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WoW Moviewatch: Wardens of Azeroth
At this point, you must be familiar with the name Erunno. Not only is Erunno a popular blogger over at the Myndflame site, he's also a successful machinimator. He's been called the Uwe Boll of machinima with a tongue firmly planted in cheek, but I swear I had nothing to do with that. If you don't recall, though, Erunno was the machinimator behind the award-winning A Dead Bug's Life. This is part 1of Wardens of Azeroth, the prequel piece to his amazing The White Drake. Wardens breaks machinima standards by presenting a silent movie, encouraging the audience to frame and interpret the action on their own. In my opinion, Erunno's technique is actually creating a more interactive experience for the viewer. The viewer is forced to not only observe the action, but also to think about the story taking place. While we'll be featuring the second part of Wardens of Azeroth tomorrow, I'm especially curious to see what you folks think of just this first part. What is the story saying to you? How do you feel about the characters? 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: A Dead Bug's Life
Today we feature the last of the European winners for Alienware's Rise to Power contest. A Dead Bug's Life is the creation of Erunno and Frozen DeathKnight, two of the luminaries who regularly post over on the Myndflame site. You should remember Erunno from his outstanding work with The White Drake, a movie that helped redefine visual storytelling in Wrath of the Lich King machinima. In contrast to the silent narrative in The White Drake, this Rise to Power movie had a great deal of dialogue. It displayed an amazing amount of wit and light-hearted characterization between the Lich King and Anub'arak. My favorite line was when Arthas complains how much fun it is to "constantly ressurect an oversized roach." I don't want to discuss the ending of the movie, since it would definitely give a significant spoiler. But let's say an old, ancient foe of the Alliance returns to join the Lich King's army. A Dead Bug's Life is a beautiful movie. The graphics are intriguing and well done, seamlessly integrating to the story. You can really see how A Dead Bug's Life won its prize. 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: The White Drake
Warning: There are spoilers in this review.Story-based machinima have been a little few and far between lately, so I was incredibly excited when I first spotted The White Drake by Erunno. According to the author, he actually started the film as a method for testing the power of his new computer. Since the movie was an experiment, he opted to not use any voice acting. I think that decision worked out incredibly well for him, as the movie's silent, somber mood is only enhanced by the lack of dialogue.The animation is very clean and crisp. I enjoy the layered look to the imagery, since it helps reinforce the stark contrast of the characters against their environment. The story itself is tight and simple, providing a concise narrative payload. To sum up, something is amiss in the Argent Crusade, and an assassin must sneak into the camp to set things right. He executes his mission, and then makes good his escape. As the movie closes, Chromie, the coolest dragon in lore, makes an appearance to congratulate the assassin.This is another great piece by Erunno. If this was just a test of his computer, I look forward to what he might do in the future when he really puts some effort into it.[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
