Machinima: A new way to make movies

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta, vmahmud@yahoo.com

Back in the 1970s, making home or amateur movies meant using 8mm film that had to be traditionally processed at a photo lab, manually edited with expensive equipment and viewed via an old- style movie projector.

Now, you can shoot movies using a mini DV video camera, edit the film digitally on your home computer and burn it onto a DVD to share with others.

But for making animation in the vein of Toy Story or Ghost in the Shell, you are more than likely still required to draw them by hand, frame by frame. As one second of film usually requires 24 drawings, you would have to draft thousands of frames that would need to be photographed individually.

A 90-minute movie would need roughly 129,600 individual cels that would have to include background, foreground and action, to create the moving pictures we are accustomed to.

Now, technology has a better way.

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) calls machinima (machine cinema) a new film genre in which filmmakers use video game engines to create computer-generated movies in real time instead of traditionally rendering previously drawn special images that can take hours, if not days, to complete.

Essentially, it utilizes computer games in a new fashion: Instead of simply playing a role and following the drafted story line, you can recreate your own narratives using the available scenery and character sets and record them with a movie camera.

Once exported, the rough cut is then returned to the computer for editing, dubbing and final viewing.

Rooster Teeth, for example, created the highly popular Red Versus Blue series (www.redvsblue.com) based on Microsoft's Halo game on the X-Box. It tells the tale of two opposing, heavily armed military factions on an alien planet that were eventually forced to team up to confront a new sinister threat.

Things get complicated when the most intelligent person of the lot is killed (twice) and his rabid, mercenary girlfriend suddenly appears.

Despite the limitation of camera movements (controllable via game joysticks), facial expressions (everyone wears full-face armor) and background (desert planet, futuristic military base and more desert planet), Red versus Blue is a hilarious take-off of many computer shooting games, sci-fi movies and the people who enjoy them.

It is amazing how the creators can actually impart the emotion and personality of their characters within the confines of the game.

Using multiple X-Box consoles on a local area network with characters controlled by multiple individuals, the team at Rooster Teeth has managed to create an enduring cultural icon that has spanned the globe.

Its strength lies in its storyline, which at times can be outrageous, powered by sympathetic characters. You can buy a DVD set of entire seasons online, which would save you from downloading them (which are available for free).

Dial-up users are better off going to a cyber cafe and burning them on to a CD. It has been reported that Microsoft itself has utilized Red versus Blue in its Halo promotional campaigns.

For those interested in delving into this new art form, a quick google search for "machinima" will reveal a large number of websites dedicated to the new medium. Machinima.com and Machinima.org are excellent starting points for those budding Pixar animator wannabes.

However, an important thing to remember about machinima is copyright. Some game developers would frown on the commercial use of their intellectual property, although in some cases, making "fan-based" movies may be acceptable.

If in doubt, ask. They may even be flattered by your creation.

If you want something truly free, there are a few open-source game engines online that you can use. The Cube (www.cubeengine.com), Genesis 3D (www.genisis3d.com) and Irrlicht (irrlicht.sourceforge.net) game engines are just a few software programs you can learn and modify to your heart's content.

Instead of being forced to employ the tools and graphics that come with an engine, you can make modifications by adding new backgrounds and characters to suit your film. Some studying and elbow grease is required but the end product will definitely be worthwhile.

Like the proliferation of homemade Star Wars movies before it, machinima is bound to grow, as it can be used to tell a story, convey a message or even provide outlets for creative expression.

And despite the gaming background, this is not just for the kids of today's generation. Generation X, who grew up with the original video games, can make miracles with this technology. We just have to catch up with the times and not let the next age group surpass us too much!