Mount Machinima: The Summit
by Godzprototype, HSM team writer and filmmaker
Well, it has been a long climb. I have had the good fortune of having excellent sherpas – HSM, Homecast, and every person I have ever filmed! (That list is so long!) Lending hand, and rope, what to watch out for, where to step, encouragement, and of course the description of the view the whole way.
Making PlayStation Home machinima is difficult at best. It has all been surreal, really. It’s the idea that somewhere along the way, other people would see the medium as an art form for expression in someway. And it is! I certainly hope others take up the view and expound on what really could be the future of entertainment.
Many arduous tasks and considerations have to be made climbing a mountain like this. Standards, ethics, and how you present the voice given are all part of the work. I have seen a lot of the work that came from Home – ideas put together and shown to the public that do enrich our community: PS Talent, Homecast, the Homelings, to name a few.
I had the key. All I needed to do was find the lock. Enter HSM. When I started making machinima, I had an intense desire to use what I had payed money for in the ways I believe a lot of people enjoy Home. Decorating sets and then recording it with a PVR is not the end of your work. There is the human element. And the editing.
Getting people together to film something seconds long takes a lot more time than you may think. To start, you have time zones to coordinate; I really think Home needs its own timezone! Home has been at it’s best for me personally when the people that did want to participate in a project understood the feeling a story had, and the wheels were in motion. I found that just letting people experience it in their own way with a slight point in a direction revealed something very special about Home. Only people who bring it together in this way understand this. You hope the ones you’re with do though. Then there is the sharing. You hope they feel the same, as everyone enjoys what we were doing and has an understanding of what was going on in the room.
The whole of this experience is something I have shared, if with no one else but the people I had such a time with. They enjoyed themselves just as much as I had doing it for them and for you. It has all been worth the efforts everyone made. Take a look. HSM is on the EOD!
It is not easy to train your focus on something so intense as editing PVR footage for public consumption on a regular basis. I have to say that’s not really possible, as we all have lives to tend. But even in the short term, it is frustrating, fascinating, full of surprises, and let downs. Just sitting perfectly still for… well let’s just say a long time can wear on you.
Where that kind of time becomes worth it is in the experience of realizing something shared. I wouldn’t trade any of what I have been through because I think it has made me a bit better of a person. They were lessons learned from not just the people who helped me get up the mountain I was climbing, but what I have learned from the social aspects of Home itself. That wasn’t easy for me. It still isn’t. But I keep trying.
I began with trying to go through emotions in description of what we were doing. I think everyone who attempts making a film in Home tries this first. I was trying to go through them literally. I still have a few to go through. That is a good start.
Developers have a keen interest in any filmmaker that takes into consideration all of the things you put into the film you produce. And the consideration of other developers of various things like music and pictures. Caring about other artist’s time and effort is just as important as your own!
I began using Free Music Archive because they believed in the same things I believe LOOT and HSM believed in. LOOT gave us all an outlet, so long as certain standards were met, and I think in the end it is worth the effort. You can find those standards on HSM’s Machinima forum thread. Lots of really excellent information there for budding machinist. Standards are good. Think about trophies and the people who seek them out in an honest fashion. They are worth it to you, even if no one else sees them! That is the cream in the butter!
I dare not define Home as I believe it is something we will all have for a very long time. I hope it continues to grow, maybe even take on some of its counterparts’ attributes. I know the developers would have a blast, and we would reap the benefits of such growth.
If you find that Home makes you feel something, and you can’t quite put your finger on it, try making a cohesive idea from it by recording it. Put everything you recorded into any video editor and divide the best shots from the ones that aren’t totally necessary, and I promise people will watch, and most will enjoy from this community! If you’re worried about music or sounds (and you should be) they are out there y’all – Creative Commons.
When you find some sound you can legally use, read its licensing. Images are no different. Pay homage to everyone that contributes to your vision. The longer you take to edit something you did, understanding what others went through for you to have noticed will become apparent. Respect those people. It is time consuming, and in the end you will appreciate all of the time you spent on such a work. Enjoy yourself thoroughly through this whole process. You may be a few hairs short somewhere along the way; look at Mozart’s hair! Or van Gogh’s ear. Dali’s mustache. That list certainly goes on, but you get the point I hope. This is not for the faint of heart. Just remember, it is in the sharing that brings a community together. And what a community we have!
I hope that others will climb this mountain. As we are a community. We share each other more than you know. There are various outlets to chose from to share your vision. And share you should. Celebrate another artist and their work. You have many things to use in this place and in your imagination. We will watch.
Go make a Home machinima. It will be worth it to you.
April 22nd, 2013 by Godzprototype | 3 comments
Godzprototype is learning the art of creating Machinima, and would like to share it with you. Hope you enjoy.
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WOW Bill!
First, it’s been a while, but I can see you are doing well.
Secondly, this article is awesome and it made me feel emotion. I am proud of you and how far you have come. I love the way you write and the way you feel about Home. The way you try to bring your ideas across in your machinima.
I appreciate the fact that you want people to know that it’s not easy. There IS a lot of work that goes into this. It’s just not 1, 2, 3 and it’s done. It can wear on us when our ideas are not coming out the way we intend… while creating an expression or thought… in an article, film or video. It can wear on us! It can effect us in our real life while pondering on how we are trying to get our point across. It takes extra mental effort to get it accomplished. But when it does, it is special. It is rewarding. It brings a type of happiness. (Almost like a musician when playing on stage-wanting our audience to understand our lyrics and get off on our music). It can be exhausting until we are satisfied enough to be ready to publish it or when we finally get our positive feedback from our viewers. Like opening a gift, then reaping the present.
All in all, don’t stop doing what you love Bill. You are special at it.
Bill, I have had the pleasure of being in a couple of your videos and I know the work they take. Maybe that is why I keep to writing. I know your work represents hard work and a vision that does indeed have to fit a specific set of rules to be shown in the EOD, but you do an excellent job, and yes thank you for reminding people that it is not easy as breathing, but what endeavor is really? Keep up the work Bill, few people have the patience, knowledge and ability to do it like you. Look forward to seeing more creations that I know will be great.
Wonderful article Bill. I have had the privilege of watching you work up close and personal. I know how hard you work to create. Your heart and soul are in all those machinimas you have created for the enjoyment of others. “Hina Matsuri”, “Home’s Forgotten Spaces” and “Heavenly Bodies” just to name a few. You strive for perfection, how hard you worked to get that eclispe to look real as possible in “Heavenly Bodies”. You once said to me ” If you reach one person that enjoys what you have created that is gold”.