Next Machinima Audio Conference
– Date/Time: Saturday, April 26, 2008 @ 2:00 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific - PST)
– Verify for your time zone: World Time Server
– Location: Fleef Fimicoloud’s place in Second Life
– More info: Audio Conference Main Page

Next Machiniplex Premiere - Tom Jantol’s “The Fish Incident”
– Date/Time: Sunday, April 27, 2008 @ 12:00 p.m. Second Life Time (Pacific - PST)
– Verify for your time zone: World Time Server
– Location: HatHead’s Lounge in Second Life
– More Info: Machiniplex3 Blog Entry

Submission Deadline for The Overcast Machinima Contest
– Date/Time: Sunday, April 27, 2008 @ 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time
– Verify for your time zone: World Time Server
– More info: Overcast Contest Info Page

This is precisely two weeks after 52 starts on 5/2. (Those dates are May 16th and May 2nd for those of you from dd/mm land.) After a hiatus which calls into question my machinima podcast’s “approxi-weekly” designation, the overcast will return to the airwaves on Friday, May 16, at which time the winner of The Overcast Machinima Contest (entry deadline is APRIL 27!!) will be announced… and that will be the last show of its kind for a very long time.

Why? Some big changes are coming to the show’s format which I think you’ll find very exciting. I’ll tell you all about that very soon.

As for the 52 on 5/2 mystery? Keep your eye on the ZS YouTube Channel on that day.

To commemorate the release of the BloodSpell DVD, here’s the story behind the (in some circles) infamous mock newscast I did on the overcast back in episode #008 in July, 2006.

When Hugh talks about his magnum opus feature film, BloodSpell, it’s hard to contain his enthusiasm. But believe it or not, to hear him talk and write about it now, what you’re seeing is a slightly restrained version of that excitement. His verbiage is nowadays tempered a bit, this in large part due to how initial promotional efforts of the film were received. That reception, at least in the inner circles of the machinima community, ranged from quiet disdain to inflamed hostility. In fact, at times the zeal of the criticism eclipsed the promotion strategy being criticized… Hugh was called arrogant, full of himself, delusional, and worse.

All in a day’s work for a man hopelessly in love with filmmaking.

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Craft the perfect advertisement for the overcast: a machinima podcast, and win massive machinima swag!

The Overcast wants to expand its audience, and to do so it needs your help. Using only rights-free tools (like Antics, iClone, Moviestorm, Second Life, etc.), create a video ad of no more than 2 minutes in length to tell others about the show. Entries will be judged by a select panel of your machinima peers. The winner will see his/her name in lights, and take home the mother of all machinima prize packages!

Entry deadline is SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2008.

Read all about the rules, judges, prizes, and download some available audio assets over at:
http://z-studios.com/overcast-contest/

I first met Ron via my website logs a year or so ago, strange as that may sound. I’d been perusing the list of referring sites by which people were coming to the overcast, and I noticed a site I didn’t recognize. What I found was Griddlecakes Radio, Ron’s well-produced family-friendly podcast. His theme? Storytelling in an audio medium. Once I heard his description of an encounter with a Homeowners’ Association, which hit very close to home at the time, I was hooked. I tune in to Griddlecakes now whenever I can. It’s a very different style than I do on my show - a lot more polish and professionalism, and a bit of a more formal structure and feel - but I enjoy listening to someone who is good at what they do, and obviously takes so much pride in his work.

I first met Ron (in any kind of interactive way) on Facebook just a few weeks ago, where we were pleasantly surprised to discover ourselves to be mutual fans of each others’ podcasts and each others’ blogs. (Ron’s blog is called Ron Amok, where he delves into the issues related to new media’s impact on business, marketing, and life.) His interest in machinima is very much an extension of his interest in democratized storytelling.

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Destined to be the As Nasty As They Wanna Be moment for the overcast, the latest interview Hugh and Johnnie conducted at Machinima Europe was with Paul Marino, Frank Dellario, and their lowered inhibitions. Everyone involved has agonized and deliberated over whether or not to even release this audio, but ultimately I don’t think any of us could pass on such comic gold, however blue it turned out to be. I had to do some interesting adjustments to sidestep a few things which were Too Hot even for “Too Hot for TV,” but I think it ends up playing very well, engaging the listener’s imagination with some obscuring pockets of elevator music. I really hope you enjoy it. I hope not too many of you are offended by it, it really is all in good fun. And I hope not too many of you are aggravated at not getting to hear an uncut version, but there were factors at play we could not afford to ignore.

If you are sensitive to adult language, sit this one out; we will return to regular programming before too long.

This is U.N.S.F.W. (Unreservedly Not Safe For Work) Be advised. Thanks.

http://theovercast.com/overcast-026/