Machinima

I've seen a good number of people who create movies that fall into this genre. First, what is machinima? Machinima is a way of creating a short film utilizing already existing game engines to create a 3D Computer Animated movie. Some of the really good ones have several different people that log onto a game server, and begin playing the different roles.

Fortunately, it doesn't really take much to play the roles. But one person acts as the camera man. One of the first, and quite a popular machinima series, was Red vs. Blue. Using the Halo game, or engine, the creators of the series managed to pull off a very entertaining movie series. Each episode was about two to five minutes in length. All scripted, then filmed, and then voiced.

So, what utilities does one use to capture in game footage for use in a machinima?

Well, after some searching, I found one such program to help in creating a machinima. Called Game Cam, this little utility can sit in the background while you play a game and record every action. This video footage can then later be taken and edited using Adobe Premier, or, if you're like me, Windows Movie Maker. I haven't reinstalled my Premier yet. And the program itself is about six years old, I don't have an updated version. Nor can I afford to get one. At any rate, I used what I had and created a small video. Keep in mind, I was testing, had no prewritten script, nor did I have camera men to follow the action. So this is pretty raw.




Sort of made with a hats off to my belated Talk Like a Pirate Day, I used the music from Pirates of the Carribean, as composed by Klaus Badelt, and the game engine of Guild Wars. Any game engine can be used, and it's very easy to do. Again, no pre production or thought went into that video, I just dove right in. Maybe I'll actually try my hand at scripting one some day.

Until then...

Keep 'em flyin'.