Magnum: The Machinima Review

What’s in a Song? Hearing Imagery

2012-01-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

The soundtrack of a film, beyond its soundscape, brings to mind a whole host of favorite tunes that we occasionally hum, particularly when triggered by the title of a movie. Grease! Just one example I offer you on Australian Day today. Olivia Newton-John – both teen sensation in the 1980s (although much older in the film) and song seductress with her sweet vocal cords – captured the hearts, eyes, and ears of a generation. The use of silence, as well, is no doubt powerful in a film, but often more so when juxtaposed to a well-planned soundtrack.

Beyond those well-timed explosions or perfectly sonically cued scenes where a rumble foreshadows trouble ahead, the music of a film makes the imagery and dialogue memorable. The music of Apocalypse Now is one I return to from time to time – notably the music of the Doors, the sound of a military helicopter and shot of its propellers transitioning into a fan rotating above Martin Sheen as he lay on his bed. These elements work together to create stunning imagery, which for many of us remains imprinted in our mind and triggered to recall when we hear Jim Morrison’s voice singing this song on a classic rock radio station.

Do you remember that song? The music and lyrics are haunting.

Enter Leonard Cohen

A timeless lyricist.

“In dreams the truth is learned that all good works are done in the absence of a caress.”

His words are the substance of life. I recently attended a Second Life exhibition (conceptualized and curated by Morgana Nagorski, January 21-22) that paid homage to the very much alive songwriter/singer Leonard Cohen, and I was reminded of how much his music has impacted our viewing experiences. His words are often raw, passionate and lingering. For a man who sings of loneliness, he certainly has been a wonderful lover to the image.

The exhibition I speak of was Unified Heart, with the ultimate results of bringing together 20 artists to create photographic art to reflect the meaning behind Cohen’s work – primarily relying on a line or two of the lyrics or merely the song title.

The imagery was stunning, and if a photograph can truly represent 1,000 words, I must muse at how each frame in a movie accompanied by his music impacts our cinematic interpretation. Cohen spends sometimes as long as one year on a song, and its impact spans cinematic generations.

I invite you to review one site particularly – a simple listing of Leonard Cohen’s songs (more than 50 songs) that were included in film soundtracks that have spanned decades.

Let’s not forget that the image can be strengthened or weakened by the sound – be it a song or effect.

In Closing

Happy Australian Day, Olivia! Leonard is from Canada, but I wish him well too. On a side note, in 2006, a documentary was released on the work of Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man. The premise was to pay tribute to his work, with the narrative woven around interviews with Cohen and footage from a staged concert of his work in Australia by some major singing artists who shared their lyrical interpretations. The film features Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Bono, Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Kate Mcgarrigle, and Anna Mcgarrigle. The documentary was produced by Mel Gibson, Lian Lunson, and Bruce Davey.

There you see the connections here – Leonard has a special place in the heart of Australians. Sometimes I have no idea how might this column evolve, but I am pleased at how things come together when I seek to explore an idea or theme. Perhaps that was the intention behind the Cohen exhibition - Unified Heart.

The imagery in this blog was captured at the Second Life exhibition. Special thanks to Morgana for inspiring us to look back at one of the great songwriters of life and cinema. To be released January 31st, Cohen brings forth his 12th studio album, Old Ideas. It was streamed online at NPR and The Guardian on the 22nd and 23rd. He is 78 years old, and his ideas are very much relevant to today.

Sites of Interest -

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/leonard_cohen_im_your_man

http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/filmo.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morgana_nagorski/6714345371

*Photo credits: Various artists, curated by Morgana Nagorski. Photographed by Sonicity Fitzroy at Unified Heart exhibition, January 21, 2012. Public exhibition.

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New publication release date, Machinima: The Art & Practice of Virtual Filmmaking (McFarland, March 2012) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo (Forward by Persia Bravin). The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to AviewTV.com

It’s A Wonderful Machinima Life

2011-12-14T12:23:00.000-08:00

Let’s take a step back and look at the year in machinima, by reflecting on the plethora of talented contestants that participated in the UWA MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists Challenge. Such participation shows the growth of the machinima community and the maturity of the art form in and of itself.

I would venture to conclude that it was a wonderful year for virtual filmmaking in Second Life. The UWA machinima screening in December is merely one indication of machinima’s acceptance in-world, and of course a growing appreciation of it as an art form, particularly as real-time animation, from those looking inward from the outside media world. 2011 was an excellent month for the art and creative world of Second Life, and machinima is no exception here. Such success can be attributed to the hard work behind the scenes of premiere curator FreeWee Ling and UWA SL Founder JayJay Zifanwe. The MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists rose the stakes for prize money and talent inside Second Life, and demonstrated the role of virtual creativity to those watching from the outside.

The MachinimUWA IV: Art of the Artists rose the stakes for prize money and talent inside Second Life, and demonstrated the role of virtual creativity to those watching from the outside. In the machinima awards, top honors went to Tutsy Navarathna’s Welcome to the Other Side (a tribute to Marshall McLuhan). Other winners included: Artwashers by Friday Siamendes (USA), Art of the Artists by Fuschia Nightfire (England), Qubit: Cognitive Distortion by spyVspy (Portugal) and Virtual Love by Iono Allen (France).

Other winners of various machinima categories included Hypatia Pickens (Yeah), L1aura Loire (Transformation Virtual Art on the Brink), Veruca Vandyke (Dual), and Cecil Hirvil (Citizen of the Universe), among others. The awards ceremony and special machinima screening was held at the BOSL-UWA Amphitheater last Sunday, December 11^th.

Machinima, as an art form, is a powerful filmmaking and storytelling medium, and that is acknowledged through UWA’s special awards of various categories: Emotion (Hypatia Pickens’ Yeah), Breaking the Barriers (L1aura Lorire’s Transformation Virtual Art on the Brink), The Soul (Veruca Vandyke’s Dual), The Human Heart (Hypatia Picken’s Love Prayer), and a series of excellence awards for film direction, narration, investigation, description, and so forth. Such honors of excellence included Fuschia Nightfire, Hypatia Pickens, Oono Eiren & Sayzee Ishtari, Urban Steampunk, Iono Allen, SpyvSpy Aeon, Tutsy Navarethna, Braclo Eber, Glasz DeCuir, Cecil Hirvi, Miso Susanowa, Blue Oleader, Friday Siamendes, L1aura Loire, Nicolex Moonwall, Ormand Lionheart, Penumbra Carter, Spiral Silverstar, Haveit Neox, Ginger Alsop, JJCCC Coronet, Moana Littleboots, Sophia Yates, and others (in no specific order).

Some of those names are seasoned pros, but so many new filmmakers have found their way into Second Life. Much credit must be given to UWA, MaMachinima, Second Life Machinima Artist Guild, Pop Art Lab and other machinima friendly communities for fostering growth and allowing for exhibition. Hats off to all! It’s been a wonderful Second Life for the machinima world!

The UWA blog has links to the winning machinima (along with links and additional information about other categories, winners, and honorable mentions - http://uwainsl.blogspot.com.

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Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice of Virtual Filmmaking (McFarland, Fall/Winter 2011/2012) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo (Forward by Persia Bravin). The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to AviewTV.com

Looking Outward from Inside Second Life

2011-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Outside, Inside, Wonderful (Sometimes Wacky) World of Machinima

To understand the impact of machinima we have to look outward from the inside, but on occasion we also must look inward from the outside. It's a matter of perspective. Your audience might be producers for a moment, but the larger audience is always those who might become captivated by its charm. It's about building an audience, from the inside outward and then inviting the outside inward to take a peek at how it is all done. Think of all those times that you have purchased the special edition of a blockbuster DVD because you get a glimpse into how some of the special effects were created; merely out of curiosity you want to know how that explosion was made or that elf appeared to fly to the moon. Movie magic intrigues even the best among us. Then there's the case that some of your audience might get hooked on the craft and want to produce machinima. Nonetheless, we must always think as viewers not as producers. The machinima community is comprised not only of its producers, but its growing audience.

This month I am going to take you from some of the heavy hitters of machinima, as well as those up and coming, to the commercial debut of a wonderful dragon tale featured online as part of a national Doritos competition. In this blog, I celebrate the creative genius of machinima makers as well as those supporting and applauding their accomplishments. It is always the goal of this column to explore the potential of machinima as an art and practice.

Machinima Expo 2011

Last weekend wrapped up the Machinima Expo 2011 in Second Life. It is an event that run deeps into the larger machinima community and expands through the film world. It is an impressive undertaking by all those involved, and I have to commend Kate Fosk for her social media skills. She definitely understands it is not enough to make machinima, a huge undertaking if done well, but you must find ways to showcase such creativity. Then you must find ways to grow your community, teach and train and involve those inspired by the works screened. The Machinima Expo helps to link machinima platforms and solidify these various approaches by different machinima groups into what is seen publically as the “machinima community” to the film world.

So kudos especially to Kate for her major role in the organization of this event, and her appreciation of SL as a meeting and production platform. It was a major undertaking that required a knowledgeable and dedicated staff, even with Kate and Ricky Groves at the helm as co-producers. The list of those involved in the production of this event, go to the Machinima Expo blog - http://blog.machinima-expo.com/expostaff

The screening and meeting place in-world was held at the UWA-BOSL (University of Western Australia/Best of SL Magazine) amphitheatre. Jayjay Zifanwe, is a major supporter of machinima – you might detour to check out UWA’s 3D Design and Machinima Challenges, ongoing at http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/

Then head to the Machinima Expo 2011 site for the screening of more than 60 machinima this week, November 20 to November 27^th -

http://www.machinima-expo.com/

Some of the guest speakers, producers, and trainers of this event included: Kate Fosk, Pooky Amsterdam, Chantal Harvey, Tikaf Viper, Henry Lowood, Fake Jewell, Tom Jantol, Ricky Grove, Kate Lee, Sherwin Liu, Damien Valentine, Ian Chisholm, Matt Kelland, AnimaTechnica, Anim8tor Cathy, CodeWarrior Carling, Ingrid Moon, Frank Dellario, Bernard Drax, Russell Boyd, Michael Nitsche, Anna Akbari, Susan Johnston (New Media Festival*) & Tony Dyson, among others.

Hungry for Machinima

The Scissores Group – Tony Dyson and Chantal Harvey – posted an amusingly sweet commercial for a competition sponsored by Doritos. It was filmed entirely on location in Second Life.

Described by Tony, the plot revolves around a heroic dad who “takes his 12 year old daughter for a surprise visit to the city's newly opened Multi-Media Film Museum, only to find that he needs all his wits about him. A mean-looking Dragon, who seemed happy to attack a poor old wizard who had to lock himself in his castle, suddenly changes his attention to break free of the confines of his dimension to seek his favourite snacks Doritos, but our cool thinking Dad saves the day, with his fast thinking.”

Have fun viewing the commercial at the Doritos site ...or the Scissores site:

The commercial was a team effort, noting the credits:

Director and Concept Designer: Tony Dyson
Producer and Machinimatographer: Chantal Harvey
Voice Actor Girl: Liat Reina
Voice Actor Dad: Brian Albury
Dragon Handlers: Tony Dyson and Judi Newall
Breaking Glass: Marcus Parker-Rhodes
Dragon Avatar: RaptonX Zorger
Castle: Luna Mcmillan
Museum: Macs Martinek & Hellena Kidd (AEther Life)
Production Film Company: Scissores tm - scissores.com

It might be worthy to mention that Tony writes children’s books and really has been a major player in Hollywood. See his personal/professional web site for some portfolio materials:

http://tonydyson.com/all-projects/

Congrats to all involved in this project, with much success in the future anticipated.

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Great news from the Machinima Expo folks about The New Media Festival.

For now, that's it for Soni!

Happy Machinima making and viewing!

photos taken at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dragonia%20Land/232/38/26

and UWA-BOSL Amphitheatre, http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/175/193/500

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Remember Santa is watching too!!! so you better be good machinimatographers!

Happy Halloween, Machinimists!!!!

2011-10-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

Boo! Why are so many of us fascinated with what goes bump in the night? For one day - but really a few days or more - we attend costume parties virtually and in real life, and treat our eyes to scary movies (and trick them with special effects), even the cheesiest movies have a sense of appeal. The holiday has grown commercially, but it still manages to carry with it a festive spirit that brings people together. The historical origins of Halloween have been traced to the Celtic festival of Samhain, the Roman feast of Pomona, and other myths and legends. It is a time for gathering and harvest. Spring brings renewal, while October 31st marks the end of summer.

In America, Hollywood has a major role in defining Halloween. It is the season when Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees are resurrected for a night, and sometimes a month. It is when everyone potentially becomes an actor for a day, and adorns their body with a costume. Machinimists, photographers and other artists capture these images in their own unique ways, from the macabre to the comedic, from clowns to fairy tale characters.

It is when people let loose and for a moment they are someone else. It's all about suspending belief and playing a role. That is the foundation of good machinima and storytelling, is it not? So maybe a good scare might be the perfect prescription for the machinima writer's or producer's block.

The photos are from a couple of Halloween parties - one at a temporary Haunted House on the Island of Fame (near the corporate and production offices of Lowe Runo Productions LCC)...

...and the other one at Asil's NeoLondon, a steampunk sim complete with role play, shopping, and machinima areas.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/NeoVictoria/18/129/700

Here's a Halloween link from Draxtor Despres you might want to check out for fun!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No7dlKsxGXc

Happy Halloween!

Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice of Virtual Filmmaking (McFarland, December 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo (Forward by Persia Bravin). The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to AviewTV.com

Why Bad Machinima Might Be Good

2011-09-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

If you are old enough to appreciate the show Mystery Science Theater, you will get this – the idea that even bad movies have a place in our popular culture. In this case, the hosts of MST were far more intelligent and worthy of watching than the movies they reviewed.

[Photos, May 31, 2011, Squeebee's Mystery Science Theater (MST3K) in Second Life]

Is there a purpose for bad machinima in our society? What is bad machinima – do we simply feel, intuitively know it, and want to watch it like a bad train wreck. Do you have some favorite “bad” machinima?

I would be curious to know what you think they are – those “baaad” machinima – as long as you don’t call attention to some of mine, lol. I admit I have fun creating some “B” roll machinima – or participating into bad machinima.

Hmmm, okay, I will share this one made by friend and I one late night for fun while at Innsmout h in Second Life. I did a serious magazine feature on the Lovecraft-inspired sim in August 2011 for Retropolitan. The machinima sort of sprang out of just being there; it was impromptu. It is the time of the season, at least in the USA, for bad machinima: anything scary that speaks to traditions surrounding Halloween.

All this came to mind when I read the following story: The Room' Creator Tommy Wiseau To Star In Web Series. Here’s an excerpt from the article in The Huffington Post:

From the man who created the worst movie ever made
(and wants to take it to Broadway) comes a video game review show.
Tommy Wiseau, who produced, directed and starred in The Room,
a cult classic widely regarded as one of the worst pieces of
cinematic trash in history, will now appear in "The Tommy Wi-Show."
(Amy Lee, Huffington Post, 9/21/11; photo incl.)

The show kicks off September 25^th, and it will be featured on the Machinima You Tube channel. Wiseau will provide commentary on video games “while somehow battling alien forces,” and the teaser promises lots of “infinite amounts of sci-fi insanity” (Lee, 2011):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKLfmKG0UY

In the promo, the only thing Wiseau states is, “I am relevant to your interests.” His show appears a bit of mixed reality, mug shots of Tommy in real life with some machinima inserts.

So what does this all mean for machinima? Perhaps the fact that machinima continues to find identity in pop game culture and our larger cinema industry.

Let’s be thankful that machinima also has an artistic fan base as well, and we can hope that reviewers with a keen eye for quality machinima will add to the artistic integrity of the genre/format. Wiseau’s show speaks to a segment of the machinima viewing and making population. There is room for all.

Please do not misunderstand – I love mystery science theater, and Wiseau’s show might be actually funny and strange enough to ensure a cult following. My point is that, machinima is a medium that allows expression in many different forms, artistically and commercially. It is as professional as the producer intends for it to be. But it can also be as fun as making a home movie or campy sci fi for low brow entertainment.

The question of whether Wiseau’s feature will contribute to the growth of machinima is not as relevant as the fact that machinima is finding its place (or PLACES) in our pop culture. It will be interesting to watch how it is perceived in the coming months and years among audiences and the media makers, and how it evolves with and among the various facets of entertainment arts.

Note the list of advertising slogans, and replace the client name with “machinima.”

Just Do It – Nike

We Move People – Bombardier

What Happens Here, Stays Here – Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority

It's not TV, it's HBO

What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?

Is it in you? – Gatorade
Ideas for Life – Panasonic

Made from the Best Stuff on Earth – Snapple
Got Milk? – The National Milk Processor Board

Think Outside the Bun – Taco Bell

The Best Part of Waking Up is Folger’s in Your Cup – Folger's
I Live for This – Major League Baseball
Don’t Leave Home Without It – American Express
Maybe She’s Born With It. Maybe It’s Maybelline – Maybelline

I am waiting for “Got Machinima?” to be sported on T-shirts everywhere! And think of what you would look like with a machinima mustache. Maybe we could feature the likes of Richard Roundtree, Geraldo Rivera, Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Salvador Dali, Charlie Chapin, Groucho Marx and those up and coming machinima stars and producers – maybe Wiseau....

....or even the writer of this blog!

Machinima – It’s Everywhere You Want to Be.

Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice of Virtual Filmmaking (McFarland, Fall 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo (Forward by Persia Bravin). The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to AviewTV.com

Sources:
Amy Lee. (2011, September 21). The Room' Creator Tommy Wiseau To Star In Web Series. The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/tommy-wiseau-web-series_n_973939.html

Pick Your Favorite Advertising Slogan. (2011, September 12). Buzz Feed, http://www.buzzfeed.com/adwalkoffame/pick-your-favorite-advertising-slogan

Sonicity Fitzroy. ( 2011, August). The Shadow Over Innsmuth: The Legend Lives On. Retropolitan Magazine, http://retropolitan.org/Retropolitan_Magazine/Archives_files/Retropolitan%20August%202011%28web%29.pdf

Tommy Wiseau. (2011, September 14). Machinima.com, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKLfmKG0UY