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WoW Moviewatch: Christmas with the Critters
WoW Model Viewer's Christmas contest really turned out some great videos this season. Mushanga's entry was Christmas with the Critters and is probably going to be on my playlist for a long time. The movie is fast-paced, fun to watch, and full of several laughing moments. I love the premise, and the film's closing gag was surprising and painfully true. Christmas with the Critters is the story of an old target dummy, who simply wants to enjoy the holidays by playing with his woodland friends. Unfortunately, a big bad wolf is stalking the same forest and tries to make lunch of the target dummy's friends. But the dummy won't stand for it, and hatches an ingenious plan. I think a subtle strength of Mushanga's script is that it plays on the traditional Christmas theme that we see in so many mainstream movies. An underdog character tries to enjoy the holidays, finds obstacles in his way, and then overcomes those obstacles. It's a fairly simple plot, but Mushanga uses it expertly to frame his holiday film. 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: Erunno's Christmas Story
Erunno's Christmas Story won the WoW Model Viewer Christmas contest. It's a comedy video about one elf's brave struggle to find gifts for a Christmas story. His adventure takes him across the world of Azeroth, and features a dozen or so cameos of other, well-known machinimators. Accord to Erunno over on his Myndflame post, he was experimenting with different techniques and styles from the anime industry. He wanted to take a look at how well those techniques would work out in machinima. I think Erunno nailed it pretty well, and I found the movie to be pretty fun and entertaining. Still, opinions will probably vary. I'm really curious to see how Erunno might use the styles in future videos, consider how well Erunno's Christmas Story seems to have succeeded. 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.
New WoW Model Viewer available
Yes, I went out and made a screenshot of a Worgen with two wolf-headed fist weapons. I did this via the latest iteration of WoW Model Viewer, freshly updated this Saturday, September 5th to work for patch 3.2. While it has a posted warning use it at your own risk which I thought I should mention, I should also mention I've been using it for the past half an hour with no harm and no foul. I've even been able to play with Trial of the Crusader loot. Go behind the jump to see a Worgen dual-wielding a Justicebringer and Reckoning. Not that I'm obsess with Titan's Grip Worgen or anything. Okay, so I totally am. At any rate, so far as I can tell, this version of the Model Viewer is stable and working with all current models.This update by Chuanhsing even fixed the issue I was having where all my models came out textureless. I have no idea what it was happening in the first place, but I'm glad to see it gone.
WoW Model Viewer updated for Wrath, but still needs work
WoW Model Viewer is a crazy useful tool for machinimists or just anyone out there (like Zach) looking to enjoy the art of Warcraft outside of the game itself. The only problem with the app is that it hasn't updated since way before Wrath's release, but the code monkeys over there have finally rectified that: they've dropped release version 0.6.0.2, which we're told is compatible with the models in Wrath of the Lich King.Mostly compatible, anyway -- we're told that lots of the new animations aren't working yet, and there are quite a few bugs still poking around. And there's more trouble -- the program's admin has reported that the site could use a new host, since the last admin had some troubles with the hosting provider. Surely there's someone out there who can help -- lots of people use the program (and of course it's spawned countless terrific machinima movies that we've all enjoyed).Hopefully Model Viewer will find its way back on track -- the program has really jump started the world of machinima, and it would be a shame to see it fall into disrepair due to lack of support.
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 ...
WoW Moviewatch: Cooking with Ethnea, Episode 1
If you're a fan of Well Fed Buff, you'll enjoy the first episode of Cooking with Ethnea. I dug into the reader submissions to bring you an unpolished video with a lot of potential. Adreena, an aspiring machinimator, decided that she wanted to humorously visualize recipes instead of just read about them. Now I have to warn you, this machinima is really rough around the edges, but I love the concept. That's why I'm going to offer up some tips for her to use in her second episode.The most glaring mistake comes from improperly chroma keying the WoW Model Viewed character. The timing is off, so there is a noticeable difference between when Ethnea and the background appear. She also didn't adjust the high and low thresholds for her character, which is causing transparency issues. If you're just going to use still shots of your character in a picture of a background, you may as well put your character in the picture itself by using a photo editing program.[Thanks, Melissa!]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...Read on for more constructive tips ...
The fan art of Warcraft
I write a little, mostly intermittent column called The Art of War(craft). As it's a PvP column, I actually intended for it to be a play on Sun Tzu's The Art of War. On the other hand, I'm also an artist and I found that my recent trip to Internet-less limbo gave me enough time off from World of Warcraft and blogging about it to actually work on some illustrations. Of course, being the true WoW addict that I am, what better way to celebrate my withdrawal symptoms than by drawing Warcraft-related art?I put WoW Model Viewer to good use as I used it as a reference for drawing. Being unable to go online to take actual character screenshots, I drew up a list of my wife's character's gear from memory and added some flair of my own, such as an exaggerated off-hand tome. It was my very first time working on Corel Painter, so I struggled a while with my colors. I was rather pleased by the result, though, specially on Jhuutom, her Warlock's felhunter. In the tradition of true World of Warcraft addiction, I've been working on my own character art as well. A larger-sized image after the jump. Pogi points to the first one who can identify the weapon she's holding.
WoW Model Viewer, how I heart thee...
WoW Model Viewer saved my life. Well, ok, not really, but it kept me sane these past two weeks. See, our router and modem were fried by a lightning storm and soon after we got them repaired/replaced, our service provider decided to go all wonky on us. So I was Internet-less for a while. This means no WoW Insider, no blogging, and -- gasp -- no World of Warcraft. If you're like most WoW addicts players, you would understand how frustrating it can be without Internet. Ok, having no Internet is frustrating by itself, but as a WoW player, you have to admit it can be additionally upsetting. My wife was fidgety each time her cooldown for Brilliant Glass rolled around. Fortunately, with the help of VMWare Fusion, I was able to recently install WoW Model Viewer on my Mac. The useful application has long been used as the tool for machinimists and comic artists everywhere.
WoW Model Viewer updated for 2.4.2
If you're a machinimist or just someone who likes to poke around the game files trying to see what The Ultimate Druid would look like (yeah, I'm guilty), good news; Wow Model Viewer has been updated for patch 2.4.2. I haven't used it since the patch hit, but according to the mod's site a few twitchy issues popped up that have since been fixed.The developer warns that this version will not work with any version of Wow pre-2.4.2, so if you haven't downloaded and installed the patch yet, don't install this update until you do. WoW Model Viewer's main site Download page for the updated version If you haven't had the chance to use WoW Model Viewer previously, give it a shot -- it's a wonderfully addictive little mod and a great way to get a closer look at the detail that goes into the game.
WoW Moviewatch: Open Wounds
Brand new Warcraftmovies member, Antillion, created this machinima to honor his favorite song, Open Wounds, by Skillet. For the most part, I enjoyed the creativity involved in some of the scenes, as the lead was suffering from a broken heart. During the chorus was when you could really feel the emotions of the singer, as the gestures were decently timed. It wasn't too literal, or heavy with special effects either. However, first timers that extensively use Model Viewer will eventually learn to fear the wrath of TotalBiscuit's comments. Experimenting with those tools without mastering the basic level of video, which is in-game footage, is almost always a recipe for disaster. As evidenced in many of the scenes, he was unable to successfully transition the character from one moment to the next. With some more practice, he might create something really great![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 ...
WoW Moviewatch: How 2 Machinima, Episode 1
Ian Beckman, the creator of Azerothian Super Villians, and Drewbie "I've never met a cameo I didn't like", have teamed up to help WoW machinimators everywhere. How 2 Machinima is a new series that will explain the art of machinima in-depth. Episode 1 focuses on WoW Model Viewer, WoW Map Viewer, recording programs, chroma keying (greenscreening), and how to put your footage together to make the scene. I look forward to the second tutorial![Thanks, Ian!]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: Ascent vs. Illidan, with a twist
Submissions are starting to trickle in to our inbox, and some of them are quite surprising. Brysan wrote in about his machinima experience, outlining the journey from wee newblet to intermediate hobbyist. However, he'd like some constructive feedback on his latest piece, a PvE video of his guild's Illidan Stormrage kill. Having graduated from Windows Movie Maker up to Sony Vegas and WoW model viewer, he wanted to make a video that was more artistic than boastful. Brysan managed to come up with an entertaining storyline with what I felt was a decent voiceover and nice visuals. Since he's looking for ways to improve, I'll note that sometimes the lipsynching is off, the aspect ratio changes randomly, and the metal soundtrack made me want to cry, but that last one is more personal than anything. Make sure to include credits for any music you're using in the future![Thanks, Brysan!]If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.Previously on Moviewatch ...
15 Minutes of Fame: Gank Frank
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – both the renowned and the relatively anonymous. There's no easier way to introduce the subject of this week's 15 Minutes of Fame than this: If you enjoyed the movie Kill Bill, you'll love Gank Frank: A Raging Rumble of Retribution. Fenrix of Bloodhoof has crafted a quirky graphic novel that somehow blends Gnomes, Kill Bill, World of Warcraft and even a sprinkling of The Simpsons. Like most creative types, Fenrix has a lot to say. Here at WoW Insider, he lets fly on art, gaming and the World of Warcraft. 15 Minutes of Fame: What inspired you to create Gank Frank?Fenrix: My inspirations come from a lot of different sources: movies, novels, comic books, other video games, internet fads, etc. This all forms into a huge, hodgepodge clusterfuck of material swirling around in my brain. I love telling and reading stories, especially those dealing with revenge. There's plenty of classic literature out there dealing with the subject of revenge, something that has always fascinated me, so it kind of felt natural to me when I decided to tell a story based around that idea. Revenge is one of the most primal forms of justice; it's something that we're all familiar with.
Cinemassively: Bobble and friends
In today's Cinemassively, Stamp answers the age old question of what would happen if your World of Warcraft characters jumped out of your computer. By the end of this video, you won't care who stole the beer, or why the door was left open a crack when you swore that you shut it. You'll be too busy oohing and aahing at how adorable the WoW avatars looked in every scene.Stamp used quite a lot of programs to achieve this effect, including WoW model viewer, Sony Vegas, Windows Movie Maker, Virtual Dub, and Particle Illusion. However, in this Machinima, they blend really well together. My only complaint is that those little jailbirds didn't invite me to the party![Via Warcraftmovies.com]
