MachinimaMondays feat. LAG !!! in Second Life.

We jokingly tell each other that lag = love, but any serious machinimatographer knows that lag is a killer. We all have seen the jerky machinima's, and most of us have encountered this low framerate while filming. It ruines any chance on producing a good machinima.



Next week, the 7pm (PAC/SL time) MachinimaMondays meeting will be about lag, how it is caused, what we can do to beat it and get a reasonable framerate to improve our filming. I, for one, wont film if I cannot at least get a minimum of 25 frames per second.
But what to do when you are asked to film a busy event in Second Life, is there a way to improve your fps? Of course we all know about changing our settings, bringing down your draw distance, particle count, for example. Resizing your window helps too - but what if you still want to use that full monitorsize and work in HD...? Relog and reboot?
Miro Collas has agreed to come and share his knowledge with us on this subject - so grab your chance and come over to next weeks meeting.
The meeting will be in text. For those that cannot attend, there will be a follow up blog with transscript of this meeting.

To attend in Second Life, use this SLurl.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/RastaOpen4/79/87/41
To get notices for our weekly machinima meetings, join the inworld group called: MachinimaMondays.

Two blogs by Gwyneth Llewelyn that are recommended if you want to learn about lag:

http://analutetia.com/2009/06/22/anatomy-of-lag/
http://gwynethllewelyn.net/2008/02/16/lag-myths-dispelled/

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

Skylight

Today I tested Skylight at http://interest.secondlife.com/beta

I found it fast, fun and easy - just like the announcement Philip Rosedale made during SLCC.

When I met Mr. Mark Kingdon earlier this year in Amsterdam, he announced Second Life on a webbrowser ánd the introduction of mesh in 2010, and both Linden Lab's CEO's have kept their promise.

So.......I went in, and after entering my emailadres, I landed in Second Life as a noob avatar with the name of...guest 057987.



Apparantly at a concert, to my shame i must admit I didnt pay too much attention, as i got busy exploring this new way of entering SL, and scanning through the custom made avatars from which to choose.
I then looked for a destination, and came across PAL - Pop Art Lab, which is ran by my good friend Claus Uriza.



I met Olive Dorben there, and she agreed to be photographed with me.



Now I must say, there is nothing to learn, this way of exploring Second Life is fast and easy, and as an addition to the regular viewer the residents are used to, it is a great add.And let me tell you; if I find it easy to use, it is.

To test the lag I went to Dance Island, and didnt find the lag I usually encounter...



And they were trying to create überlag.... see for yourself:



Ending up on Hobo sim, as my 60 minutes of testing went real fast - chatting to other testers in London and Berlin, I took a last picture standing next to a SL celeb.




I will most definate recommend this to my friends, as most of them are even less tech as I am, they now will have the option to explore Second Life in a light and friendly new way.
I missed being able to tp to my own sim, and some favorite destinations, and tried to run fraps and couldnt... but realise this is a beta test - so I look forward to the final version! Imagine using my space navigator there...too.

Till then, I am trying to run this from my mobile - can my new android HTC do this?

Machinima Premiere StartMeUp

Since the University of Western Australia (UWA) has made me the offer I couldnt refuse - I am the manager of their wonderful UWA-Bosl Theater, I have been brooding on how to give this venue the best possible purpose.

The idea is this: contact me if you have a machinima you want to premiere, and we will talk about date/time/pr and ideas on how to present your work. I am looking for new ways to present, but of course a voice presentation by you and your team, or music to support it, or a contest to go with it, are welcome.

And it is with pride that I announce the first in a series of machinima premieres in Second Life.
Tonight, at 5 pm Pacific time/SL time, I am giving the floor to miss Phaylen Fairchild, who will be presenting her new film Harbinger.

Premiere: HARBINGER, a machinima by Phaylen Fairchild
When: November 6, 2010 – (is there a better way to spend your Saturday night?)
Time: 5 pm SL/Pacific time
Where: UWA-BOSL theater in Second Life
What: Watch the trailer here

☠ are your nerves strong enough to watch this movie ?? ☠

Contest: Scariest avatar in the audience wins a role in a future Phaylen Fairchild Production!
Eternal fame could be yours………