The author describes her experience in learning how to make machinimas which took place during the five weeks of the 2012 MachinEVO, an EVO sessions (#2012evo) workshop for video productions of language learning conversations in Second Life.

1. 462 THANK YOUs
For viewing, downloading and commenting!
Originally intended as a back up copy in case of
unexpected technical issues, the slides of my
VWBPE presentation are now reloaded in a slightly
enriched version.
24 March 2012
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2. Presented at
Virtual Worlds Best Practices
in Education
17 March 2012
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3. Welcome
to the first
TinkererAngel – Silver Hennin
joint production.
Watching a T.A.S.H. clip or presentation and screen
reading the related article will help in saving paper.
Thank you.
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4. Be Epic:
learn how to make machinimas from
scratch in five weeks.
Angela Rizzo
Aka
RosaVioletta
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5. A description of a learning experience
during the five weeks of 2012
MachinEVO, a workshop for video
productions of language learning
conversations in Second Life.
http://machinevo.ning.com/
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6. Week 1: Trailer.
• “A film of Second Life (SL) is called a
machinima and it is derived from a
combination of machine and cinema.
Essentially it means recording the screen of
the application Second Life. Creating a
machinima does not mean just to record one’s
screen”. (MachinEVO trailer, 2012).
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7. Week 1: Kick off
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8. Week 1: our group
• Professional interest in finding out more
about the use of machinimas in language
teaching.
• Focus on creating a film to be used in real life
practice.
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9. Feeling adventurous and like
experiental learning?
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10. Week 2: Video Production.
• The creation of machinimas “includes the
basic skills of film productions such as camera
angles, audio and the appropriate tools to do
the recordings. And we will look at designing
videos and determining a digital storyline.”
(MachinEVO, 2012).
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11. If your GROUP
is scattered around the globe
• Work on your group IDENTITY
• Find out WHO prefers to do WHAT
• Decide HOW to COMMUNICATE: group e-
mail, Google doc, Wiki, SL or Skype Live
meetings, dropbox
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12. STORY
• CREATE story starting from CORE scenes
• ORGANIZE your work
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13. Week 2: Video Production.
Marius Madrigal,
our experienced
Moderator.
He helped our group
in organizing our work
and in the making of the film.
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14. Week 2: Looking for a setting at
Edunations’ holodecks
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15. Week 2: Universidad de San Martin
De Porres - Perù
Courtesy of Amparo Cervantes
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16. USMP Kitchen
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17. USMP - Restaurant
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18. USMP Restaurant table-kitchen door
close up
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19. LOCATIONS
• FIND Locations
• ASK PERMISSIONS ASAP
• When on location take SNAPSHOTS to BEST
define CAMERA ANGLES
• PREPARE SET DECORATIONS
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20. Week 3: Content creation and
roleplay.
“During this week we learn the poesie and
humour of emoting used in roleplay, how to use
gestures and animations and how to provide the
backdrop with culturally rich environment so as
to enrich the video production”.
(MachinEVo, 2012).
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21. Setting preparation
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22. Still feeling adventurous ?
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23. Please note that
• files will be automatically saved in C:/New
folder
=Nuova Cartella, in Italian on my version.
• Your video capture hotkey will be F9, I
changed it to another key, handier for me to
reach.
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24. BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE
• A CREW
• A STORY
• LOCATIONS
• PREPARED SET
• TONS OF SNAPSHOTS
• NOW YOU NEED…
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25. 25

26. Week 3: Content creation and
roleplay.
• Avatars:
– shapes
– Clothes
– Gestures
• Set decorations for the Mediterranean looking
gazebo
– Plants
– Table and chairs
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27. • Start casting asap
• Practice avatars animations: gestures and
facial expressions
• Practice dialogues
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28. Adelaide before and after the
hairdresser
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29. Tips Before Filming
• Number snapshots with best camera angles
• Share them with cameramen/women to easily
assign camera positions when shooting
• CTRL + ALT + F1 to have a clean screen to capture
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30. 1. Side of table facing brazier
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31. 2. Side of table facing sea
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32. 3. Close up on Adelaide
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33. 4. From behind Adelaide
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34. 5. Close up on Jean
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35. 6. From behind Jean
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36. 7. Yellow roses arch
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37. 8. Behind the yellow flowers
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38. 9. Aerial view behind tree
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39. 10. Side of brazier facing sea
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40. BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE
• An efficient CREW
• A well trimmed STORY
• Approved LOCATIONS
• A glam PREPARED SET
• Numbered SNAPSHOTS
• Enthusiastic ACTORS
• A cleaned up COMPUTER
• NOW YOU NEED TO…
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41. PREPARE TO MAKE YOUR JUMP INTO
A WORLD OF PIXELS!
CTRL + ALT + F1 for a clean screen
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42. FOCUS ON
• A Long shot to establish initial setting
You may use words instead:
• i.e.: a restaurant conversation
And..
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43. 43

44. AFTER FILMING
• Your recordings will be comfortably nested in
C:
• Make a copy of all the filmed material and
store away: WORK ON COPIES!
• Compress files and share in communal
dropbox
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45. Week 4: Post production.
• “We will learn to edit the recordings, cut, lyp
synch with the audio (if needed), file size
reduce them and upload them on any of the
video platform available.” (MachinEVO, 2012.)
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46. POST PRODUCTION - EDITING
• EDIT AUDIO AND SOUND TOGETHER - EASIER IF
YOU HAVE LIPS MOVEMENT and you are just starting
or
• Save audio separately then add it
• Add music
• Always credit other people’s work contributions:
LAND OWNERS, MUSICIANS, ACTORS, FILMING
CREW…
• Upload on dropbox for group to see before making
work public
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47. Post production
• Virtual Dub http://www.virtualdub.org/
• Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
• Free sound http://www.freesound.org/
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48. POST PRODUCTION - SHARING
• Upload on video sharing web site
You Tube or Vimeo
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49. Week 5: Film Festival.
“During the wrap up time there will be a film
festival when we invite other in SL to watch the
video productions together in cinema type
settings and as in real life there will be an award
for the best film” (MachinEVO, 2012).
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50. Week 5: Film Festival.
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51. Our group won
Two ex-aequo awards
• Best Visual / Special Effects
• Best Director
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52. Happy Crew!
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53. BY NOW YOU SHOULD HAVE been able to
transform
• An efficient CREW
• A well trimmed STORY
• Approved LOCATIONS
• A glam PREPARED SET
• Numbered SNAPSHOTS
• Enthusiastic ACTORS
• A cleaned up COMPUTER
• Raw and edited RECORDINGS
• Music and slides
INTO…
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54. YOUR
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55. “Creating a machinima does not mean just
to record one’s screen”. (MachinEVO,
2012).
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56. THROUGH
• Learning by doing in a community of practice
(Wenger E., 1998)
• Access and motivation, online
socialization,information exchange,
knowledge construction and reflection
(Salmon G., 2011)
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57. And THROUGHOUT the making of my
first machinima I experiemented
A NEW
CULTURE
OF
LEARNING
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58. Italian Saying
“Learn an art
and store it
aside”
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59. Thank you for your
attention…and ENJOY!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBTldBw-UqQ
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60. Paper references
• Deutschmann, M. (2010) Machinima – Recording in Second Life, Why should we be interested in machinima for
educational purposes?, available online at The Avalon Learning Website,
https://avalonlearning.pbworks.com/w/page/33047585/Machinima%20-%20Recording%20in%20Second%20Life
last accessed 24 March 2012.
• MachinEVO blog, An EVO sessions (#2012evo) workshop for video productions of language learning
conversations in Second Life, http://machinevo.pbworks.com, available online at
http://machinevo.pbworks.com/w/page/47494320/MachinEVO , last accessed 24 March 2012.
• MachinEVO trailer, (2012), available online at
http://machinevo.pbworks.com/w/page/48340927/Week%201%20TRAILER%20%20%209%20Jan%20-
%2015%20Jan, last accessed 24 March 2012.
• Rosavioletta - Angela, (2012), blog entries, available online at http://machinevo.ning.com/profile/Angela , last
accessed 24 March 2012.
• Salmon, G., (2011, 3rd edn), E-moderating: the key to online teaching and learning, New York, Routledge, pg 81.
• Thomas, D. and Brown, J.S., 2011, ‘A New Culture of Learning. Cultivating the Imagination for a World in Constant
Change’, © by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown. Publisher: Createspace, Published: 4 Jan 2011, pgs. 117-
118.
• Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press.
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