Breakfast Topic: What matters most in machinima?
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 31st 2007 at 8:06AM
A little while ago, we asked what a good PvP video looked like, and so it's only natural that we should ask, as Relmstein did recently, what makes a good machinima? Yes, PvP vids are technically machinima, but in this case, I'd say we're talking about videos that tell a story that doesn't necessarily center around PvP-- stuff like Illegal Danish, Time Gnomes, and even music videos like Big Blue Dress (which is also a PvP video) and Code Monkey.Relmstein tries to make a spectrum between professional production and a strong script, but I'm not sure those are on opposite ends-- it's definitely possible to have both. I'd say a good, strong script is important for sure no matter how your movie looks. Humor tends to be popular, but I think that's only because non-humor stuff tends to be overly dramatic RP stuff so far-- it's hard to convey real emotion, as my friend recently said when I showed her the Code Monkey video, with characters who don't change facial expressions.
And maybe this is just me, but I kind of have a pet peeve with some machinima-- I really tend to dislike overuse of the Model Viewer to create improbable situations. It has it's place, I think-- Hardware Store is a great video that uses the Model Viewer almost exclusively for all sorts of fun. But I am more impressed by the folks who are able to shoot great stuff inside the actual game engine rather than flooding the screen with their own creations, effects, and graphics. Yeah, it takes skill to come up with all your own stuff, but if I'm watching a WoW video, I'd rather it was made with WoW, not five or six other programs just using the WoW models.
But maybe that's just my own personal opinion. What do you think makes a great machinima video?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Breakfast Topics, Machinima
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hollywood Ron Aug 31st 2007 9:26AM
I love the "Hardware Store" video. It's the video that made me go out and get WoW.
Queuetip Aug 31st 2007 11:24AM
Ok whats the deal with the word "Machinima"? All of a sudden I see it everywhere. I'm assuming it is referring to web videos that people make, but who the hell came up with that name? It reminds me of Final Fantasy X
Basic Aug 31st 2007 12:04PM
Mechanima may have been possible before, but really burst onto the internet with Quake 1 modifications and recordings. This was assisted by the ability to playback Q1 demos so downloading a mod/app was faster than downloading a video. I don't recall who coined the term... bluesnews might have had something to do with endorsing the right word.
Since MMO's don't have demo-modes to playback you have to download a video. Technically heavy video editing is not "pure" mechanima, but with WoW you really don't have any other options than model viewer or in-game emoting / acting / recording. I personally dislike most in-game acted scenes because they are not well framed. Many probably could achieve a better effect with more time invested and attention to traditional movie making techniques. The worst part is probably the "shaky mouse" panning that happens too often.
Rook Sep 7th 2007 5:34PM
Personally I think the most important thing in an animation whether it is purist machinima or not is the story and a reasonable quality of execution in order to tell the story effectively.
Whether it is told with wow model viewer elements or even more conventional 3D elements is less relevant. Although I do give special respect to those that can do both.