that it's a setting -- sometimes a harsh setting -- where PvP and PvE exist side-by-side and players determine their own path. Perhaps it's that freedom that's been a draw for many players so far and "The End of New Eden" looks at the prospects for this attraction continuing in future years. As there will be no EVE Online 2, it's all about one continually evolving setting and the possibilities this brings, and Rossignol's article is well worth a read.
Fan made EVE video Day of Darkness II blows away players and devs alike
A well-crafted science fiction story can deal with powerful themes. Fans of television shows like Battlestar Galactica know very well that a story of humanity's struggle for survival has a particularly strong emotional pull. The creators of EVE Online recognized this long ago, creating an extensive body of lore about the races of New Eden and their clashes with one another on a galactic scale. Their long history of conflicts creates endless ripples of discord felt by later generations, resulting in the subjugation of entire races countered by the will to be free of such tyranny. The struggle to survive in the face of a great threat is central to the EVE Online machinima "Day of Darkness II", which is nothing short of exceptional. It's a short film created in-game by EVE player Dire Lauthris and a retelling of a key bit of EVE's lore. In fact, Lauthris drew upon one of the actual Chronicles called "The Breakout". Day of Darkness II focuses on the strife between the Caldari and Gallente races of New Eden, turning back the clock to a historic battle 200 years ago between the Caldari State and the Gallente Federation.
Massively interviews Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm Page 2
Can you tell me a bit about how you make the Clear Skies films? My understanding is the overriding vision for Clear Skies is yours, that you write the scripts and do much of the work involved with turning them into proper films, but how do you collaborate with others in creating Clear Skies?Pretty much I did everything bar the voice acting in the first film, and even then a lot of that. I didn't bring anyone else into it as I didn't want to use up a lot of someone else's time and then have the project fail for some reason. Also I'm a bit of a control freak, relying on other people is difficult for me! I've found this time around that there isn't much I can farm out anyway, it's a bunch of esoteric skills that I've now got refined to the point that it's faster for me to do things than it is to teach others -- I attempted to teach lipsyncing to someone else but I may have well tried teaching them Martian. What I have got is a good friend working on reskinning some models, and a chap I spoke to ingame that has been working on level designs for various games for years. He's doing me some new sets for Gallente and Amarr ships, ensuring they will have a different visual style to my Caldari and Minmatar ones. He's really good, enthusiastic, and importantly has got a good history in sticking with a project to the end.
Massively interviews Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm
One of the most significant works of machinima created in recent years is Clear Skies, an unconventional amalgam of the gritty, far future setting of EVE Online tempered with a more human touch, imbued with life through clever writing and exacting manipulation of Half-Life 2 character models. Fans and critics alike have praised Clear Skies since its release. Indeed, the film recently took top honors at Machinima Filmfest 2008, garnering a Mackie award for Best Long Format Film. This success at the festival was met with astonishment from Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm as well as from his collaborators, John Guthrie and Richie Powles. But it was decidedly less of a surprise to the many fans of the film, a seemingly ever-growing number judging by the number of times Clear Skies has been downloaded from EVE-Files. Massively recently caught up with Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm, who was gracious enough to provide us with a sequence of production stills from Clear Skies 2, explaining how he brings a scene to life in stages from voice recording, to choreography, to the culmination of this work in the final footage. While we had his attention, Ian also discussed what drives a man to dedicate years of his life to a project of this caliber, and what he has in store for us with Clear Skies 2.%Gallery-36336%
EVE Online film 'Clear Skies' wins at Machinima Filmfest 2008
It seems like it wasn't so long ago when Massively reviewed the EVE Online machinima "Clear Skies", an imaginative blend of EVE's backstory with Half-Life 2 character models and sets. We recently mentioned that Clear Skies had been nominated for consideration at the Machinima Filmfest 2008, but have gotten word that it won a Mackie award for Best Long Format film this past weekend. Massively got a hold of Clear Skies creator Ian Chisholm today, who shared with us his reaction to having won the Mackie award. He quipped, "I was sort of wondering if they had made a mistake -- it's really nice to get that sort of recognition when all I set out to do was have some fun with my friends and have a creative outlet." But more than anything, Chisholm is pleased with the overwhelmingly positive response he's gotten from the EVE community itself. "I never set out to do any of this, so it's completely organic... it's just a fantastic thing to be able to do, to reach out and make all these thousands of people's day go with a bit of a smile when they watch the film" he said.
EVE Online films nominated for Machinima Filmfest 2008 awards
CCP Games announced that two EVE Online machinima have made the list of nominees for awards at Machinima Filmfest 2008: "Clear Skies" and "Havoc." The Machinima Festival is one of the major machinima events held annually. The full day event will take place on November 1st in New York City. Clear Skies is an imaginative blend of EVE Online's galactic backdrop with Half-Life 2 character models, and is a Best Long Format nominee. Much of the film takes place within ship and station interiors, and represents two years of hard work by its creator, Ian Chisholm, as well as Richie Powles and John Guthrie. Clear Skies has been well-received by the EVE Community, with the announcement thread garnering 50 pages of praise and climbing.Havoc is a newer machinima, nominated for Best Sound Design, Best Short Format, and Best Voice Acting. Havoc was created by Anil Kamath (Sound Design and Music), Chris Newcombe (Visual Design and Editing), and voiced by Sarah Murray. Like Clear Skies, Havoc is proving to be quite popular with the EVE playerbase, but holds appeal for a more general audience as well. The film is short, clocking in at one minute in length, but in that time nicely juxtaposes the grit of New Eden's setting with gorgeous visuals filmed within EVE. Like Clear Skies, Havoc is well worth a look. Video embeds of both machinima are found below the cut:
