photo credit: Nicole Duplaix, National GeographicWhen Moviestorm’s Matt ‘The Mongoose‘ Kelland agreed to curate ‘Game, Set, Machinima’ at the Cambridge Film Festival, he probably had no idea what he was getting himself into. True, he and FDMX’s Saint John Walker
had to decide on how to organize the event, on what criteria to use for
submissions, which films to accept, etc. But once all that was done,
there was the hands-on practical matter of how to show dozens of videos
to an audience seated in a movie theatre. Often when there is a
presentation or discussion of machinima, the person or panels giving it
simply hook up a laptop to an overhead projector. This event though -
possibly the largest ever such presentation at a mainstream film fest -
called for something a little more upscale. Read all about Matt’s transcoding adventures.
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Short Fuze is delighted to announce the winners of Moviestorm’s SciFi Competition.
The quality of entries was exceptional, and we’d like to thank everyone
who submitted their film. The three winners really showcase just what
Moviestorm is capable of creating. We’ll be showcasing a selection of
the winning entries to the press and others attending our workshops at
the 28th Annual Cambridge Film Festival. The overall winner will be showcased on the big screen at the on September 22nd at 2pm.
Best Clip (less than 3 minutes):
* Winner: Untitled : Prologue, directed by sjcgilbert
* Runner-up: Cut and Shut, directed by iceaxe
Best Short (3-10 minutes):
* Winner: Marillion - Whatever is Wrong With You, directed by BA
* Runner-up: Mistaken Identity, directed by iceaxe
Best Full-length (10-40 minutes):
* Winner: P7 From Outer Space, directed by Fulkster
* Runner-up: Nova Centuria, directed by rocuro
And the Overall Winner: (to be shown on the big screen at the Cambridge Film Festival on September 22nd at 2pm): Marillion - Whatever is Wrong With You, directed by BA
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So, as previously mentioned, BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones interviewed
Short Fuze Co-Founder Matt Kelland in the Moviestorm offices. Everyone
was finally able to get a half-way decent look of the workspace where
the magic is made. Please VOTE for us.
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BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones interviews Short Fuze Co-Founder Matt Kelland in the Moviestorm offices.
Please vote for us.
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ITV Local Anglia’s web-only entertainment show, All Angles, is covering the 28th Cambridge Film Festival.
Especially notable this year is the inclusion of a Machinima track
which is being curated by Matt Kelland, Short Fuze co-founder and Saint
John Walker, FDMX co-ordinator. This is probably the largest ‘in-fest’
Machinima event ever at a mainstream festival (previous blog coverage:
p1, p2.). Watch Matt Kelland and Saint John Walker ITV’s Jan Gilbert about Machinima.
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After many hints, and a lot of pointed suggestions, our CEO David Bailey has joined the ranks of bloggers! Check out his blog here.
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The Moviestorm
site now has some fantastic new video-related features. Movies uploaded
by our users can be flagged, shared (on Facebook, Digg, delicious,
StumbleUpon, etc) and embedded on other sites. Additionally, uploaded
movies can now be rated (i.e. thumbs up). The movie comments system has
been reworked to allow self-commenting, and multiple commenting. It is
also now possible to view a list of movies entered into competitions on
a corresponding competition page. Feedback on these new features is welcomed.
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Matt Kelland has published the final list of Machinima films to be screened at the Cambridge Film Festival,
and a number of the directors used Moviestorm to create their films,
including: “Apology”, “When We Two Parted”, “Morning Run Amok”, “Santa
Cruz: The Previous Generation”, and “Voices”, as well as Short Fuze’s
own production, “No License”.
Synthetic Cinema (Sunday 21 September, 2:00PM)
- Apology - Phil Rice
- Pawn Trailer - V.W. Scheich
- Monad - Sam Goldwater
- Beast - Leo Lucien-Bay
- Melon 3 - Lit Fuse
- When We Two Parted - Hugh Hancock
- Looking Back - Tony Bannan
- In the Nick of Time - Meowan
- Morning Run Amok - Frank L. Fox
- Santa Cruz: the Previous Generation - Geiiga
- Before & After - Forsberg & Co
- Right Guard - Eric Kmetz
Dreams and Shadows (Sunday 21 September, 6:00PM)
- Folie a Deux - Tony Bannan
- Wizard of OS - Tom Jantol
- Voices - Pineapple Pictures
- Radiohead: Bodysnatchers - Phil Rice
- Clockwork: Harrison Heller
- July Snow: Kurt Brabbee
- Among Fables & Men - Tobias Lundmark
- The Dumb Man - Lainy Voom
- Black Swan - Lainy Voom
- Venison Curry - Deus Ex Machinima
- The Days After - Apollo Productions
- The Journey - Friedrich Kirschner
- Jill's Song - Lit Fuse
- Desassessogo - Claus-Dieter Schulz
Zero Budget, Big Audience (Monday 22 September, 2:00PM)
- The Snow Witch - Britannica Dreams
- Illegal Danish: Escape from Orgrimmar - Myndflame
- Red vs Blue - Rooster Teeth
- No License - Short Fuze
- Beast - Leo Lucien-Bay
- Edge of Remorse - Jason Choi
- Male Restroom Etiquette - Phil Rice
- Plus the winner of the Short Fuze SF competition
Play’s the Thing: Machinima in the Gameworld (Monday 22 September, 6:00PM)
- Freeman's Mind - Ross Scott
- Civil Protection - Ross Scott
- HL2 Nightmare - Xanatos
- CSI: Virtual New York - ILL Clan
- Melon 3 - Lit Fuze
- Sucker - Nitwacket
- Life on Life - Sterling Wright
- Snacky's Journal Ep 3 - Stone Falcon
- The Passion of the McCain - uumachinima
- Real Heroes of Half-Life 2 - Half a Beer
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Short Fuze’s Matt Kelland and FDMX’s Saint John Walker have partnered to curate “Game, Set and Machinima” at this years Cambridge Film Festival (festival program).
PANEL - Screen Stories: Narrative in Games and Film (23 September 16:00 @ Arts Picturehouse)
“We
tell ourselves stories in order to live” Joan Didion. Narrative in
games has become more sophisticated thanks to photo-real graphics,
surround-sound audio, larger screens and professional scriptwriters,
but how does the experience of gaming on the latest consoles compare to
storytelling on the big screen? Is the car chase in Bullitt better than
running from the cops on GTA IV? Is the obelisk in 2001 more
awe-inspiring than the Halo? And whose zombies would you rather have
chasing you – George Romero’s or the ones in Dead Rising on the Xbox
360? Join technology writer Bill Thompson and a panel of industry
experts to debate the future of narrative, with a batch of illustrative
?lm clips, live gameplay and Machinima extracts.
The screenings will be divided into four unique tracks:
“Synthetic Cinema” will focus on films that replicate traditional cinematic genres (90 mins. English. 21 September 14:00 @ Arts Picturehouse.)
Machinima,
borne out of games, has started a love affair with film. Although
lacking the detail, dynamic range and sumptuousness of film stock,
“machinimators” have made up for this with their flair for precision
editing and cinematic composition, creating mood and suspense with big
screen ambitions. In this session you’ll find a gamut of current film
genres transported into the virtual world, from the romantic and
mawkish through to the humourous and the horrific. However, these aren’t
mere fan homages – these are engaging stories in their own right. As
well as a screening of acclaimed films there will be a panel including
Hugh Hancock, creator of the first Machinima feature film, and David
Heinemann, associate film tutor of the BFI, discussing where cinematic
Machinima is going and whether it will find acceptance in the wider film
world – or even change it!
“Dreams and Shadows” will cover darker, more experimental pieces (90 mins. English.)
Machinimators
are not bound by the resources or rendering time constraints animators
commonly endure to achieve their vision. The ability to change images
rapidly in 3D space has led to an avalanche of playful experimentation
– often with evocative or surreal results. There’s a feeling that since
there are few ground rules in this new media, there’s plenty of room to
try out new ideas, to bend and disrupt narrative, to explore different
kinds of colourful abstraction. Here we see a collection of the more
experimental, fantastic and occasionally dark visions conjured up in
Machinima, from the exquisite Second Life-created mindscape of Lainy
Voom’s BLACK SWAN to the paintbox craziness of Phil Rice’s
BODYSNATCHERS Radiohead video – and the feverish nightmare of Tony
Bannan’s FOLIE A DEUX.
“Play’s the Thing” will be centred on machinima’s gaming roots (90 mins. English.)
Games
are now mainstream and the games industry outstrips film and TV in terms
of size; more people play World of Warcraft on any given day than see a
new blockbuster film on its first weekend, and recently Grand Theft Auto
4 was reportedly the highest grossing media product of all time.
Machinima has its roots in the twilight worlds of “modding” and
tinkering with games engines. Here we explore the weird world of
homages, satires and wry social commentary made by hijacking games
characters and environments. See familiar characters from Halo, Sims,
Half-Life, Grand Theft Auto and even Hillary Clinton(!) migrate to the
big screen to entertain you, crossing from high-octane game into drama,
comedy, or even soap opera genres. A leading Games expert will be on
hand to explain to the uninitiated just exactly how and why it’s done.
“Zero Budget, Big Audience” will feature films that have been viral Internet hits (90 mins. English. 22 September 14:00 @ Arts Picturehouse.)
Making
a Machinima movie on zero budget doesn’t mean that you can’t reach as
many people as a TV channel. Come and see the most successful Machinima
movies ever made, and listen to leading personalities from the world of
amateur Machinima explain how YOU can reach a million people with a
single home-produced Machinima movie. See great Machinima examples and
hear how the creators got the publicity, and built on their success.
Our panelists will be kept in check by chairperson David Bailey, CEO of
Moviestorm. If you aspire to making your own movies and clocking up a
million hits, this session’s for you!
There will be a panel including Hugh Hancock, creator of the first Machinima feature film (BloodSpell), and
David Heinemann, associate film tutor of the BFI, discussing where cinematic Machinima is going and whether it will find acceptance in the wider film world – or even change it!
Hugh Hancock and Johnnie Ingram, co-authors of Machinima for Dummies, will also present hands-on workshops - “Make a Movie in your Lunchbreak”
- where participants (suitable for ages 13 and over) will be able to
make a complete 3D animated movie in one hour. All software will be
provided, no knowledge of 3D modelling or animation is required.
Everyone will leave with a free digital movie-making. Pre-booking
through the Arts Picturehouse is essential. Check this page for times/dates.
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Short Fuze, creators of Moviestorm, are proud to announce their participation in nmbx08, an exclusive 2-day (September 10th & 11th) event offered by Turner Broadcasting and UK Trade & Investment to the Time Warner family. Short Fuze has been invited to present Moviestorm, and in doing so, will be able to demonstrate that ANYONE can make a great movie and put it up on online.
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