Machinima (muh-sheen-eh-mah) is filmmaking within a real-time, 3D virtual environment, mostly using 3D game technologies.

More importantly, it is the convergence of filmmaking, animation and game development. Machinima is real-world filmmaking techniques applied within an interactive virtual space where characters and events can be either controlled by humans, scripts, or artificial intelligence.

By combining the techniques of filmmaking, animation production, and the technology of real-time 3D game engines, machinima makes for a very cost- and time-efficient way to produce films, with a large amount of creative control.
 

Just within the last year, some really strong examples of machinima have surfaced. This list is comprised of just a few of some of my faves:
 
Red vs. Blue (Rooster Teeth Productions): Here are the hapless adventures of two teams in the world of Halo, who are still coming to grips with their own incompetence. (Also, look for the Rooster Teeth series based on the Sims 2, The Strangerhood)
 
No Licence (Short Fuze): A great short made with Battlefield 1942, No Licence focuses on a well-known international agent. Using pages ripped out of “how to create a great action film”, this team exploits machinima to its fullest, using the characters and environment as if they were shooting a live-action film. 
 
Anna (Fountainhead Entertainment): This piece was one of the first to bring machinima from underground movement to a commercially produced film. Visually stunning, this beautiful short presents the tale of a wildflower and its role in the cycle of life. The film also showcases Fountainhead’s ground-breaking machinima software, Machinimation. 
 
The Journey (Friedrich Kirschner) – Falling into the “art house” machinima category is The Journey, a remarkable machinima film focusing on a lone figure who chooses a different path in life in order to find himself. Friedrich has made a unique machinima piece that looks very unlike the 3D game engine it was created with, Unreal Tournament 2004. 
 
Game On (Game On): This recently-produced machinima short is the first to incorporate machinima with live-action film. Shot entirely in HD, this blend of live-action and machinima tells the tale of Larry, an architect who finds himself in the mix of a video game he has been obsessively playing. The film is also a winning entry into the 2004 Promotion Pictures contest at NYU, and sponsored by EURSO RSG Worldwide and Volvo. 

Lenny and Larry Lumberjack on the Campaign Trail (The ILL Clan): In this election year, the bumbling Lenny and Larry Lumberjack trade in their axes in order to do some stump-thumping of their own. Unfortunately, they may be more suitable for the job than they realize. This machinima series is produced using puppeteered characters that the ILL Clan crafted with hand-triggered gestures, emotions, and animations. The ILL Clan also perform with these characters live as part of an improvisational machinima performance. 
 

http://www.machinima.org – the official site of the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences and the Machinima Film Festival.
 
http://www.machinima.com – the definitive portal for all things Machinima.
 
http://www.machinimag,.com – the blog/online magazine covering machinima – informative interviews and reviews from one of Machinima’s top filmmakers, Friedrich Kirschner.
 
http://www.3dfilmmaker.com – Ken Thain’s news site on machinima and its related topics. Ken has a great editorial eye for related machinima works, not to mention being the creator of fine machinima himself – Rebel vs. Thug and his newest works, The Everseason.

In order to help people get started in machinima filmmaking, Paraglyph Press and I put together the first book on Machinima, 3D Game-based Filmmaking: The Art of Machinima. Starting with the easy-to-use Machinimation demo from Fountainhead Entertainment (included with the book), the user learns both how to create machinima and the benefits to its production approach. Once they’ve completed the Machinimation tutorials, the book then takes them into the more advanced world of creating machinima using Unreal Tournament 2004. In addition to the numerous hands-on tutorials, the book is rounded out with information on Machinima’s history as well as tips in machinima cinematography, set, and character design. You can buy it at O'Reilly Digital Media.
 

About the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences
Headquartered in New York, this non-profit organization was co-founded in 2002 by its Executive Director, Paul Marino, an Emmy Award-winning animator, along with other pioneers in the machinima community. The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences was established to promote, organize and recognize the growth of machinima filmmaking and its filmmakers. To further the cause, the Academy also produces the annual Machinima Film Festival and Machinima Awards. To learn more about Machinima and the Academy, visit www.machinima.org.