A couple really solid threads recently cropped up on the Machinima.com forums, one by the always insightful Kephren, and another by a somewhat disgruntled MachiniMax. During the course of the latter, CJ Ambrosia of PEDS gives some sage advice about starting small when first embarking into machinima. Wise indeed; our beach is littered with the skeletons of massive, abandoned sailing ships which will never hit the seas. Smart in machinima - as in many areas of life - to bite what you can chew, and figure out how to eat the whole kielbasa once you’ve warmed up. Doc Nemesis chimes in as well, giving a succinct dose of self-reliance in learning that would make Ayn Rand proud.

It is encouraging to see good discussions going on, wherever they may emerge.

The other day, I relocated my forum to become part of Machinima Premiere, and I see that Britannica Dreams has also set up a section in the new “Affiliates” part of the MPrem forum. I’m not sure if their whole forum has relocated like mine, and Michelle and I didn’t share our reasons, but I think any way in which we can all be “coming together” is a good and timely thing.

Have you seen Cirque du Machinima yet? Tom Jantol, who recently set out on his own as a professional freelance machinimator, has crafted a hauntingly beautiful piece, which you can watch streaming here (hires downloads available there too). A really refreshing experimental piece that is getting very good reviews.