MMIF update - http://MMIF.org

MaMachinima International Festival is an annual social mixed media event, that intends to provide a platform for the very best machinima of our era. The MMIF is a festival for the art of machinima. Not a contest, no awards, but an excellent way of sharing your machinima with a global community.

Machinimatographers of all virtual world platforms, games and engines are invited to submit their best work. Instructions for participating by submmiting your machinima here: http://SUBMIT.MMIF.org

Deadline for machinima submissions is: MAY 1st, 2011.

The MMIF was initiated in 2009 by Dutch machinimatographer Chantal Harvey, aiming to create a community of machinimatographers around the world.
The festival is screened simultanuously in Amsterdam, The Neterlands), virtual world Second Life® and live on the web.

Machinimatographers are invited to come to Amsterdam and/or to Second Life®, and will be provided with the opportunity to answer questions, to talk about their work, with a worldwide audience.


http://MMIF.org

MachinimaMondays about LAG - 29 Nov. 2010, with Miro Collas

MachinimaMondays on November 29 (2010) - sim full, eye-opening meeting !!!


Recently I invited Miro Collas to share his knowledge about lag - and the myths and facts around it.


Rather then listen to a presentation or speech about something that affects our machinima's so profoundly, Miro and I had decided to do a Q and A for everybody present.

I cleaned up the chat a bit, to keep it read-able, and here it goes:

Miro Collas: There are 2 blogs about lag
Miro Collas: one in particular is VERY well written and is in fact cited by LL in their wiki.

http://analutetia.com/2009/06/22/anatomy-of-lag/

http://gwynethllewelyn.net/2008/02/16/lag-myths-dispelled/

This transcript is sent to MachinimaMondays group in Second Life too, if you want to attend our weekly meetings, join the group - or contact Toxic Menges, Phaylen Fairchild or Chantal Harvey inworld.

MachinimaMondays meeting, November 29, 2010:

Chantal Harvey: what is lag?
Miro Collas: ooohhh.... you start with a huge question.
Penumbra Carter: slows down and makes the camera jerk
Miro Collas: lag is not one thing, but 3 things, that are partly connected
first is client side, then network lag, and lastly, server lag.
Easiest to explain maybe is the second, network lag. That is essentially a measure of how good/bad your network connection is.
If you have a slow or poor network connection, you will lag.
Client-side lag involves ... well, things being drawn (rendered) on your computer screen.

Kit Guardian: can location have something to with that on any given day? Or hou much is being used around you?
Miro Collas: location matters yes. For client side, if there is a lot around you, then there is a lot to render, so more work for your computer to do
Kit Guardian: No I mean in RL
Miro Collas: Ah... it might, perhaps. Not so much distance as quality of connection, and speed of connection

Chantal Harvey: The distance to the Linden Lab servers, does that matter at all?
Miro Collas: there's a way to check your connection: visit http://speedtest.net/ and measure your bandwidth. Ideally, check it against Dallas
Georgianna Blackburn: why Dallas?
Miro Collas: Because a good part of LL's servers are now in Dallas
Georgianna Blackburn: ah, why?
Miro Collas: why there? That I don't know for sure, but it appears to be home to large datacenters
Dacob Paine: It's a co-location for redundancy and it is probably cheaper for their server farms.
Miro Collas: I'm afraid I don't have specifics on what is where, re: servers. But it is a good place to check against - better than a near-by city anyway
Chantal Harvey: Q even if u are in europe, as i am?
Miro Collas: yes. SL has no servers outside the US
Anyway, once you have checked your bandwidth, then you can determine an ideal bandwidth to set in your viewer
Chantal Harvey: ah i always wondered what my ideal bandwidht setting is

Inquisitive Loon: Dallas is not an option for the speed test?
Miro Collas: there is a star there for dallas, tho it is a tad hard to locate.
NicoleX Moonwall: i use a hughes net satlite so it floats
Miro Collas: Chantal: ideal is about 80% of the value that speedtest gives you
Miro Collas: 80%
Emmo Wei: Q is that 80% of the up or down?
Miro Collas: download
Miro Collas: upload is almost always far less
Dacob Paine: Q why is that?
Miro Collas: because generally, we download MUCH more than we upload, and 'net companies know this and allocate the bandwidth accordingly

Chantal Harvey: the burning question for machinima: what can we do to improve our framerate....?
Miro Collas: ok frame rate... that depends on many factors and so isn't easy to answer.
Most importantly, it depends on your hardware.
If you have a quad core PC with a high end vid card, you will get MUCH better frames rates than with say a dual core and a mid-range vid card.
(all else being equal of course) - a quad core will give better results than a dual core. And a faster processor better than a slow one
why is quad-core preferable?
Miro Collas: because then the work can be shared among the cores - which are essentially processors
If you enable it, it splits rendering off into another thread

Kit Guardian: Does our choice of software to film also effect the lag factor?
Miro Collas: it can yes. That's an external program which has to run at the same time as the viewer; it will use processor power.

is SL a multi-threaded app?
Miro Collas: multi-threading is enabled certianly in sl 1.23, snowglobe viewers; I cannot speak for Viewer 2
Miro Collas: or rather, *can* be enabled
Chantal Harvey: oh pls explain?

Apollo Manga: How many cores can SL multithreading use?
Penumbra Carter: Q what is multi threading :)
Miro Collas: multi-threading means that a single program can run several tasks at the same time (kinda); it boosts performance

Kit Guardian: which viewer is the best then?
Miro Collas: I have heard that Kirsten's is geared to machinima. Some I know use it for that specifically, and then revert to... whatever else for normal use.
Chantal Harvey: The LL 2.3 has a preset in graphics for 1920x1080, KirstenLee has shadows... each viewer has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Kayden Oconnell: -- Yes, would like a guideline for a new system, if we're looking to replace what we have -- not top of the line, but affordable?
Miro Collas: as for an ideal system: the more money you can throw at one, the better. It is that simple and brutal
Dacob Paine: lol so true
Chantal Harvey: think of it like this: a hollywood studio will cost a million, a perfect pc for machinima will cost 10,000 dollars
Miro Collas: it you want priorities for a system, then in order: CPU, video card, RAM, hard drive

Chantal Harvey: what will setting your bandwidth-slider too high do? does it influence?
Miro Collas: Chantal, yes it will - set it too low and you' you're throttling data
basicaly, slowing yourself down
Chantal Harvey: and setting it too high?
Kit Guardian: Crash perhaps
Miro Collas: that seems to also have negative effects, tho I confess to not fully understanding that part of it
Empirically, it has been worked out that 80% f your true bandwith is ideal for SL

Dacob Paine: can you give us an idea of the minimum computer someone needs for machinima?
Miro Collas: I lack the experience in that I'm afraid, it isn't something I have done. But let me give you an example....
I have a 3.2GHz quad core PC, 8GB RAM, and a GT240 vid card with 1GB RAM.
With that, I can have all my settings at ultra and a draw distance of 256m and not have issues
(well not usually)

Chantal Harvey: i have invited Ricky Grove to come and talk about computers, for machinima
Chantal Harvey: stay tuned... for that one, as he has agreed to do that for MachinimaMondays.


Apollo Manga: with a 64-bit system, is there a maximum RAM that can effectively be utilized? uhm... 32GB perhaps... not sure now.
Dacob Paine: That depends on the flavor of windows Apollo, it's up to 192 gigs at the most.
Dacob Paine: Some flavors are limited to 16 though
Miro Collas: btw, I'm on linux myself
Apollo Manga: Q but is there a limit on what can effectively be used? I'm building a 12gb system now but wondering whether to expand to 24gb
Miro Collas: that depends on the viewer you're using. All windows viewers (that I know of) are compiled in 32-bits
Note: go to: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/ram-memory-upgrade,review-32053.html

Apollo Manga: Windows 7 Resource Monitor says I'm not using the 8gb I have now
Miro Collas: some of those include versions that can make use of extra RAM ... those are the LAA versions
Otherwise, a 32-bit app will use 2GB, no more
Apollo Manga: LAA?
Miro Collas: Large Address Aware

Chantal Harvey: i am on windows 7, 64 bits, do you know if sl will be compatible soon?
Miro Collas: Chantal: no clue on LL's plans for a 64-bit viewer

Kayden Oconnell: -- There seems to be disagreement about ARC -- Does that affect our computer? Or the sim where you're filming?
Miro Collas: Anyway, ARC... it stands for Avatar Rendering Cost. The "rendering" tells you it is about client-side effects, the number is a measure of hwo much work your computer has to do to draw an avatar
Miro Collas: ARC has NO effect on a region
Miro Collas: so.. if someone says, "you have high ARC and are lagging the SIM", they are misinformed
Chantal Harvey: wow listen to that, folks
Kayden Oconnell: Yep, the ARC police will tell you otherwise
Chantal Harvey: avatar rendering costs, are not causing lag
Graycon Sonata: omg
Miro Collas: similarly, if someone says that you're wearing too many prims and are lagging the sim, they are misinformed
Chantal Harvey: are u sure about that, Miro, and what arguments can we use
Miro Collas: I am quite sure
Miro Collas: however...
Miro Collas: if you are wearing too many scripts, then yes, you are lagging the sim
Miro Collas: people often wear a ton of scripts without realizing it - and those DO lag a region
Miles Eleventhauer: i've shot video moving next to a heavly scripted av and you can see the frame rate going down in the video
Kayden Oconnell: Q So, if you're at a region with terrible lag, and many avs -- the main lag is on YOUR computer? trying to rez everything?
Miro Collas: but here it is important to distinguish between client-side and server-side lag
Nave Fall: Q: How do we measure how many scripts we have on us?
Miro Collas: Kayden: it is both...
Ok, let me explain in brief what a SIM does... (and this will therefore be incomplete)...
Miro Collas: among other things, a SIM keeps track of where everyone is... as well as running scripts that are on the SIM, delivering textures to you, and so on.
These things are prioritized. Keeping track of avatars has highest priority
So when a SIM is full of people, the SIM is going to spend most if the time, tracking people
When it has done that, it will then deal with scripts and then it will deliver textures
Miro Collas: so... if you go to hair fair for example.... ;-) you'll be familiar with it being gray for a LONG time... because the SIM is too busy dealing with all the people
Chantal Harvey: Q is there a way to improve this.... at all
Miro Collas: but of course you can cut back some by removing as many worn scripts as possible before you go
If you are holding the event, then keep scripts to a minimum
Miro Collas: also, a neat trick: provide seating
Chantal Harvey: oh?
Miles Eleventhauer: people sitting relieves a laggy sim?
Kayden Oconnell: one script for all the seats?
Graycon Sonata: who knew
Miro Collas: backing up... if you're sitting, from the point of view of the server, you become linked to the object you're sitting on - therefore, the SIM no longer needs to track your movements
Kayden Oconnell: ohhh, ok
Miro Collas: you also become phantom.
Bryn Oh: thats interesting
Miro Collas: meaning you can go through walls
Miles Eleventhauer: do that would include dance pose balls at a club
Miro Collas: yes
Nave Fall sits right down.........

Chantal Harvey: how can you see these scripts?
Miro Collas: some viewers, like Phoenix, have a built-in way of counting scripts on avatars
Miro Collas: right-click your avatar, and select S.Count from the menu
Counting scripts. Please wait.
Counted scripts from 13 attachments on Chantal Harvey: 42
Miro Collas: that show how many scripts you're wearing - except for HUDs
Miro Collas: 42 is a very good script count - nice and low
Ideally, you want to keep your script count under 100

Kayden Oconnell: aos?
Miro Collas: Aos no.
Kayden Oconnell: thanks, Miro -- never had it explained like that before

Bryn Oh: so miro i have just begun to get jerky filming where i didnt before. If i wanted to get it smooth again for my spacenav what are some things to do... for example lowering screen resolution etc?
Miro Collas: let me address another myth.
Miro Collas: Bryn: first I'd shut down any other apps that you do not need, like browers, etc
Miro Collas: that way your computer has less to do
Chantal Harvey: yea i find skype and youtube lower my performance
Apollo Manga: Firefox with multple windows can really slow down performance too
Bryn Oh: ok
Bryn Oh: i get a spike every 5 seconds or so and not sure what it is
Miro Collas: then I think much will depend on where you are in SL. If a place is graphics-intense, your frame rate will be lower
Miro Collas: also, just the sky takes a lot of effort to be drawn
Bryn Oh: oh but i love the sky
Miro Collas: basically: adapt to the location and situation
Bryn Oh: sigh
Chantal Harvey: but switch off the clouds in (advanced) rendering helps
Bryn Oh: ok
Miro Collas: example: do you need water reflerctions? If not, turn them off
Bryn Oh: and minimal draw distance?

Kit Guardian: So sky boxes are not necessarily less laggy?
Miro Collas: No Kit not necessarily. Again, it depends on what you can see
Penumbra Carter: sky boxes, if open to the air will get sky flicker, I found
Miro Collas: the more you have on your screen, the more work yoru computer is doing... ergo, the more client lag
Miro Collas: and a specific case of course is particles
Penumbra Carter: especially if they are above 300 m
Miro Collas: particles are like ARC: they are totally client side, and do NOT lag a region

Chantal Harvey: what is post process quality, there is a slider for that?
Miro Collas: Chantal: I think that's "empty" - meaning there's a slider but no code behind it. ;-)

Miro Collas: what questions did I miss?
Kayden Oconnell: the lottery numbers for the next drawing?
Miro Collas: LOL!

Penumbra Carter: do you then lower your fraps to match the area?
Does changing the fraps to match the region help, sometimes it does, but then I was told not to match it to close to go up? does that make sense?
Miro Collas: you're presuming i know what frpas is. :-
Bryn Oh: how do you change fraps to do that pen?
Penumbra Carter: I change the fraps in my frap settings to match the fraps I see being shown on the sim Bryn let me tell you specifically, one sec
Bryn Oh: ok thanks.. i have not tried that
Chantal Harvey: yea bryn that is hugely important
Bryn Oh: oh good
Penumbra Carter: in the movie tab of fraps:)
Chantal Harvey: set it to reality (the actual framerate of your location), or fraps will double frames to match what you have told it to do...and thus create jerkly images.
If you set your fraps FPS at 30, while your actual framerate is only 15 when recording, makes fraps double all the images you shoot till it is 30fps….and that, is jerky film.
Penumbra Carter: but the sim can be jumpy, so do you go up from what you think is the highest fraps of the sim?
Chantal Harvey: I would suggest go as close as you can, and try to stay a bit under.

NicoleX Moonwall: how best to shoot in dark place with out a flash light?
Miro Collas: play with the sky settings to increase ambient light
Miro Collas: in there, go to Lighting and you'll see Ambient - you can raise the intensity to make the scene brighter
Miro Collas: assuming you're on a V1.x viewer, go to World -> Environment -> Sky settings.
Chantal Harvey: Q is there a setting that creates lag??? or less lag???
Miro Collas: you get a window where you can select preset skies
Chantal Harvey: are the presets less laggy?
Miro Collas: sky presets? not especially more or less... no. Ones with more clouds might be a tiny bit more laggy
Chantal Harvey: so resume... what is your ultimate tip to reduce lag....
Miro Collas: When it comes to lag, overall, it is important to understand the difference between the various forms. From there, you can understand how to deal with them.
Miro Collas: If you're at a public place, busy, then reduce draw distance, or de-render stuff and people. ;-)

NicoleX Moonwall: is it true the higher you go up the less lag?
Miro Collas: Nicole: not that I know of - except that there tends to be less stuff high up, so less to draw

Chantal Harvey: lots of movement will cause lag too? animations?
Miro Collas: scripts run on the server - which affects the entire region, regardless of height
Penumbra Carter: scripts = animation?
Miro Collas: movement will cause server lag *if* the avatars are not sitting
Miro Collas: animations, interesting, are played client side

Penumbra Carter: we will have alot of seated machinimas:)

Chantal Harvey: kk - so, scripts are the worst regarding lag monsters?
Miro Collas: naturally if you need movement then you must have it. You can try to compensate elsewhere, like by cutting back on scripts

Kit Guardian: Does it matter what the Machinima person is wearing? or just the actors?
Miro Collas: Kit: script-wise it matters yes
Kit Guardian: like shouldmwe not wear any AOS or Huds when filming?
Chantal Harvey: avatar rendering doesnt matter, but scripts running does, i think
Miro Collas: AOs are not so bad actually. The worst offenders are resize scripts in hair and Shoes
Penumbra Carter: scripts = animation?
Miro Collas: movement will cause server lag *if* the avatars are not sitting
Animations, interesting, are played client side

Kit Guardian: Does it matter what the Michinima person is wearing? or just the actors?
Miro Collas: Kit: script-wise it matters yes
Kit Guardian: like shouldmwe not wear any AOS or Huds when filming?
Chantal Harvey: avatar rendering doesnt matter, but scripts running does, i think
Miro Collas: AOs are not so bad actually. The worst offenders are resize scripts in hair and Shoes
Chantal Harvey: Miro, this is an eye opener, thank you very much.



Picture made by Kit Guardian

SECOND LIFE “NATIONAL ANTHEM” CONTEST

GRAMMY-AWARD WINNING SONGWRITERS SPONSOR SECOND LIFE “NATIONAL ANTHEM” CONTEST





http://slanthem.com/


DECEMBER 1, 2010 - After hearing Philip Rosedale declare that, with Second Life, “I’m not building a game; I’m building a country,” Grammy Award-winning songwriter Richard Gilbert [Second Life name: Griffith Parx ]was inspired to create a contest to compose a “national anthem” for the popular virtual platform. To help make the project a reality Gilbert enlisted the aid of his songwriting partner, and fellow Grammy Award-winner, Doug Cotler [Second Life name: Gambe Citron].

Cotler and Gilbert comprised the songwriting team that composed “Manhunt,” which was featured in the movie “Flashdance,” earning the duo a Grammy in 1984. Cotler, who wrote “The Golem” which was performed by the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, performs more than 100 concerts a year. He tours and performs in a full range of music venues, and has appeared with such recognizable artists such as John Denver, Jerry Jeff Walker and Mason Williams.

Gilbert, who co-wrote “Manhunt” with Cotler while on sabbatical from his career in academia, is a professor of psychology and head of the P.R.O.S.E. Project (Psychological Research on Synthetic Environments) at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Bringing his work at the university into Second Life in 2008, Gilbert has been published for his works on personality, identity, and relationships developed in virtual platforms.

Over the last several years, Gilbert has been instrumental in bringing other LMU departments into Second Life. Four university departments now form what is known as LMVU, or Loyola Marymount Virtual University, within Second Life. Utilizing resources at their personal disposal, Gilbert and Cotler will award prizes for the contest that include Linden “cash” ranging from L$50,000 to L$10,000. More importantly, the Grand Prize winning song will be recorded at a studio in Los Angeles and posted on iTunes. The winning song will also be performed at a live Second Life event on July 4, 2011, with a full HD machinima production being created and posted on YouTube.com.

The only rule for the contest is that entries for consideration must use the fully copyrighted lyrics created by Gilbert, which are posted on the contest website. A panel of judges will select 10 finalists and public voting through the contest website will determine the Grand Prize, Second and Third Place winners.

Gilbert and Cotler are the primary sponsors of the contest. Co-sponsors are Pulse Point Marketing, LLC, Mamachinima, Pixel Labs and Perpetual Studios, while all companies and venues that conduct business within Second Life and participate are also considered co-sponsors through their efforts. Linden Lab was fully informed about the contest before it began and offered its consent and encouragement to initiate the project. While Linden Lab opted not to officially participate in the contest at the time of inception, Gilbert is hopeful that attention to the project will garner formal interest over time.

Questions may be directed to Griffith Parx in-world or via e-mail at griffithparx@gmail.com

And, of course, the performance machinima of the winner will be made by me.

The Flush Portal - a machinima sitcom

Tonight we had the first official meeting, and the kickoff of the Flush Portal.




The Flush Portal is a brand new machinima sitcom, created for mainstream television in the USA. Director is Pamala Clift, and I will be doing the filming and editing - and as the teammembers are signed up, I will be telling you about them on this blog. Maybe you recognise some on these pics?






The format is written, a script is being created, a website has been started, and a teaser has been made. Composer and sound designers are working, and the actors are getting very excited.

Shooting will start in January 2011!




Once upon a time in a pixelated existence...
observable thru the connectivity of the internet, the Roadside Philosopher was sitting...contemplating the universe in her underwater Think Tank....when a cat came in.

Through out all of space time... universes have spun into existence...and popped out.
With the creation of the internet, the beginnings of a new universe has become observable.
The weaving of the fingers of the black hole of this new dimension is pulling from other universes on a quark level the components for the next... (coughing fit, sputters and then gasps)... ah hell.. Just FLUSH IT!

Welcome to The FLUSH Portal
The infant dimension of virtual reality

Meet & Greet 48HFPmachinima on September 14, 2010

Some Q & A from the meet & greet:

*Winner last year was?
2009: Ring of False God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGl8t2fUnBk
By Matthew Hahn and Jorge Campos













Interview with Maththew Hahn, last years winner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at1lwb4RfM0


*How do I join the 48HFP Second Life group?
Send me a message when you see me online (or email) and i will invite you in.

*Do people have to sign their rl names on the paperwork?
Yes. I offer people a direct line to me, if they dont want their teamleader to see their rl details, email to me but the responsibility lies with the teamleader always.

*Are all events in this theater/location?
Yes

* theres a nose coming out of my ear please get a pic quick!
OK. (AnimaTechnica Umbarundu: hi flimsey, seeing as either i am sitting on you or you are sitting on me, might as well be friends.)




*To view films here, what do i do?
Get the latest quicktime, and go into your preferences and stop automatic streaming music and film. Enable voice. Ask Chantal Harvey for help, later.
Click the player icon on your taskbar to start a film. Do NOT click the screen itself.

*How are the films shown?
We work with AviewTV, which is Lapiscean Liberty's wonderful magic for the 48HFPmachinima 2010.

*How do i get rid of the nametags above the avatars?
In windows: control, alt and F1 --->will toggle them off and back on again
On a Mac: command, alt and F1

*should i film in 1280x720?
That is a wise thing to do. 720p is the standard format. Upload a test....

*what if my testfile takes a long time to upload, what can I do?
Encode it - it has to be encoded with H264 or sorenson for MOV , cinepak or DivX for AVI
test test test....
(create a one minute test film.. look at the file size after.. if it's bigger than 20 or 30 MB you aren't encoding it)

*Will there be more then 1 runner up?
No.

*Starting the upload at 7.30pm is not enough, it has to be IN at 7.30pm?
YES

*When we ask for a wildcard, must we use that or can we go back to the original drawn genre?
No. And, wildcards are handed out after the teams get their stuff, so you will have to wait till last.

*How is the draw done?
I make numbered envelopes, and teamleader (or assistent) calls a number.....If all teamleaders are there, I could hand out notecards.

*Can I make more then one film?
No.

*Can there be swear words or smoking?
Hmmm. Use your judgement, (or beeps), no sex, jury might or might not like it. Be careful.

*Can you clarify which form an actor needs to sign, which one a musical scorer needs to sign or does everybody sign all?
Waiver and release. All to be found on website and in my information email.

*What if I compose the music myself, do I sign myself?
Yes.

*How about creative commons for music?
It depends on the license. The 48HFP license is incompatible with the CC lisence, as submitting an entry to the 48HFPcontest restricts where it can be shown (at least the first year) so it is incompatible with CC. You cannot use:use and share alike. On the other hand, you can use CC lisence that allows for commercial use.

Mewsic Bing: I really suggest you do read through all the information on the 48 hour film project website, it may be dry but it does answer all your questions and more importantly you won't get any surprises when it's too late, you will not have the time to read up on this stuff once the project has started, (and if you do you're not trying hard enough ;) )

Thank you, Mewsic Bing :-D

People offer their music to the teams at this point.

***LANCE Rembrandt: http://www.blogger.com/LANCE@LANCEsongs.com i have tons of orginal scores and music and full songs
***I also have a music archive that anyone can take from lizsolo Mathilde: :): http://www.lizsolo.com/secret.html - still fixing my code, but lots there
*** Slim Warrior also offers music for the 48HFPmachinima, contact her.

*Do I still own my film after entering it?
Of course. You are giving rights to the 48HFP for a limited period. Please check the rules on the website. Because the 48HFP is constantly working on distribution outlets for the films, especially in the first year, our Team Leader's Agreement does restrict what you can do and when you can do it. http://www.48hourfilm.com/filmmakers/afterthe48.php

Do NOT put your film anywhere online before the screening on September 23, 2010.

*Rehab afterwards?
How about a great big afterparty at this location?

*Is there a list of what the genres might be?
http://48hourfilm.com/filmmakers/genres.php

*What is buddy film?
All the genres can be googled...please do, I stongly recommend. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_film

*Is there a grace period if you don't make the dead-line due to weather?
no..
Films have to be on our server at 7.30 pm, pacific time, September 19th. Films that are uploaded late, will still be screened, but won't enter the contest.

Peter Greenaway in the 48HFP jury

I was pointed to a 2009 blog by Matt Kelland, about Peter Greenaway speaking at a conference about the future of cinema (clicks or Mortar, Newcastle).

quote: (for full blog, click HERE

"Cinema is brain-dead."

Those were his opening words, and from that moment on, I (-Matt Kelland) was hooked. He then proceeded to tell us why film wasn't the ultimate art form, and why cinemas were stupid. "You sit in the dark, and you're expected to remain completely still for two hours. You can't even do that when you're asleep... Film is a poor narrative medium - that's why it always goes to the bookshop for inspiration... We are still using the cinematic language developed in the 20th century to tell stories in the 21st century..." And so on.

He talked a lot about the four cinematic tyrannies:

The tyranny of text: most cinema is still basically text. It's not a visual medium. It's a way of carrying the written word by other means.

The tyranny of the frame: seeing everything on a frame is completely artificial. Film should be more experiential.
The tyranny of actors: "an actor is just someone who is trained to pretend they're not being watched".

The tyranny of the camera: you're not seeing something real, you're seeing something captured by a machine.

Okay, hold it right there, Peter. No text I can give you (Koyaanisqatsi springs to mind), and no actors I can get my head around, but how the hell do you have a film with no frame and no camera?

Well, machinima people, brace yourselves...

"The future of film is in Second Life."

Yup, he really said that. What Greenaway envisages, in part, is an art form where non-linear film happens in a shared virtual space, in real time, with a blurring between creators and participants. The film is created and viewed simultaneously. The cinema is also the stage, the editing room, the sound stage. The frame is where we choose to put it.

Moviestorm joins forces with 48HFP machinima!

I am proud to announce that Moviestorm has joined the 48HFP machinima project as a sponsor, and is offering prizes for éverybody entering the contest, and a bonus prize for éach member of the winning team.



The prizes that Moviestorm offers are:

# For the winner of the machinima section: one year subscription to Moviestorm, plus a license to all Moviestorm content packs (excludes the audio packs) for each member of the team.
# A coupon for a free month sub to Moviestorm to everyone who enters the contest.



Moviestorm is the virtual movie studio for everybody. No matter what genre you will draw during the 48 Hour Film Project machinima, Moviestorm makes it fast and easy to make your films, your way.




Both winners from 2008 ánd 2009 used Moviestorm to create their machinima:

Medieval Dating - The Adventures of Luke and Joe
Ring of False God - Jorge Campos & Matthew Hahn

Filmapalooza Festival breaking news!

I am very-very pleased to tell you that Filmapalooza 2011 will be part of the...

Miami International Film Festival!!!!!

The MIFF takes place March 4-13, 2011 and Filmapalooza will be 3 days
within that timeframe -- around either the first or second weekend.

We still have lots of great details to work out with the MIFF, but we
hope you will keep Filmapalooza in Miami in mind as you make your
travel plans for 2011!

Press release on 48 Hour Film Project for machinima

Press release on the 48 Hour Film Project for machinima, 2010.
CALLING ALL Machinimatographers!

The 48 Hour Film Project, the oldest and biggest time filmmaking competition, is looking for machinima! In a wild, sleepless weekend, you and a team will make a movie ---- write, shoot, edit and score it. From scratch. In 48 hours. On Friday, September 17, you'll get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. By Sunday, September 19, the movie must be complete and uploaded to our server in California.
Each completed film is guaranteed a screening in Twinity, Inworldz and Second Life.
Winner ánd runner up will be screened at MachinimaExpo 2010.

Meet other machinimatographers, spend 48 hours in intense movie making, have your film screened in several virtual worlds, and compete to represent machinima against the other 90 48HFP cities! Come on out and make a movie!
To be part of the 48HFP, register online at: http://www.48hourfilm.com/machinima
Registration costs $48 per team. Space is limited, so register today!
The events in 2010 are held in Second Life, which is a free download at: http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/
Teamleaders are expected to be present at kickoff and screening event, if you need any help at all in entering Second Life; please contact Chantal Harvey, and you will be coached step by step. It is also possible to come to the events in a ready made account. (talk about it being easy.)
Communication can be through using skype @ chantal.harvey, and by email: machinima@48hourfilm.com




The UWA_BOSL Theater in Second Life

This SLurl will take your avatar to the 48HFP theatre : http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/6/248/1638
Some dates to remember: (all times are sl/pacific times)

September 14: Meet and greet the 48HFP teams - 3 pm
September 17: Kickoff event at 5 pm, genres/prop/line/character handout and start of contest September 19: Dropoff event at 5 pm, end of contest is 6.30 pm
September 23: Screening of the films, awards and winners announced

Dont miss the change to bring your machinima to the World, the winner will be screened at our Filmapalooza Festival, and winners there will go to Cannes!!

Chantal Harvey
Machinima Producer 48 Hour Film Project
http://www.48hourfilm.com/machinima
machinima@48hourfilm.com

info@mamachinima.eu

14 Teams today!!!!!

August 16: Only 10 slots open now for the 48 Hour Film Project machinima 2010.

The teams so far are:

Grey Matter Films, Penumbra Carter
Ideajuice Studios, Peter Patterson
Insomaniacs, MATTHEW HAHN
Jewell Theatre, Fake Jewell
Kamachinima Production, Ariane Dupleich
Machinimart, Gabe Salgado
Machinimatrix, Hussayn Dabbous
Metaverse Television, Dousa Dragonash
Pookymedia, Pooky Amsterdam
Running Lady Productions and Suzy's..., K. DaVette See
SiGer Team, Sigrid Sudi
SL 2 real, RL a game, Miriam Amelia Munoz
Sound'r, Andre Engelhardt
War Technica, Gabe Achanzar

Machinima at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai

http://alturl.com/z8ut

WORLD EXPO 2010 MADRID AIR TREE EXHIBITION

***** for the first time ever, machinima is being shown at the World Expo. *****
(I am só proud, can you tell?)


The program of OPEN THIS END in the World Expo 2010, consists in three exhibitions that expose the videos created by international artists, showing, for the first time in the history of a Universal event, a World Expo, “machinimas” and the three stages of the artistic virtual immersion.

* curator: Cristina García-Lasuén aka Aino Baer (Second Life avatar name)


ARTISTS AND WORKS:

1º Exhibition, May-June 2010

ALEX ROMAN aka JORGE SEVA (R-V)
The Third & The Seventh, T&S Teaser2, Kahn s Exeter Short Film



ALFONSO KOHN aka AL PERETZ (V-V)
The Rumba Bacana II



BINARY QUANDRY (V-V)
Autumn



BRYN OH (V-V)
The Daughter of Gears Vessel s Dream, Willow



CHANTAL HARVEY aka CHANTAL GERADS (V-V)
Virtual Kerkrade, Orientation, AOM, Kolor Fall, I wish for you



JOAQUIN BALDWIN (V-R)
Sebastian s Voodoo, Papiroflexia



LAINY BOOM aka TRACE SANDERSON (V-V)
Stolen child by Yeats, Push, The dumb man



MAKOTO YABUKI (V-R)
Ace One, Scope, Manakai



MESCALINE TAMMAS and FOUR YIP (V-V)
Fushion



PETER GREENAWAY (R-V)
Nursery Tales



POID MAHOVLICH (V-V)
Ephemeral



POOKY AMSTERDAM and BERNHARD DRAX (V-V)
Date Your Avatar



RODRIGO BLAAS (R-V)
Alma



SASKIA BODDEKE aka ROSE BORCHOVSKI (R-R), (R-V), (V-V)
Lost on Counting by Susa Bubble, The Blue Planet, Trailer photo s, The Survivor of Warsaw



SPYVSPY AEON (V-V)
The oldest airborne City, Multiple Worlds



TOM JANTOL (R-V)
The Remake, The fish incident, The Bridge, Brief to encounter



VICENTE SAHUC and SARA FERNANDEZ (R-R)
Almeria, New York, Tokyo

Officiall Press Release out now !!

Avatars starring at global film festival MMIF 2010


MMIF 2010
MaMachinima International Festival
Saturday Feb. 20th , 2010
MMIF sims (SL) + Planetart, Amsterdam (NL)

‘MMIF 2010' is the second edition of an annual film festival in 3D cyberspace with a screening in physical space ('RL'). A seven hour movie marathon with a two hour afterparty. MMIF 2010 can also be followed on the web via live stream broadcasts.

The MMIF is a celebration of ‘Machinima’: a new cinematic art form, created with virtual worlds and video games. On 3D Internet platforms like Second Life, any kind of movie sets can be build for very low costs. The MMIF aims to bring machinima to a wider audience, online – and offline. Machinima artists from all over the world are present in real time at the virtual MMIF Theatre. They present over 50 short films and have talks with other machinimatographers and an international audience.

Audience in Amsterdam can follow the MMIF event projected live on a big screen at the Planetart Medialab Artspace. They can bring their own laptop computers to interact with the show on the big screen. Free wireless Internet and electricity is provided. No entrance fee at Planetart, however tickets are required - reservations must be made via email. Details at http://MMIF.org

The MMIF is a volunteer-run non-profit collaboration of MaMachinima with Planetart, UrbanResort, Meta.Live.Nu, Pop Art Lab, VMax, Ystreams.TV, Metaworld Broadcasting, MetaMeets, Gallery Fermate, and many volunteers. MMIF 2010 is financed by donations and gifts. Virtual land sponsored by Linden Lab. The MMIF was initiated by the Dutch Film maker Chantal Harvey.

MMIF 2010 info, promo video, full programme, live streams, contact and latest updates and changes at http://MMIF.org



MMIF 2010 ARTISTS:

Gala Charron - Ogogoro - Lainy Voom - Draxtor Despres - Bryn Oh - Rohan Fermi - Toxic Menges - Tara Yeats - Phaylen Fairchild - Pooky Amsterdam & Russell (Rosco) Boyd - Poid Mahovlich - CodeWarrior Carling - Evie Fairchild - Graham Miami - Kronos Kirkorian - Osprey Therian - Chaffro Schoonmaker - SaveMe Oh - Dulci Parx - Chatnoir Studios - Paisley Beebe - Rysan Fall - Sol Bartz (phil Rice) - Rocksea Renegade - Cisko Vandeverre – Nitwacket (Pyewacket Bellman) - Chantal Harvey - Lowe Runo - Pia Klaar - Al Peretz - Halden Beaumont - Kolor Fall - Binary Quandry - spyVspy Aeon - Animatechnica - Miles Eleventhauer - Lizsolo Mathilde - Delgado Cinquetti - L1aura Loire - Iono Allen - Pyewacket Kazyanenko - Fort Knight - Luca Lisci - Larkworthy Antfarm - Beans Canning - Gtoon Jun - Tutsy Navarathna - Hadji Ling - Colemarie Soleil - Xineohp Guisse - Lorin Tone - Ian Friar - Suzy Yue - Claus Uriza / Emily Hifeng – Meta Lord, and others.



MMIF 2010 TIMES:
Saturday 20th of February
19:00 CET (= SL 10 am PST) - DOORS OPEN
20:00 CET (= SL 11 am PST) - Opening ceremony + Machinima film screenings
03:00 CET (= SL 6 pm PST) - THE END + After party online in SL



PHYSICAL LOCATION:
Planetart Medialab Artspace
Wibautstraat 150
1091 GR Amsterdam (NL)

VIRTUAL LOCATION:
MMIF 1, 2, 3, 4
Second Life
Teleport links via http://MMIF.org

MMIF on scedule

The inworld build in SecondLife is going full steam (ty Pop Art Lab), media challenges are being solved (ty LaPiscean Liberty and Thoth Jantzen), and we are now accepting machinima's that will be shown during the extra-special afterparty.
If you would like to show your work, or know of anybody that would be interested, please contact me at info - at - mamachinima.eu
http://MMIF.org

MMIF 2010 PROMO - Chantal Harvey

Last years promo was made by CodeWarrior Carling. A festival needs a new promo every year, not trowing the 2009 MMIFpromo overboard - but moving on from that one to something new. I will always keep the audio, it haunted me for 12 months -and it is for keeps.

Thanks Code, and ty Flimsey Freenote for letting me film at your machinima location.

And, ty Ze Moo - for creating and mantaining the http://mmif.org/ website.

MMIF 2010 Festival Logo

http://mmif.org/ website will show updates.

http://twitter.com/Mamachinima and http://mamachinima.blogspot.com/ will be showing short newslinks. I will try to blog daily.

Did I mention that Phil (Overman) Rice has entered too?

* MMIF machinima festival takes place on February 20th, 2010. *

the 48 Hour Film Project for machinima

Hey i have just read this post, by Byxil Shuftan:
http://15timez.blogspot.com/2009/11/48-hour-machinima-flm-project-showing.html

Sort of sums it up!
We had a great event, screened the 9 films twice. Such fun, and when it came to the awards, tension grew.

Best film is * Ring of false god - Team Clark
Runner up is * What of the baker - Team Rediculous Sandwich Studios


Best Directing Team Clark
Best Writing Team Clark
Best Acting Rediculous Sandwich Studios
Best Editing Team Clark
Best Cinematography Team Clark
Best Sound Design Team Sound’r
Best Use of Character Team Machinimatrix
Best Use of Prop Team Sound’r
Best Use of Line Team Ideajuice
Best atmosphere Team Ciscovan
Best Musical Score Team Sound’r
Best Costumes Team Machinimatrix

I Dont Like The Dark made it to the Bitfilm finale!!!!!

I recently entered the Bitfilm Festival with the machinima : I dont like the Dark.
Out of 324 entries 15 were chosen by a jury to go to the finale. And yes, 14 male and 1 female production... one.
I am very very proud to represent the female machinimatographers of the world in this mayor competition.

To vote for it, and yes we need many votes...: go to this direct link:

http://www.bitfilm.com/festival/member.php?voting=5&page=fd&fid=3537&id=118958&category_token=MA

You will need to register at Bitfilm to vote, I suggest fill in the requiered fields and go ... Oh and some prices to be won amongst the voters, too!
Please help actively to get votes...

I recommend the Bitfilm as a lively organisation, they do wonderful things.

Explaining the MMIF - SLCC introduction machinima

http://www.vimeo.com/5757879

I made this one as an introduction to the MMIF showing at SLCC, San Francisco - August 13, 1 pm.
Fab Outlander from Orange is representing the festival, and kindly sponsoring this event.

SLCC San Francisco: MMIF is a part of this years convention.

Exciting news; thanks to Fab Outlander, Orange Islands, the MMIF festival has been granted a one hour slot at the SLCC on August 13th, 2009.
Fab will represent the MMIF, and handing out the first official MMIF-DVD.

If you are going, dont miss this opportunity to see the work of the great machinimatographers of Second Life.

MaMachinima International Festival coming to San Francisco...YAY!

1minARTchannel

I started a new youtube account for my 1 minute art machinima project. I will create 100 machinima's with ART as the common factor, and making a documentary of these when done. It will take me a year to do so, I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/user/1minARTchannel

The first 6 are done........

I welcome feedback and suggestions.

Almost got the money for a new top computer with 2 Nividia 295 cards --- upgrading to HD quality.