The Machinima Oligopoly: 3D Animation

There comes a time when even the best of machinima gets outdone by another machinima. Years ago it probably was the use of Model Viewer, then probably professional-end effects from high-end programs like After Effects. Now, its custom animation, or, 3D animation.

The definition of machinima varies from person to person and even “officially” it has a couple of differences.

• Such as in Wikidictionary, it’s defined as: “The rendering of computer-generated imagery using low-end (real time) 3D engines such as those found in video games, as opposed to the high-end, complex 3D engines used by professionals.”

• The popular definition from Wikipedia: “the use of real-time three-dimensional (3-D) graphics rendering engines to generate computer animation

• and the basic definition from Urban Dictionary: “The art of using a pre-rendered gaming engine and making it into a film.”

It’s interesting how we went from a strictly low-engine games only definition to a broad free-for-all definition. So…which one’s the correct one?

Well, that depends who you ask. Currently, there is a schism between those in favour of 3D and those against it. Those against it will like the Wiki-dictionary definition. Those in favour of it will  like the Urban Dictionary definition. The debate over the true definition of machinima (which will allow or not allow 3D animation) may continue on forever, but I want to make at least a temporary ceasefire.

The primary concern of 3D machinima is directed towards newcomers into machinima. People fear that our “industry” is advancing too fast, into the realm of Hollywood professionalism, and this will create a high entry barrier into machinima. Think of it like an oligopoly: the top four or five machinimators make a machinima with the best effects and 3D animation. Naturally, because of it’s eye candy, it’s going to be a hit. More and more people raise their viewing standards and when they see a standard edited movie (not totally newbie, but not totally well edited neither) they refuse to see it. This means the “little guy” can’t advance through the machinima world while the big players (aka “the Elite”) get all the attention.

So what can the little guys pass  through the high barrier of entry? How can they break up the machinima oligopoly? They could go through a violent revolution or they could use a story and time to their advantage. That’s right, time.


The Advantages of Non 3D Animators

One major advantage anti-3D animators fail to realize is the gift of time. But first, lets talk about story. People always say stick with the story and effects won’t be a problem. That’s good and all, and I most certainly agree, but it’s like picking a girlfriend: sure she may be the smartest, well-mannered, most compatible girl you ever met, but if it got no beauty to it, it’s ain’t gonna happen. It’s a sad truth, but human beings need a somewhat attractive* mate and it’s a sad truth that a machinima needs to look somewhat good. (*standards vary).

Like standards are needed in a girlfriend, standards will be needed in a machinima. You cannot expect you can and will date every hot girl in your school/workplace, but you can guarantee someone pretty is going to be your girlfriend one way or another. Machinima needs to have a good standard of editing/effects quality to become popular; story alone won’t get you there. Imagine the best story ever told and it looked like this:

You’d probably wouldn’t of watched it in the first place or liked it. It’s like a library book: Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Okay, then why did you pick the ones you checked out? … Exactly.

The Second Advantage: Time

3D animation is way above a decent quality standard. But what they fail in is in time. Time can be used to beat the oligopoly and become a successful machinimator if you are quick enough. You see, it took Percula eight months to make Blind, a fully 100% 3D animated machinima (which totally pissed me off, too many Alliance deaths!). It’s hailed as the best machinima by some, the most over-rated machinima by others, and some don’t even consider it a machinima! No matter where you stand in the issue, 8 months to make 7 minutes of machinima is way too long. But it covered for its lengthy production time by making it 100% 3D animated.

In eight months Percula made a movie. In eight months, Oxhorn made seven. That’s a impressive comparison, 7:1. Starting with Red Snapper and Inventing Swear Words in Feburary 2006, he continued to make the Taruen Kilt and Birth of the Forsaken byMarch 2006, and finished it off with Inventing Swear Words 2, the Anti-Elf Anthem, and the 12 Days of Winter Veil in December 2006. By making several less quality (effect-wise) movies, he had an increased chanced at getting noticed. If the first one failed to break through the “newbie zone” he could make six others were as the big player only could make one.

Oxhorn could be described as an extreme example, but the logic still rests. By the time a big player makes a 3D animated movie you, as the newcomer/less experienced machinimator, can make at least a couple of good ones. You can outrun the 3D animator by making several less quality ones with a good story and decent/good editing and effects.

What if the big machinimator doesn’t purely use 3D animation, but 15% of their movie is? You still got an advantage: generally the level of  custom animations is higher than the best non-3D editing and effects, which the big player will still use and it still takes more time than the standard quality to make.

Time is the advantage; so keep at it!

In the end, its not 3D animation that is killing machinima, it’s people’s attitudes.

• Viewers: Don’t dismiss the machinima of newbies and lend out constructive criticism  if asked.
• Machinimators: If you want to become something, keep trying to advance. Don’t say “It’s arlight, lets stop.” Keep advancing. Listen to advice, ask for it too, try out new tactics, don’t think because the big players are big you can’t join them; it’s a matter of strategy (time). But most importantly, be legit: Don’t do machinima and expect to become big if you’re just doing it because you saw Arby ‘n the Chief or Tales of the Past 3 and thought it was cool. To advance you need to LOVE doing this. I think that will push you forward better than anything else can.

Thank you for reading this lengthy article; it’s been brewing inside of me for quite a while now.

-Nicolas Giordano

Chef Films

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