Posts with tag atraira

Atraira has released the second installment of Ulduar: The Movie. Like the first episode, Ulduar: The Movie 2/3 features a sprawling series of fights. Each moment illustrates a fundamental experience in Ulduar.

What I enjoy most about Atraira's series is that these movies do such a wonderful job conveying the vital themes and core of Ulduar itself. While I won't say watching these movies is just as good as actually going on the raids, Atraira is doing a lot to "brige the gap" between people who have gone to Ulduar, and people who can't actually attend the raids. Atraira is keeping that second group of folks in the loop, so that they don't miss out on the lore and fun-to-watch boss fights.

Atraira's soundtrack continues to be well chosen for each fight. This quality of work is incredibly awesome. I can't wait to see the final episode.

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Slaytanic pointed out to us yesterday that Atraira has released the first installment of the new movie titled Ulduar: Defiance. The video is an interesting, cinematic look at the boss fights in Ulduar. Atraira, of course, is the machinimator who created the WoW video for Lonely Island's Boombox. We were pretty excited about the trailer, so it was awesome to see the movie make a release.

The basic idea behind Ulduar: Defiance seems to be that a Paladin is plagued by dreams about the home of the Titans. Gathering up 24 of her closest friends and allies, she then proceeds to kick some butt in Ulduar. The music and camera work for the fight scenes are all very well done, and I found myself incredibly motivated by listening to Atraira's soundtrack.

What really stood out about this video, however, was actually the opening dream portion. Atraira did an amazing job of filming a Scourge attack on Lordaeron. It was a brilliant, creative opening sequence. After such a strong start, the various boss-kill scenes weren't quite as impressive. Don't get me wrong -- it was still fun and I'll be watching it again. But, wow, Atraira really knocked that opening dream sequence out of the park.

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Dynash of Doomhammer (EU) tipped us off to the Ulduar: Defiance trailer. This movie trailer is created by Atraira, who you might remember from the hilarious music video for Boombox and the epic cinematic version of Ashbringer: The Return of Tirion Fordring. Atraira has a flair for creating art from pre-existing game files, and he's used that talent toward highlighting the Ulduar raid instance.

Of course, this is a trailer, and not a movie in its own right. That means it's heir to all the usual trouble a trailer can have. It can be a little vague, and you're never quite sure if the subject of its preview is ever going to materialize. All that being said, though, I really loved Atraira's work here. The use of voice-overs from the game's files is well executed and appropriately dramatic. The sweeping score he used in the background is inspiring. The way he pieced together each scene is motivating. It really came together very well.

Atraira's made me want to grab my sword and go fight them critters in Ulduar. If Ulduar: Defiance is as good as the trailer, it'll be something we look forward to with each installment.

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Okay, I admit it. I missed an obvious part of the punchline here until I did my due diligence research after the fact. When I first loaded up Atraira's music video for Boombox, I didn't get it right away. I dug the music, thought the message was great ("Music can bring the world together!"), and then was rightly confused at the end. I did notice that the singers were obsessed with "boiled goose," so I did a bit of Google-fu. Then I got it.

The song itself is actually written and performed by The Lonely Island. You probably remember them as the chaps who sang a song about their parts in a box or a good "Lazy Sunday." Suddenly, the song became that much funnier, since I understood it was satire comedy.

At any rate, the video itself is actually pretty good. I enjoy the two male Draenei as singers, and thought their costuming was well chosen and quite inspired. The milieus of old stuffy men spontaneously dancing worked very well against the lyrics.

And if you're like me, you can probably still enjoy the message of "Music will bring the world together!" I refuse to let go of that.

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

Previously on Moviewatch ..

Have care! This movie has spoilers.

Today's Moviewatch is also the featured movie for WarcraftMovies. It is Ashbringer : The Return of Tirion Fordring by Atraira. I didn't want to feature the same movie on the same day, but with the coming release of Wrath, the subject matter is pretty timely. This movie recreates the end of the Death Knight quest chain in video format.

I really liked the story, voice acting, and lore. I watched the video once, enjoyed it, and then listened to the dialogue again while not watching the video. The script is very strong, and the dialogue fits the ambience of Wrath of the Lich King incredibly well.

The camera work, though, didn't do a lot for me. I enjoyed the visuals, and there's only so much Atraira could have done recording scripted in game events. But they still felt a little static to me. We could have used some more dynamic shots, or maybe clever use of shooting angles to mimic the emotion we were hearing from the actors. Atraira admitted frustration while recording the events, and I definitely have sympathy for that.

[Via WarcraftMovies.com]

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

Previously on Moviewatch ...