Machinima
| Synonyms: | |
| See also: | AMV, GMV, vid, fan film |
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Machinima, a portmanteau word combining machine and cinema, is the name for a kind of CGI video or short film, that is produced with 3D game engines instead of with animation software. Machinima.org describes it as follows:
Machinima can be produced in a couple of ways. It can be script-driven, whereas the cameras, characters, effects etc. are scripted for playback in real-time. While similar to animation, the scripting is driven by events rather than keyframes. It can also be recorded in real-time within the virtual environment, much like filmmaking (the majority of game-specific Machinima pieces are produced in this fashion). While both of these approaches have their pros and cons, they are both Machinima-making techniques.[1]
Examples
- Red vs. Blue is a long-running machinima web series based on the video game Halo that has developed its own fandom.
- Dead Fantasy is a crossover series mainly featuring Final Fantasy characters fighting against Dead or Alive characters, with a predominantly female cast.
World of Warcraft
Blizzard Entertainment announced 2007 in a "Letter to the Machinimators of the World of Warcraft” that they would support fanwork using video footage of the game as long as there was no profit gained.[2] Thus World of Warcraft has developed an active and thriving Machinima community, with many fans producing their own visual stories or using this form to comment on something. Vids are released to various sites, warcraftmovies.com, warcraftcinema.com or general video portals (Vimeo, YouTube...), to name just a few. Some well known vidders such as Olibith or Baron Soosdon also use their own websites to distribute the vids. Over the last years Blizzard also held a Machinima contest during BlizzCon.
Percula, creator of one of the most famous WoW-Machinimas The Craft of War: BLIND, states that his video isn't actually a Machinima[3], but "a rendered animation that's similar to many CG films and television shows. The animations were made by me in a 3D application. I used game assets so I guess you could refer to it as a machinima in that sense."[4] Nevertheless his video is referred to as Machinima within the community. Other examples:
- Christmas Time in Dun Morogh by Pure Pwnage and ROFLMAO Productions takes a nostalgic trip down the leveling memory lane.
- Greyfoo's Exodar Disco throws Draenei, Russian accents and a glitter ball together.
- Xcross' Welcome to the Deadmines presents Edwin VanCleef and his croonies in a musical-like performance.
- Maquessa's Maiev, Life After the Betrayer speculates about the fate of a lore character.
WoW fans not only create Machinima movies, some also write their tools, such as Mads Lund, author of the WoW Machinima Tool.
Resources
References
- ^ The Machinima FAQ. Accessed May 11th 2011.
- ^ Hayes, Christina (2008). "Changing the Rules of the Game: How Video Game Publishers are Embracing User-Generated Derivative Works". Harvard Journal of Law & Technology 21 (2): 567–587. Accessed May 11th 2011.
- ^ As defined by Machimima.org
- ^ http://vimeo.com/5241163 Accessed May 11th 2011.