Divas

Yesterday was the International Machinima Expo held for the very first time in the virtual world, Second Life. Organized by Phil Rice (Whom those in machinima circles know better as Overman) along with Richard Grove, Damien Valentine, Ingrid Moon and a host of dedicated helping hands; They brought both filmmakers and fans together from around the globe, both real life and metaverse. The event was really well formatted and a true success!

I was able to attend several events througout the day in between my filming schedule. I first arrived at the ZS Theater to watch the MFF Highlight reel, the MFF (Machinima Film Festival) is an event that took place in New York City on November 1st. Seeing some clips some a few of the films presented was quite amazing, the quality was superior, far more than I had imagined, like something you’d expect from Pixar or Dreamworks Animation Studios. It stands as a testament to the hard work that in invested in creating Machinima. I think Evie and I were definitely humbled, but so deeply honored to be in the company of such brilliantly talented storytellers.

We then hopped over to an informal discussion amongst attendees, and while I’m ususally more of an observer rather than an active participant (As I see myself as the perpetual student and these were definitely people to learn a thing or two from.) I asked questions about preferred programs and platforms, the learning curves of them and the availability of customization and content in them. It was a brief but valuable exchange before moving onto the awards presentations.

I’ll admit, having my nose stuck in my own work most of the time leaves me with very limmited knowledge of many of the films that were awarded by the Jury. However, perhaps because it was created in an environment where my colleages have their finger on the pulse of events, the one I recognized the most was Tiny Nations, from the IllClan team. I can’t tell you how much I love this program; I appreciate the amount of time and work that had gone into it, as I’m sure had gone into all of the films awarded, and it was a delight to seem them all be acknowledged.

At this point i had to leave as my own filming responsibilities awaited me back on the set!

I made it back at about 3:30 SLT, a half hour into the Women In Machinima Panel which i had discussed earlier on this blog, and in the comments section with two of the participants. It was such a joy to see some really amazing artists discuss ideas and concepts, impressions and perspectives. The event was hosted by Ingrid Moon who did a MAGNIFICENT job. I’m not entirely sure but there seemed to be some last minute shuffling of panelists, which included Surrealia Antanine (Jovial), LifeFactory Writer, Stormy Harker, WytchWhisper Sadofsky, Dulci (Whose last name i cannot recall or google for the life of me) and Moo Money, blogger for Massively. I had been asked to participate the evening before due to a cancellation (Lainy?) but felt there were women far more qualified than myself to learn from. And the women that were on the panel did SUCH an amazing job, they were so gracious with questions, articulate in their responses and they made little machinimists like me very proud to be in a community of such talented peers. The panel itself was thought provoking and I believe a benefit to everyone who had the opportunity to listen in.

I was able to stay for about the first ten minutes of the live Overcast- a Machinima Podcast hosted by Phil and Ricky, but my free time had expired, however I took with me a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration.

Thank you to everyone who made this event happen. It truly was an asset to the Machinima as a whole, and a great opportunity to be introduced to work we may otherwise not have been familiar with.

As a side note, I’ve declined numerous invitations to appear on panels and participate in discussions and events over the past year, primarily because the character of Phaylen which everyone is so familiar with is one I have always been determined to preserve as a silent figure in the realm of Second Life. Everyone has been very understanding, and I appreciate that enormously. After thinking about it with great sincerity, I have agreed to be a part of a special in which I will discuss my own filmmaking experiences and endeavors with Dousa Dragonash, an MBC news anchorwoman whose show Out & About has focused on many talented folks in various fields from around metaverse, including Sony Artists Space Junky. For those of you interested, I’ll keep you updated as details transpire.

       

For a couple of months we’ve been really looking forward to the International Machinima Expo - one which, by some circumstance will be held in Second Life this year! Woohoo! In our very own backyard! Now, there are many reason to be thrilled about this, it introduces people who may be otherwise oblivious to this new media film-making. Secondly, it’s happening in Second Life, a platform largely ignored by many of those who work across other platforms because of the unpredictability SL can throw at you - We know all about lag, clunky animations, sim crashes, oftentimes it can be frustrating, but we know the potential is HUGE, and we love it! So it’s nice to see many external machinimists step into the world and see… well, films mostly made outside of SL. Remember - It’s not an event intended to be SLcentric - It’s about machinima created globally in various engines and platforms - but it would have been nice to have seen a couple films made by some of SL  machinimists, in my opinion - whatever thats worth! (We all know what they say about opinions!)

They will be hosting a panel called “Women in Machinima” during the festivities - Michelle Pettit-Mee will be on the panel. She has made some amazing shorts in the Sims 2 platform including the enchanting and poetic feature called “The Snow Witch” which is something every machinimist should see! Michelle is just one Machinimist whose talent was noted and embraced by real world game development company BioWare! Also serving on the panel is Beans Canning, who, along with her partner Michael, established a virtual office in Second Life for their production facility Pineapple pictures - together they have created quite a few animated shorts using Moviestorm and various other programs, and are filming a feature length film in SL (I think!) which should be really exciting!

I’m not altogether familiar with the other panelists, someone named LifeFactory Writer, and Lainy Voom who did a really lovely Sherwood Anderson adaptation entitled “The Dumb Man” about a year ago - but I was surprised and a little disheartened by the lack of presence of consistent machinimists who are, and have been making regular machinima content, or who are incredibly familiar with the trials, tribulations and triumphs of virtual filmmaking in a platform such a Second Life - Women who I would have tripped over my own feet to hear speak, and whom i would take notes from! There was no Chantal Harvey- a SL machinimist who has made some brilliant Machinima and also works in real life television production in the Netherlands, a woman who has crossed mediums and recognized and utilized virtual filmmaking as a viable storytelling tool again and again. Also, Kerria Seabrook, part of IllClan, who is breaking new ground with her fantastically funny Tiny Nations machinima is certainly a fresh voice that I think many budding or hopeful machinimists would love to quiz! Susi Spicoli is another ingenious machinimist who has made it a profession, she has done work for many real world businesses as well as documentaries within Second Life. CodeBastard Redgrave is a magnificently talented machinimist and innovator who invented the Machinicam AND the brand new FilterCam that many in the industry use within the platform, it has become a staple in the creative process, she, along with DiVAS, were invited to exhibit at the Virtual Renaissance at the Museum Of Natural History in Florence. She was also voted machinimist of the year by readers of The Avastar and is a remarkable photographer on top of everything else! Lyra Muse who does Machinima for Millions of us and has had her work shown internationally via the official GossipGirl Website and has translated many real world brands into Virtual machinima! Unfortunately, you won’t see any of these women at the Expo.

There are so many women (And Men!) who are redefining machinima in Second Life and beyond, giving an industry that seems to typically get a dismissive eye-roll from outsiders some true validation! There are many exciting benefits to having the expo in Second Life, and, okay, aside from this small issue that makes my nose wrinkle, It truly deserves your full support! A whole new demographic can learn about machinima and get to know people making it happen, perhaps even be inspired to make some their own - that’s the original intention of Second Life, inspiration, imagination.

So head on over to the International Machinima Expo on November 9th, from 9am to 9om SLT. Visit the SLURL here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jamville/151/214/23 watch some amazing films!

See the program of events HERE.

***Edit***

It has been brought to my attention the indeed Kerria Seabrook is in fact participating in the expo! I’m thrilled! Their Tiny Nations machinima is one you shouldn’t miss! Thanks LifeFactory for correcting me!