Early in February at a much anticipated and well attended award ceremony, the winner of the University of Western Australia Machinima Challenge was announced. The machinima challenge began in December, and with a top award prize of $65,000 Lindens it had over sixty entries. Contest requirements for submitted machinima were that they “capture the four main elements that make up the heart of the University of Western Australia SIMS”. The elements specified in the contest rules were, “real life architecture, the teaching, the research and the arts.” The twelve member panel of judges, led by Professor Alan Robson (Real Name) Vice Chancellor of the University of Western Australia, awarded the top prize to Mr. Vandeverre. The winning entry was titled, “Seek” and had a sci-fi theme. A UWA blog post had this to say about the winner, “The judges thought that this was an absolute firecracker of a Machinima with a brilliant and very different approach” and that it “had wonderful humor, amazing visual effects, great quality of editing and remarkable camera control”.
Cisko Vandeverre is the head of his own production company, “The DO Group” and resides in Berlin, Germany. His production company “creates films using content from virtual worlds. “Seek” and his portfolio of Machinima can be viewed on their web site. I was introduced to Mr. Vandeverre by White Lebed, one of the judges of the challenge. Cisko and I met in Skype for this conversation.
Nazz: You've been in second life since 2006, what brought you in and why did you stay?
Cisko: I saw the kind of business opportunities here. I always have been in future related techniques and it was clear that virtual worlds would be the next step from 2D web to 3D. Once here, it took awhile to find the focus. I had a client in 2007, so it was easier for me to get deeper into second life. I had the project to fulfill ... it was focusing for me. I had the client for the year and had a few SIMs. The work we did covered the costs. I started doing machinima to film the event we had there. I've been in computer animation for 20 years. It’s a long process … I did trailers and short sequences. With machinima the set design is easier and the possibilities in post production ... it’s pretty fast to get results.
Nazz: Has there been any particular challenges for your business?
Cisko: Working with corporate users ... I did a machinima for a product introduction. The understanding of second life and some of its limitations weren't there. The ad agency people would ask, "Why is that happening?" … any way the company that was willing to pay decided to go to a traditional method.
Nazz: How much influence has Second Life had on your machinima since you've been here?
Cisko: It’s easy to build my sets … handle texturing, lighting. I can do some scripting, but there are people who do it better. Some ideas from computer animation have implemented themselves in Second Life … when you have the back ground it’s easier to handle then when people have to start from scratch.
Nazz: I went out to your web site to see some of your portfolio. I found the Pirate story compelling and enjoyed the sword fight scene … it had a realistic feel to it especially with the clanging of steel. Can you tell me a little about that series?
Cisko: Most machinima don’t have a story … only ten to 20 percent do. It was to have been a full feature video. I had met with a producer in Paris for half a day to develop the idea. It was freelance work and it was hard to schedule time to produce.
Nazz: Has there been anyone in Second Life that has influenced your work?
Cisko: Influences … there are a few whose techniques I like and what I've seen them do in post production … very intense and I've been amazed at how arty. I bookmark them and track to see what they're doing … how their work is evolving. I'm a moderator for a few machinima sites … it is very interesting to watch and see how they've grown.
Nazz: Where do you see your work headed in the next year or less?
Cisko: In six months to a year out … sitting on a formula for virtual TV and doing machinima and hoping for a better platform. There is a gap between machinima and computer animation and I can see that it will close one day. Voice and video is becoming more important … facial expression is limited. Puppeteer tools … head mesh will be a bridge.
Nazz: What advice would you give to aspiring machinima makers?
Cisko: My advice for those starting out … Doing it … start it, capture it and edit it … and don't forget audio. Determine what it is you want to do … for example a video of a SIM or event. You have to have an idea and then handle the techniques … once you learn them, know them … then you can focus on ideas.
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