Microsoft wades into the Machinima waters
In the middle of my extremely spotty net connection, I've been cruising through the new site by Microsoft around Visual Studio - DefyAllChallenges.com
Clearly aimed at the tech-savvy crowd of current and future VS users, Microsoft takes a page from the RvB playbook and created a number of Machinima works using what looks like their own game content (I havent identified which games the clips are from, but rest assured they own it).
The site itself is retro-2002 in its design, with animated widgets serving as the interface (which I actually like quite a bit), showing both the Machinima works, but also the more pertinent content, videos (with live honest-to-goodness people) speaking about Visual Studio. Also included in the site is a small Flash-based editor, allowing visitors of the site to create their own Machinima works and vote on others.
While there are a number of people out there who are probably appalled at Machinima being used for such blatant marketing efforts, I don't have a problem with it. To me, its all a part of it having cultural and commercial significance as a medium. If Hugh and Anthony are reading this entry, I'd love to hear their take as well - didja ever think you'd see MS using Machinima?
Clearly aimed at the tech-savvy crowd of current and future VS users, Microsoft takes a page from the RvB playbook and created a number of Machinima works using what looks like their own game content (I havent identified which games the clips are from, but rest assured they own it).
The site itself is retro-2002 in its design, with animated widgets serving as the interface (which I actually like quite a bit), showing both the Machinima works, but also the more pertinent content, videos (with live honest-to-goodness people) speaking about Visual Studio. Also included in the site is a small Flash-based editor, allowing visitors of the site to create their own Machinima works and vote on others.
While there are a number of people out there who are probably appalled at Machinima being used for such blatant marketing efforts, I don't have a problem with it. To me, its all a part of it having cultural and commercial significance as a medium. If Hugh and Anthony are reading this entry, I'd love to hear their take as well - didja ever think you'd see MS using Machinima?
posted by Paul
at 10:42 AM
5 Comments:
I share your sense of validation, but don't forget that Microsoft were accidentally way ahead of the game - they made 3D Movie Maker - the 1990's version of The Movies!
Too true, Anthony! Though I think they had a hand from Stunt Island themselves!
Yep, I'm not that suprised. Marketing people are starting to clue into Machinima as a thing that the young people do, and so I think we can expect to see a lot more attempts to reach "da youf" through Machinima in the future.
Sadly, most of these will probably miss the point (frag videos, anyone?) in the same way that marketers in the '90s produced some truly hilarious "rap" in an effort to reach the kids on the streets. But it's good from the awareness point of view.
I think one of the big challenges we're going to face in the next five years, though, is persuading people that our work is film, not just clips of games. I'm worried that the more games people who get into making Machinima or using it to publicise their work, the more our medium will become associated with games, with detrimental results toward our attempts to get into film festivals, get distribution, and so on.
Not sure how to avoid that, aside from the old standby of "don't tell them it's Machinima."
Yeah, there is that danger - though I'm probably one of the few people in the community who considers frag videos to be Machinima as well - the point being that even though capturing a live sporting event doesnt really qualify as cinema, there's still an art to it and it uses all the same components.
Thankfully, people making Machinima with something like Second Life is helping to keep the term rooted in the less-game-dentric definition. As games and the associated tech/platforms continue to be pervasive, hopefully a healthy balance will be kept.
I think I'm with Paul on this one. Frag videos are our roots. That will always be a part of what machinima is, was, and will be. It can be so much more than that, and will be, with our efforts. But, we shouldn't forget where we came from. :)
Also, hey, I'm one of those "games people"! That doesn't mean I can't appreciate the medium. Personally, I consider machinima to be strictly a hobby, apart from my job.
I evangelize machinima to traditional film folks a lot. Even if you don't buy into it for final production, it's an unparalleled pre-production tool. If you're a digital effects artist, there's nothing in the world like setting up a scene in advance inside a game, shooting the whole scene, mixing the effects, and then showing the director, before he's even shot the scene. Then, you can show him the sets, camera tracks, extra footage, and everything else he needs to get the effects shot to work. Though, fair warning: If they've never seen this before, sometimes, their heads will explode from the sheer coolness of it all. :)
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