Although the BlizzCon movie contest was hardly publicized at all -- no press releases about the contest or the winners -- it yielded the cream of the WoW machinima crop so we will be featuring the winning movies here at WoW Moviewatch for the next few days. The winner in each category, as well as the Grand Prize winner, received the newly minted Oswald award to put on their shelves. (I hereby dub thee The Ozzie!)

Today we feature the Grand Prize winner, Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by the typically brilliant Stone Falcon Productions. This film also won the Drama/Romance category (see below), even though I think it is better suited for the Comedy category. It's good, Snackish fun, with high quality film-making and acting, as all the Snackys are. I like the new fem gnome and I hope she continues in the series because she's a cute character and could make for a good foil for Snacky.

Here's a list of the other winners, along with links to ones that have been already featured on WoW Insider. We'll feature and comment on some of the others this week.

Action/Adventure Category

• Runner-up: The Future Soon by Spiffworld
• Runner-up: Mercy of the Sea by Sleeping Dog Productions
• Winner: Divided Soul by Falch Productions

Comedy Category

• Runner-up: Fruit of Elune by Myndflame
• Runner-up: The Dead Murloc by KILH Machinima
• Winner: The Rumpus Machine by Oblivious Films

Drama/Romance Category

• Runner-up: Dead Rain 2 by Bear on a Trampoline
• Runner-up: Redshift by Slashdance
• Winner: Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by Stone Falcon Productions

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Filed under: Machinima, Humor, WoW Moviewatch, BlizzCon

Ever wonder what happens to your character when the boat or zeppelin goes out of your view as it zips across the ocean? Well, WoW That's Irregular is here to 'splain you, Lucy. The filmmaker, Wizeer, is a pal of Baron Soosdon's and a student of Machinima 101 and his third machinima makes it clear he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

The movie is really two separate vignettes which both riff on the theme of unexpected outcomes. The first story shows an Undead Rogue capturing the flag in Warsong Gulch with comedic flair. There is little standing in his way except a rookie Gnome, a surprised Draenei, and a Dwarf Hunter who looks surprisingly like BRK. One of these three offers the rogue his comeuppance, which is amusing, but what actually happens is a bit difficult to follow. According to the film's notes, the rogue overused Sprint, but I'm not entirely sure what occurred.

In the second half of the film, a Night Elf boards a boat and gets mobbed by a gang of Horde who apparently don't judge gender very well. The special effects on the boat ride showing us what happens when the boat hits the worm hole are splendid. The voice acting in this segment is also quite amusing. (Did you know that Orcs scream like little girls?) Give it a shot; I think you'll like this one.

For those of you interested in the non-WoW music used in this film, Wizeer lists "Concerning Hobbits" (Lord of the Rings), "Lacrimosa" (Immediate Music), and "Ringtone" (Battlefield Heroes).

[Via WarcraftMovies]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, Humor, WoW Moviewatch

(Warning: This video contains some harsh language.)

Just in time for the weekend, like a quick junket to Vegas,we offer a movie called What Happens in Booty Bay Stays in Booty Bay. The filmmaker, Brigitte Swiftblade, calls this an "RP documentary." I love this format; it's very original. Since she's playing on an RP server, she decides to follow around her pal, Zaitzegrait, and film the consequences while he tries to meet chicks in Booty Bay. Apparently Zait is quite a famous character in Trade chat (US Twisting Nether-A), so it's like she picked a celebrity for a reality show. And, in a way, a "reality show" is really what this movie is since Zait is the only one who knows why the little Dwarf Rogue is following him around so closely. (Her POV is the camera's eye.) Everyone else plays their part to perfection, albeit unbeknownst to them. The subtitles offer insight into the documentary setup and a running non-RP commentary on the action -- or Zait's lack thereof. The result is a very humorous, original movie that contains themes of love, betrayal, honor, and cross-faction hanky-panky. I would love to see more of this kind of documentary movie-making from role-players!

[Via WarcraftMovies]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, Virtual selves, Humor, WoW Moviewatch, RP

Holy moly, Firebolt Productions just keeps coming at us with high quality films! We only recently just saw them win fourth place in the WeGame contest and now they've already got a teaser out for another film. Johan Vagstedt says that Firebolt is apparently in the process of making a "huge machinima project" called Unbroken and today's feature, called Unbroken - Prelude, is the teaser for it which they've entered into the BlizzCon movie contest.

This film follows a council of Orcs led by the "very special" Gul'dan, set a short time after after the Dark Portal was opened by Ner'zhul, trying to decide if they will join the Burning Legion. Later in the film, we also see a glimpse of the Draenei side of the story.

This film is, quite frankly, one of the most highly-polished pieces of machinima I've ever seen -- from the lighting to the camera angles to even the facial expressions. I highly, HIGHLY recommend -- no, I demand -- that you download the full version of this movie from Filefront -- it's simply incredible. I can't wait for the full version!

[Via WarcraftMovies]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Orcs, Machinima, Draenei, WoW Moviewatch

Reader Aaron Stacey wrote to tell us about a simple new script he's developed that allows him to play WoW more fluidly, despite having little fine dexterity control in his right hand. Since a spinal cord injury, he is only able to grasp and release his hand. Prior to developing this script, Aaron used to play only with his left hand using "an abundance of key binds and keyboard/mouse switching." He was restricted to caster classes because of the difficulty in moving and attacking at the same time.

Inspired by our Wii remote post and our treadmill post, Aaron came up with an ingenious idea that he hopes will help others with similar disabilities. The key is GlovePie, a piece of Windows freeware (donations welcome) originally written for virtual reality gloves, which allows you to play any game using any type of controller you like. GlovePie's website lists controllers like joysticks, gamepads, mice, keyboards, and Wiimotes, among a host of other hardware.

Find out how to do it yourself after the break.

Read more →

Filed under: Tricks, How-tos, Fan stuff

Seen commercials for the ShamWow? Well, today Kilh Machinima brings you its Azerothian equivalent in Hoodoo Teleshopping - The Deadmurloc(tm), his entry for the BlizzCon movie contest. Be warned: you must reconcile yourself with the idea that, although this version of Azeroth has television, it doesn't have a better way to clean your house than with a rehydrated dead murloc. Hoodoo Teleshopping is a Troll-run version of Home Shopping Network which demos the Deadmurloc product (don't forget the trademark) right before your eyes and shows you how the murlocs are harvested in cartoony, gory detail.

I found the background music to be too distracting, competing with the already-variable levels on the voice acting, so sometimes it was hard to follow the sales pitch especially from the gravelly-voiced Troll salesman. The visuals are well done, though, and the effect of putting the HSN-style border around the image is slick. Kilh says it only took him 4.5 days to finish the production in order to meet the contest deadline. But hey, you can't argue with getting a Big Flat Rock for FREE. Now what would you pay?

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, Humor, WoW Moviewatch, NPCs

Here's an endearing little film called Flapping Feast from Tinkersmith Productions. It brings us that universally heartwarming story of a boy and his... um, chicken. Well, the chicken's a man, actually. And the boy is a middle-aged gnome named Falkireohan Tinkersmith the Second. But nonetheless! As I was saying... This film tells the tale of a gnome whose self-defense spell against a ganker goes horribly wrong and, in his guilt, Falkie tries to set things right as much as he can. The story logic is, assuredly, like a Grimm fairy tale -- the only way a man-who-thinks-he's-a-chicken can live happily ever after is if he has a pullet for a bride? -- and it has a feel to it without much of a character arc, but choosing a child to voice the 50-ish gnome and the folk-taleaccented English somehow works for me. And anyone who doesn't crack up laughing at the music which plays over the credits needs to get their funny bone examined. You may want to also view the sequel called Flapping Feast 2, but I didn't find it as charming as the original.

[Via Machinima.com]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, Humor, WoW Moviewatch

If you're going to BlizzCon, you don't have to wait for Echoes of Doom to come out to get a head start on racking up achievements, at least according to the playful commentary going on in the forums right now. Here's a taste of some of the humorous achievements they've suggested you can earn at BlizzCon.

• I Have No Use for This - Try to sell a piece of junk to any vendor at BlizzCon
• Ruler of BlizzCon - Survived both days of BlizzCon without sleeping, eating, and showering (Blue poster Bashiok begs you not to attempt this one)
• Savior of the Public - Brought enough soap for yourself and at least 1 other person (takes achievement away from Ruler of BlizzCon)
  
• I put on pants for this! - Worry about the fact that you're missing a raid with your guild
• Defender of the Throne - Order a greasy, overpriced hamburger from the convention center floor and spend at least 2 hours on the john
• Everyone's Best Friend - Buy a round of drinks for the Blues
• The Not-So Magic Kingdom - Go to Disneyland in Warcraft apparel
• I Want My Mommy - Utter the phrase "Don't tase me Bro!" as security comes for you
  
• THEY GOT THE KEYS MAN - Intoxicate a Blizzard CM
• Munchhausen - Complain about your class to Kalgan
• Nerf THIS! -Yell and nerdrage at a dev during the class panel
• Oops! I Did it Again! - Come to the convention dressed as a character not pertaining to WoW
  
• Slayer of the Dragon - Hand out mints to five people with the "dragon" breath
  

Okay, now it's YOUR turn! Surely we can come up with even funnier ideas for BlizzCon achievements!

[Thanks, Andrew Anderson!]

Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Humor, BlizzCon, Forums, Achievements

The Rumpus Machine is the latest offering from Oblivious Films, of The Grind fame. It's the story of what happens when an easily-frightened dwarf and his friends stumble upon a "metal pig" which seems to grant their every wish. It's not a follow-up to The Grind storyline, but rather a new, self-contained story. It's kinda like what O. Henry would have written if he'd only lightened up a bit. The moviemaking here is top notch and the storytelling is quite funny with everything from sexy dancing girls to throwback dungeons. Make sure you stick around throughout the entire credits roll for some final jokes at the end.

Drew "Drewbie" Syring from Oblivious tells Moviewatch that Macheath made this film for the BlizzCon machinima contest and, for you Diablo III fans, "yes, that is really the real Deckard Cain who was kind enough to lend his voice talents to our production." How'd they manage it? Just watch it, you'll see.

Updated: In case it wasn't clear to anyone who watched the film: The filmmakers want you to know that they got the actual voice actor for Deckard Cain to perform in their film.

[Via Vimeo]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, WoW Moviewatch

Today's pick is a trailer for Trollbane 2 by DTB Productions who, of course, brought us Trollbane. The filmmaker is asking for feedback on his Warcraft Movies profile, so if you'd like to have an impact on his film, I'm sure he'd appreciate your thoughts. My first thought is: fix the grammar, dude! The tenses are so tortured in the setup titles that it's hard to tell if this isn't a time-travel movie -- or will it might have been?

My second comment is that the machinima looks incredibly slick. This is going to be a very high quality, well-produced movie when it's finished. However, shiny polish does not necessarily equal a good film. My main concern with this trailer is that I have no idea what this movie is going to be about. From the titles toward the end -- new outfits, places, and powers -- it sounds like this is a trailer for a new video game, not a movie. I can tell that there's going to be action and gore and female Troll behinds (or was that a Blood Elf?) but other than that? No clue. I don't even know who the heroes and villains are. A trailer is supposed to make me want to see a film. (Sometimes with Hollywood films, the trailer is actually better than the full length film. Wanted, I'm looking at you!) However, slick production values by themselves aren't enough to draw me into a movie if I don't know why else I'm watching it.

[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

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Filed under: Machinima, WoW Moviewatch