Awhile back I had the pleasure of meeting the staff of Scruplz Magazine, a delightful group of people who did a beautiful story on the Virtual me and my history as a filmmaker (And beyond.) for their June edition. They also feature some really breathtaking photographs from the set of my new film.

Scruplz is a high quality Virtual Arts and Culture Magazine with incredibly high standards, so I consider my inclusion a tremendous honor!

I’d like to thank the staff there for making it such a pleasant experience, for their exemplary professionalism and their dedication in crafting such a thoughtful piece.

I know you’ve been waiting since February for the next installment of DiVAS which has found Phaylen in the iconic World of Warcraft. They have, by far, been the most successful episodes in the two year history of the series. As it stands today, DiVAS has been screened around the world at festivals and expositions, and has reached new audiences via the web.

DiVAS also stands as the first and most successful series to come out of the virtual world of Second Life. It’s also the first to cross virtual world platforms, introducing a character native to one medium and inserting them into another. The series is constantly moving into new territory with each new episode as the storyline progresses which will lead to the Finale in November.

And over the last few months of production, DiVAS has been taking yet another brave and groundbreaking step for it’s third episode of the second season.

Currently, much surrounding this episode is shrouded in secrecy so I can’t yet provide you any immediate details about the cast or release date (Not all the performers are confirmed.) I promise that this will be an unforgettable episode, and there will be much more revealed here in the coming days…

As critical as the exterior atmosphere we’ve created that is so pivotal in the film, the interior had to exude the perfect look and feel, since it play an equally important role. In so many films I’ve watched over the years, the best directors have not just used their sets as default background for their characters, but instead used their sets to amplify the characters and action being played out by the performers. I approached this that same intended result. The ambiance of our old farmhouse hits an immediate nerve when you walk in. It feels aged and while at first it may appear warm and inviting as, perhaps, you remember your grandparents house being during your childhood, you soon find that this house feels lived in. You expect the walls to creak, the knick-knacks to harbor dust in their crooks, the photos to have have stories behind them, and someone to know the whos and whens.

There is a deliberate darkness to our house, and everything from the contracts on the wallpapers to the highlights in the floor were created to lend themselves to the environment. The colors were decidedly neutral, but muted. I wanted more shadows than light.

The interiors have taken much longer than the construction of the actual house itself, because we had to know about the people living there to give it a signature feel. She might have picked up a vase at an antique store in 1970, and the picture of her grandchildren in the heart frame was probably given to her already framed, because she would have never bought a frame like that.  With careful precision we considered every aspect of Benny and Mildred, including their lifestyles and aesthetic preferences.

As of this writing, we’re still making a few minor adjustments, adding specifications that the audience will not likely notice but it’s important in the overall picture to have them present. Things like magnets on the antique refrigerator. The appliances I imagined they would have had for many years, already, and it was imperative that no part of their home acknowledge the various styles of today, so I decided to keep metals and clear glass structures entirely from their little abode. Old woods and faded fabrics were key in creating their world from within.

As I was working last night on putting together the pieces – quite literally – of my main protagonist for this short film, I had to stop for a moment and ask myself if I was in way over my head. It’s fair to say that my unique position has given both me and those interested a genuine look at the progress and evolution of a virtual filmmaker.  From my first to my last, there is a measurable difference that is quite startling. I think it’s quite similar with all film-makers. Each outing is a new learning experience. trials present themselves and you muddle through having gained a lesson in the interim.  But, was I ready for something as substantial as this. Suffice it to say, I have had my moments of doubt.

For the first time, on approaching a project, I actually questioned whether Second Life was the proper platform for such a complex, character driven story. In that past, my process, while daunting, I grew quite comfortable in. I know what works, what doesn’t, what can be reasonably achieved and what can’t. Expressions are limited, so is range of motion; Always been a magnificent hurdle. Because my series was entirely comedic, I had plenty of room for error… in fact, the results often made it even funnier. It’s  a significant stretch going from screwball comedy to something more cinematic and intense. I don’t feel that the same liberties can be taken, and the new demands I’ve placed on myself are intimidating. My expectations are much higher in terms of what I want from this in terms of production standard and performance.

Putting together the lead character was the first clue that it was going to be much more challenging than I had initially anticipated. For example, just giving the woman the proper hairstyle was daunting. I never noticed before that such an overwhelming portion of hairstyles in Second Life were exclusively intended for younger people, those being in their early 20′s to mid 30′s. Obviously this makes creating and outfitting a character of that age much simpler, but when piecing together a old woman – well, the creativity stops at a default system hair and a sphere primitive shape for a bun. Now, this is expected given that fact that Second Life is a world where even the 80 year old woman can be 26 again, but I suppose I had just never really noted the lack of diversity until I went looking for something “diverse.”

The expressions we’re capable of utilizing are truly exaggerated. They lack subtlety. Oftentimes they boarder on ridiculous, which is why I believe they were so appropriate for an over-the-top comedy. So, there is no question that I will have to use a lot of creative handiwork when filming expressions.

Second Life’s strength is not in Avatar manipulation. There is no such thing in SL as one step… an avatar takes about 5 long strides, so hitting marks has always required me to use walls and boxes to nudge an Avatar into a specific position. That said, the platform remains unsurpassed in environment creation. From the landscape to the interiors of an antiquated 1800′s farmhouse, there is no doubt in my mind that I could never have achieved such a high level of realism anywhere else.

I’m beginning to think that’s why Second Life’s premiere machinimatographers avoid in-depth character driven  stories and instead harness the platform for the surreal, art-house shorts that are more reliant on imagery than people for impact. Truthfully, an environment can amplify a character when one is discernible as well as reinforce emotions when intended to. While the art-house crew have their place in film, that’s not what I do. It’s not what I want to do. My goal is inherently different by design and desired result.

Which takes me full circle. I’ve discovered so many weaknesses that I was unaware existed, but my questions about the content that have originated from this platform have been uniformly answered. Despite all the animation makers and prim hair-stylists, there’s still so much left wanting.

With that in mind, I acknowledge that in any platform, negotiations have to be made in terms of these expectations. One must be realistic when dealing with a world that is unreal – Which is why so many of us have exploited that in our films. That’s why we see so many barely lucid/color saturated acid trips on YouTube from machinimists in Second Life. That why my little comedy is allowed to be so blatantly ludicrous.  We work with what we’ve got, and at this point, the tools we use are entirely detached from anything that could be used to represent anything proposed to a viewing audience as real. So when an artist wants to achieve something in the manner of simple storytelling, the are met with far more resistance unless it lends itself to that surreal, exaggerated place. Simplicity doesn’t exist there. Everything is amplified to the 9th degree. In that, we are really restricted in terms of what we can do – and what will be embraced. Until those restrictions are lifted, I imagine we’ll see plenty more slapstick, absurdest comedies and dreamy, abstract films. And I’ll most certainly stand proudly amongst them because that community is still breaking new ground, but what we do will inevitably become more repetitive and less relevant.

So, my challenge stands before me, and it’s kept me up at night as I craft each seen figuring out how to get around a particular movement of relay an emotion without using those standardized emoticons which make better punch-line reactions.

Set design on any film is critical, and Machinima is no exception, especially when your environment is as much a part of the story as your characters. In the film “The End Of The World,” a Blizzard has descended upon the midwest; In fact, one of the worst Blizzards in recorded history. Our protagonist lives in remote farm country, isolated, cut-off from civilization, in an old farm house built in the late 1800′s. It is here she experiences her first visions of what is to come.

The world the characters inhabit was custom created directly from the pages of the original story, from the bleak and dismal skies to the sturdy but aged farmhouse. The audience needed to feel as claustrophobic as the Main Character. from the winds blowing the snow outside to the creaking walls of the old house, the tension must steadily rise. Despite the raging storm outside, we needed people to feel as if there were something else, perhaps something more sinister, stirring in the foreboding atmosphere we had created.

The Farmhouse itself is another character integral to the store, set upon the vast, snowswept terrain, it stands like an artifact from an era long past. It needed to be old but not ancient. It’s age needed to be somewhat evident but it couldn’t be dilapidated. It needed to look like it was a house with many, many stories to tell. In re-reading the story all these years after I had originally written it, I was able to build the house to precision. We’ll be looking at the interiors in a later post.

The snow will be added later in post production, however the rolling clouds were something we built into the set- because I knew i would not be able to achieve the depth and dimension needed to show clouds both nearby and on the distant horizon. Essentially, what we had to do was build an entire world in a bubble, maximizing our usable space and giving the viewer the feeling that the world went on forever rather than dropping off at the edge of a simulator into water. Moxie Polano, the producer, blew me away with what she created for ambiance in this setting.

Last night I had the distinct privilege of hosting the 2010 Virtual Oscars pre-show. While Avatar may have been outdone By the Hurt Locker at the official Ceremony in Los Angeles, Avatars in virtual Reality ruled the night!

Attendance to the live pre-show – hosted by myself, my DiVAS co-star Glimmer Silverstar and popular Second Life DJ personality Thorne Miklos (Who’s out there in Hollywoodland!) – was at maximum capacity for the first 2 hours of the three hour show when we ran into overtime – right into the Oscars! Oops!

Many guests on the virtual Red carpet joined me for a chat session between music sets to discuss their clothing, jewelry and Oscar favorites! Mirroring the real world event, the Night was as much about high Fashion as it was about films, and every attendee brought their A-Game. Trends went from the elegant and edgy, the sophisticated and regal to daring risk takers. That’s right, we had them all at the Virtual Oscars Pre-Show! The Men weren’t about to hand over the limelight entirely! The Gentlemen attendees came dressed to kill! We saw some non-traditional tuxedos, and when asked about who she thought was one of the best Sharp Dressed Men on the Virtual red Carpet, Attendee Sasy Scarborough was impressed by Armande Hax – wearing a gorgeous open jacket, button up shirt with a tie draped around his shoulders – Truly rocking the alternative look while keeping it stylish and super sexy!

We had a tremendous time at the beautiful Bayjou Theater! Lights were shining, people were dancing, and the interviews with Virtual reality’s most fashionable crowd were hysterical!

I’d like to Thank Ze Moo who organized this remotely from the real world Oscar Festivities in Amsterdam and provided the Live Streaming and was brave enough to ask the girl in the Beehive to host. My co-hosts were absolutely amazing; Glimmer Silverstar and Thorne Miklos! I couldn’t have done it without them! Marianne McCann, manager of the Bayjou Theater was incredibly hospitable, supportive and catered to our every need. She makes every outing even more of a pleasure with her involvement. Thanks to Blondin Linden for giving us the green light! Last but certainly not least, thanks to all who attended the event.

I hope to see you back at the Bayjou in 2011!

In 2004 I wrote a short story that was honored by an prestigious literary magazine and a group of my peers. It was not a story I approached with any expectation as it was far from my typical fare of storytelling – up until that point my primary interests had been in establishing a career in screenwriting. The story began, as all of mine have, in the vain of speculation. The “What If..” factor. I had long admired film writers/directors like Alfred Hitchcock and later M. Night Shyamalan.

Writing for me is an organic beast. I have tried to force myself to write. I’ve sat and stared at the blinking curser for hours on end willing myself to begin a line of dialog or string a coherent sentence together that would lead me to the next.. and the next… and the next. Looking back, my early works seemed effortless; They were stories that quite literally told themselves with great ease. I presumed that it would always be that easy – of course I was much younger then. I presumed many things. Back then, it was as though my mind were an engine and i was the vehicle. Once I got started, a road opened up before me and the process consisted entirely of the drive to my destination. There was no chugging of the motor, no running out of gas halfway there, no pestering stoplights at every intersection. It was fluid. Consistent. I didn’t realize at the time what a spectacular gift that was… until I couldn’t do it anymore.

I wrote intensely back then. I was not yet influenced by the world at large. I stayed up all night long and wrote with such emotion that there were time I would quite nearly weep as I wrote a heartbreaking climax or an impassioned argument. I often said the dialog aloud to myself so that I could hear the conversation my characters were having. I’d love to know what my neighbors thought of me.

When writing a horror film- I had only just recently moved into my own apartment after moving back from LA and living with my parents for nearly a year- I scared myself so much that I believed with absolute certainty someone was in my house with me. Ever noise, as natural as the settling of walls seemed amplified and antagonistic. I had purchased a short handled scythe at a garage sale earlier that summer when the idea was churning in my head about an iconic killer, and it had remained under my bed. That night I dragged it out and stealthily moved down my hallway into my livingroom. I was wide eyed and ready to swing or run. I was met with an empty room, mostly, except for my two parakeets who stared at me from their cage.

Suddenly, with a shrieking whistle, my water heater kicked on behind me and I tore out of that house like a bat out of hell. I was 20 years old. My imagine was ripe with possibilities, fantasies and nightmares, and I believed I would spend my life weaving them into tales for telling.

Of course, life hardens you, and staring at the world with the wide, unassuming, unpracticed, unjaded eyes of a 20 year old gave way to a natural path we all take. I don’t scare as easily. It’s more difficult to set aside logic and reason for the fantastical. Inspiration is more fleeting than ever before… and I’m not always looking.

But there were true gems that emerged from that old Brother Word processor on those late summer nights, back when I believed the world was much bigger and mysterious than I know it to be today.

And sometimes I revisit them.  A few months ago I was thinking about those old stories, and was caught by surprise when I couldn’t recall the name of my protagonist in that one in particular that had been so celebrated when I was just emerging. That bothered me. My characters have always been rather intimate pieces of me, embedded in my soul like long lost lovers and cherished friends – maybe even bitter archenemies.

So I went digging. And I sat and read the full story, revisited my old friend from that story that had once represented so much to me. And I fell in love with it all over again. I thought that, because of the claustrophobic feel, it would be a simple story to transition to machinima. I had become, over the years, familiar enough with the tools at my disposal… So I started reading it as a film, and it worked.

A few weeks ago I began pre-production on piece that has me brimming with that old anxious sensation that came so easily before. I am thrilled to tell this story, now known as “The End Of The World,” from a visual perspective. A directors perspective. I intend to invest everything I have into it, and I believe that the culmination of everything I’ve learned in this platform has led me to this.

This summer I will release my first short feature film. And it’s not a comedy… in fact, it’s beautifully terrifying. Hopefully you will find yourselves immersed in the suspense and unexpected journey of Mildred Fairbrook, whose life seemed all to ordinary until one night…

One night…

The 2010 MMIF – Machinima International Film festival – is in full swing today, both in real life and the virtual world! In real life, Ticket holders have crowded PlanetArt in Amsterdam awaiting the presentations and screening of 53 films from around the globe created in virtual environments!

In the virtual world of Second Life, those unable to attend the Amsterdam Festival have gathered on the MMIF regions to enjoy in-world screenings!

The festival lasts 7 hours, and I am presenting short films during the final hour of the festival – 6pm to 7pm PST – to virtual and real life audiences. You can watch it as well! You don’t have to be in Amsterdam or in Second life! Tune in to the LIVE Streamcast on the web here and chat with other viewers!

http://mbtv.live.nu/

Enjoy the program!

I’d delighted to release the second episode in the 2nd season of DiVAS. Already work has begun on the third installment. Thanks to all the kind people who enjoy this little cartoon and who have been so patient during the (often month-long wait) in between episodes!

Anyway! Stick your head back into Phaylen new world and see what she’s got herself into this time!

As many of you may, I organized the Conference On Virtually Filmed Media & Entertainment that took place this evening in the platform of Second Life. Agents, producers, developers and creators of real world media visited the virtual environment to listen to a panel discuss the relevance and viability of crossing over virtually created filmed content to mainstream audiences.

The Panel was absolutely stellar, comprised of Pooky Amsterdam, Chantal Harvey, Rosco Teardrop and CodeWarrior Carling, spoke about the power of the medium and how it remains a largely untapped resource for talents across a diverse spectrum. I didn’t realize at the time I was putting together this panel that they were not only a remarkable collective, but they truly embodied one of the most amazing tools virtual worlds have to offer; that being the ability for people with oceans between them to stand in a usable space and converse, collaborate, and share. Chantal Harvey, one of the most prolific virtual filmmakers I know is from The Netherlands, Pooky Amsterdam appeared in avatar form from New York, CodeWarrior Carling beamed himself in from Canada, and Rosco Teardrop logged in from Scotland! Despite distance, All of them shared a stage, and beyond that their experiences as pioneers of Machinima Film and Television on multiple platforms.

The two hour conference only grew in size for the duration of the event and unfortunately we had to cut the Q&A session short due to the late hour for some of our Panelists. I regret not being able to address many of the questions asked at the end, but we had to stop somewhere.

It was an honor to share this time both with my Panelists and the audience. And to the Agents and Industry professionals that attended, I extend my most sincere gratitude for taking two hours out of your Saturday evening to share it with us. I hope you were able to glean vast amount of information from our conversations.

I will put together another conference in the future as we continue to traverse the very new terrain of Film and Media production using the Virtual Medium, not only to celebrate the talents behind the scenes but also to raise awareness of the craft and it’s potential to perform in the mainstream.

I would like to thank Lorin Tone for filming it for us. I hadn’t originally planned to have it filmed, but Lorin offered to do so during our sound tests and that was a tremendous blessing for me, not only to have this conference preserved for posterity, but also so that others may watch and learn from the phenomenal talents on the panel. Thank you Lorin for providing us that opportunity. I believe it will be available on Pooky Amsterdam’s website when it is ready and I’ll update here accordingly!

Photo Courtesy Of Chantal Harvey

Have a great Sunday!