The following editorial contains views that are the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of Allakhazam.com

Machinima, considered a hobby by some and a profession by others, is an art form that combines two of my favorite pastimes, movies and video games. MMORPGs in particular have been given a chance to shine in this medium as producers utilize the settings of these virtual worlds to tell their own tales. Machinima is certainly not a new endeavor; gamers have been creating story-driven videos since the days of “Quake” in 1996. But I feel the best is yet to come for the genre as creative minds keep pushing the envelope to make these films rival, and often surpass, Hollywood blockbusters. If you haven't gotten into this hobby yet, hopefully this article acts as a primer to get you in the machinima mood, especially for ones that are filmed in World of Warcraft.

Of course, not all machinima focuses on MMOs. All you have to do is visit Machinima.com to browse fan-created videos of numerous games, including The Sims, Halo, Half-Life and Grand Theft Auto. And you’ve all seen the famous “Red vs. Blue ” Halo series, right? While all games can offer great material for a movie, depending on the creativity of the producer, there’s something about MMO machinima that just stands out to me.

The two videos that really got me into machinima were “Return: A Warcraft Saga ” and “Zinwrath: The Movie,” way back in the ancient year of 2005. While I’d seen machinima videos before that, these were the first two that made me sit back in my chair and think, “That was really impressive.” And, it turns out, both have been a positive influence in the machinima community, even though they’re as different as night and day.

‘Return: A Warcraft Saga’

Let’s begin by looking at “Return.” This dramatic film by Rufus Cubed Productions focuses on Voldigar, a warrior who returns to Stromgarde only to find his beloved home destroyed. Clocking in at a little under 6 minutes, this machinima is shorter than most, but has been a limitless source of inspiration for other producers and fans. For example, everyone on the planet has seen the Emmy award-winning South Park episode “Make Love, Not Warcraft ” from October 2006, which shows how machinima has had the opportunity to branch into mainstream media. Well, Machinima.com interviewed key members of the animation staff, and it turns out watching “Return” convinced Trey Parker to give the episode a shot. The interview is an interesting read and points out that Tristan Pope, creator of the Switcher series, was the primary "camera man." Now that sounds like a fun job.

This actually demonstrates how intertwined the machinima community can become. Tristan, along with Terran Gregory of Rufus Cubed, are now Blizzard employees and worked on the official Wrath Gate cinema (WARNING: CONTAINS WoW SPOILERS ), which is part of an epic quest chain in Wrath of the Lich King. Wrath Gate is a prime example of the level of professionalism machinima can attain. It's actually the first in-game cinematic to appear in WoW, and my jaw hit the floor when my screen flickered and changed into this incredible cutscene.

As for "Return 2," a trailer was made for the sequel in 2006, but the film has yet to be released. A lengthy post was made on Rufus Cubed in March 2007 explaining the trials and tribulations surrounding the sequel, and Ezra Ferguson made a post a year ago stating the project was not dead. I hope we someday get to see the continuation of Voldigar's story. After you watch the trailer, be sure to browse the other movies at WarcraftMovies.com since there's way more than I could ever hope to mention.

‘Zinwrath: The Movie’

While “Return” is a heartfelt drama, Zinwrath is a ridiculous (in a good way) comedy that focuses on the title character and his antics in Ironforge. A Myndflame production, “Zinwrath” was created by D.W. Hackleman and his brother, Clint. They have gone on to make numerous films under the Myndflame label, including “Illegal Danish: Super Snacks ” and shorts like “Slim Jim WoW Machinima.” Through their recently revamped site, Myndflame.com, they have created a portal that lets machinima producers share their work and gain feedback. Community support is incredibly helpful in this genre, to both learn new techniques and share your work with others.

I recently had the chance to speak with Clint about his work and the machinima genre as a whole. You can read the entire interview here. Clint covers a lot of ground, except he keeps quiet on upcoming projects. He spoke at length about his musical compositions, which I feel give added depth to Myndflame films. Clint writes both “silly” music and “serious” music for their movies. The humorous music includes shorts such as “Learn 2 Play,” “Defias Mightiest ” and the upcoming “Death Knights Ride Bikes.” It demonstrates how music can make or break a piece of machinima. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want every video I see to be filled with angst-ridden metal for the Hot Topic crowd. Music sets the tone, and it definitely shows in Myndflame videos.

I also thought Clint’s take on the nature of the genre was worth noting:

Trying to figure out where Machinima ends and Animation starts is a mess in itself. People are still not sure what defines the scope of the genre and new techniques continue to fill the giant gray area to mammoth proportions. These types of disagreements caused WoW Machinima to get a late adoption amongst Machinima critics and erupted in personal disputes like nearly all references to our movies and Myndflame on Wikipedia being cited "Non-Notable," including "Illegal Danish: Super Snacks," which was deleted.

With this type of instability still existing today, it's hard to say whether Machinima as a genre will enter the mainstream media in a big way anytime soon. However, I have no doubt that many producers will move on from their Machinima productions and have lucrative careers in Machinima and the entertainment industry. In fact, some already have.

It’s sad to think that WoW machinima may not get the recognition it deserves in the field since it contains such great films, but there are some awards shows devoted strictly to the genre that show the hard work of these machinima producers is appreciated.

Recognition and Awards

Blizzard has hosted its own machinima awards show at BlizzCon, and the 2008 grand prize winner and recipient of the Oswald award was the funny “Snacky’s Journal, Episode 4 ” created by Jun Falkenstein of Stone Falcon Productions. She also created the recent shorts for the City of Heroes Mac edition that spoof the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads, which can all be found on CityofHeroes.com.

If you like Episode 4, make sure you check out the whole Snacky’s Journal series. You can also see all of the winning videos from BlizzCon 2008 movie contest here.

Another major awards ceremony is the Machinima Filmfest, which is held by Machinima.org, a non-profit devoted to the genre. The 2008 Best Long Format went to “Clear Skies ” by Ian Chisholm, an impressive piece combining EVE Online and Half Life 2. Stephen Mullane earned Best Short Format and Best Writing for “World of Workcraft,” which combined WoW and Counter-Strike. Last but certainly not least, the epic “Tales of the Past III ” won Best Editing. If you haven’t seen Martin Falch’s “Tales of the Past” WoW machinima series, make sure you check it out. You should also watch his newest release, “Divided Soul.” It’s an Orc-filled drama that could easily find a home on the big screen.

With 2009 wide open ahead of us, we can expect to see even more great machinima coming to our computers. I’m really looking forward to the release of Johan Vågstedt’s upcoming “Unbroken ” project, which promises to be huge. Also, if you haven’t seen it yet, watch “The Craft of War: Blind.” It contains no dialogue, but the action scenes are more impressive than those found in most Hollywood movies.

There are more great machinima videos out there than I could ever hope to mention in this article, especially if we branch out past WoW. But perhaps the most interesting thing to note is that almost every machinima producer out there started out (or is starting out now) as an amateur who wanted to tell a story. Who knows, the next big machinima hit could be yours. Here’s Clint’s advice to up-and-coming producers:

If you've always wanted to create movies but don't have the resources or experience to pick up a camera and start shooting that epic film that's been dancing around in your head, Machinima is a great way to learn the fundamentals of movie making. Expect to spend a lot of time reading tutorials and learning and don't be afraid to reach out to the community and ask for help. … Start with small projects! Stay within a few minutes and keep it simple. Capture footage directly from the game and add some simple voice work and sound effects.

Machinima has made its way into pop culture through South Park, but it will continue to have a bigger and brighter future as more and more fans embrace it. So jump into Azeroth, Norrath, Vana’diel, New Eden or wherever your avatar calls home and start recording.

Darryl "Togikagi" Gangloff
News reporter
Allakhazam.com