Machinima Part I

I got into the whole video game recording thing very oddly. I didn't even know I got into it before I really was. I think I got sucked into Machinima when I saw the famous RedvsBlue series. I saw it when it wasn't quite as popular as it is now but they still had a large community. I was so intrigued by the creativity that was involved and the great things that they pulled off in a video game. I bought The Sims 2 and I started experimenting with different recording styles and movies and finally I made my very first Machinima movie which was around two minutes long. For it being my first I think it had a very detailed look to it but it didn't have a sturdy story line.
After my first movie I began "testing" because I wanted to know how far I could get with this Machinima thing and what my limits were with The Sims 2 so I just filmed random things. About a month later I finished my second movie A Love Story and shortly after that The Band followed. Much of my filming and editing has been testing and messing around with movies. Now I'm doing amazing things with The Sims 2 that I never thought I could do. I've started to branch out to other games as well such as Halo 2 and The Movies.
My latest work I've done is Life With Duncan. It's a mockumentry series about an unintelligent monotoned man who tries to live a normal life while life is fighting him every chance it gets. The series was inspired by many things that I have come across but most of all the nbc series The Office on television and my old series that just didn't come out the way I planned The Biz. Life With Duncan Integrates a lovable character that many people can relate to and the series adds many surprises and plot twists. It's the first series to use a reality show theme and it definatly adds more humor to the entire series.
I enjoy making movies because I get the chance to express myself and my feelings through the power of sound and visuals. Nothing is more appealing to me than that. I think movies including machinima is a true art right next to painting or writing because you have to have devotion and a certain type of passion to keep going and keep your head on straight. You have to have the eye and the creativity to work and have a vision to evoke what you're feeling. Movies are much more powerful towards the viewer if the creator has the emotion and the talent to pull off something that he has been working on for.
I guess I'm going to write blogs about things that I'm working on and the challenges that I face during filming or editing just to sort of let you learn about the process more or so you can learn more about it. That's about it from here!

- J