Posts with tag reallusion

Nathan Allen Pinard is known mainly as the composer for projects by Oxhorn, but you may not know that he agreed to let entrants for the WeGame machinima contest use some of his work for their submissions. However, Firebolt Productions, the award winning creators of Acolyte 1.5 and Ugly Goblin's Christmas, went above and beyond that by getting a custom soundtrack by Nathan. The composer was so proud of his score that he sent in the link if you want to listen to it by itself!

The Way of Life is another top contender for the contest. The story revolves around a man, Thord, sent to Northrend at a young age at the same time as Arthas Menethil. Instead of emerging a hero, he is resigned to a life of misery at a post in Menethil Harbour. However, one day he'll meet a young man, Caldor, that will change his outlook on life.

Clearly in this contest to win, Firebolt pulled out all the stops with sound design by Caruu and a voiceover by Drewbie! He also used CrazyTalk, by Reallusion, for lip-synching. As a longtime fan of the program, it's about time that the World of Warcraft machinimators embraced it!

[Thanks, Nathan!]

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

Previously on Moviewatch ...

(Dell is holding a machinima contest, which we'll discuss shortly. They asked me to write a tutorial to help new machinimators get their start.)

Every day, I feature a video by some brave soul that dived in head first into the world of machinima. For those that aren't familiar with the term, it stands for machine and cinema. The literal definition is movies made in a 3D gaming platform. Using this basic guide, as well as the other tutorials and resources available to you, you'll be creating your first project in no time!

Here is what you'll need if you want to make a machinima for free:

• WeGame camera - A free capturing program
• GIMP - A free image editing program
• Audacity - A free audio editing program
• Windows Movie Maker/iMovie - Free video editing programs that should have come with your appropriate system

[Thanks for originally suggesting this, Bryan!]

Read on for optional and advanced tools, plus additional resources ...

When I wrote about the Warcraftmovies Synergy contest for machinima three days ago, I had no idea just how close of a fight it would be. The results are in and it was literally a battle to the death. Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair beat Martin Falch by a whopping three votes, with final scores of 299 to 296. Over the next few days, we'll be looking at the winners and giving requested feedback to some of the ones that didn't place.

Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair's machinima followed along with the Busted script, but there were multiple little touches that really made the film. In addition to weaving his 3d magic throughout, Pinkhair also used a third party program, Crazytalk, to animate the lips of one of the characters. Caruu mastered the sound, while he, Drewbie, Olibith, and Selserene voice acted. There are also tributes to the great Shepiwot, Drewbie's character from The Grind, the Robber Baron of Warsong Gulch, and the cast of Snacky's Journal. Even I played a part in it by ruining their PR campaign -- or so they say!

Try to keep in mind that neither script was good, so the contenders didn't have a lot to work with in the way of variation. Now that it's over, I hope that Warcraftmovies will use a different method for their contest next time!

[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 ...

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Moviewatch to bring you this special broadcast from inside the mind of Gnomechewer. In Anasterian, King., he ponders what would happen if Anasterian Sunstrider came back. In the machinima he made to reflect Anasterian's return, he doesn't even cover half of the storyline that he envisioned.

We're amazed at the level of creativity involved in Gnomechewer's short productions. We only wish that he'd focus on one idea and either create a longer video, or a series. With that said, his use of CrazyTalk as well as other advanced programs only enhance his work, which continues to make him a crowd favorite.

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

Previously on Moviewatch ...

In Episode 1 of How 2 Machinima, Ian Beckman taught us how to chromakey right off the bat. This ended up being controversial, as some machinimators felt that he should start with basic tutorials. Now Ian is back with an even more advanced tutorial about lip-syncing.

Episode 2 of How 2 Machinima focuses on how to realistically lip-sync your actors using images of their own mouths. According to this tutorial, you would need pictures of the mouth in various stages of opening and closing. Then you would study the sound chart, which Ian has linked to on How 2 Machinima. From there, it only gets more complicated, so you'll need to pay special attention to the video. I personally use CrazyTalk, by Reallusion, for all of my lip-syncing, but the choice is yours!

[Via How2Machinima.com]

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

Previously on Moviewatch ...