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WoW Moviewatch: Aquaman's Lament
Long before mogging became common parlance among us WoW players, a man named Spiff put together an amazing video that recreated the look of superheroes. In Aquaman's Lament, you can see just how effective WoW's palette can be to mimic Batman, Superman, and others. Which costume is your favorite? I'm partial to Batman, although I have to admit that Wonder Woman's is pretty amazing. Regardless, Spiff did an astounding job of recreating these characters. When I think of theme transmogrification, this video springs immediately to mind. 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 email at moviewatch@wowinsider.com.
WoW Moviewatch: Blue Sunny Day
The subtle mix of Jonathan Coulton and Spiffworld continues to go together like peanut butter and jelly. I obviously can't speak for Mr. Coulton, but I feel like Spiff manages to nail a video to each song with absolutely perfect alignment. Spiffworld's newest release is a take on Blue Sunny Day and continues the monster-as-focus history from Cruel, Cruel Moon. As the story goes, Jonathan Coulton debuted Blue Sunny Day in Chicago. Originally, Coulton wanted to create a happy song. But the dual meaning of blue (that is as the color of the sky, but also as a metaphor for sadness) struck Coulton with inspiration. Who could be blue about a nice, sunny day? The answer is obvious: a vampire. The lyrics of the song don't directly reference the protagonist as a vampire, but there was no way Spiff couldn't make the video about a blood sucking fiend. Great job to Spiff on another wonderful video. These are always a treat to which we look forward. 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: Cruel, Cruel Moon
Moviewatch has featured Cruel, Cruel Moon by Spiff previously, but we're covering the machinima contest winners from BlizzCon 2009 this week. So, it's with pleasure that I present this video for a second time. The movie was especially pertinent to this year's BlizzCon, since that's when playable Worgen were announced as part of the Cataclysm expansion.The original song was actually by Paul & Storm, a pair of comedy musicians that many of the WoW crowd probably already know. In summary, the song and video is about a chap who loves a woman. But that woman has a furry side. When the cruel full moon presents itself each evening, the protagonist must fear for his very life. (Or face the idea of having to shoot down his beloved with a shotgun blast of silver.)The video is a lot of fun. There's even a small part of me that wonders at the roleplay possibilities for Worgen inherent in this kind of story. Okay, I mostly found the video pretty funny. 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: Shop Vac
I can't help it. I'm an absolute fangirl when it comes to Jonathan Coulton and Mike "Spiff" Booth. That's why when Michael Gray let the team know he was having Internet problems, I simply had to jump in and share the most recent Spiffworld WoW machinima, Shop Vac.Spiff notes at the end of the video, this song is all about suburban angst, and how people want to live there until they realize the 'burbs are kind of boring. As he says, "This phenomenon is exemplified in the shop vac, a tool found in many suburban garages for sucking up leaves, dirt, nails, or whatever. When you first use a shop vac, it seems like the most awesome thing ever. But then you realize it's just a vaccum cleaner." Another fun aspect of the video is the return of one character from previous videos. See if you can spot who it is causing trouble once again. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for what must be the saddest achievement ever. Now, with all that said, check out Shop Vac for some lunchtime movie fun that doesn't suck. (Pun intended.)
Cinemassively: Braaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnns
Today's Cinemassively is straight from the archives of 2006! Back then, an artist named Jonathan Coulton was cranking out a song a week as a form of self-promotion. Among the songs was this little ditty about a coworker gone zombie with some not so reasonable demands.Re: Your Brains, in World of Warcraft machinima form, is a hilarious take on zombies calmly requesting brains, instead of just rushing to get them. Created by Spiffworld, it was his first of many JoCo videos, racking up 1.6 million views so far![Thanks, Korrak!]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.
About the Bloggers: moo Money
Twice a week, our writers will tell you more about themselves, and let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more About the Bloggers.What do you do for WoW Insider?I write the daily machinima posts for both WoW Insider, and its broader MMO sister site, Massively.What's your main right now?This won't make me very popular, but I actually don't really play WoW. I did for a while after it came out, but I'm not a very good grinder and it just got lonely.This is an outrage! How dare you write about WoW without playing it?That's actually a really good question. I got my start in machinima roughly two years ago when I was hired to promote it in Second Life, an oft-mocked virtual world. Through experimentation with machinima, as well as the education that I provided to others, I became known as one of the "It" people for machinima in SL. When Second Life Insider folded into Massively in November 2007, I volunteered to write the daily Cinemassively. After about 45 days straight of blogging them, WI asked me to do the same for WoW Moviewatch!Read on to find out more about the Notorious M.O.O. ...
Cinemassively: Mr. Fancy Pants
We've all had those moments where we're sure that we're the biggest and the best at something. Then someone comes along and steals our thunder. Jonathan Coulton and Mike Spiff Booth know how we feel.During Jonathan's Thing a Week project, he came up with Mr. Fancy Pants, a whimsical look at the perfect pair of pants. While Coulton's songs are mainly reinterpreted by Spiffworld as World of Warcraft machinima, they are actually released with Creative Commons attributes, so they could be used in other MMO machinima too!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: Mr. Fancy Pants
It's been three months since Spiffworld made his last Jonathan Coulton machinima, Chiron Beta Prime. However, the last time I blogged about him was the V-Day Riot of '08, and I'm still in therapy. This time around, the worst you'll see is a second of human buttocks, and it's in context with the story ... about pants. It'll be over before you know it!If there were a machinima about my life, it might be Mr. Fancy Pants. There's shopping, dancing, and ... pantsing? Wait. Scratch that. I don't want another riot on my hands. Just join me in the Fancy Pants Parade![Thanks, Drewbie!]Previously on Moviewatch ...
WoW Moviewatch: Summing up Valentine's Day
(UPDATE: Videos are now under the jump. On this special day dedicated to love, I've chosen not one, but two videos! Both are NSFW, but sum up Valentine's Day perfectly. They contain pixel nudity and adult content. You've been warned.)The first video was recommended by #machinima on Quakenet (IRC). "First of May" centers around what to do with your special friends when Spring arrives. The machinimator, Mike "Spiff" Booth, recreates Jonathan Coulton songs set in World of Warcraft, with the most popular being Code Monkey, another love song.[Thanks, #machinima!]Previously on Moviewatch ...Both videos after the jump.
