Machinima (1 Viewer)

[pungemo]

OK, I've decided to open a thread dedicated to Machinima, even if it just contains a definition. This way people will (probably) look at it and I won't have to explain what Machinima is in each thread. Machinima is the art of video creation in a real-time virtual environment. This is most commonly the technology underlying video games, known as game engines. Machinima offers the advantages of both conventional film and 3D animation. In Machinima anything is possible, just as in animation. Machinima also streamlines the production process so that each frame does not have to be individually created or tweened. Instead 'actors' control the characters in order to act out a scene.

I am proud to say I am the first person to ever suggest this to the Board of Studies and it has already been approved. If there are any students here that live in the area of Horsnby - Epping (especially around Pennant Hills/Cherrybrook) that are quite experienced in the operation of first-person based video game controls who might be willing to help out later in the production process I would be grateful.

 

[pungemo]

I wouldn't be so hasty to judge it. Several Machinima productions have appeared in cinemas across the globe. One series, Red vs Blue, has had literally millions of viewings.

 

[pungemo]

Well I suppose it would be considering it was about 5 minutes long.

 

[The Brucemaster]

Touche Runge.

I would be more than happy to assist in your production if you havent already found numerous common room types to fill the positions.

 

[pungemo]

Well first I better work out what positions I need before I start casting. But I'm sure I could use someone to play all the characters that die horrible, screaming deaths.

 

[Breakthrough]

Hahaha! Cool! I love Machinima!

I do agree that Red vs. Blue has been carried on way too far but its still funny on the odd occasion.

Just out of curiousity.

How are you linking it to the English learning context?
How is it an English piece?
What game engine are you going to use? Battlefield 2, Counterstrike etc. =P
I wanna do something about gaming but my teacher doesn't know how it would be accepted as a 'English' project .......

 

[pungemo]

Machinima is just the same as any other video in terms of 'being an english piece'. Some people have difficulty accepting it because it relates to video games which are seen as low art.

I'm linking the work back to the course through the content. My planned story is extremely post-modern and, of couse, involves a journey. Machinima gives me alot of freedom in terms of content and visual style. Self-reflexivity can quite easily be achieved through deliberate simplicity or 'retro' look. I am not sure whether I will take that route yet, but it certainly is an option.

At this stage I am still deciding on which engine I will use. This does rely on what appearance I am after. I am currently aiming for a 'realistic' approach in terms of quality, but I want to juxtapose the 'real' looking elements with elements which are obviously computerised and 'fake'. Currently I have a small selection of engines to look at:

The Refractor 2.0 Engine
Seen in BF2 and quite capable of rendering wide landscapes and fancy explosions. This one is not looking likely as the majority of my settings are indoor.

Source and Havok Engines
The Half-Life 2 engine and physics engine. I will probably use this engine as it is quite easy to alter and has inbuilt recording features that will not impact performance to the same extent.

Offset Engine
This one is bloody awesome. Problem is it hasn't been released yet, and won't until too late. However this is because it is being released with a game, the engine and tools are already complete. I am currently composing a letter to the company behind this one (Australians) to see whether it would be possible to get a pre-release copy. Hopefully I can but otherwise it will probably be the source and havok engines.

And yes I can agree with you about Red vs Blue, it has been going on too long now but at least the first few seasons were funny.

 

[Sefi]

Machinima is a great way of making a movie on a budget. Especially if you can get together a good team to make it.
Also, i must say that RvB is the greatest machinima ever.

Also, if you live in the wollongong/sydney area, A friend and I are looking to make one of our own (probably using one of the BF games, but we're open to suggestions). PM me if your interested.

I'll create a thread here about it later

- Sefi