Interesting interview with Second Life machinimator Susi Spicoli over at In The Grid... though you'll have to wade through a couple opening paragraphs of WTF as you read a wee bit wacky revisionist history on where machinima comes from. [EDIT: Miller Copeland (the blog author) has since updated his entry with a clarification on his intended emphasis, and was kind enough to comment here too. Thank you, MC.]

"For those who don't know, there's a curious form of new creative output that's been recently gaining a lot of popularity online; what the Japanese know as machinima, or we in the Western world as computer-generated animation... Once the exclusive domain of the Spielbergs of the world, the only artists who could afford the millions of dollars of computing power needed to render such graphics, machinima creation has dropped dramatically in the last few years in both tech requirements and price, with it now for the first time appearing in the budget range of amateur filmmakers and tinkerers."

It's aggravating when a journalist gets it all wrong, but when someone like Miller who is involved with the gaming community and has an arts background describes something so inaccurately which could easily have been researched (heck, he linked to the wiki! It's right there...), well, it's a little embarrassing. The interview is very good, though; it's worth a read.

Now let's not pull a FattyBatty here. If you are going to comment over there, be kind; he meant no harm. If anything, the gaff at the beginning of his post is another illustration of how much of our work still remains in getting the word out as to what machinima is; not just at animation/film festivals, either. A deliberate, focused PR strategy is needed. So write your congressman about it!

Susi is an interesting character, and very well-known in Second Life for many reasons, not least of which is her philanthropy. She donated part of her own land in Second Life to create a permanent machinima gallery. Google for more about her; hers is a name you'll be hearing again.

Other quick bits: New Overcast is up. BloodSpell Episode 9 is out, as is the audio Did You Know article for BloodSpell Episode 8. Also... MRE has over 100,000 views on the Tube. Crazy!