Saturday, November 26, 2011

Who Is? .....and The Land Down Under

Im toying with the idea for a future production.  Liked the way this came out.



Furthermore...Sewers?  Good stuff to be seen on the interweb.  Nice lighting eh?

All photos from : http://www.undercity.org/_Prints/aqueducts_undergroundrivers_sewers.html





Monday, November 7, 2011

A look at the 2011 MachinExpo Films - Part 2

Continuing through the screening films, here are two more that I enjoyed profusely:





Pixilated Truth by ArbitDelacroix  - "Pop Art Lab music video contest entry for Giana Factory's Pixelated Truth"


This music video is a perfect example of the of the power of SL as a machinima tool.  The character models are wonderful, the motions are effective, the editing is excellent and the end result is something you might see on a bigger medium than Youtube.  Catchy song.


It strikes me that I have seen more effective and memorable music videos made in second life than any other platform.  And not for lack of trying as Iclone is constantly being used in this genre.  Perhaps there's an inherent glossiness in SL that works well for music videos.  Perhaps its a difference in the way the directors film (and I do believe there are basic general differences in the way programs teach/influence the director to shoot things).  Perhaps its just my bias.  Something to ponder. 





Transmission by Ed Lie - "A lone astronaut, miles from home."


The majority of machinima shorts that I watch lack a defining moment.  I reach the end of the movie and pass judgement upon the productions strengths and weaknesses to determine where it stands among other machinima shorts that I have seen.  There are plenty of good shorts that have no moment.  they are cohesive and perhaps even thought provoking.  But the kind of moment I'm talking about is one that is bigger than the movie itself.


Occasionally there is one with an aha moment, or a moment of genuine humor or sadness that tends to pull me out of the screen for a moment and makes me evaluate what I have just seen.  Transmission has such a moment.  Stylish and mysterious this moment changes the environment that Transmission works within but leaves the definition of the new environment blurry.  Lets call it a "wait.....uh...what?"  moment.  While this may sound like a detriment it actually works incredibly well and makes Transmission truly memorable.  


I would not have been suprised to see Transmission as a jury finalist.  Crazy high production values.  My only qualm involves the music which too often feels like a round peg forced into a square hole.




MachinExpo
November 19-20
http://www.machinima-expo.com/

Friday, November 4, 2011

A look at the 2011 MachinExpo Films - Part 1

I started wading through the screening selections last night. Here are three of my favorites so far:




Scent Memory by Patrick Kendrick - "A fighter pilot regains consciousness next to his wrecked plane, only to find it rusted and aged by decades. As he explores unfamiliar surroundings, he encounters a bizarre cast of characters and confronts decades of layered memories."


Skilled SecondLife machinima tale that is engaging, mysterious and beautiful. The story is a bit floaty (with a seemingly healthy dose of 2001 mixed in) feeling a bit like a dream. Well worth a look.




Sintetic FAITH by Nikolay Rusenov - One of my top 5 favorite Iclone movies. Humanity isnt always human. Excellent work.




What Isn’t Underneath? by Hypatia Pickens - "This short film is an homage to Scottius Polke's eerie art environment called "The Docks," on display through June 30, 2011 at Originalia in Second Life. Since it is due to come down after that, I thought I would try to capture some of its subtle ominousness in a machinima narrative. So Sangreal Arnica and I put our heads together and came up with a story that explained something that really can't be explained. Whenever you do that, you disambiguate something that is ambiguous. I tried to capture all the strange details that Scotty filled his build with."


My favorite viewing of the evening. Dark and poetic secondlife tale that looks a bit like a living painting. Short and wonderful. See it!