Mostly Machinima

Movies that inspired me

2012-01-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

There's a very interesting thread over on the Moviestorm forums where users have been asked to nominate their favourite movies for the Hall of Fame. It's basically a list of nominations, (although you're allowed to nominate your own movies, which seems a little odd to me. Even odder, you're allowed to nominate your own movies in secret by PMing Moviestorm!)
I've posted a list of movies which for a variety of reasons have inspired me along the way. Sometimes because of attention to detail, or overall quality, or because of the story, or because it was funny, etc. However, it's not just Moviestorm movies that have encouraged me along the way, so here's my list including movies shot in Second Life, The Movies, and other software;

The Unexpected, by Kkffoo
Saving Grace, by Sisch
Le Rondeau, by Primaveranz
I bin gat wat taem, by Primaveranz
Blue Knights: The Jumper, by act3scene24
Merry Christmas, Sweetheart (number 10), by act3scene24
Control Point, by Mellowhardy
Northern Lasses (series), by Luxaeternam
Albion, by Luxaeternam
Danse Macabre, by Poulet Noir
The Stolen Child, by Lainy Voom
The Wizard of OS, by Tom Jantol
The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by JosephKW
Coming Home, by Lizard
Orientation, by Chantal Harvey
Family Values, by Edan Mackenzie

Generally speaking, these directors only do good stuff - you can pick any of their completed movies and see something impressive. Hopefully there's something in this list that you haven't seen before.
I'd be interested to hear any recommendations you have for movies worth watching. (Other than your own of course...)

Muvizu - First Impressions

2012-01-12T13:30:00.001-08:00

Today I had a chance to see a demo of Muvizu for the first time, capably delivered by one of the developers. I've been aware of the software for some time now but haven't really properly investigated.
As you're probably aware Muvizu is an animation package built on the sublime Unreal engine. It is still in public beta but has a very slick, polished feel. What I was most impressed with were the camera focus and depth of field controls, and the beautiful lighting system which allows the director to create tremendously atmospheric and shadowy scenes.
The other striking thing about Muvizu is the cartoony nature of the characters and props. Any movie made with this software is gonna have to have a punch line!
David, who was demonstrating, claims that Muvizu isn't a competitor as such for Moviestorm (my current weapon of choice), and I'd have to agree, to a point. Sure, it's going to appeal to those of us with a creative need to make animations, but the type of movies you want to make are going to dictate the best tool for the job; you want thought-provoking drama? Moviestorm or iClone is probably the right tool. You want to have a stab at creating your own Toy Story or WallE? Muvizu has gotta be consideration.
Will I give it a go? Probably. If I can ever find the time, and right now isn't the time. Of course I'm notoriously impatient when it comes to learning new applications. But Muvizu did look very approachable.
Have you used it? How did you find it?

FILE Rio 2010

2011-12-20T02:51:00.000-08:00

Got of lovely email this morning from Fernanda Albuquerque de Almeida who is the Machinima Curator at FILE Brazil. FILE is the Electronic Language International Festival which takes place at various locations in Brazil, and I'm fortunate enough to have had several screenings there before.
Fernanda wrote to tell me that Trichophagia will be screened at FILE Rio 2012, which takes place at the Art Galery of Oi Futuro - Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro from March 12 to April 08.
As soon as I know more information, I'll let you the details!
As I mentioned a few posts ago I have a new script. Most of the voices are in the can, just one more to go before I go into film-making mode proper. In past years I've really made use of the time off over Christmas to jump into making machinima. This year, although I've got this new project to kick off, I'm planning on taking it easy. I'll probably just dip into it from time to time and see how long it takes me.
For you machinima makers out there - do you relish the idea of a bit of time off work to get cracking on your latest creation, or do you prefer to just chip away whenever you can?

Vive française machinima

2011-11-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

The annual Atopic Machinima festival in Paris is coming up this month. It's the third year I've had a film selected for screening there. The first year I was able to go over and enjoy some great films, and meet some interesting people. As always, I had hoped to attend in person again, but due to my workload this won't be possible.
As I type this, I have the French version of Trichophagia rendering specially for the festival. Rather than simply adding subtitles, I've edited every single speech bubble - it was a long, boring, manual task as I hadn't ever intended to do a translated version, so it wasn't really designed for easy editing in that way. The size and location of each bubble couldn't be changed (easily), and some of the text took up a different amount of space to the English equivalent (a problem that is familiar to anyone who has ever had to deal with localising printed material for example). This meant that the point size and leading for each bubble text needed to be adjusted. In addition, it took me a while to find a font that would work - Lucy George who did an amazing job in providing a translated version of the script recommended using mixed case text so that the accents were apparent. Good advice I thought, until I realised that the font I had used in the English version didn't have lower case characters, nor did it have European accents.
I have to say that in the early hours of this morning I was wishing I'd just copied and pasted the subtitles across, and stuck them in Ariel or something equally uninspiring.
Anyway, fingers crossed that the final render looks good.
The majority of movies to be screened at the festival are French, so I'm not too familiar with them. But there are some solid award-winning movies in there that I do recognise - especially Ian Chisholm's Clear Skies 3, and an old favourite of mine Orientation by Chantal Harvey.
If you get the chance to go then I do recommend it!

Trichophagia at MachinExpo 2011!

2011-10-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Just got news this morning that Trichophagia will be screened at Machinima Expo 2011! The Expo weekend is the 19 and 20 November in SecondLife, but films will be screened for the preceeding week, and for the week after. Keep an eye on the Machinima Expo blog for further details.
Thanks to Ricky Grove, Kate Fosk, Kate Lee and Damien Valentine (who comprise the screening team)for selecting my movie.
I'll need to dust down my Steampunk costume if I'm to make an appearance!

Andover screenings, more submissions, and a new script...

2011-10-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

The Andover screenings for Ruth went well. The venue had changed from the original plan to a much larger auditorium in the Andover multiplex cinema - this meant that while the capacity had greatly increased it happened too late in the day to publicise it to a larger audience with the result that there were quite a few empty seats in the auditorium. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the event - there were some terrific little movies shown including a deliciously dark comedy called A Fine Wine which doesn't seem to be available online anywhere yet. My movie was well received and I was complimented for the style of the dialogue which (I'm told) was authentic (the story being set in Victorian times).
I've now also submitted Trichophagia to a three more festivals - Atopic in Paris, Machinima Expo in Second Life, and Animarte which takes place across several locations in Latin America. I should really submit more movies to more events, it's just all the paperwork I can't be bothered with!
A special mention should be made for Machinima Expo though - this is the single most important online event in the Machinima calendar. And although it takes place in Second Life, the machinima that is shown is from across the entire spectrum whether it's SL based, game based, scripted (Moviestorm. Iclone, Muvizu) or a mashup of them all. It really is worth attending to broaden your awareness of what's going on out there.
Final bit of news for today. I've officially shelved the second part of Trichophagia. Yes, I thought you'd be disappointed. But the good news is, I've just completed a new script and have started set building. This movie, takes me in yet another direction - so it's not a bleak dystopian tale, nor a twisted sci-fi. I'll post more about it once there's some real progress (such as completing the voice recording) and I have some screenies to show.
Thanks for reading!

Trichophagia accepted for Bitfilm, and some other stuff

2011-09-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

Bitfilm was the first film competition that I ever entered with Clockwork, a couple of years ago, and when I saw their call for entries recently I thought that perhaps Trichophagia might be a good candidate. I submitted it just before the closing deadline, and I'm pretty chuffed to see it's been accepted. Not sure how well it will do, but it feels good to be doing something with the movie.

This week I have two screenings of Ruth at the Andover FilmFest which takes place on Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 September at the Reel Cinema in Andover. The event is a fund raiser for the Andover Film Society who were the first such society to screen one of my films on the big screen. I'm going to go along to do a little intro, and to take any questions - if you're in the area it would be great to see you there!

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I'm really not very sure which direction my film making will take in the future, however I was really impressed with this short movie by Scott Hather which was made in Blender. It's a bit reminiscent of early computer animation in that it doesn't feature any organic or lifelike content - but it's a lovely demonstration of the physics engine in Blender, and it's fascinating to watch. And Blender certainly is capable of some simply stunning animation as seen in multi-award winning movie Sintel. The software itself looks terrifying when you launch it though. If I'm going to do anything with it I'll need some good tutorials for idiots to get me started. I had thought of ordering Blender for Dummies but the online reviews don't seem too good, and it is criticised for a lack of tutorials. If anyone has any recommendations as to how to get started then I'm all ears!

Six months later...

2011-09-03T04:41:00.000-07:00

Oh heck, I knew it was time for an update, but I no idea I'd left it six months!
Well, to be honest there's not a great deal to update you on as I've not been terribly creative lately - busy with work, our new(ish) dog, and I was unwell for a while too. But there are two screenings coming up which I'd like to mention. The first is today at Dragon*Con in Atlanta (yes, I know I'm not giving you much notice). The show starts at 7pm at the Sheraton Savannah room, and the programme includes Trichophagia which I'm hoping will really strike a chord with the audience - if not the story then at least the visual treatment.
Then, on September 26 and 27 there is a fund-raising screening event hosted by Andover Film Society. This was the first film society that screened any of my movies - Clockwork, and I'm really excited to be invited back for this. This time they'll show Ruth, which I think will also be a perfect fit for the film society audience. I'll be there to introduce the movie, and to take any questions.
So, you're probably wondering how long it will be before I update this blog again. I'm hoping it will be sooner than six months, for that to happen I think I need to rearrange things at home a bit - at the moment my PC is tucked away in one of the bedrooms (where the dog isn't allowed) so my plan is to move it downstairs and retire the old PC which my youngest son uses. Of course, I'll need to replace it with something first, and I don't have a solution to that yet...
Also, I'm going to have to get back into Moviestorm. I think it is obvious to everyone that the company has been struggling. At the back of my mind there is a worry that should they cease trading while I'm half-way through a movie... well what then? Will my time have been wasted? Will I still have access to the software if there's no one "at the other end" (in case you're not familiar with how the software operates, it needs to "phone home" periodically to confirm you have a valid subscription.)
And this subscription business has been a bugbear of mine for a long time; when the software emerged from the public beta programme as a fully formed commercial product, rather than selling it in the same way as Microsoft, Adobe, Sony et al, it was decided to make it available on a subscription basis. Okaaaaaay... but my goodness it was a complicated affair trying to figure out which subscription was best. I couldn't shake off the feeling that whichever one I went for I was going to lose out somehow. In the end, there was a "lifetime subscription" option, which was effectively the same as buying it. I think. But by then I had a subscription, and I'd lost interest following the lengthy debates which were taking place on-line.
But now there's good news! That's right, you can now buy Moviestorm, just like a proper packaged application from Amazon. It only costs £156, and I'm assuming that contains some content packs (haven't researched this yet, but the guys at Moviestorm are known for their generosity!) I really hope would-be machinimators sit up and take notice because now they can buy everything they need to get started in one go!

So that's part one out of the way...

2011-03-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

When I wrote the screenplay for Trichophagia, it was intended to be a short standalone movie (as all of my others are). It was supposed to be a bit "out there", with the exact explanation as to what is going on tantalisingly out of reach for the viewer. In other words, it was meant to have some loose ends.
But during filming, things change. For example, the opening sequence was turned into the comic-book flashback sequence which now happens after the scene has been set. And the final line that is spoken was meant to be heard after the screen fades to black, but I thought "wouldn't it be cool to actually see what the leeching room looks like", so I expanded a bit on that.
But something else became apparent while filming; the movie was going to be a bit shorter than I'd anticipated (I always find that hard to gauge), and there were maybe a few too many loose ends.
If you haven't already watched the movie then this is probably a good place to stop reading and go watch!
My mind started playing around with some ideas. Now one of the things I hate, Hate, HATE, is TV series that draw you in and yet you know that the writers themselves haven't quite figured out how it's all going to finish. Basically they're making it up as they go along (examples would be Lost, FlashForward, The Event, Invasion, The Fantastic Journey, and possibly even Twin Peaks). However, when Trichophagia was finally completed, I had to admit it didn't seem quite... well, complete.
So, I'm announcing today that there will be a second part to Trichophagia to bring it to a complete conclusion. You'll discover who the captors are, who the captives are, and crucially - what happens to them.
Although I have the ideas very clearly in my mind I haven't commited them to paper yet. As always I'm going to take my time with this, and I won't be cutting any corners to complete Trichophagia II.

Trichophagia to premier on Indy Theater

2011-02-11T12:37:00.001-08:00

Well Trichophagia is now locked and loaded for it's first public screening at Indy Theater (previously known as TMU Theater) on 25 February at 9pm (UK).

Normally, when I complete a movie I like to get it out into the wild as soon as possible, but I'd been chatting with D.L. Watson, the proprietor of Indy Theater, about possibly doing a premier at the theater while I was working on Ruth. When that movie was complete I didn't think that it was quite right for the online machinima audience (I was wrong), and vowed that my next movie would have it's first showing at Indy.
I think that Trichophagia is possibly much more usual fare for those who enjoy machinima - although I like to think that it's a bit of a strange movie because... well... it is! Again, I could be wrong...
Visually, it's inspired by graphic novels and comic books (as I previously posted), but most exciting (for me anyway!) it's the first time that it has had a custom score written for it. This time, Paul Radford (Chill) very kindly developed a score which fits perfectly with the dark, gritty visuals, and helps raise the tension. Chill indeed! Working with Paul was very easy as he immediately understood what I was looking for, and took my feedback and suggestions very positively - I know that we creative folks sometimes don't like others treading on our ideas! It's the first time I've had a positive experience from collaboration (after the sad demise of "Gridlock"). I'm sure I'll be doing more stuff with Paul in the future.
There's also a number of custom models which were developed for the movie, without which I wouldn't have been able to create it - so thanks to Ian West, Chris Dyer, Squirrelygirl, and John Herd (who created a model for me in record time.)
OK. that's all for now. Hope to see you at the premier!

Movies? Schmoovies!

2011-01-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

For the Atopic festival in Paris last December a jury of 13 respected media experts and commentators selected 23 films from the 67 machinima submissions. Nothing remarkable in that, and the final list was a good representation of all that's good in machinima at the moment.

However, there was a comment in the notification email which intrigued me. It said;

"This selection shows that Machinima has matured in the use of the tool and was able to develop a narrative and aesthetic quality. However, it lacks more proposals relating to experimental and to the documentary. Machinima is still too inspired by the cinematic codes."

And it was that last bit about still being too inspired by cinematic codes that caught my attention. Ever since I began playing around with machinima I've considered cinema to represent the ultimate benchmark. If I could make movies which looked good on a cinema screen, and could entertain a cinema audience then that would be a major achievement. So that has always been my goal.

Now I don't think I've been barking up the wrong tree. Personally I have no desire to make documentaries in machinima, and to do successful experimental movies I think you have to be very, very good. Which I'm not. But I did take heed. What other visual medium could I turn to for inspiration?

My new movie, a dark little production called Trichophagia, is drawing some of it's visual themes from comic books. We're in the home straight now, and I hope to be able to publish it soon. Here's an image which is used as part of a flashback sequence. Note that this is a movie, it's not all static images like this.

The Last Post. (Of 2010)

2010-12-31T11:43:00.000-08:00

Well the year is now drawing to a close, and I suppose it's time for a bit of reflection on 2010 - how was it for you?
For me it's been a pretty good year. I wasn't able to repeat the huge success of Clockwork in 2009, which if I'm honest was something that I was worried would happen. I hope I've not peaked to early! I still think that Embers is actually a better movie that Clockwork. The story is more complete, it required greater technical skill, and it has a slick look that I'm quite proud of. It got great feedback online, but it didn't perform so well in the various competitions it was entered into. No matter, I learned a lot from making that movie.
Then came Ruth. I haven't promoted that one too hard yet - I'll get round to it in the New Year. Again, I was quite pleased with the final result. Although the story might not have been the most original, I think the treatment was, and I managed to squeeze some nice latern effects by playing around with fireballs in Moviestorm (seriously!)
But 2011 is going to open with a bang! Or at least once "the new movie" is ready it will. I'm still not disclosing the name, but I've got a new treatment for this movie that I'm really excited about. Still tons to do, but I feel like I'm really getting somewhere good with this movie, and I think those who thought Clockwork was good will really get into this one.
So, that's it for 2010. You weren't a classic year by any stretch, but not a bad one either so I'll bid you a courteous goodbye and look forward to your successor!
Happy New Year everyone!

Machinima Expo 2010 Feedback

2010-11-29T13:04:00.001-08:00

Those of you who attended this year's Machinima Expo will have witnessed quite a different event to last year's Expo. Much bigger in scale, far more integrated with simultaneous streaming in Second Life and TMU Theatre, and a very polished programme of content.
Sadly, I had a few technical issues as a result of my late switch to Viewer 2... I've never really got on with Second Life to be honest, and using the new viewer simply made the whole situation worse. I missed the keynote speech, and most of the awards while I tried to figure out how to see and hear the content (they seemed mutually exclusive for reasons that are still not clear to me).
On the upside, I met a whole bunch of interesting people - all the usual crowd, plus Matt from Moviestorm, and the new kids on the block from Muvizu.
Congratulations to the organisers - it was obvious you'd worked hard to make it all come together - take a bow!
And speaking of the organisers... they'd like to hear your feedback on the Expo. There's a handy form all ready for your comments. Remember, the more information you can provide the better next year's event will be!

Call for voice actor for new dark production

2010-10-30T04:23:00.000-07:00

I've been on holiday this week.

Try as I might, I cannot avoid being drawn to the computer to try out new story ideas - both in terms of scripting and set-building. Well, I'm afraid it's too late! I have a new script, and the beginnings of some new sets that I'm getting quite excited about. It's far too early to say too much about this movie, I can't even tell you what it will be called yet as I don't want to give too much away.

Anyway, here is an early screenshot to give you an idea as to what this will look like. There's no post production done on this shot so it is a bit rough at the moment. I've borrowed some of the textures from D.L. Watson's excellent Industrial Corridor set (with permission!) which contributes to the gritty feel tremendously. Also, you might be thinking that I've addressed this topic before in Cut & Shut - but actually, what is going on here is something quite different...

It's quite a short script, and I'm looking for a voice actor to play the nasty guy. Ideally, I have a Ray Winstone or Jason Stratham type of accent in mind - menacing, London gangstery type of thing. If you're interested then please send me a message; iain.friar { a t } gmail.com, ideally with some samples of your work. I will warn you now that sound quality is pretty important so you will need to provide a low noise recording.

The Countdown to Machinima Expo 2010

2010-10-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

The countdown to Machinima Expo 2010 is now well under way. This year it is being held on the 20th and 21st November, and is possibly the biggest date in the machinima community's calendar. And the great thing is that anyone can attend, no matter where you are in the world...
That's right! The Expo takes place in Second Life, which means that anyone can come along for free - all you need is an internet connection, and access to Second Life (which is also free).
It's also a great way to take the plunge and try out Second Life for yourself if you haven't already done so - it's dead easy to use, and as there is always a healthy turnout at the Expo it means you'll be picking up lots of contacts while you're there.
However, if you don't fancy the idea of Second Life then for the first time ever you'll be able to join via a normal web browser thanks to the TMU Theater. So, you can just sit back and enjoy the entertainment.
The Jury has already been announced over on the Machinima Expo blog, and features some familiar faces, and some new ones. And of course excitement is now building to hear which movies made the grade to be screened, and which ones have been selected to go forward for the Jury prize competition. There are some killer prizes on offer this year so watch this space!
The Expo is rightly recognised as an important event for the world of machinima, and that's why we see some great names in there as sponsors. There's the established heavyweights of Moviestorm and Reallusion, and joining them this year are cheeky young upstarts Muvizu. How do I know they're cheeky upstarts? Well, like me they're from Glasgow and it is a known fact that everyone from Glasgow is a cheeky young upstart.
Anyway, this year's Expo is shaping up to be a doozie, and that is thanks in no small part to the organisers, and those who are working behind the scenes so well done to Phil "Overman" Rice, Ricky Grove, Dulci, Phil "Biggs Trek" Browne, Damien Valentine, and Kate Fosk! (Did I miss anyone? If so tell me!)

Beautiful movie by the Blender Foundation

2010-10-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

This week I watched a movie that has been generating quite a lot of interest among the online community of late. It's called Sintel, and is a charming fantasy animation made entirely within Blender, which is an open source 3D content creation suite.

The reason I think this movie is so interesting is because it shows just what is possible when a free software tool is placed in the right hands. The "right hands" in this case appear to be quite numerous, and although the software itself is free that's not to say there wasn't money involved in this project. No, it's probably not machinima (and I'm not going to try to offer a definition of machinima here, there are too many trolls out there ready to take exception), but the spirit behind the project shares something with the spirit of machinima. That is, just because you're not a full time professional animator with access to artists, modellers, and render farms, doesn't mean you can't bang out your own modest little animation. That said, Sintel isn't really a modest little animation - it's a slick, atmospheric short which combines beautiful visuals with terrific sound mixing.

Watch it, enjoy it, don't try to figure out what it is and what it isn't, and reflect on the idea that maybe one day the machinima tools that we all use might yet be capable of something of this calibre.

First festival showing for Ruth

2010-10-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

I managed to get Ruth completed just before the submission deadline for Machinima Expo 2010. After an anxious couple of weeks I received a confirmation that Ruth has been selected for screening at the expo. This is terrific news because it means I'll have two movies screening this year; in addition to Ruth, Embers was also selected!

There was a 25% increase in submissions this year, with around 200 movies submitted in total, so it's great to have made the final cut.

Congratulations to the other directors who were successful too.

Looking forward to the Expo.

Ruth. Showing at a theatre near you.

2010-09-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

Ruth is now complete, and available to view here.

I was a bit apprehensive about publishing this one - it's essentially a monologue, and I worried that it would be too long to hold the audience's interest. However the feedback has been positive, so what do I know?
I really wanted to try a fresh approach with this piece, so as you'll see, it is essentially a stage production in the form of a short movie. The whole thing was something of an experiment, and I wanted to play around with doing different things with the lighting than what I've tried in the past. Moviestorm allows for some really subtle lighting, and in the latest version of the software this gets even better (although I didn't use the new software as it was released during production, and it's best to stick with what you know works until a project is finished). And in Ruth I wanted to continue with the subtle lighting, but also introduce some very obvious spot lighting. There is a "super-trooper" style spot light available in the software which I've seen used to great effect in music videos, and I thought this would be a great platform to see what more could be done with it.
Also, I was pretty pleased with the gas lamp effect. That took quite a lot of tinkering and experimentation, but I think it looks like a fairly believable gas lantern.
The idea for the treatment actually came from another short by Kate Fosk called The Vampyre. In that movie, which is also a monologue, I was struck by the effectiveness of the limited set - and this coupled with the little improv at the end got me thinking about stage productions. I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough visual interest by simply watching the actor pace about the stage, so that was where the idea for the stills came from. In this way, it's a little reminiscent of Jackanory! And of course, the stills allowed me to include elements such as the horse and cart which would have otherwise been impossible to include as I have no way to animate horses. (Strictly speaking, that's not true as I could have used iClone, but I haven't been successful in befriending that piece of software)
So, that is Ruth - hope you enjoy it!

New movie is ready for roll-out

2010-09-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

After a summer hiatus I managed to get round to finishing off my latest movie. It's called Ruth, and it's quite different (I think) to my previous movies. I don't want to give too much away at the moment - but I will be uploading it once I've shown it to a few people first (as a matter of courtesy).

So, if you like steam trains, Victorian mystery, and well dressed gentlemen then hopefully you'll like the movie!

I've created a couple of images which you can see here, that I'm using to generate interest in the movie.

Seven Sins is live!

2010-07-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

Harb40's annual Passion contest has kicked off, and this time I'm on the judging panel! The challenge this time is create a movie which references at least two of the Seven Deadly Sins. What fun! I don't really have a favourite sin... they're all good!
I'll be looking for originality, believable dialogue, and good technical execution, among other things. Movies are not limited to any specific platform, and they don't even have to be machinima - live action is accepted too, so come on get filming!
Speaking on behalf of the judges I know we're all expecting some terrific entries, and for good reason - there's some killer prizes available.
To enter the competition and check the submission rules (and see the prizes on offer), see the official thread on the TMUnderground forums here.
Good luck to all entrants.
On another topic... following my visit to Bracknell Film Society last week, Julia (who organised the screening) sent me some of the comments that the attendees wrote on their feedback forms. I love getting feedback (good and bad) on my movies, but these ones were very interesting for me because the audience were previously completely unaware of machinima. Here are the comments;

Unusual and very worthwhile showing
Good and very well made
Interesting technique; I enjoyed the story
Interesting storyline and a technique well worth exploring further
A stimulating introduction to an original aspect of the cinema art form
Chilling
Film equivalent of 1984
An interesting technique - but can it catch on?
A technique that gives the man in the street the chance to tell a tale
The medium, and the talk about how the film was made, were fascinating
Strange! Did not enjoy the film, but found the talk interesting
An excellent view of a dystopian world
Compares well with "proper" films of the genre
Sorry - I didn't understand it
Didn't really understand it, but congratulations to the enthusiastic film maker, hope he works on a positive machinima film next time

The overall score came out at about 7 (the main feature "The Swenkas" got 8), so I'm pretty pleased with that. But what I was really pleased about was the fact that these comments described machinima as a technique. I'm pretty sure I didn't say that in my little talk, but it's something I feel quite strongly about - machinima is a technique, it is not a genre in itself. I'm not even sure that I'd consider it to be an artform. But it is definately a film making technique, and I think that over time it will be a technique which will increasingly be combined with other techniques so that the final form will no longer be machinima as such, just a film which comprises machinima and a variety of other techniques.

Bracknell Screening

2010-07-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

The screening at Bracknell Film Society was a great success. There was a good turnout, and there were some great questions asked, which for me is always an indicator that people are genuinely interested in the movie.
Part of my introduction touches on the problems of IP infringement that can occur when making machinima, and the fact that tools like Moviestorm and iClone provide a very tidy solution (at least as far as the animation tool is concerned). This led to some questions about using open source game engines as the animation tool. I have to confess I'm not very knowledgeable about open source software, and I couldn't think of any open source game engines when the question was asked. However, when chatting to some of the members in the bar afterwards I remembered that there is now an open source version of the Unreal engine available now (an engine which is a great favourite of mine - Unreal Tournament 2004 is probably my all-time favourite game, before UT started taking itself too seriously with the hideous UTIII). Actually, now that I've just typed this I've remembered about all that great Open Sim stuff that Kate Fosk does. Jeez, I've got a lousy memory when I need it!
I was also asked whether my movies begin with the story, or do I draw inspiration by building scenes. The answer I gave is that it always begins as a story in my head which I then write down as a short story before converting it into a script, then a storyboard (which probably isn't a storyboard in the proper sense - I tend to just jot down descriptions of what will be seen, and occassionaly scribble a little thumbnail sketch). Usually there will be important scenes which I will see clearly in my mind before I shoot anything. The rest of the time I set up the action before concentrating on lighting and cameras.
Anyway, the Bracknell Film Society were really welcoming, and I got a real kick out of seeing the description of Clockwork in the glossy brochure that the South Hill Park Cinema produced.
That's it for film society screenings for now I think. I'm taking a bit of a break for the rest of the summer (although I'm continuing to tinker with "Ruth").
Other news just in - Clockwork will be showing at Dragon*Con 2010 in Atlanta this coming September. I love Atlanta, but I won't be able to attend in person this year. They had expressed an interest in both Clockwork and Embers, but in the end settled on just Clockwork.
Naturally I'm delighted, and I think the movie will be a great fit for the audience. Personally, I think that Embers is a better made movie, and my skills with the software certainly improved in the time between making Clockwork and Embers. I'm not exactly sure why Clockwork continues to be preferred over Embers, other than the slightly controversial end to Embers. As I always say in my film society introductions, making machinima is a bit like making home brewed beer; you're never quite sure how it'll turn out until it's ready, you need to make an awful lot of it before you manage to make something that's really palatable, and once you do it's really hard to recreate that success!
Oh well, I'll continue "doing my thing" for now. I have my principles* you know!

*actually I don't.

Screening at Bracknell Film Society

2010-07-10T01:56:00.000-07:00

This coming Tuesday 13th July I'll be at the Bracknell Film Society who have added Clockwork to the programme. It's the first time I've shown anything there, and I'm looking forward meeting everyone.
The Society have their screenings at the South Hill Park Cinema - if you can make it you should come along!

I also have some other news. I have a new film underway which I hope to have completed by the end of the summer. It is called "Ruth", and tells the story of a mysterious passenger on board a London commuter train in Victorian England. This will be quite a departure from my previous fare, and I had originally planned to make this in iClone, however as I was finding the software difficult to get to grips with and the results rather disappointing I switched back to Moviestorm.
Progress has been steady although I've encountered the old audio synch problem that I had last year once again. The last time the problem just disappeared on its own, but not until I'd completed Embers. I can work around the problem but it actually creates an extra step in the rendering process, and greatly slows progress down.
Anyway, one way or another I'll have something to show soon!

Overcoming the impossible

2010-06-18T11:06:00.000-07:00

It was high time for another interview with a famous name from the world of machinima and anymation. This time it was the turn of Moviestorm and OpenSim pioneer Kate Fosk (AKA kkffoo AKA Beans Canning). For previous podcasts I had the opportunity for a face to face chat, but this time the plan was to do it via Skype (other VOIP apps are available*...)

So how hard can it be to record an interview via Skype? Well, as it turns out it was nigh-on impossible. Twenty minutes before the agreed time, I fired up the software for the call, and connected up my headphones and mic. Audacity should be up to the job of recording. Or so I thought. Try as I might I couldn't get the software to record the Skype stream - it could hear me but not Skype. No amount of tinkering with the sound mixer could fix it. The clock was ticking and I had to call Kate toask her to hang on in there.

More faffing about - I was sure there was a "What I hear" option that I'd seen somewhere - but where?

I discovered the Pamela Skype recorder - that'll do it, right? Fired that up for the first time to discover that if you want to record for more than 15 minutes you need to cough up £15 or so.

I'm Scotch**. We don't pay for things if there's a whisker of chance it'll be free (just ask Moviestorm). By this time it was too late for the call, so we rescheduled. A week should be enough time.

So, in the meantime I did a bit of research. Turns out that it's deliberately set up so that you can't record audio streams - probably to prevent you from recording from Spotify and the like. But I reckoned I was smarter than Microsoft or whoever came up with this limitation. Turns out I'm not. I installed the Skype app on my Netbook which runs an OS called Jolicloud (no Microsoft technology present). Still wouldn't record. I resorted to my old desktop PC which runs XP. Now it does have a "What I Hear" option in the mixer.

And it does record What I Hear. Unless it involves Skype of course...

Another trawl of the web and I found a piece of software that claimed to do exactly what I wanted. I installed it. Along with it's nasty little payload; "Relavant Knowledge". The software was a basic recording app, nothing more - Relevant Knowledge was removed thanks to Malwarebytes Anti-malware.

OK. Let's shell out for Pamela Skype recorder then. Fire up Skype and it's downloaded a new version - do I want to install...? Sure, why not! I'll tell you why not, every time I fire up Skype now I get an error message from Pamela - and I've not even bought the damn upgrade yet!

By this stage a week has passed, it's 10 minutes to the second attempt at the call. At this point I'm desperate, and figure that it's time to resort to some sort of jerry-rigged hardware setup.

And that's what did. I connected my portable recorder to the headphone socket of my PC, to capture the Skype stream, and simultaneously used Audacity to capture my mic input. The end result was two separate audio files which I merged into a single stream.

Having managed all that, we still had a number of interruptions on the call (which I've edited out) such as when the guy turned up to replace my car windscreen...

Anyway, I'd like to thank Kate for her enormous patience. Here's the podcast - Kate has plenty to say about lots of things, and I know there's a lot more to talk about. Maybe next time I won't be quite so frazzled!

*although I don't know any of them!

** handy tip - all Scotch people from Scotland like to be called Scotch. Try it - we'll thank you for it ;-)

Winchester Film Society

2010-05-23T04:18:00.000-07:00

Thursday night was the end of season party at the Winchester Film Society, and to celebrate they screened three shorts that had all been shot by local film makers. The programme included Clockwork, the highly acclaimed and technically astonishing Ten Thousand Pictures of You by Robin King, and Stand or Fall - from Page to Stage, which was a moving documentary about a play performed by prison inmates.
Because there were only three movies on the programme it meant that there was plenty of time for Q&A. It is always with a degree of trepidation that put my movies forward for consideration by a non-machinima audience - obviously if you know your audience is "into" machinima then it's fine, but when you have a less specific audience there is always a worry that the movie won't stand up to comparison with more conventional fare. For me, the true measure as to whether they like the movie is demonstrated by the questions that are asked. No questions means they didn't get it, or didn't like it, so let's move on to the proper stuff...
I have to say I was really chuffed with the questions that were asked! And, if I did this sort of thing more often then I'm sure I could come up with more interesting responses. As it was, the audience were great, and the welcome from the Film Society was warm and appreciative.
Having the opportunity to rub shoulders with non-machinima film makers was great too. As well as being a talented film maker, Robin King is also a professional actor with a penchant for software development. Anyway, I recommend you check out his movies on Vimeo.

TV, Film Clubs, and being Judgemental

2010-05-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

This week I discovered that the TV show I was filmed for in France last October is available online. The programme is called Tracks, and airs on the Arte channel in France and Germany (and dubbed accordingly). Tracks did a report on machinima and came along to the Atopic Festival in Paris to find out more about it. You can watch the report here (hope your French is good!). I make an appearance at the 7:30 mark, and they also show a little clip of Clockwork.
Also this week I've been asked to join the judging panel for a machinima competition which will begin in August. I'll post more details about it nearer the time - isn't it time you entered a competition...? Some desirable prizes will be on offer!
My next real-world screening is organised by the Winchester Film Society on Thursday 20 May. I'm not 100% sure of the format yet but I expect I'll do a little introduction and Q&A.
Then, on Tuesday 13 July the Bracknell Film Society will include Clockwork within the programme. I'll be there too, and I'm looking forward talking about machinima and showing the movie.
Progress with iClone has been painfully slow. The software tantalises me with what it is clearly capable of, but I'm finding it really difficult get my head around. It would be great if you could just lift that engine and give it to the Moviestorm guys sort out. I have issues with the overall workflow which is confusing, and I find that the walk animations are sometimes really poor - the characters seem to moonwalk over the ground, sliding along as if they were on skates. I've also found it to be a bit buggy - I've had characters walking in endless circles when all I asked them to do was follow a path.
As I'm finding it all so difficult I am asking myself why I'm bothering. I think the reason is because of the fantastic facial animations that iClone has. Now, if Moviestorm had that (and water, and more morphable characters, and better shadowing) there'd be no need for iClone in my arsenal. Without those features I'm not sure what more I can really do with Moviestorm (without my movies looking like every other one I've done. And everyone else has done) but I don't have the time in my life to learn iClone to the level that would be required.
I'm at a cross-roads.

Machiniplex, Chromatose, FMX, FILE

2010-04-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Time for an update methinks!

I've not been doing too much on the movie making front lately as I've been down in Monte Carlo with work. Due to the flights fiasco this meant an interesting journey through the channel tunnel then down through France on the TGV (amazing trains!), then along the coast to Monaco. Fortunately flights are now back on because much as I enjoyed the journey down I didn't really want to have to do it all over again on the way back. (Plus I've got tickets to see Paul Merton tonight and wouldn't have been back in time if I'd had to take the train)

The April Machiniplex Forum takes place this coming Sunday (25th April), and continues on the topic of directing voice actors. This time I WILL be there! Promise! Location details are on the Machiniplex blog - hope you can make it!

I've had recent confirmation for screenings at two more events. First up is Chromatose which takes place in Newfoundland from 30th April. They will be screening Clockwork during the main program on the Friday evening, and Embers will be shown during the Anymator's conference on the Sunday evening. I'm waiting to hear whether I'll be able to participate online, although timings may be an issue as I already have some commitments on Sunday.

The next event is the following Friday at FMX 2010 which is an animation, effects, games and interactive media conference held in Stuttgart in Germany. Well-known German machinima director CD Schulz will be screening some of the best machinima from the past year, and I'm proud to say this includes Clockwork! I wasn't previously aware of this event and thought that it might be good to go along to. It's not too easy for me to get cheap flights this time, but maybe next year!

I've also had both Clockwork and Embers accepted for FILE which takes place in Sao Paulo in Brazil at the end of July - I'll post more about that nearer the time.

What else? Well I have an idea for a new movie, as yet untitled and unscripted. However I have secured a new voice actor on the basis of my previous movies, so I'd better get writing before he loses interest! This time, I want to really focus in on emotion and I'm planning to use this movie to get to know iClone a bit better. I am approaching this with a degree of trepidation because I do find iClone rather confusing, but the facial puppeteering features are simply amazing. The potential is definately there, the question is whether I can harness it though! I'll keep you posted on progress but I fully expect this project to take a while to complete.

What have you become, my beloved Moviestorm?

2010-03-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

This is my second attempt at this 'blog post. The first attempt was a vitriolic rant that flitted uncontrollably from topic to topic. I've now had the chance to sleep on it, consider my thoughts, rearrange them a little, calm down etc.

This, I hope will be short and to the point.

This week, Moviestorm announced a new pack, euphemistically called "After Dark", but will, I fear, become known colloquially as the Porn Pack. I was infuriated! But why?

Well, it's not because I'm some sort of narrow-minded prude, (an accusation that can hardly be made of anyone who lists A Clockwork Orange among their favourite movies).

No, it's partly because over the past couple of years the modding community have been constantly knocking on Moviestorm's door, desperately crying out for the tools that would allow them to create their own animations, costumes, animated models. Now anyone that knows anything about technology marketing will know the importance of establishing an active and enthusiastic community to get behind and promote your product - in fact the importance is explained very well in Geoffrey A. Moore's book Crossing the Chasm. This is the first book you read when learning about technology marketing. Without building this community, no matter how innovative your technology is, you'll probably fade away. (A great contemporary example is Apple and the way they built a huge developer base for apps, which in turn increased the reasons to buy iPhone / iPod Touch.)

Now, I don't count myself among the modders (for me, importing the occasional model from Google isn't really modding). But I sure want that community to develop because:

a) I want Moviestorm to thrive and grow

b) I need more variety in my movies; more costumes, more animations, more expression in the models... basically all the things that people ask for after they've made their first movie

I had always thought that Moviestorm would be working away on SDKs (or whatever modders really need), and throwing their energy into finding a sales model that allows them to take a share of sales while mitigating any legal exposure (where there's a will there is a way). I believed this because this is a basic technology marketing requirement and I had assumed that it was due to the limited resources that meant it was taking a long time - and the problem of limited resources would be alleviated by having a large third-party development effort.

I also believed this because I know that the guys at Moviestorm are smart. There's no doubt.

But with the announcement of the Porn Pack it became immediately apparent that the development energies are being applied to just developing content packs, and therefore not opening up the platform to a hungry modding community, and all this within the limited development bandwidth.

So my first issue is that Moviestorm have got their priorities wrong.

What else troubles me about this pack? Well, I can imagine it will prove popular with spotty-faced teenagers keen to make grubby little skin flicks, and I'm sure they'll be able scrape together a few pennies to buy it. So it will sell, and Moviestorm will make some cash. But really, did we have to stoop so low Moviestorm? Wasn't it possible to do a "passion pack" which focused on animations that adults could actually use?

And finally, I think Moviestorm needs to show a bit of honesty. The description for the "After Dark" pack says "there is content here that will allow you to fulfill your artistic intentions." Artistic? Seriously? Let's have a look at some of the assets on offer (fnarr): naked female with morphable breasts, doggy position on floor (start, thrust, loop).

I've no particular issue with pornography - each to their own as far as I'm concerned, but if we're going to have a porn pack then for goodness sake call it what it is, and let's not pretend it's in any way high-brow.

Of course I may be proved wrong by someone doing a tasteful and artistic movie. But I doubt it.

OK, maybe not as short as I was expecting. But fairly to the point.

So what happened Iain?!

2010-03-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well, let me firstly publicly apologise to Ricky Grove and Phil Rice for pulling out of Machiniplex 3 at extremely short notice. And for everyone who did make it, I'm truly sorry I wasn't there.

So what happened? Well, no great disaster as such - I just got my dates a bit screwed up. Ricky had checked my availability, and I confirmed it was fine. Unfortunately I had a prior engagement and being a bit of a disorganised sod I hadn't written it down anywhere useful, like in my diary.

I'm feeling suitably embarassed by all this, especially considering the organising and promotion that goes into the event.

Anyway, it won't happen again...

OK, moving on then... the Machinima screening in Leicester was very interesting. It was hosted by Dr. Tracy Harwood, and Chantal Harvey (who joined via Second Life). Tracy gave a very interesting talk about machinima as a social phenomenon, and screened some movies that I'd not seen before such as the 1K Project by Blackshark, Divas by Phalen Fairchild, and some favourites such as Lainy Voom's Push. But the big movie was the world premiere of Tom Jantol's The Remake. I think this has still to be published online so I won't say too much about it other than if you're familiar with Tom's work then you'll not be disappointed!

I also had a chance to chat with Tracy in the bar afterward as well as some of the audience, and of course Roger from TMOA Radio ("the Roger from the Ken and Roger Show!") and his son Scott. It was a great night, and well worth the trip up to Leicester.

I've also published a couple of new 29 second shorts as entries in the Doritos ad contest. I think there may be a problem with the encoding (at their end) as the quality isn't wonderful. I might look into this a bit more if I get a chance.

Here are my entries from the Vimeo site; Stoat & Onion, and Hello Mum.

That's it for now!

Machiniplex3

2010-03-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday (21 March) sees the next installment of the Machiniplex forums taking place in Second Life. The topic this time is "Directing Voice Actors", and I'll be joining the panel along with Chantal Harvey (organiser of the Mamachinima festival), and hosts Ricky Grove and Phil Rice.

Full details of the event are here.

The event takes place in Second Life, and if you've never tried SL before then this would be a great starting point. You need to download and register (all free), and I'd recommend you do that in advance so that you a basic idea as to how to steer your avatar around...

Hope you can join us! (And if you do, make sure you ask plenty of questions)

Lots happening!

2010-03-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

I've been postponing updating this blog for too long now with the result that there's a lot to tell you about!

First up, there is an evening of machinima being screened at Phoenix Square in Leicester next Thursday (18 March). The event is being hosted by Dr. Tracy Harwood of De Montford University, and Chantal Harvey who is the organiser of the Mamachinima festival. Clockwork is on the programme, and I'll be going along.

Next, as you may be aware I've started contacting various Film Societies to see if they're interested in screening any of my animations, following a very successful screening at Andover. The great news is that I now have positive replies from both Bracknell and Winchester Film Societies!

On Thursday 20th May Winchester Film Society will host a screening of shorts, including Clockwork. I'll be there to introduce it and to take questions.

Then, on Tuesday 13 July it's along to Bracknell Film Society who will also show Clockwork, and once again I'll introduce and take questions.

On the whole I have to say I'm really pleased with the number of "real world" screenings - I'd always believed that machinima shouldn't be limited to an online audience, so it's great that these opportunities are there. And for any directors out there who are contemplating contacting their local film society then my advice is: Stop Contemplating And Just Do It!

Next up: my television debut on French TV show Tracks... my appearance was short and sweet, and I looked suitably "animated". I'm looking for a online version that I can link to, so watch this space.

Another appearance in the media that was a real surprise for me was in last Saturday's Times newspaper. The "Sitegeist" column was about online animation software, and of course Moviestorm gets a mention, along with Clockwork.

So what of my latest movie Embers? Well, the response has been great. Comments about the look and feel have been consistently positive (apart from odd comment that said the bicycle in the basement gets too much prominence*). The ending however has really divided people! Some people like it, other's see what it was trying to do but feel that the pace of the movie was disrupted by it, while others absolutely hate the ending!

And this might surprise you, but if I was a viewer of this movie and not the director then I too would dislike the ending because it's not at all within my comfort zone, and this type of ending always seems like a cop-out to me whenever I see it used. However, I set out with clear personal challenge to myself with this movie - I didn't want to "play it safe", and regardless of how you feel about the ending in terms of story-telling, I still think it looks good. So, although I didn't follow my instinct for the narrative, I don't think I compromised any visual quality. It's like a vegetarian chef trying to cook the Christmas Turkey - I gave it my best shot, and I'm OK with the final result, even if it's not to my taste.

Another plus point; the ending surprised people, especially the ones who know me personally, and I love a twist in the tale!

Embers has already won a Storm Award from the Storm Hour on TMOA Radio. I think it is also a worthy successor to Clockwork as far as material for future cinema/film society screenings. I say this because at a little over 12 minutes long it's just the right size to add on to a main feature with an introduction. Cloud Angel at 20 minutes is probably a bit too long for that purpose (although I'd love to see Cloud Angel on the big screen - it would look amazing!)

*Oh yeah, the bike. This is one of the most interesting props I think I've ever used. I found it in Google 3Dwarehouse. The only modification I made to it was to tilt it over so that it leans against the bookcase rather than magically stand upright on its own. Originally, I stuck it on the set intending to find a place for it later (just like in real life I guess!) and discovered that it created some great shapes for some of the shots I was framing. That gave me an incentive to keep it where I'd placed it.

Embers is now published

2010-02-25T12:24:00.001-08:00

Just a very short post today to announce that Embers is now available for your viewing pleasure!

Just click here to watch it.

Is this my fifteen minutes that Andy Warhol promised me?

2010-02-17T09:21:00.000-08:00

Those of you who follow my blog will know that last October I was interviewed for a French TV programme called Tracks. The show is due to be aired tonight (I think) on a report about Machinima and the Atopic Festival in Paris.
I’ve not seen it myself yet, and I’ve had to go to some lengths to secure a recording of the show as it isn’t broadcast in the UK, and although it should be accessible online too I think it is limited to users in France.
I’m really looking forward to seeing this show, although I don’t speak a word of French, and I can’t remember much about what I said to them.
Still, if it turns out that I made a complete fool of myself then at least it will only be the French that think I’m an idiot. And as my French work colleagues will rush to point out, they already knew this!

Announcing my forthcoming movie...

2010-02-11T11:06:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's nearing completion and will be published very, very soon!
For anyone that's watched my movies, you'll know that I've started to build a reputation for gloomy, depressing, and dark material. Clockwork - my most successful flick to date - is set in an alternate history where the UK has descended into a hopelessly bleak totalitarian society. Cloud Angel is set on board an airship, and not wishing to spoil it if you haven't watched it, let's just say it doesn't end well...
I decided this had to change.
So, my new movie is set in an fallout shelter after a nuclear strike. I know what you're thinking. "It doesn't sound very cheery". Well, that's because it's not. I think it's fair to say that I've been singularly unsuccessful in my mission to deliver a happy upbeat Disneyesque family film. Still, could've been worse. It could've been a musical.
This film is something of a departure for me though. It's the first time I've set a movie in the US. The reason for not doing this before was because I like to direct my voice actors in person, and they're all British. In the same way that American actors struggle to do British accents, I assume that British actors doing American accents will sound ridiculous (to Americans at any rate. I doubt Brits would notice.) Do American actors struggle with British accents? I think so*. Any time there's a computer game with one of the levels set in the UK it's always painfully obvious that the actor isn't a native. The worst example I can think of is a Tony Hawks game that the kids have on the Wii - the "English" girl is dressed in a Union flag T-shirt and speaks with an accent that alternates between Cockney, Yorkshire, and bizarrely Australian. I don't intend this to sound in any way xenophobic - my point is simply that films set in the UK require British actors, so I assume films set in the US will require American actors.
This presented something of a problem for me as there are any number of actors available online, but I needed people that could perform without my immediate direction. I'm happy to say I got some killer performances...
With this movie I struggled with the title. The film is about a young couple holed up in the basement of their house which they've converted into a fallout shelter. They've been there for months after the country descended into nuclear war, and as they're in a remote rural location well away from any major industrial or population centres they've managed to avoid any direct blast damage. The threat now is fallout, and they wonder if it is safe to go outside.
The original title was "Embers", as I saw these two characters as being like the embers of life - and it could go one of two ways, they either fade away and die, or are rekindled into life. Then, I changed the name to "The End". I wanted to drive home the seriousness of their predicament. Now, no one has ever described my work as subtle, but even I could see that "The End" was a bit melodramatic, so "Embers" was rekindled. (Did you see what I did there...?)
Anyway, it is tantalisingly close to being released, so watch this space!

*with the obvious exception of Johnny Depp. I don't know how or why, but he can get away with it.

Screening by Andover Film Club

2010-02-04T05:19:00.001-08:00

On Monday 1st February I headed down to Andover for the screening of Clockwork. The Film Club had done a great job of turning the evening into a special event, which I hugely appreciated. They had issued a press release to announce that a "local filmaker" (i.e. me!) would be showcasing one of their animated movies.
The Film Club have their screenings at the Reel cinema, which is a modern multiplex. It's obvious that there's a great working relationship between the cinema and the club; in fact, the cinema had gone to great lengths to install a digital projector specifically for my movie (as opposed to the 35mm projectors used for the movies normally shown there).
As it was a special event, members and their guests were greeted in the foyer with glasses of champagne, (I made sure I guzzled one down in preparation for my little talk!)
While the audience were arriving I headed up to the projection room to meet the projectionist and to make sure everything was working OK. I've never been in a projection room before, and it was a sight to behold! I was fascinated by the film projectors - I instinctively knew that films are provided on huge reels but it's not until you see them sitting on these massive spools that you really understand how specialist this equipment is. In addition to the 35mm projectors, and the digital projector that was being used for my movie, they had a simply huge digital projector with integrated server (and cooling ducts disappearing into the ceiling). This was for Avatar of course - no wonder it looks so good on screen!
I then headed down to the auditorium to do a last minute check on the sound levels. The sound was crystal clear. In fact, there were some artifacts that I could hear which I know are in the movie but you're not normally aware of (mostly to do with the noise reduction filter for one of the voices). The sound reproduction was brilliant.
Then back to the foyer to quaff my fizz, then I followed the audience back to the auditorium. One of the committee members gave a short introduction, then I spoke for five or six minutes about machinima; what it is, origins, challenges, then a bit about Clockwork specifically; how long it took to make, where it has been shown, awards.
Then it was the screening itself.
The response was great. I think the audience genuinely enjoyed the movie, and later in the evening as everyone was filing out quite a few people stopped to say hello and tell me what they thought of the movie - they didn't have to do that!
All in all, the evening was a great success and I'm hoping I'll have the chance to show them more of my work in the future.
So, thanks Andover Film Club, it was an honour to be able to show Clockwork!

Breaking out of the backroom

2010-01-17T13:49:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started making machinima I've been convinced that a wider audience exists outside the confines of the internet. It's great that so many many people have taken the time to view my movies and pass judgement on them - every comment is welcomed, even if I don't always agree! And it's natural that machinma viewing should largely take place online as the internet allows everyone to showcase their creativity. However, as anyone who has ever made a machinima movie knows, it takes ages, and what better reward for all that time than being able to see your movie projected on a huge cinema screen?
I'm fortunate to have had movies shown at quite a few festivals in the last 12 months, and I was able to attend some of them. Of course, the other great thing about seeing your own movie in a cinema is that you also get to meet the audience - when someone looks you in the eye and tells you what they really think... well, somehow it has more gravity than an anonymous comment on an internet forum.
Recently, I was talking to a colleague who has just started a Film Society in his home town. Having seen some of my work he thought that it might be an idea to show it during one of their screenings. What's great about film societies is that they're genuinely interested in different types of film; art house, foreign films, classic movies, etc. So there's a possibility they'll screen something later in the year once the society is up and running.
This got me thinking... how many film societies are there in the UK? The answer is hundreds! So, on the off-chance I got in touch with the Andover Film Club who are probably the nearest one to me. I sent them a link to some of my movies and asked if they'd be interested in screening any of them - probably as a B-movie to the main feature. They were!
So, the good news is that they're going to screen Clockwork at the Reel Cinema on Monday 1st February. I'm going along to introduce it, and give a little talk about machinima, then after showing the movie they'll go on to the main feature.
I'll keep you posted how it goes, and assuming it all goes well I'll be contacting other film societies in the south to see if they'd be interested in doing something similar.
The only downside I can see to all this is it's one fewer night that I'll have to actually make movies, but in thinking about it, I make them because I want people to see them.
If you're interested in doing something similar in your home town, then a good starting place (in the UK) is the British Federation of Film Societies. Good luck!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted an update, and it's not because there's nothing going on... I currently have two movies in production, one of which is a collaborative project, plus ideas for a further two movies which will take me in a completely new direction. In addition I've struck upon a new idea to broaden my audience. I'll give a full account of this once we're into the new year.
For the past couple of weeks I've just been chilling out, catching up with people that I haven't seen in a long time.
For now, let me wish you and your family a happy and prosperous new year!

Machinexpo 2009

2009-11-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday was the main event at Machinexpo 2009. This is an online machinima festival that takes place in Second Life. I had never used Second Life until a week before the event when I installed it and logged on for the first time. I had two movies showing; Cloud Angel, and Clockwork. The latter having been nominated for a jury award.
I had been booked as one of a number of guests (or so I thought) to do a Q&A with Phil "Overman" Rice and Ricky Grove who were doing a live edition of the Overcast during the event. To make sure it all worked OK I went along to the technical rehearsal the week before. Ricky and Phil were very helpful in sorting out the voicechat settings, and explaining some of the movement and camera controls that weren't so obvious to me.
The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Tracy Harwood who is the Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Creative Technologies. This was followed by the awards, which were chosen by a jury panel (I'm not sure who was on the jury).
Jury Prizes were awarded to Cafe Insomniac by Hardy Capo, Clear Skies 2 by Ian Chisholm, Push by Lainy Voom (who also won a Special Achievement in Directing Award), Shelf Life by James Spencer & Jon Shortland, and Scripted by Krrysh Spyker. I won the grand prize for Clockwork. I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I was!
After the awards I had to log off for a bit to deal with some real-world responsibilities (i.e. feed the kids!), before returning for the Overcast, which I enjoyed very much (especially when I learned that machinima is coming to the Kindle...!)
I really enjoyed the whole Second Life experience; the venue was brilliantly designed, with lots of fun details built-in, and the technology itself worked very well; the media streaming and the voice chat. And it was great to "meet" so many people that I know from the various forums.
However, much as I enjoyed the whole online aspect, I continue to believe that there could be some sort of future for machinima in the real world. I enjoy meeting the real people behind the movies, and in a way Second Life goes completely the opposite way; you're meeting with avatars which are probably not that representative of their "owners" (or whatever the correct term is). However, it was fun and I'm sure I'll go along next year.
So congratulations to all the winners, and a huge thank you to the team who organised the event - it was very professionally put together!

The Atopic Interviews

2009-11-09T13:48:00.000-08:00

While at the Atopic Film Festival in Paris recently, I had the opportunity to interview two "movers and shakers" from the French machinima scene.
Xavier Lardy and Frederick Thompson have been instrumental in making the first ever French machinima festival a reality, and it was fascinating hearing from them about the machinima scene in France.
I appreciate they time they took to speak to me because they had both had very long days!
Xavier Lardy is the webmaster of Machinima.fr. Click here to listen.
Frederick Thompson was on the creative team behind Atopic. Click here to listen.
I hope you enjoy the interviews!
(After I returned from Atopic I heard Clockwork was one of the three Audience Choice awards. The prize was to have the movie screened at La Geode. I wasn't there to see it myself, but thanks to everyone who voted!)

First Japanese Review Just In!

2009-11-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

The other day I received my first movie review for Clockwork from Japan.

Of course I'm thrilled to receive these comments, and I think they capture the key points of the movie rather well. Don't you think?

Arigatou gozaimasu!

Atopic Film Festival

2009-11-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the Atopic Film Festival turned into more of an adventure for me than I was expecting...

My wife and I took the opportunity to spend a day in Paris the day before going to the festival - we had amazingly good weather and did the ususal touristy things. I also visited La Grande Arche for the first time which is definately a sight worth seeing - if you think Paris is all olde worlde architecture then you're in for a shock! La Defense is like a vision of the future.

La Grande Arche is actually a building with some amazing views to be seen from the top, and an excellent computer museum which took me back to my teenage years; they had ZX81, Commodore PET, my first Amstrad computers, Apple II etc. I also had to point out to my wife that no, that isn't a seat, it's a Cray supercomputer...

On Friday we visited the festival which was being held at the City of Science and Industry - it was a great venue which combined various family attractions, 3D cinemas, planetarium, and a decomissioned submarine called Argonaute. I'm a sucker for old technology so a visit to the sub was mandatory!

The festival started showing the movies at 12 o'clock, so off we trotted to find the cinema. It was a little hard to find because it was separate from the rest of the Atopic exhibition (where they were showing old console games, demo 3d art, and an interesting augmented reality display). The movies were being shown in sections; Creative Machinima, Alternative Machinima, Narrative Machinima, French Machinima, etc. and the running order was changed every day. My movie was being shown as part of the Narrative section.

Most of the movies that were shown were unfamiliar to me, and I got a real sense that in France they like their machinima to be art, rather than frivolous. It was interesting to watch.

We decided to take a break for the French Machinima section as we don't really speak French and I wanted to get lunch and back in time to see my movie (oh how vain!) As we left the cinema I introduced myself to some of the organisers. I had a tentative arrangement to do a recorded interview with Xavier Lardy (French machinima expert) later in the day, but there was some uncertainty as to whether he would be there as he lives 3 hours away from Paris, however Frederick Thompson was available and was happy to do an interview a bit later.

When we got back from lunch, we had just settled into our seats when there was a tap on my shoulder. It was Frederick. "It is time for the interview" he said.

"No, no." I replied, "My movie will be showing soon. We can do the interview later"

"No. The camera crew is here now. They need to interview you right now".

So, while I had been gallavanting around Paris the day before, Christophe Alonso from a French/German cultural TV channel, Arte, had been trying to get in touch with me to arrange a TV interview for a programme called Tracks.

And, as if I needed any further encouragement Frederick said that there had been a mistake in the running order of the movies which meant that my movie wasn't due to be shown for another hour or so. Perfect!

So, I go out and meet Christophe, and his crew (a woman with a camera, a man with a boom mike). They wanted some shots of me wandering around Atopic, looking at the various exibits, then it was outside to do the interview. A few shots of me walking below the shiny globe of the Geode (I think they were taking arty shots of my reflection in the chrome). The whole time I'm thinking "I'm going to be on TV, I'm going to be on TV! My, what a big camera she has!"

Then we did the interview, and I'm afraid it's all a bit of a blur. I guess I shouldn't say too much about what we discussed anyway as that'll just spoil their content, but I did give Moviestorm a mention, and also Phil Rice/Overman, Sisch, and Hugh Hancock.

And, according to Christophe I really know my art! So there!

We got back into the cinema just in time for the Narrative section. I was happy.

Later, I had arranged to meet with Frederick, and when I did Xavier had made it too, so I was able to do two audio interviews to gain a real insight into machinima in France. I'll be posting those interviews here very soon.

Dave Lloyd at the Cambridge Film Festival

2009-10-21T13:01:00.001-07:00

This is the final interview from Cambridge. Dave Lloyd is the Chief Technology Officer at Short Fuze - the company that gave us Moviestorm. Dave is something of a visionary, and in this interview he talks about how they've been working hard to realise that vision.
In addition, Dave reveals that there is a character customisation tool under development which will enhance the customisation options available in Moviestorm - this has been one of the most frequently requested features for some time now - so have a listen to this now!

(Again, apologies for all the background noise!)

ERRORS AND OMMISSIONS
Sincere apologies to Sisch... I was presenting the Best Drama category at this year's Ollies (see below) and on this blog I incorrectly said that Saving Grace had won, when in fact it was The Afflicted. Fortunately I got it right on the night!

Roger at the Cambridge Film Festival

2009-10-18T02:54:00.000-07:00

Interview number 3 is with Roger Strange-Burlong who is probably best known to the machinima community as one half of the team that presents the Roger and Ken show on Sunday nights on TMOA Radio. (Can you guess which half?)
Roger also hosts the excellent Friday Night Rock Show on TMOA, which I tune into regularly too.
I've been a guest on the R &K show a couple of times, and I decided this was the opportunity to turn the tables and find out a bit more about what makes Roger tick.

To listen, click here.

A message during the intermission...

2009-10-13T11:51:00.000-07:00

OK folks, two more interviews still to come, but I thought I'd take a moment to update what's been going on lately. (Apart from driving my car with four bikes on the roof-rack into an overhead barrier... that was an unhappy day let me tell you!)

BitFilm: well, in the end Clockwork placed 6th out of 15. I was really pleased with that - it's the first time I've ever had a movie in a competition, and I was up against some really strong contenders. If you're into machinima then check out the other entries, and if you're not then what are you reading this drivel for!!!

This week, the big highlight was the first ever Annual Ollie Awards, which was broadcast live on TMOA. The Ollies have been established to recognise the best machinima creations, directors, voice actors et al. The event was hosted by K4 TinMan. I've not heard him before on TMOA, but he did a sterling job of keeping the show moving with his very descriptive commentary. I was priviledged to be announcing the results for Best Drama, which went to Sisch for her astonishing movie Kate Lee's The Afflicted. Sisch went on to collect a total of 10 Ollies! (And Sisch appeared in many other movies as a voice actor, and she even sang in Clockwork)

For my part, I was nominated in four categories, and delighted to win in two; Best Arthouse, and Best Short Form (under 10 minutes). When the winners were announced they were Skyped in to make their acceptance speech. And yes, there were tears! (But not from me, ahem)
There were around 40 people in the chatroom, and it was great to read their comments as the winners were announced. Due to the lag on the audio stream there were a couple of occassions where I saw the congratulatory messages before I actually heard who won, and on the two occassions it was me, Skype rang before I'd actually heard my name read out! The first time I figured that they probably weren't calling to taunt me, so I must have won. It would have been a bit uncomfortable if I was wrong having blurted out my barely comprehensible thank you message!

And today's news is CineManila; I had submitted Clockwork some time ago, and filled out the necessary online form, and then heard nothing. Today, I heard from Sisch that it had been selected, and like BitFilm they're asking people to vote. You need to do the free registration thing again (but that's not too arduous if you get to vote for your favourite movie - right? ;-) )

You can vote for Clockwork and Saving Grace here. (You can also vote for any of the others that you like, if you must... heh!) Just click on Entries, then Short Film to see the submissions.

Right, thanks for reading. And next time it'll be interview #3 from the Cambridge Film Festival...

Hugh Hancock at the Cambridge Film Festival

2009-10-09T09:07:00.001-07:00

This is the second installment of interviews I grabbed with key people in the machinima industry, while at the Cambridge Film Festival. This time, it's Hugh Hancock, the man responsible for giving us the term "machinima", and the creative force behind one of the most well known machinima titles of all time; Bloodspell.

To listen, click here.

Johnnie Ingram at the Cambridge Film Festival

2009-10-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I went to the Cambridge Film Festival to see the machinima track, which was hosted by Bill Thompson and Hugh Hancock. While I was there I had the opportunity to do audio interviews with some really interesting movers and shakers in the machinima world.
These interviews were aired on the Roger and Ken show on TMOA Radio on 04 October, but if you missed them you can hear them here. I'm going to upload them one at a time over the next few days.

This first piece has a quick two minute intro by me, then it's Johnnie Ingram. He's well known as one of the co-writers of Machinima for Dummies, and is now Product Manager at Short Fuze for Moviestorm.

Apologies for the background noise during the first 10 minutes of the interview... it does get better!

To listen, click here.

Hope you enjoy it!

Clockwork does the festival rounds

2009-09-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

This year I was thrilled to have my movie selected to be shown at BitFilm. As far as I know it has played in cinemas in Hamburg, Berlin, and soon Tel Aviv. To be honest, that was my ambition as far as machinima goes, but sadly I wasn't able to be in Germany on the opening weekend as I was already away on holiday...

Last Friday I visited the Cambridge Film Festival in the UK. I was going up to see what movies were on offer, and because I knew BlackAce's film Daddy is Home was playing. What I didn't realise was that they were going to show Clockwork too! I was almost speechless when I found out. BTW, while in Cambridge I was able to interview a few interesting people - more on that in a later post.

Today I learned that Clockwork has also been selected to be shown at a new film festival called Atopic in Paris at the end of October. I had no idea when I made the movie that it would be so appreciated (although it's not everyone's cup of tea of course!)

The Atopic festival clashes with other arrangements I already had, (my mother is flying down from Scotland to visit), however thankfully we've managed to make a few changes which means that hopefully I'll be in Paris to see the screening!

(Anyone know of any other movies showing there?)

The big worry now is how I'm going to follow it up next year - Cloud Angel isn't really a candidate because it's probably not "arty" enough. Better get my creative trousers on!

I'm on the radio. Again!

2009-09-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well I said I'd talk a bit more about why Cloud Angel is the way it is in a later post. But I lied. (Hey, I can do that!) Instead, Roger & Ken at TMOA Radio have once again kindly invited me onto the show - this time to talk about Cloud Angel.

So, if you want to know why I chose cel shading, or what the meaning is behind the call sign for Cloud Angel, or more importantly why there is only one person on board that can fly the ship then make sure you tune in!

Oh, and if you have other things you'd like me to cover then let me know!

The show is on Sunday 6 September, beginning at 2pm Eastern, 7 pm in the UK, 8 pm in Europe. To listen click here.

And while you're listening, why not jump into the chat room. It'll probably be far more entertaining than my wittering! To go into the chatroom, click here.

Hope to see you on Sunday!

BitFilm Voting Now Open!

2009-08-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've been offline for the past two weeks (with the exception of a 30 minute session in an internet cafe) so I've loads of catching up to do.

I managed to get Cloud Angel online at the main sites before we rushed out the door and it's been very interesting reading the comments. Pleased to say that the responses are generally very positive, although I can see that there are a few comparisons to Clockwork where it's clear that Cloud Angel isn't hitting the mark.

Well, that's OK. I'll be talking a bit about why Cloud Angel is the way it is in a forthcoming blog, but for now forget all that because... (drum roll) ...voting for Clockwork at the BitFilm festival is now open (yippee!).

If you saw the movie and liked it, then you can show your support by voting here. REMEMBER: Every vote placed means one less kitten being put into the washing machine. Help stop this unneccessary suffering! Save the kittens*

BTW, I had thought that the September issue of 3D World Magazine would include a DVD with all the entries, but it seems this isn't the case (can you imagine my disappointment?!) Am investigating now, but if anyone could shed any light on this I would be grateful.

*Oh lighten up - I'm only joking! There are no kittens.

Cloud Angel nears completion!

2009-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first "development post" on my blog. (Shouldn't that be 'blog, or is the apostrophe redundant?) I'm not sure how interesting it is for people to hear about the progress on a movie that no one has seen yet, but I kinda figure that after the interest that Clockwork generated then someone somewhere might be curious as to how I'm going to follow that up.

Much as I am mightily proud of Clockwork, I can see that in the future I'm gonna grow to despise it. Why? Well, I've a feeling that Cloud Angel (my new work), will appeal to a very different audience. So those that posted so many enthusiatic reviews at TMU and Moviestorm may well be disappointed with Cloud Angel. And that's a shame because all things considered, a lot more work has gone into Cloud Angel.

I'm not yet ready to reveal the details of the story, but it is a bit more involved than Clockwork, and has much more dialogue, and more actors. I see it as a more entertaining movie that Clockwork. Not as arty, and not quite as dark either. (Although those who liked the bleakness of Clockwork won't be entirely disappointed I hope!)

It has also forced me to learn a bit more about chromakeying, and modelling in Google Sketchup. I don't have any aspirations to become a modeller myself, but I needed a piece of rope. A cursory search of 3D Warehouse did (to my surprise) find some rope, but I needed something like a tether which curved gently. Sod it! I've said too much already! Have I given the game away yet?

So, I'm probably looking at a running time in the order of 15 minutes which will certainly make it my longest movie so far. And, all things being equal I'd like to get it published within the next two weeks.

Here's hoping.

Where is the future in machinima?

2009-07-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

While listening to the first anniversary broadcast on TMOA Radio last night, there was a comment made by one of the guests who predicted that in five years time he expected some of today’s machinima directors to emerge into the mainstream (or words to that effect). This got me thinking about what the future holds for machinima, and machinima directors.

While there are endless debates about what machinima actually is, I think it’s fair to say that it is overwhelmingly a hobby activity. So I imagine that any director who makes it “big time” (lets say, gets hired by a professional studio), will almost certainly not be using machinima tools in the future, abandoning iClone, Moviestorm, and The Sims for Softimage, Maya, and other “serious” content creation tools (that I’ve heard of but don’t really know much about). Like Lewis Hamilton racing radio controlled cars as a kid, then go-karts, then Formula 1, I think that those directors talented enough to be picked up by a studio will inevitably discard their old toys.

If I am right, then machinima creation is destined to remain a hobby forever, because whatever those super-successful directors do, it won't be machinima. But this view is the result of comparing machinima creation to proper film production. It’s an obvious comparison to make for those of us who sit for hours chromakeying video clips together knowing full well that the very same techniques are used to bring Star Wars to the big screen. But what isn’t being considered here is the audience, and the delivery mechanism (wot you watch it on!)

Let’s start with the audience. Who actually watches machinima? (Not me, for the reasons I mentioned in an earlier blog). There are two camps, I think;

1. Gaming Enthusiasts.These are the people who live for gaming, and appreciate the in-jokes and game references used in Halo and WoW machinima. It’s quite a young democraphic (think spotty-faced teenagers that really should get out more), with a very specific need to see their favourite on-screen warrior telling jokes. Not a sophisticated bunch, I’ll wager, and certainly have limited disposable income. (Until they’re old enough to get their own credit card). This group isn’t my target audience at all.

2. Technology-enabled people who want to be entertained. My thinking here is why would anyone watch machinima, if not to be entertained? And if they’re watching machinma today then we can make some assumptions that they have a computer, or mobile device, with broadband access (because you can’t rent a machinima DVD, can you?).

So I suppose this group might have a lot in common with the iPod generation, which may be why the Terminator Salvation Machinima Series is available for purchase on iTunes. Having seen the astonishing success that Apple has enjoyed with the App store (both in terms of Apps being developed and being purchased) I’m wondering if machinima and iTunes might well be a marriage made in heaven?

If so, this could have a profound effect on the machinima community as it may create an opportunity for machinima to be seen as an entertainment form in its own right, rather than the output from a bunch of Hollywood-wannabes.

What do you think? Will machinima ever go mainstream?

Surprising news in the post!

2009-07-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine my surprise this morning when I learned that my little movie Clockwork has been nominated for an award at the BitFilm '09 festival?

Naturally, I'm delighted - but I do feel like a bit of a fraud because Clockwork actually happened by accident. Let me explain....

When I started making machinima I concentrated on doing comedy. This was because over the years people have told me I'm funny. As it turns out I think they meant funny peculiar. Anyway, I found that there are others who do much better sketches than me, so I decided that I needed to be taken seriously; that meant branching out into other styles.

I'm a huge fan of A Clockwork Orange, both the book by Anthony Burgess and Stanley Kubrick's masterful movie. I love the dystopian themes in the story. I decided to do a short music video featuring my band Diesel and use animation created in Moviestorm that would be based on the Clockwork Orange themes - e.g. sinister gang of "droogs", Korova milkbar etc. So, I made that movie and put it to music.

It sucked. Really.

The music was called "Work and Smile", and was a parody of the sort of music that would be played in a factory to motivate the workers, in some sort of Orwellian world. It just didn't go with the visuals. I decided to find some other music to use then I could get the movie out of the door and concentrate on something else.

I couldn't find anything suitable so I tried the official Clockwork Orange score just to see what it was like. And it fitted perfectly! Bish, bash, bosh, job done, upload to YouTube et al. The thing is, YouTube has this very clever scanning software which immediately jumped on Clockwork for copyright infringement due to the music (much to my shame). The movie was pulled and once again I was left with a movie with no sound.

I was ready to scrap the whole thing. But I felt that there was still potential in the movie so I sat down and wrote out a proper script (there had been no dialogue when it was intended to be a music video). I needed it to have a story that would be dark, maybe a little disturbing, and hopefully surprising. In the end, none of the original movie survived, but I did manage to bring in some of the ideas from the Work and Smile song (BTW, it's a tongue-in-cheek song that's actually quite cheery.) I was pretty happy with the results. Yes, it could be better - I'm still learning to use the software, and there were a few gliches that I was having trouble ironing out. The whole time I was doing Clockwork though, I was inspired by what I know is possible in Moviestorm. That's the kind of quality I'm striving for.

So, as I read through this post I'm thinking that it sounds like I've actually won already! Well fingers-crossed I may yet win, but if not then let me just say what a huge honour it is to get the nomination!

Life in a "notspot"

2009-07-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I remember a radio DJ in early 90's predicting that in "the future" people wouldn't buy CDs and videos anymore but instead would click a button and whatever they wanted to watch or listen to would come down a wire there and then for immediate use. I remember this because the DJ in question didn't seem to me to be a particularly technical person, and therefore didn't have any understanding as to the complexities in enabling such technology. In short, he didn't know what he was talking about, so it was easy for me to dismiss what he was saying.

I guess today, we can all chuckle at my blinkered view that this magical "on-demand" future could never be a reality. Well chuckle away folks because for me this vision of the future still hasn't arrived. I live in a heavily populated part of England, not out in the remote wilds of the Highlands, and yet I struggle to get enough bandwidth to stream movies without interuption. I live in what the BBC recently described as a broadband "notspot". Great.

"So what?" you may ask. Well, what it means is that I don't actually watch much machinima. Certainly not anything like the way I'd like to. I rely on browsing the various forums trying to figure out which are the hot movies worth downloading, then I can watch a few selected movies. It's very frustrating. I'm quite new to this malarkey, and I'm desparate to learn story telling and camera technique from those more accomplished than myself. But, at the moment, casual browsing through movies isn't a worthwhile activity. Here's hoping the powers that be are doing something to improve the broadband situation where I live. And how broad does broadband need to be "broad". I think our lot are stretching the definition a bit.

On the upside, there's one thing I have learned; don't scoff at other's ideas of what the future holds. BTW, I'm on the waiting list for a flying car.

Any future predictions from the past you'd care to share?

Welcome to my new blog

2009-07-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently commented that writing a blog is the "sort of thing" that I might do. I think we'd been discussing blogging in general and we'd decided that it wasn't the sort of thing that people who have a life should be doing. And I do have a life - at the moment I'm in the throes of putting together my new machinima masterpiece which means spending far too many long hours on the PC in a darkened room, endlessly scrubbing back and forth the same 10 second segment trying to get it just perfect.

Which is no life at all.

So, as we all know it's healthy to take a break from time to time... which I am doing by spending more time at my PC. It's a vicious circle, isn't it?

Right, there are any number of blogs about machinima and anymation already out there, so why do I feel the need to create another? Well, I tend to lurk around a couple of the forums, chipping in when I think I have something to say, but I often find that when I do want to say something it is more than a throwaway comment, and who wants to read 10 paragraphs from an opinionated Scotch bloke (yes, I can be self-effacing!). So if you come here, that's what you're gonna get.

Thanks for dropping by, I hope that I can come up with some content that you find worth reading!