Making Machinima

Making Machinima IN SEVEN SIMPLE STEPS

Jeremy Kemp, A.M., M.S.J. Assistant Director, Second Life Campus SJSU School of Library & Information Science jkemp@slis.sjsu.edu

Machinima is… Machine + Cinema “animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3-D environment”

Seven ‘Simple’ Steps 1. Watch two documentaries 2. Learn some history 3. Gather your tools 4. Choose a 3D platform 5. Find Actors and Shoot 6. Edit the Video and add Sound 7. Distribute it on the ‘Net

Step #1: Watch these two documentaries about Machinima:

“What is Machinima” youtube.com/watch?v=dPLzKur06Vo

“Inside the Machinima” youtube.com/watch?v=mYYPtacx5Bw

Step #2: Understand the history of Machinima

Platform timeline 1992 - Stunt Island 1993 - Doom 1996 - Quake 1998 - Unreal 2003 - Second Life 2006 - The Movies

First came: Recording Games Originally players: Showed game solutions Bragged about rank, objects Created keepsakes

…evolved into Modding Companies started encouraging modification Bard's Tale Construction Set Elder Scroll Construction Set Unreal Level Editor

Now: Free-form Editors Create custom movies with - The Movies - Second Life - Dark Basic

Step #3: Gather the right tools

You MUST have: Multimedia Computer 3D modeling environment Video capture software

A beefy computer 2 GHz processor or faster 1Gb RAM 10Gb drive space or larger

Some extra hardware External drives for video files Game-ready graphics card (GeForce, Radeon, etc.)

Optional but Important: Broadband connection Video/Sound editor Video Website to Upload

Step #4: Choose your 3D platform

Machinima-ready World of Warcraft Half Life 2 Second Life The Movies Halo The Sims Quake

Almost all WoW videos are game walkthroughs

Sample: quot;Not Just Another Love Story” tinyurl.com/2gwach (It’s barely narrative)

Half Life 2 You cannot change wardrobe, props Actors in fatigues, carrying guns! Gorgeous rendering

Lip Synch Animations Follows voice sounds for realism dagroupplc.com/swf/vms/vms.swf

Half Life 2 Sample: “A few good GMen” tinyurl.com/yr2g83 “judge”

Second Life Highly customizable Huge mall of costumes and props Actors for hire Stunning backdrop sets Scriptable filming tools

Second Life Sample: “Second Health” - UK ER concept youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8IyXZAv-U

“Alt-Zoom” camera in SL “Free Machinima Starter Kit” Buy at slurl.com/secondlife/Lukanida/33/6 quot;waypointquot; objects mark shots Avatar cameraman sits dolly to film

Alt-Zoom Clapboard Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=uVzow1-Yh-w Disappears when filming Show shot details

A game about making Machinima 100s of cinematography templates Period costumes and sets In-game editor sucks Web 2.0 rating tools

Sample: “French Democracy” About race issues in France tinyurl.com/ypvdlu

Halo Strictly sci-fi combat No faces or wardrobe Limited poses and sets Huge fan base

Halo Sample: “Red vs. Blue: Why are we here” machinima.com/channel/view&id=8

The Sims Well-designed sets and props Actors are uncontrollable Limited to household themes Constricted shot angles

The Sims Sample: “Male Restroom Etiquette” tinyurl.com/27pmdk Potty humor

Very mature platform Extensive modding tools

Sample: “Anna” (about the life of a flower) tinyurl.com/yq3vm6 Completely custom

Step #5: Recruit your cast and… “Action!”

Non-Player Characters Complicated to Mod Difficult to herd in a crowd Want to fight

Avatar Actors Need payment, creative buy-in Good for complex shots Direct using VoIP Difficult to find & keep motivated It’s boring work!

Video Screen Capture Snapzpro - $69 by ambrosiasw.com tinyurl.com/2nt9l5 Fraps - $37 by fraps.com Both offer trials

Step #6: Massage the Media

Choose your Editing Suite Moviemaker (free with XP) tinyurl.com/yu5czn iMovie ($99 with iLife) High-end: Premiere - Adobe Final Cut Pro - Apple

Add Titles apple.com/ilife/tutorials tinyurl.com/3awu3b

Edit a Voice-Over Audacity (PC) GarageBand (Mac) Wiretap (Mac)

GarageBand - Mac Free clip library with movie music apple.com/ilife/tutorials/#garageband

Audacity - PC Free and flexible but technical audacity.sourceforge.net

Step #7: Choose a Distribution Channel

Upload to the Web Upload .mov or .wmf files Add tags for Youtube, Blip.tv Tell your friends

YouTube Use their best format: MPEG4, etc. Use the community features Tutorial: tinyurl.com/27snef

Blip.tv Allows download of original file Serves Quicktime stream

Leverage the Social Web Views, votes and ratings Groups and Subscriptions Comments and video responses

This is Hard Work Keep it short and punchy. Budget 3 hours for a minute of finished film. Use sound for emotion, video for description. You won’t get rich, but it won’t cost much. Have a blast!

Jeremy Kemp, A.M., M.S.J. Assistant Director, Second Life Campus SJSU School of Library & Information Science jkemp@slis.sjsu.edu

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Making Machinima

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