I don't think there's a thread that's specifically for this, but here it is. A complete view of Machinima. What it's all about, how to make one, how to critique one, and all that jazz. So lets get started, eh? What is a Machinima!? Machinima (pronounced /məˈʃiːnɨmə/ or /məˈʃɪnɨmə/) is the use of real-time graphics rendering engines, mostly three-dimensional (3-D), to generate computer animation. The term also refers to works that incorporate this animation technique. Machinima-based artists, sometimes called machinimists or machinimators, are fan laborers and often use graphics engines from video games, a practice that arose from the animated software introductions of the 1980s demoscene, Disney Interactive Studios' 1992 video game Stunt Island, and 1990s recordings of gameplay in first-person shooter (FPS) video games, such as id Software's Doom and Quake. Originally, these recordings documented speedruns—attempts to complete a level as quickly as possible—and multiplayer matches. The addition of storylines to these films created "Quake movies". The more general term machinima, a misspelled portmanteau of machine cinema, arose when the concept spread beyond the Quake series to other games and software. After this generalization, machinima appeared in mainstream media, including television series and advertisements. Okay bro, you just copied the wikipedia article. Summarize it! Basically, any type of film made within a 3D realm. A film made in some animation program like 3DS Max could be considered a machinima. Typically and more common in the community, machinima is generally used in video game engines, because of course creating machinima from scratch in an animation program is far more work than creating one in a game like Halo. Show me some GOOD examples of Machinima! Certainly. These videos I post exemplify some unique styles. Frequency - Pretty funny Halo comedy. Spoiler YouTube- Frequency (Official HH Video) Haloid - Amazing animations in this film. Spoiler YouTube- HALOID (Halo + Metroid Prime - Master Chief VS Samus Aran) The Craft of War: Blind - Can easily rival the one above with it's awesome animation. Spoiler YouTube- The Craft of War: BLIND Dream an Emerald Dream - Must-see for WoW players. Amazing Music Video. Spoiler YouTube- Dream an Emerald Dream Viva la Vida - Amazing Halo Music Video. Spoiler YouTube- Coldplay - Viva La Vida (A Halo 3 Music Video) - AMAZING!!! Jonathan Quail - Sit back, make some popcorn, and watch this 30 minute epic. Spoiler YouTube- Jonathan Quail[Halo 3] Just some examples out of the many I could've posted. Well, What do I need to start making a Machinima? Requirements + A video game you plan on making a machinima in + A capture device (See this thread for more details | For more info, visit this location) + An editing program [Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, After Effects, etc.] + Desire and dedication to go through with your idea. I have an idea! But I do not know how to use After Effects or Vegas =[ That's okay! After Effects users are very fortunate to have an amazing website out there that has a ton of tutorials for After Effects. This website is called Video Copilot, and for beginners of this software, Andrew Kramer created 10 Tutorials which will make you an After Effects professional in 2 hours or less. Link to Page For Vegas users, the best I can do for you is to link you to some tutorials I know of that describe some techniques and stuff. Rain or Snow Sin City Effect Sony Vegas Screenshot Tutorial Video in Video Cloning Tutorial Audio Pitch Adjusting Widescreen Effect Guilty Spark Voice Effect What happened to Mythica.org and where can I upload my vids!? The only thing I know about the closing of Mythica is what it says on the site today. That the owner just could not pay any more for the server. It's sad because Mythica was pretty much the center for Halo videos, images, and more. Now that Mythica has closed, here's some pretty good alternatives to Mythica. General Uploading Sites YouTube Vimeo DailyMotion Badongo Supload StoreAndServe Uploading Video Game Movie Hosting HaloMovies [Only Halo] WarcraftMovies [Only Warcraft/WoW] So, are there sites dedicated to this? Yes actually. Here are some sites [If you know 'em, post 'em and I'll edit] Machinima.com - Pretty active and REALLY big TheDigitalSet.com [Formerly HaloGrid.com] - Pretty active and it's moderately big HaloMovies.org - Site for your Halo machinima WarcraftMovies.com - Site for your Warcraft machinima Lesser known communities VirtualFlicks.net GamerGulch.com Zantive.com Wow, this looks neat! Any last words before I start? + Do NOT make your intro and credits look tacky. + Have a well thought out script ready + Stray from using Windows Movie Maker + If you just so happened to get a contract offer from Machinima.com, keep in mind that the community is VERY anal about, what is essentially to them as "Selling out". I'll edit this thread tomorrow with more goodies. Time for sleepz =P
I suggest linking DigitalPh33r's tutorials as well. They helped me sort of get into it. Good thread though, deserves a sticky IMO. But I do think it would be better placed in the video section(maybe?).
YouTube - DigitalPh33r's Guide to Making Halo 3 Machinima: Part One That's number one and the rest can be found in the other videos to the right.