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Machinima
By Gary Ferrington

I've written in the past about a number of film genres including animation, documentary, and microcinema. Today's feature covers yet one more, Machinima.

Machinima (much-sheen-eh-mah) is a word that combines the words "machine" and "animation". It is the use of film production, game design and animation techniques within a real-time, 3D virtual environment. Machinima provides an interactive virtual space where actors and events are either controlled by humans, scripts or artificial intelligence. Machinima is a relatively new art form that is gaining the attention of the media designers as a "sign of things to come".

An individual with computer and artistic skills, has the potential of producing a feature-length film in real time versus the long process of frame by frame animation.

The finish production is often made available over the internet. Its component parts and "rendered" in real-time on the user's computer.

The number of artists working in the medium is quite small and no major works have yet been created that would compete with current Hollywood or independent films. However, this may change as the medium is enhanced with advances in software and technology.

A number of excellent articles and resources are online which provide an historical perspective of machinima as well as an overview of current efforts. These resources provide an effective overview and understanding of this new art form.

Films of the Future. By Barbara Robertson. Imagine being able to tell cinematic stories if only you had characters, props, and equipment. Machinima allows anyone to make their own films - provided they are OK using animated characters instead of live actors.

Machinima. The Wikipedia site provides a very comprehensive overview of this new medium along with links to online examples. This is an excellent resource for those wanting an introduction to this art form.

Machinima FAQ. By Frank Dellario and Paul Marino. This article provides an excellent overview of Machinima production techniques and potential of the medium.

The Wonderful World of Machinima. By Paul Marino. Marino, in this introduction to the medium, provides links to excellent resources related to machinima and program designers.

So you want to make Machinima? By Hugh Hancock. A two part introduction to the basics of Machinima

Resources:

Academy of Machinima Arts . This is the official site of the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences and the Machinima Film Festival.

Machinima.com. This web site is devoted to showcasing machinima work as well as providing a database of articles on the subject. It is very a very informative and definitive gateway for machinima.

Machinimag.This is an online newsletter by Friedrich Kirschner. Issues are available as PDFs.

Someday, perhaps, users will become engaged as participants in a virtual screen drama they have created. The real time choices they make and the screen characters make will all create an evening's adventure much like that featured on the Holodeck of Star Trek™ fame.