Machinima

Machinima: Visual Animation from the Virtual World
Vio Business Series #7

INTRODUCTION

Machinima became an established media, when video game developers used its computer-generated animation technology to produce media productions. Originally, such animations were developed to visually illustrate storylines within a video game. But over time, people explored using this technology to develop digital productions for entertainment purposes. As digital animation technology improved, the appeal of this format has dramatically increased.

The virtual world platforms, including Second Life, provide developers, an easy-to-use interface and 3-D space to capture in-world footage in digital video format. This format can be brought into video editor programs, edited with other video and sounds, to produce rich content.

Vio Business is proud to provide its members with the opportunity to hear more about what is out there, specifically from machinima expert AWM Mars.

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Machinima: A Resource for Business
by AWM Mars

If a picture can speak a thousand words, how many pictures are there in a movie media?

When we read a book, our imagination is allowed to interpret the scenes described by the Author. When we listen to a song, we relate that to our own experiences or feelings. When looking at Art or Photography, we again interpret our own impressions. With movies, we can immerse the viewer with all those tools.

The same 'tools' are used to give the viewer a message, deliver a ethos, a brand recognition, even a style of business, whether it is dynamic, calm, professional, sincere, robust, has a history, dependable etc.

Using Machinima, you can deliver those messages in a very short time to the viewer.

You can also use Machinima to record events, whether stages of progress that can be used to show trends, or historic landmarks. This can be useful for bespoke property builders, giving their clients their progress, or even as a history of the build.

Education, a powerful tool that leads to future business. Delivering information at a controlled rate is important. Doing so in the most efficient way is paramount. Delivering multiple forms of educational media in a singular form, is perhaps the most powerful attribute of movie media, when we combine the strengths of each of the media's (sound, text and pictures).

Machinima, which is the term used for 'non-real life staged productions'. Is perhaps the cheapest form of movie media creation available. Not just in terms of the Dollar Cost, but of that to the planet (Carbon Footprint).

Actors, set builders, graphics, storyboard, voice-over narrations, producers, camera, lighting are all available within the Virtual Reality Platform. However we have no need to bring them all together into one or more Real Life places, to utilise their skills and talents. Many can double up with multiple skill sets.

Real Life inhibitors no longer exist. Those unable to travel, for whatever reason, can now apply their talents from their own environment, without the need for special provisions. Talents and skills, that previously could not be accommodated, can now be realised. This also includes how clients, business, education were able to reach out into the 4 corners of the globe, and find the right resources, at the right costs.

Machinima is available and delivered direct to the source, via the internet, off transportable media such as DVD, even solid state memory cards. It can be created in cross platform formats and resolutions.

Formats that include present technology, iPod, Blackberry, Television, Cinema, Websites etc. It can also be 're-developed' to suit future formats with ease.

It has the ability to be created for various languages, by simply changing the layers of text and voice-overs for variations. Both of those 'layered' media's are used sparingly, and to support the foundation media of moving pictures, which remains unaltered. The Net result is cheaper cost.

My own history within the Virtual Reality Environments go back before the days of internet versions (over 10 years). I was developing VR buildings and structures for clients and developers. Creating replicas of those building from the 2D drawings, including services such as radiators, lighting, textures on all facets (floors, ceilings, walls and furniture).

Using 'avatars' based on each users height, I could produce 'walk through' movies, as each person would 'view' the building from a different perspective. Combined with the ability to show the building in its exact location in the world (latitude, longitude), then running a 'year cycle' within the programme, would show how outside/ambient lighting, reacts with all the various surfaces within each room.

Computer screens in offices showing if sunlight would reflect, reducing contrast and usability. Common spaces such as corridors, how they perform with multiple people using them, or whether they require either additional lighting by electrical means, or by introducing ambient light through 'borrowed light' sources. Making changes to the design, no matter how small, based upon the results of this development, saved a lot of time and money for the project.

I pursued various platforms that would make the process, not just easier to create but could involve actual people participating. Adobe Atmosphere was the pioneer of the Virtual Reality platforms. Second Life in the next generation. Its potential has opened up a completely new way in which commerce can thrive. Our goals have been to utilise machinima as way of serving those thriving communities and business layers developing within the environment.

Nearly 3 years ago, when I started up our first company (WBA-Advertising) our motto was, and still is, 3D advertising for a 3D world. Secondlifes business community was thriving and developing at a fast pace, yet movies were seen in the light of hobbyist and entertainment. Usually in the form of Real Life movies being streamed into 'private' skypods.

We created the first raft of advertising for designers of clothing ranges. Now buyers could see whole outfits coming alive in full reality. We didn't stop there, we looked across the range of businesses developing, and created many forms of delivering those products to viewers.

We founded other companies within our group, that could utilise the many talents of people around the globe, developing many forms of advertising, to suit the needs of the fast growing community. Our business plans focused on the SL businesses, giving them opportunities to have professional media advertising, that could be transportable into Real Life, but within the micro economies of value.

Other business plans created for our other companies, would suit Real Life companies, infacing into SL to gain exposure, but still able to use that same media for their 'normal' forms of advertising. Still within the Real Life economies, and enormously cheaper in Dollar and Carbon Footprint costs to Real Life counterparts.

We have not only been expanding our capabilities and techniques within SL, but reaching out across the other growing platforms. This has also taken the form of developments in how media can be delivered. Our hardware gives us the in-house facility to deliver our media anywhere in the world, where there is a internet connection or postal service.

We have been instrumental in developing technical systems, that not only break the 'one movie per parcel' limitation to multiple movies, delivered across secure networks, but that can be transported across multiple platforms. Business can now reach multiple platforms from one source of delivery. Whether through static screens, or platform wide wearable media system, that not only allows for 'in platform' media, but links to other platforms, RSS feeds, iPodcasts, websites, collaboration tools. Winning awards for technical innovation.

We have created companies that not only have given us greater scope, but incorporate many different techniques and skill sets, from its members. We have many 'pools' of talent working in different fields, but under the umbrella of our group. Cross Investments in those companies for creation of avatar control systems, that not only get used in those particular business spearheads (fashion) but are available for our movie media for advertising and commercial creation.

Our portfolio of work can be viewed at http://www.wba-advertising.com and http://www.nex-core-mm.com The technical advancements for media delivery can be seen at http://www.eml-entertainments.com/silverstreamtechnology.html

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SUMMARY

When your ready to have a machinima production, interview several machima producers and choose the one you feel is the best fit for your needs. When agreeing to a contract or agreement with a virtual world machinima producer, get all of the details up front and get the agreement in writing. That should be a real world agreement.

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