Machinima is digital video production in a virtual world or video game environment. You can find these types of productions featured on Youtube or Vimeo. The creativity is endless and provides a glimpse into the virtual world and the many things it has to offer.
In Second Life, the world of Machinima is still going strong and
flourishing. It is always interesting to see what new video have been created by
well know or new and upcoming creators and what inspires their work.
Rysan Fall
Rysan
Fall is one of the first Machinima Artists in Second Life. His talents include voice over work, virtual
wedding videos, tutorials and award winning short film projects such as The
Invisible City, about the homeless. His work provokes emotion and provides a very
creative and genuine look into what Machinima really is. Rysan is also The SL Enquirer official commercial producer.
Piers: Rysan, How
long have you been creating Machinima?
Rysan:
I have to explain that I taught myself most of everything I know about editing
video. I found a unique way to help myself learn the principals of filming and
editing video. There's an online
community called "second life" where people live out certain aspects
of their lives in a virtual world.
Second life has its own monetary system, using a currency called
"lindens" which could be transferred over to actual USD dollars.
People have businesses, have relationships and make money in this virtual
world.
The
word “Machinima” or “Machine Cinema” was created to name videos or films
created in a virtual environment.
This
initially was intended to be practice for real life film making. When I started
I had no idea there was a whole genre of film making dedicated to filming in a
virtual environment. My videos became popular in the machinima community, which
really was a surprise to me. I decided to offer my skills to business, creating
commercials and making keepsake (wedding) videos for the people in this virtual
environment. My desire to make more
detailed machinima films grew, and real life film making kind of took a back
seat. But I wanted to take what I’ve learned and put it to real life film.
Piers: What inspires
your work and how has it enriched your life?
Rysan: Machinima has been very good to me, and I am
very grateful for everything it’s given me. I’ve been interviewed countless
times, I’ve spoke at many lectures, events and universities. I’ve had the
opportunity to work for Tufts University, University of Florida, and the
University of Central Missouri. I’ve even been honored with filming the first
Virtual College Graduation ceremony for Bryant Stratton College in Second Life
featured on FOX National News. One thing I was really excited about, I was
contacted by U2's Principle Management to inform me that my U2inSL video was
selected to be played on the big screen at the Glastonbury Festival in the U.K.
as the REAL U2 perform their song, "Even Better Than the Real
Thing". My visuals went through the
approval processes from Linden Labs to me and finally approved by U2's
Principle Management. That was really exciting for me. I’ve been interviewed
for The Book “Machinima: The Art and Practice of Virtual Filmmaking. A few of my videos was seen by a company
called How2Connect.com, which specializes in providing online therapy and EAP
solutions for subscribers. They were in the process of creating their own
virtual world at the time, and wanted someone to make their machinima for them.
They flew me to California for a week and asked me to become a part of their
team, and I accepted. After 4 years I, now edit all of their “Real Life”
department video. They are now called
1virtualhealth.com
Along
with all of this, I do voice over work also. I have also done some radio. I
used to have a weekly hip hop news segment on an underground hip hop show
called “The Fireset” on 90.7 WTCC. I am now currently doing VO work for CPTV
sports. I’ve just stated working in the
creative services dept. for FOX News in CT.
This
video is very cleverly done with attention to detail. It provokes real emotion
and creates a bridge between reality and virtual expression. Rysan has shown
that his work is his passion.
The
Invisible City
To find out more and to see more videos:
Style Kingdom Magazine Commercial
(second Life)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZuk-jYI4Kk
The Invisible City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-shidH2FEE
Beneath Youre Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQz3UZXdA48
Say Something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eltM46-yxsQ
Style Kingdom Photography Team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL4rQCryUMI
My Voice Over Reel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2164b9TX_BM
FreeSky
Republic is Celestial Elf, he is a machinima film maker of the Elven &
Spiritual
He
describes himself as an Electronic Elf, Digital-Druid, Pagan Poet, Shamanic
Soul & Machinima Maker, Celebrating Nature, Spirit and the Ancient Ways ~
Celestial,
believes that he denotes to the heavens, the freedom of the skies and the
beyond.
To find out more and to see more videos:
https://twitter.com/CelestialElff
Bryn Oh
Bryn work was has always intrigued me. Bryn attention
to detail is second to none and the work that they put into each video is not
only inspiring but also captivates the audience to wont to watch more of their
work.
Piers: Bryn, How long
have you been creating Machinima?
Bryn:
I have been working in Machinima for 6 years now
Piers: What inspires
your work and how has it enriched your life?
Bryn:
I used to have them on a site called Blip but then
they deleted my account for some reason, but many are still on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/BrynOhMy work is a form of diary where I take elements within
my life and tell them as loose narratives, sometimes as poetry. It is
cathartic I think, simply a way to express honest feelings anonymously in a
virtual space which would, perhaps, be hurtful to say to family and friends
otherwise. It enriches my life in that I am able to be creative as well
as be able to express deeply felt emotions which may not come out as readily in
other mediums. For me it is also rewarding to know that there are those
who associate on some level to those same feelings I express in my work.
Sometimes you release things to the void of the internet and much like a
message in a bottle it simply disappears out to sea, other times a bottle
returns and it is that moment which I cherish.
Not the newest
of work by Bryn but the cinematography is perfect to me. Short yet excellently
executed.
To find out more and to see more videos:
http://www.brynoh.blogspot.com/
jjccccc
Is a believer of making or creating videos which he will
be proud of and not to just please the masses. His work shows depth and yet
roughness which not only crates an inspirational video but keeps you
entertained and wanting to view more.
Piers: jjccccc, How
long have you been creating Machinima?
jjccccc:
I have been making them for years since 2006 so
Piers: What inspires
your work and how has it enriched your life?
jjccccc: My inspiration comes from the Love of Art. I make videos to try stuff out they
may look crappy and badly arranged but each one is a learning curve of
different ideas, So far I don’t think I’ve made a really descent video but I
continue to try
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EQ3nkOlZd4
To find out more and to see more videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/jjccccc/featured
https://twitter.com/JJcccART
Sophia Yates
Sophia Yates Machinima Film
Productions is a Virtual Production company she has ha created within the 3D
Virtual World of Second Life. This is a new channel as Sophia is not able to
log into her original account. She is a business woman also she is owner
of FilmStrip,Profile Magazine Today,
Photographer and Publisher, so a lady of many talents.
Machinima is an art form and an outlet for
expression. It takes creativity, time
and passion to produce a film that holds the attention of an audience. There is
so much more put into it then pressing record and capturing whatever appears
before the lens.
Planning begins with creating a storyline, script,
scouting for actors, environments and paying attention to details such as
lighting, audio, transitions and timing. These are just a few of the things
that Machinima producers must take into consideration. So the next time you
watch a Machinima video that might only be 4 minutes long, realize that it may
have taken them weeks or even months to create.
These are just a
few of the talented Machinima artists you will find across the grid. There are
others which you may feel have been missed out in this feature. If you know a
Machimina artist that should be recognized by the SL Enquirer, share their
information below in the comment box with a link to their work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNVLCrkmAgA&spfreload=1
To find out more and to see more videos: