MachinExpo Call for Entries

The International Machinima Expo (MachinExpo) is now accepting submissions for its 1st annual showcase which will feature the best work by emerging and established machinima directors. Part of Festival Arcadia in Montreal, Quebec, the event takes place from November 7-9, 2008 at Place Bonaventure in downtown Montreal before an audience expected to exceed 20,000.

Sponsored in part by Machiniplex.com, the expo is organized by Ingrid Moon of The Machinima Roadshow as well as three other veteran machinima producers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, and Phil Rice.

MachinExpo will feature workshops, panel discussions, live film premieres, and several hours of screening of machinima films from all around the world. A jury of professionals from the entertainment and video game industries will select five (5) films for a Jury Prize, with a special 6th film awarded a Special Jury Prize honoring one exceptional Canadian machinima film. There are no category / genre restrictions on submissions, and there is no entry fee. Deadline for submissions is October 6, 2008.

For more information, including submission guidelines and instructions, please visit www.machinima-expo.com, or contact (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Moviestorm 1.1 Release Notes

With regard to the new release of Moviestorm 1.1, here are the detailed Release Notes which include specific instructions on installing on WinOS (including Vista) and installing on MacOS as well as how to upgrade on both systems. There is also a list of some of what is new, and an explanation of changes found in this release. Go ahead and download it now.

Moviestorm 1.1 Released

The management team at Short Fuze are proud to announce the release of the first commercial version of their Moviestorm software.

No longer in pre-release,Moviestorm 1.1 contains several major new features, as well as many improvements to its current feature set, including a new user-friendly interface, and a Quick Start Movie that serves as a fast but flexible introduction to Moviestorm. New users can produce their first movie in their lunch break!

The application’s Camera system has also been completely reworked and will automatically bookmark any of the camera viewpoints used so they can be easily re-deployed. Camera movement has also been greatly improved and now follow curved paths and ease in or out at the start and end of each movement. Users can add jump-cuts to a single camera as well as standard moves.

One of the most exciting new features is the ability to morph character faces, allowing fine-tune adjustments to facial aspects such as the shape of the chin or the size of the nose.

Moviestorm has been in pre-release since February, available as Early Access software to early adopters. The result of their feedback and extensive focus testing has resulted in a highly-polished consumer product that will be appreciated by casual and advanced users alike.

As always, Moviestorm version 1.1 is a completely free download. Go get it now and don’t forget to tell your friends!

Call for Submissions: Cambridge Film Festival

Matt ‘The Mongoose‘ Kelland, co-founder of ShortFuze, and Creative Director of Moviestorm, as well as a talented machinima filmmaker in his own right, has taken to wearing yet another hat, that of organising the machinima segment of the Cambridge Film Festival. A number of machinima directors have already been approached on the subject of showing their work, but there remain some open spots, Matt has put out a ‘Call for Submissions‘.

So, for all you Moviestorm users, slaving away in the basement or the attic after a long haul at your day job, this is a GREAT opportunity to get your work seen by a wider audience. Sure, there’s your director’s page on the Moviestorm site, and maybe your YouTube page, but this will be in a theatre, on a real screen, with real people physically in attendance! So, if you’re ready for your closeup, email him at matt [dot] kelland [at] moviestorm [dot] co [dot] uk telling him where they can see your film and why you think they should show it. (Don’t send the film, just a URL!). There are some guidelines: your film should be no more than ten minutes long, and it should be in English or have in English subtitles. Alternatively, it can be silent. Any machinima engine or environment may be utilized, but submissions must by 9.00 am UK time on Tuesday, July 28th.

Machinima at the Cambridge Film Festival

It has been said that the Cambridge Film Festival “easily outclasses its metropolitan rivals” (The Times) and it has been described as “a match for the Edinburgh and London Film Festivals…” (The Guardian). Originally established in 1977, the Festival ran until 1996, and re-launched in 2001 after a five year hiatus. It has become quite a high profile event and has a well-earned reputation as one of the UK’s most prestigious and well-respected film festivals

This 28th edition, which runs from September 18th to 28th, is one of the three largest film events in the UK, and will feature a machinima track. It’s expected that around 50 films, including the winner of the Moviestorm Sci-Fi competition, will be screened in four different sessions each lasting 60 to 90 minutes each.

The films screened will be platform-agnostic and many engines will be represented; for example, entries may be made in Moviestorm, World of Warcraft, Second Life, There, Antics, Reallusion iClone, Motionbuilder, The Sims, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress, Grand Theft Auto, to name just a few game engines/virtual environments, or any combination.

Based at the Arts Picturehouse in Cambridge, the Festival - which is now run by the charitable Cambridge Film Trust - also utilizes several other venues in Cambridge, including The Junction and West Road Concert Hall, with outreach events taking place at locations across the Eastern region. The Trust was established in 2007 to manage the Cambridge Film Festival and promote film and, through a commercial subsidiary, offer support for film screenings.

the art deco cafe bar has a varied selection of refreshments

screen 1 features stadium seating, excellent sight-lines
and the latest audio-visual technologies