This is a prized demographic, one
that does bring in advertising. After
all, the global gaming industry is
slated to be worth close to $82bn by
2017. It’s a serious player in terms
of competing for leisure time
against TV and other forms of
entertainment.
However, Machinima is also a
video medium and film art form,
one that has tremendous reach and
scope. Machinima, a portmanteau
of machine and cinema, is
generated through screen capture
devices creating a whole new indie
movement. One that has both great
art and commercial applications.
We are comfortable today
playing video games… and
characters let us project ourselves
into their action, and thus it
becomes our own – whether
shooting a virtual basketball or
searching for treasure. This
familiarity enables an acceptance of
this game engine medium when we
play it. It also becomes part of our
mental imagery which we take
away with us in a new form of
animation – one which we are
living through beyond the flat
comic book or even graphic novel.
And there is more to the game
engine platforms than this first
person experience, whether as a
shooter or a member of a virtual
world community.
SEEING THE POTENTIAL
A 1996 video called ʹDiary of a
Camperʹ using software for the
computer game Quake is considered
the first real Machinima film. It
incorporated a storyline and
characters, moving away from what
the intent of the screen capture was
originally for, to record spectacular
kills. This piece of film was the first
step in the creation of the community
which began to form around
Machinima. We were gamers, yes…
but also saw the incredible
potential for film making. In a way
similar to the different direction
that Machinima.com takes, which is
to bring a lot of commercial content
by major studios to the eyes and
ears of their target demographic. The
predominantly male audience of
Machinima.com are gamers and
understand the lingo ‐ after all, they
created it.
Those who are using this medium
for animation and advanced art and
storytelling in the filmmaking realm
of Machinima are doing the same in
reaching their demographics. And
what an incredible new realm this
is turning out to be lately:
■
One that sees Brown Bag Films
donate $18.5m to a movie called
"Deep" with the Valve game engine
■
One that used Second Life for a
Sundance Jury Film called “Life 2.0”
■
One that noted director John
Hillcoat was brought on for when
he shot the trailer for “Red Dead
Redemption”
■
One that was in Cannes as part of
the animated actionwith “RUThere?”
■
One that Strange Company is
using for a major project that
features the voices of Joanna
Lumley and Brian Blessed
■
One that is being used for Public
Service Announcements in the State
of California, utilising avatars who
as mosquitoes get the warning out
about dengue fever and malaria,
connecting with an audience that
plays video games and has instant
recognition with the characters
ART FORM
Machinima as an art form will
undoubtedly rise over the next few
years; the low cost of screen capture
and game engine programmes
means low barriers to access. While
low barriers to access means that
more people can utilize them, being
able to deliver great content will
still depend on whoʹs in the
directorʹs chair – a nascent Truffaut
or Fellini, or your uncle Moe
filming your nieceʹs birthday party.
There are many different platforms
now to make an animated film on
and it’s in this evolving phase that
new talent is gripping the levers. It
is like the way old instamatics and
camcorders opened up a new
accessibility to the visual arts.
Machinima is a great tool
incorporating screen capture
programmes within your virtual
reality. This can make real
cinematic experience – and
Machinima is film making… make
no mistake. The characters, or
actors, are avatars and you control
them, giving you greater control
over the action and greater
responsibility. For this is the
cartoon house that you can
populate with your own take on
everything. Want to create a mini‐
Addams style gothic house and
have everyone act out your last
birthday party? No problem.
Though you will find each
engine offers pluses and minuses to
what your particular style is – the
many different engines means that
you have a large choice over what
suits you. You are the ubiquitous
director, and so you can find your
strengths working with something
like iClone which lets you pre‐
determine everything, or Second
Life – where the range of assets
might be larger but the avatarsʹ
movements are more difficult to
control and take greater skill.
Machinima is a form of real‐time
animation that is unfolding before
www.appmarket.tv
“
”
Machinima
will rise
because
the tools of
creation
will be
easier to
use, less
expensive
andmore
ubiquitous
THE CHANNEL
|
CREATIVE
60
|
ISSUE 2 2013
|
THE CHANNEL
