WoW Moviewatch: Rise of The Forsaken - Chapter I: Myth or Legend?
by Michael Gray 
Mar 24th 2009 at 12:00PM
Pixelborn Studios looks to be a relatively fresh machinima effort. It's a group of seven friends who are working to create and publish more and more complex machinima and animation films. The first piece by Pixelborn has been released on WarcraftMovies.com with the author Petter Thowsen. The title of this machinima is Rise of The Forsaken - Chapter I: Myth or Legend?
The plot of "Rise of the Forsaken" centers around a group of undead who are on a search for an elixir on behalf of Sylvanas. There are some humans doing stuff, but I wasn't as clear how they'd relate to the ultimate plot. Sylvanas is about as kick-butt as you'd want her to be, though I was a little disappointed that she was voiced by a male. Still, she's tough, right? So maybe a bit of husk in the voice isn't out of the question. The author has already said they're looking to get a female to play the role in Chapter II, though, so I wouldn't lose sleep worrying about that.
The story of Rise is obviously going to be fairly epic. Most of the footage seems to come directly from gameplay, and is pretty good use of graphics in that sense. There's not a lot of BLIND-stylized action, but I think that's just as well in this case. The movie is focused on the story instead of the animation. The voice acting is pretty good for a first-out effort, even if all the female voices are clearly guys-in-falsetto. (Paging Axel Rose, paging Axel Rose, white courtesy phone please.)
All in all, I was pretty satisfied with Rise. I'd like to see Chapter II go to the next level, but Pixelborn obviously seems to be thinking along those line. Some refinement in voice cast, maybe a few cleanups on graphics. Check it out and let us know what you think.
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Previously on Moviewatch ..
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Machinima, WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dida Mar 24th 2009 12:26PM
I think the funniest part was the last 30 secs of that movie. ef
Nathan Mar 24th 2009 12:34PM
The voice acting is really terrible, they sound very bored and uninterested in what they are doing.
Sylvanas has a male voice.. that's just weird.
Where's the context? It goes from one scene to another without even trying to tie them together.
Jason Mar 24th 2009 9:18PM
Agreed the euro voices are so annoying.... elix-ear...
Tutunkommon Mar 24th 2009 12:40PM
Hrm. It looks like they are trying to build a storyline anyway. I guess I am still surprised when I see opening and closing credits that account for nearly 1/4 of the total run time.
Elmo Mar 24th 2009 12:44PM
Any Danish (?) can shed some light on the last 30 seconds?
Nostyle Mar 24th 2009 4:38PM
I'm not Danish, but he's just basically mumbling/commenting about the illogical scenes. That and making funny noises.
Aaron A. Mar 24th 2009 12:51PM
I don't know this Axel Rose guy of whom you speak, but Axl Rose should totally sue 'em for copying his name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axl_Rose
tj Mar 24th 2009 12:52PM
ok, yes the voice acting sucked, and you coulda so done without the night elf singing, but the plot seems cool. My advice, cast a chick for a chick voice, and no more musicals..........
zack Mar 24th 2009 12:55PM
So is sylvanas a Jedi.
Jorges Mar 24th 2009 1:12PM
Didn't knew Sylvanas had Force Grip... better watch out for that next time I raid UC.
Joshua Mar 24th 2009 1:28PM
What's the opening music score?
Whitelion Mar 24th 2009 1:31PM
Hey,
You guys need to give credit, where credit is due. This is not a Hollywood production by all means, but it was an awesome attempt. You guys keep doing what you're doing, you will get better along the way.
As far as constructive criticism is concerned:
Could have shorten the singing a bit, I liked how the song flowed with the mouth movements.
The plot looks interesting, but it need some Uhmmf!
Put some action in there, It would be cool to see abilities in slow motion and different angles.
Overall I liked it, and think you guys have the right mentality to get this going.
Trama Mar 24th 2009 1:33PM
Amateur at it's very worst. Voices, god awful. Graphics, a photoshop animated gif looks better at some parts. There is even a spelling error in the text.
My advice, don't waste your time making garbage, go back and play wow.
Kajira Mar 24th 2009 1:47PM
So basically your advice to them is "If you can't do it right the first time, stop trying."?
They will improve. And it takes time to weave a story that has many characters together into a cohesive plot.
I was not particularly moved by this (the voice acting killed it for me), but with more productive criticism and time they will get better and better. Who knows, they could be the next Tales of the Past.
Trama Mar 24th 2009 7:14PM
I'm not saying give up, the advice stands. Why make garbage, just play wow. They didn't take the time to even correct spelling errors before publishing, it's garbage!
I agree with wow2k6, this isn't anywhere near worth a post on wow.com. That's another issue though, I think the writers here just have to make a stretch at times to find content, any content, to post. Although, Michael Gray, has certainly dropped a notch on my "posts to look out for" due to this piece of trash he posted.
Round Mar 26th 2009 11:58AM
since ur mr.pro i want to see ur work, and how godlike that is
wow2k6 Mar 24th 2009 2:22PM
Yeah we all know they are amateurs...but come on, this is seriously not worth a WoW Moviewatch!!
SunwellVialist Mar 24th 2009 3:05PM
Props for using subtitles, for those whose first language is not english.
The lead Undead Guy sounds great, as does the human male, the other undead voices, plus the gnome... err... no, just no. Or at least try it again next time with more gusto and a more clear voice (maybe the microphone is defect?).
The song in the middle was... awkward, but the effects were well done, and the animation fit the song, yet, it broke the flow of the movie itself.
Keep trying. It's a good first attempt. +5
Petter Thowsen Mar 26th 2009 5:21AM
Hello everyone I just had to say thank you for everyone who has watched and maybe continue to watch my videos, I had never imagined to reach 17 thousand views 2 days after releasing a movie and even have a blog written about it!
Thanks, and yes the last 30 seconds is norwegian and..it's pretty stupid really but we had alot of fun making this movie, and I can asure you that I have already written the next chapter and I am writing the third one as well.
Thank you!
- "Afflicto"