Friend and collaborator Ricky Grove has published an abridged biography of me over at Machinima Premiere, including an exegetical-type analysis of some of my work. One of the most fulfilling things about creative output is when people discover things in your work that, were they intentional, could only be explained by subconscious influence. Certainly some of what Ricky has found in my films was placed there by design, but there are some things which when I read them, I had a good natured chuckle and thought, “Wow, did I do that?” Ricky is an astute observer, and a very solid communicator (you really should read his blog; great stuff). I’m honored he chose to spend so much of his time putting this together, and hope you enjoy reading it too.

When I shared with Ricky that the key author and philosopher who basically helped me climb out of the depths after a personal crisis was Ayn Rand, he seemed genuinely surprised, and that has not been an uncommon reaction. (more…)

NY Times: Talent Agency is Aiming to Find Web Video Stars

Wow! Read the fine print, you’ll find they are not just talking about LonelyGirl15 and the like. They’re talking about writers, directors, producers… and yes, actors too.

This, coupled with all that’s going on in Second Life (here, here, here, and elsewhere), is confirmation: something big is on the verge of happening (if it hasn’t begun already). Time to get your house in order; I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more foot traffic. (If you’re up for a solid food take on part of what “getting your house in order” means, Buddy smashes the nail on the head.)

Hopefully the lighthouse will finish her repairs soon; it would be a massive shame to miss this. (Might be time to listen to this guy, if they’re not already).

Most of the nominees for this year’s Machinima Film Festival now have direct links to streaming versions courtesy of GameVideos.com, and apparently there’s a special award for the one which performs the best in the rating system over there. So check out the links from the festival nominees page, and rate them if you’re into that kind of thing. (While you’re at it, you could read up on the panel of judges for the festival).

Even if you do nothing else, go see why The Adventures of Bill and John: Danger Attacks at Dawn absolutely deserves all nine of its nominations. Though if you’re really wanting to experience it in all it’s glory, I’d advise checking out the high quality versions of the film over at their site.

Kephren, the Director and Producer of the hit series Borg War, has been making a magnificent defense of machinima’s viability as a medium against some of its most hostile detractors: CGI animators.

… the popularity of Borg War must truly be a little bit scary, since it suggests that the public doesn’t care all that much about [CGI animators’] standards of quality. They just want a good story with characters they like.

Good stuff. Starting point to follow this interesting debate is in this thread at the Machinima.com forums, but be sure to also check the LWG3D thread Kephren refers to.

Here is a list of all of the sound-related production journal entries I posted in 2006 while working on the machinima film BloodSpell. Some info and techniques in here which might be of use to other aspiring sound guys and gals. Please feel free to bookmark this post, I’ll update this list whenever I post a new entry over there.

• Pre Ep 1: I Hear Footsteps (local)

1. Episode 1: Anatomy of a Crossbow
2. Episode 2: Giggles, Swishes, and The Wind
3. Episode 3: Bad Vocal, Lorem Ipsum Chant, and Magic
4. Episode 4: Previously On, and Vocal Tracks
5. Episode 5: Barefoot Steps, The Unseen, and Ralph and Chuck
6. Episode 6: Ghoul Family, Falling Out of Bed, and Overkill Alley Dog
7. Episode 7: Music Editing, Cats and Dogs, and Backmasking
8. Episode 8: Walla and Competing Crowd Noise
9. Episode 9: Reverb Challenges, Compression, and Doing Nothing
10. Episode 10: Thunder, New Magic, and Rain
11. Episode 11: Music Keying, The Magic Shop, and The Tower Battle
12. Episode 12: The Return of the Chant, A Sense of Distance, and A Big Mean Demon Thing
13. Episode 13: Earth, Wind, and Debris (coming soon)
14. Episode 14: Previously On, Weakened Magic, and The Angel (coming soon)

I have not had much time to spend in Second Life since my initial weekend venture into that world, but my interest has been renewing since I read recently that 44% of the people in SL are “creatives,” i.e. content creators. Pretty amazing statistic; no wonder denizens of SL laud it as such a rich collaborative environement… not just because of the software itself, but because of the general bent of people using it. (more…)