Empowering Machinima with Simplicity

Alas, here we are again - a meeting of the machinima minds! What makes good theater? The mechanics or the message? I promised my wealth of readers that in my next blog I would share with you my idea of good machinima - I guess, I should say - great, magnum machinima! *** As one of the reviewers of the Professional Machinima Artist Guild, I contribute to the selection process of what qualifies as "magnum" machinima. So applaud yourself if your work is being screened on this this site. I was particularly excited with the addition of Hardy Capo's latest work "Sandstorm" and again direct you to his series "Cafe Insomniac" http://www.vimeo.com/4735924/. He uses the platform moviestorm, which I find interesting and challenging in different and similar aspects to Second Life and other virtual platforms. Let us not argue over the best platform, for I think it is the message that is extremely important. That should be the premise to what you are doing, and that will instruct your path. Sometimes as artists and producers we become heavy laden with trying to beat our viewers over the head with the moral of our stories or at the other extreme too vague to the point that they have no opportunity to speculate on what we are trying to say (if that is our intent I mean; I do enjoy abstract fill-in-the-blanks). But if we have a message - and theme to a plot - then how might we say it. If we want to convey a social message for example, how might we engage our viewer? There are many paths, each with their own rewards and pitfalls. Sometimes we merely need to craft it so simply, and sometimes that is the hardest piece to create - to take a complex idea and make it simple and memorable.

That is why I like this piece by Joaquin Baldwin.
Papiroflexia (Spanish for “Origami”), an official selection of the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. View at either site (screening room is a bit better quality) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28xzj_papiroflexia_creation/ http://www.youtube.com/user/ytscreeningroom?blend=1&ob=4 (search: papiroflexia)

Simple. Sophisticated in message.
Just think about it.