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12.02.03 Machinima, films using videogames sceneries.
Machinima is the term used to describe the practice of film-making using a virtual three-dimensional ambient and in real time. Cinematography, animation and game developing converge in this hybrid technique which already has many followers. The techniques for making short and long films of this kind are outlined in the 'Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences' and mainly consist in animating the actors according to a script using a Quake or Unreal-style engine. Besides conveniences such as the ability to move the actors and the cameras without the need to shoot the sequence again and adjusting the scenes according to the voice-overs instead of the other way around, this different expressive medium suffers relatively little of the conventions adopted by the most popular videogames. In fact, the autonomous programming of the events and characters uses sceneries well-known by every videogame fan to stage events often very different. A rule system is therefore rethought and adapted and manifests itself for what it is: another field of aesthetical and content investigation. Machinima has got an archive of productions, all of them freely downloadable. Among them is one of the latest additions: 'Rebel vs Thug'. It's a collaboration between the director Ken Thain and the Fine Arts Militia band, which includes Chuck D of 'Public Enemy'. Based on Quake 2, this music video uses rendering techniques which voluntarily lower its level of reality, making it more similar to an animation video. The rough melody matches perfectly the somewhat crude images, creating a possible standard for works of this kind.