From September 2005 to June 2006 a team of thirteen scholars at the The University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for Communication explored how new and maturing networking technologies are transforming the way in which we interact with content, media sources, other individuals and groups, and the world that surrounds us.

This site documents the process and the results.

Reply to comment

machinima

Curated by Paul Marino

Machinima is a hybrid medium, a mix and remix of filmmaking and game culture. Its life started in 1996 as an afterthought—a nearly overlooked existence within the gaming community, then known as "Quake Movies." In the last ten years however, Machinima has matured quietly; finding a home not in its parent industries of game, animation or film, but in the users who have nurtured and recognized its significance. In its continuing evolution, Machinima has come to exemplify our convergence culture - an evolving space that embraces legacy creative technique while mounted on advancing technologies - and shaping how entertainment is made and enjoyed. Below are a diverse set of works developed by artists whose backgrounds are equally as scattered. They represent not only a somewhat loose retrospective of Machinima's history, but also the blurry lines between fandom, subversive fetish and grotesque commercialism.

The Beginning

Diary of a Camper

Director(s): The Rangers
Running Time: 01:36
Country: USA
Year: 1996
Source Game: Quake (id Software)
Synopsis: The Rangers attempt to corner a lone gunman that has targeted the group for assassination. Definitively the very first Machinima created (back in the day they were called Quake Movies), Diary of a Camper laid the groundwork for Machinima works to come.
Film: Diary of a Camper

Apartment Huntin' - The ILL Clan

Apartment Huntin'

Director(s): Matt Dominianni (aka "ILL Clinton")
Running Time: 06.25
Country:
USA
Year:
1998
Source Game: Quake (id Software)
Synopsis:
Distributed originally as a native Quake demo file, Apartment Huntin’ follows the goofball antics of Larry and Lenny Lumberjack as they try to obtain their first apartment together.
Site: www.illclan.com
Film:
Apartment Huntin'

Breakin' Outta Quake

Warthog Jump

Director(s): Randall Glass
Running Time: 03:29
Country: USA
Year: 2002
Source Game:
Halo (Bungie/Microsoft)
Synopsis:
Randall Glass mixes pop culture audio with Halo, as he attempts to launch the game’s famous vehicle, the Warthog, over a natural arch in the game’s terrain. Finely edited with humorous effect, this Machinima was nominated for Best Editing in the 2002 Machinima Awards.
Site: www.nailbiter.net
Film:
Warthog Jump

Owned - Northern Brigade

Owned

Director(s): Magnus Walterstad
Running Time: 03:55
Country:

Finland
Year:
2003
Source Game: Battlefield 1942 (DICE/EA)
Synopsis:
Exploiting Battlefield 1942’s physics is the name of the game, as one of Europe's prominent gaming clans mixes music with mayhem in this Machinima music video.
Site:www.northernbrigade.com
Film:Owned (Fileplanet link - reg. required)

Finding The Audience

Red vs. Blue - Rooster Teeth Productions

Red Vs. Blue (Episode 01)

Producers: Rooster Teeth Productions
Director(s):
Burnie Burns
Running Time: 03:50
Country:
USA
Year:
2003
Source Game:
Halo (Bungie/Microsoft)
Synopsis:
Two teams of viciously trained soldiers are left to ponder life, the universe and everything during a stalemate over a box canyon. One of Machinima’s premiere success stories, Red vs. Blue has currently completed its 4th season and receives up to 1 million downloads per episode.
Site: www.redvsblue.com
Film: Red vs. Blue - Episode 01

Return (Episode 01)

Producers: Rufus Cubed Productions
Director(s):
Ezra Ferguson, Terran Gregory
Running Time: 06:40
Country: USA
Year:
2005
Source Game:
World of Warcraft (Blizzard)
Synopsis: "Return" is the tale of Voldigar of Stromgarde, a grizzled warrior finally returning to his beloved home and bride only to find his past in ruins. Utilizing the World of Warcraft game engine and lore, film-makers Terran "Liadov" Gregory and Ezra "Voldigar" Ferguson take Machinima down the road of the classic cinematic fantasy epic.
Site: www.rufus3.com
Film: Return

Shaping to Our Own

In The Waiting Line

Producers: Ghost Robot/Fountainhead Entertainment
Director(s):
Tommy Pallotta
Running Time: 03:57
Country: USA
Year: 2003
Source Game:
Quake III Arena/Machinimation (id Software/Fountainhead Entertainment, respectively)
Synopsis:
“...Layer Zero 7's mesmerizing sound into the equation and you're looking deep into an enigmatically experimental visual experience that tells the story of a lonely robot's search for meaning and emancipation from the routine of daily existence in outer space."

Site: www.ghostrobot.com
Film: In The Waiting Line (Fileplanet link - reg required)

The Photographer - Friedrich Kirschner

The Photographer

Director(s): Friedrich Kirschner
Running Time: 02:41
Country: Germany
Year:
2005
Source Game:
Unreal Tournament 2004 (Epic Games)
Synopsis:
“I'm pushing to get to her fast enough, pushing through the crowd. Though whenever i come it's too late. It's like my blood would freeze. But somehow, she's only there for me. The only thing that remains on the film is her message..." The Photographer is created in UnrealTournament2004 from Epic Games and runs in realtime within the game. It canbe presented both as video or as a high resolution realtime performance.
Site:
www.person2184.com
Film:
Currently offline at director's request

A Medium In The Message

The French Democracy

Director(s): Alex Chan
Running Time:
13:09
Country:

France
Year:
2005
Source Game: The Movies (Lionhead Studios/Activision)
Synopsis:
In The French Democracy we experience Alex Chan’s on-the-ground, in-the-moment perspective of events during the youth riots in suburban France. This Machinima has gone on to receive international attention with coverage in the Washington Post, Business Week and the Associated Press
Film:
The French Democracy

Jean Charles de Menezes - Rachel Bray

Jean Charles de Menezes

Director(s): Rachel Bray
Running Time:
02:
38
Country:
Canada
Year:
2005
Source Game: The Matrix Online (Ubisoft/SOE)
Synopsis: Filmed within the lush and unique universe of ”˜The Matrix Online’, this short work of independent machinima attempts to reenact the killing of Jean-Charles de Menezes within its coded confines. The de Menezes case is carefully studied from all perspectives and the story is presented both as officials initially misreported it and as the world now knows it to have unraveled. The accompanying audio is a montage of raw live “eye witness” accounts, ongoing news reportings and heartfelt protests in the killing’s aftermath. The parallels that exist within the Matrix trilogy itself and the case of Jean-Charles de Menezes are unmistakable. The illusion of freedom when one is a member of a “free” society, the oppressive nature of control constructs and the plasticity of “perceived” reality are all evident in the Jean-Charles de Menezes case and in this virtual reenactment they continue to underline the relevance of the Matrix saga as a whole.
Site:
www.babayaga.ca
Film:
Jean Charles de Menezes

Standing Alone

Director(s): Judy Lee (aka "Decorgal")
Running Time:
03:29
Country: USA
Year:
2004
Source Game:
The Sims 2 (Maxis/EA)
Synopsis:
This movie is about how one couple copes with a tradegy and how you can feel alone in a marriage. It features a song by Kate Bush called "This Woman's Work."
Site: www.decorgal.com
Film:
Standing Alone

Girls Named Jane - PostModernChuck

Girls Named Jane

Director(s): PostModernChuck
Running Time:
09:24
Country:
USA
Year:
2006
Source Game:
The Movies (Lionhead Studios/Activision)
Synopsis:
From The Movies' site: " Chronicling a single day in the life of a troubled schoolgirl, GIRLS NAMED JANE is concurrently a universal story: “ it is the story of every woman without a voice. Sexually and psychologically abused by her father, Jane struggles with questions of identity and the dilemma that forces her in a blind quest to find someone €“ anyone €“ who will help her. Are there other girls named Jane willing to listen to her? WARNING: Film contains mature themes and situations. View at your own risk."
Film:
Girls Named Jane

MachiniMush

A Dream Within A Dream - Tom Jantol

A Dream Within A Dream

Director(s): Tom Jantol
Running Time:
09:24
Country: Croatia
Year: 2005
Source Game:
Half-Life 2 (Valve)
Synopsis:
From the author's description - " This is almost a story about Puppet reciting Edgar Alan Poe poem named, well, "A Dream Within A Dream". This is all what mechanical Puppet can do, but, be aware - after Puppet finish his recital and movie ends, mechanism will start again."
Film: A Dream Withing A Dream

Mine 2 Trailer (aka Bunnyhopping Bravia Parody)

Producers: Snoken
Productions
Director(s): Marcus Johansson (aka Noken)
Running Time: 01:41
Country: Sweden Year: 2005
Source Game: Battlefield 2 (DICE/EA)
Synopsis: To introduce Snoken's latest Machinima epic, Mine 2, Noken produced a parody of the highly popular superball-infused spot for Sony's Bravia. In the trailer, dozens of BF2 players imitate superballs by performing bunnyhops through a Battlefield 2 level. Cut together with the same track as the Bravia ad, this Machinima piece gained widespread attention through blogs Kotaku and BoingBoing.
Site: snoken.bf2.se
Film:
Mine 2 Trailer

Battlefield 2 vs. Nintendo

Producers: Snoken Productions
Director(s): Andreas Pettersson (aka [THA] Pettson)
Running Time: 06:03
Country:
Sweden
Year: 2005
Source Game: Battlefield 2 (DICE/EA)
Synopsis: Another Snoken production - this time by director Andreas Pettersson, merging the video game worlds of Battlefield 2 with old school Nintendo games such as Duck Hunt and Super Mario.
Site: snoken.bf2.se
Film: Battlefield 2 vs. Nintendo

A Few Good G-Men

Director(s): Randall Glass
Running Time: 05:59
Country:
USA
Year:
2005
Source Game:
Half-Life 2 (Valve)
Synopsis:
"You can't handle the truth!" yells Jack Nicholson's Colonel Jessep in the classic film "A Few Good Men." Updated using characters right from Valve's own classic, Half-Life 2, Machinima filmmaker Randall Glass ("Warthog Jump") lifts the audio from the famous courtroom scene, and places Half-Life's Barney in the Tom Cruise role, while the G-Man channels Nicholson's likeness and mannerisms (thanks to Valve's FacePoser tool and custom animations by Glass). A great fusion of game and film culture, A Few Good G-Men has become another net-based phenom as this Machinima piece has been extremely popular across a variety of different sites, including 11,000+ views on IFILM.com alone.
Site: www.nailbiter.net
Film:
A Few Good G-Men

 

Submitted by kvarnelis on April 28, 2006 - 1:08pm

Reply

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <p></p><br> <br /><a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <div> <blockquote>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.

More information about formatting options

.

.