007 at The Mercury Room

007 a video by Kara Trapdoor on Flickr.

Visit here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Catalina%20Cove/128/128/19

Tonight there was a fun James Bond event at The Mercury Room.  Soni and Bel were all decked out in James Bond attire and tp'd myself and my buddy, Lowe Runo in to check it out.  The place was looking great with a helicopter up front, briefcases with guns being  passed around, shark swimming around under the dance floor, and there was some great Bondish attire all around.  The music was from the many movies and we all had a fun time.  I made a little video of Mr. Runo and myself dancing... be sure to watch the whole thing and keep your eyes on my bu..... err... his hands.

Book Launch Party May 11-12-Machinima Book

From the press release: "Welcome to the Official Virtual Book Launch of our recently published Machinima:  The Art and Practice of Virtual Filmmaking   (McFarland, 2012)."

                US: Friday May 11, 6PM-9:00 PM SLT (7PM Short Presentation)
                EUR: Sat. May 12, 12PM to 3:30PM SLT (1PM Short Presentation)
                                 Steampunk themed at NeoVictoria Sky Club!
"Adult verification is necessary to enter the estate, which is crafted for mature roleplayers.  Our event is taking place on the skylevel, where there is no roleplay."
Launch Party Here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/NeoVictoria/17/128/1001 or direct link here: LaunchHere.

 ****************************************************************************************
                                        Hosts:  Sonicity Fitzroy & Lowe Runo
"We appreciate all those involved in this project  and we consider it a collaborative effort among numerous people inside SL as well as those looking in from the outside.   This book is not intended to promote SL, but we seriously view it as a major platform for the creation of innovative machinima.

This is not the definitive voice in machinima, but a collective voice within the virtual filmmaking community that represents many perspectives.   The machinima story will continue to evolve, and we are pleased to document this point in history, as well as to encourage so many to experiment with this medium through this book."
 



-----------------------------------
Book Availability -
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/machinima-phylis-johnson/1103882877

http://www.amazon.com/Machinima-The-Practice-Virtual-Filmmaking/dp/0786461713/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2

The Adventures of Bel and Soni Teaser

Some of my friends over at Lowe Runo Productions have been making cool stories in SL and they just released this great machinima teaser. The story is the continuing saga of steampunk friends Soni and Bel, Sonicity Fitzroy and Belinda Barnes in SL. The author/writer Sonicity Fitzroy, who is a published RL author, is writing the series monthly for Retropolitan magazine that can be found inworld and also online. Lowe Runo, well known machinimist and also a RL published author on machinima, is producer and Belinda Barnes is co-producer and director. Check out the Retropolitan magazine online here: http://retropolitan.org/Retropolitan_Magazine/Home.html or direct link here: RetropolitanHere. Just click on the current issue tab upper right or use their link to visit them in-world and grab copies there.

The Adventures of Bel and Soni (Series Teaser) from Belinda Barnes on Vimeo.

Grand Opening of the Island of Fear Haunted Mansion -Sunday Sept. 11th 2011 at 2pm SLT

Please join us for fun, dancing and a creepy yet humerous explore Sunday, September 11th at 2pm SLT for the grand opening of the Island of Fear Haunted Mansion on the Island of Fame sim. Dj Izzy Mavendorf will be spinning tunes for rooftop dancing while guests can dance or explore this large 4 story very interactive haunted mansion that will then remain open through October. I'd love to see all my blog followers at the party. There is even a group for photos and machinima made there. LInk here for the opening party: slurl.com/secondlife/Island%20of%20Fame/14/145/21 or direct link here: HauntedMansionHere. and here for the Flickr group: www.flickr.com/groups/1775081@N23/

Yes.. I put this haunted mansion together along with the help of some friends. Lowe Runo and Sonicity Fitroy are partners in crime. Drake Huet helped with the privacy walls. I love to explore SL and have been wanting to do a haunted house since I joined SL so this is a chance for me to give something back after enjoying all the live music, art, fashion, products and constructs everyone else has provided me with for hours of fun. Please join us,bring friends and if you cant make the opening feel free to visit and explore through the end of October at which time it will be taken down for other things to be announced.

The visitor's note card reads:
*WELCOME TO ISLAND OF FEAR HAUNTED MANSION*
Long long ago two young girls, twins in fact, resided on this island with their grandmother who was quite the prankster. While their grandmother found it amusing to play jokes on the young girls, they grew to fear and despise her. As years passed and the girls grew into adults they both had daughters themselves. The girls inherited their great-grandmother's home and spirit for pranks. The young great grand-daughters return to the homestead each fall for a so-called vacation and to practice their own form of trickery which has grown darker and more sinister over the years. The locals are aware the girls visit but only because of rumors and the lights seen in the windows at night but no one ever sees them in town. Some say the girls have become evil and won't set foot on their property..... others, more daring souls are curious and sneak onto the land and into the old run down house by night to see if they can summon the girls... many visit but few escape unchanged. Visit if you dare. Mwahahaha
__________________________________________________________________
Island of Fear Haunted Mansion located on Island of Fame is a very interactive 4 story plus rooftop dance haunted house area. To fully appreciate this build please dim lighting and be sure to click on everything.

Take a landmark, tell your friends and return to the haunted mansion any time through October 31st or for some of the special events to be announced. Keep an eye open for all kinds of strange creatures and characters showing up.

Photos and machinima are encouraged and welcome and we’ve created a Flickr group to post to as we’d love to see anything made here. http://www.flickr.com/groups/1775081@N23/
__________________________________________________________________
*USE THE MAGIC TELEPORT DOOR BY THE LANDING TO GAIN DIRECT ACCESS TO THE ROOFTOP DANCE AREA OR EXPLORE THE GROUNDS AND WORK YOUR WAY UP. *
________________________________________________________________
Some of the many Interactive spot cheats:
-Use magic teleporters to gain access to the attic and rooftop dancing.
-Be sure to sit in all the kitchen, dining room and study chairs for extra fun.
-There are some special tombstones in the grave yard along with gallows and a grave that are interactive.
-The dungeon is a bit tricky to enter through the external cave entrance but once in there enjoy all the “toys” in the large area. Well worth the visit.
-Try clicking on various items around all the rooms for extra fun, jump and sit in spider webs., etc. Some pose balls may be hidden-try typing … 1/show …in local chat to see.
-The child’s bedroom offers free dolls to keep and play with at the interactive doll house. Click child’s head and bed if not moving.
-The master bedroom bed has various animations and the large room picture has a menu for couples.
-Rez and ride an eel under the water which can only be easily accessed at one small spot straight out from the stone path.
-Free candy on the landing stairs in a cauldron
-Explore, click, and have fun
__________________________________________________________________
For questions or comment please contact Kara Trapdoor
__________________________________________________________________
Note: This is a mature sim and while there are places with full menus please no nudity or couples acts directly in front of others. Have fun but be respectful of others at all times. Thanks and enjoy!

Machinima Book and Rez Day Celebrations!

Today is a special day for two of my friends, Lowe Runo and Sonicity Fitzroy. First of all Lowe, otherwise known to many as machinima man, is celebrating his 5th SL rez day today. On top of that the publisher has released pre-order information for the book, "Machinima, The Art and Practice of Virtual Filmmaking" co-authored by Lowe and his business partner and great friend, Sonicity, otherwise known to me as word-woman for her many previously published books, articles, and multitude of RL and SL writings. They both have worked hard and have accomplished a lot and I'm very proud of them and also proud to call them friends. This should be a very happy day for them and so I want to pass on their information here but plan to provide more information when the book is actually released some time later this fall. Many Second Life residents were interviewed and mentioned so we can look forward to seeing names we recognize.

Pre-orders can be made now and I've ordered and am waiting for my copy. : ) You can pre-order here: http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.php?id=978-0-7864-6171-4 or direct link here: SoniLoweBOOKorderHere.

If you want more info. on these two I previously blogged a great deal about them over a year ago when Lowe Runo Productions, LLC was established in SL. More info. here: http://karasecondlife.blogspot.com/2010/05/lowe-runo-productions-llc.html direct link here: LoweSoniHere.

I'm posting a couple of casual pics I took of them. Don't forget to congratulate them both and wish Lowe a happy rez day while you are at it.




Check out a link to just one of their many machinima sites with great info. : http://slmachinimaarts.ning.com/ or direct link here: MAGHere. Pro-mag direct link also to the right in fav'd sites. Lowe made a very cute thank you to his SL friends today which has been posted on this MAG site linked here as well as his Flickr and yes.. shameless plug since I am in it. : ) Check it out.. very cute and touching remembrance of his 5 years in SL via machinima.

Virtual World's Best Practices in Education Conference

http://karasecondlife.blogspot.com/2011/03/4th-annual-virtual-worlds-best.html link back for more info and Saturday schedule of events. Direct link here: VWPBEHere.

Soni and Lowe presented on machinima Friday in this Steampunk themed area. Check out the link for Saturday's schedule of presentations and events.

Machinima Book by SL Authors is At the Publishers!

Well it's about time I get my friends back after a year of their hard work researching, interviewing many many machinimatographers (or is it machinimists? machinimisters?-not sure) and writing their book about machinima with a heavy focus on Second Life but including interviews and information from various other platforms such as World of Warcraft, The Sims and others.

Word Woman, Sonicity Fitzroy, and Machinima Man, Lowe Runo, (I swear I'm going to make them the super hero outfits to match my secret pet names for them some day), have completed their book which is out to the publisher and Soni has written about the book at their web site: Magnum, The Machinima Review, a monthly blog Soni does here: http://magnummachinima.blogspot.com/ and direct link here: MagnumHere.

I'll quote the blog here a little, but go and check it out for yourself......"many did contribute to the making of Modern Machinima: Aesthetics and Practice in Game and Virtual Film making. The manuscript now awaits the first round of review by the publishers and the process continues through the summer months, with a Fall 2011 release scheduled."

So, yeah.. Yay! They are done! Well... it seems their work is never done and I am very sure they are both on to other major projects even as I write this. Many SL avatars are mentioned in the book and I think it will be a fun read for a lot of people especially since we will recognize many of the key players who provided expert insight for their book. I sat in on one of their round table interviews and was a bit in awe of the experience and knowledge the group had. They did include amateurs as well as many professionals in their open discussion groups for a good variety of skill levels and insight. But the leg work was done by these two hard working individuals who have a end product they should be very proud of in RL and SL. Their individual experience and skills blend exceptionally well for a team that is very productive. Soni herself is a RL educator in the media field, is previously published, has a great deal of long term experience in RL/SL media and machinima and of course Lowe is the machinimaster with the amazing special effects and SL/RL photography and video skills and experience. Search my blog for past information on both of these two if interested.

If you really want to see these two in action check them out this Friday at 2 SLT when they present at the Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education Conference in SL. I've previously blogged about this as well. They are both great speakers with a passion for teaching and assisting others in learning more about machinima. Check it out! O, btw, did I mention they are friends of mine? heheh : )

4th Annual Virtual Worlds- Best Practices in Education Conference: March 17-19, 2011

Get out your calendars as it's almost time again for the annual "Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education" conference to be held March 17, 18 and 19, 2011.

This year's theme is "You Are Here" and per the web site: "The Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) is a community-based conference that provides opportunities for participants in all virtual worlds to share current teaching, learning, and research practices in 3D virtual environments. Conference presentations focus on teaching/learning, scholarly work, projects, events, activities and new and innovative tools for virtual education. Presenters will focus on the identification of best practices in education designed for 3D virtual world technology."

Attendance is free to all and you can go to the official web site for more information or to register, although registration is not required for attendees. "The VWBPE Executive Committee is pleased to announce that Botgirl Questi has agreed to be the opening keynote for the “You are Here” themed 2011 Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference. The title of the keynote is “Who Are You? Where is Here?”"

Attendee schedule with detailed presenter schedule and locations to be announced:
Thursday March 17th
■VWBPE Gateway Sim opens to the public at 12 midnight
■2pm Opening Ceremonies
■3pm – Midnight: General Sessions

Friday March 18th
■ALL DAY: General Sessions

Saturday March 19th
■Midnight – 4pm: General Sessions
■4pm: Awards Ceremonies
■5pm: Closing
■6pm: After-Party

I have a special interest in that my friends Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo are presenting Friday March 18th at 2pm SLT: The Fantastic and The Furious: Capturing Moments Through Machinima. Be sure to check them out.

Flickr contact and VWBPE supporter, CallieDel Boa, has this poster on her site so I just nabbed it as a good visual for my blog. The main link for the VWBPE can be found here: http://www.vwbpe.org/ or direct link here: VWBPEHere.

Beyond the Beyond -new cool shape shop

Today a buddy, Lowe Runo, showed me a great new shape shop owned by one of his friends Aeonflux Nexen. Aeon, who is from England, offers a selection of female and male shapes some that verge on cyber/anime, well check the pics I snapped for a better idea. They are pretty cool. She and her friend model two of the shapes while Lowe and I on the left check them out.







Visit here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Emerald%20Resort%202/172/47/3003 or direct link here: BeyondHere.
Aeonflux Nexen


Current sale so run on over!

The Guild's New Video/Lowe Runo Machinima

"Game On!"
A short while back The Guild released a new music video "Game On" that I will link here. TheGuildGameOnHere. I can very much relate to many of The Guild's comedic situations and I love The Guild's regular shows, as apparently do many other "virtual world participants" according to their vast following as it falls into it's 4th season. Most SL'ers are very familiar with The Guild, but for anyone newer to this virtual phenomenon The Guild is a group of 6 real life people led by Felecia Day who are friends that play WOW and produce very short regular videos about this. It's a web series about gamers that started in 2007 and has won many awards. If you haven't seen this it is a "must view" for sure. I laugh so hard at every episode and they are short enough at 3-8 minutes to really keep my interest and leave me wanting more actually. A lot of people tend to talk about which character they associate with in The Guild, but my SL play is so varied I really see a little bit of myself in each of the female players.

Last year The Guild released their first music video, "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?" DoYouWantToDateOriginalVidHere. This was kind of a spoof on how sexy, cool, superheroish, or divine everyone makes their avatars but in real life.. it is usually not quite the case, yet even still it's fun to have a little dating, passion or "whatever" in the virtual world. The song has some classic lines. The video is about how Felecia goes on about how her avatar is "hotter than reality by far".. anyway.. it's one of my all time favorites and I was so lucky to be involved in a SL rendition of this produced by the famed machinimatographer, Lowe Runo. I am snatching a copy of it from his Vimeo stream to put here for all safe keeping for myself now that I think about this. I love the song and both videos. Recently someone did a fantastic job morphing the original which uses the real life Guild cast members on top of Lowe's SL avatar version for a very cute combination that sums it all up in Youtube. Check out Lowe's Youtube for his other great work while in there. He has been working on some excellent action flicks. LoweHere. Anyway, time to jump back in SL.. game on time!

Do You Want To Date My Avatar (Second Life Adaptation) from LoweRuno on Vimeo.

Ooops, I forgot to mention, my avatar is in the pink slave rags with long dark hair as one of the back up dancers. This was fun to make and there are some still pictures taken during the quick filming Lowe did over in Flickr if you want to see more about it.

Art of the Artists Machinima Contest: 40,000L First Prize

The University of Western Austraila has begun a new machinima challenge that runs from July 7 to September 20, 2010. The challenge is to Create a Machinima of between 2 and 5 minutes in length that features some of the winning artworks from the UWA 3D Art & Design Challenge. There are more than 35 artworks spread across 4 floors, and you can choose to film as many (or as few) as you like.

This sounds like a fun contest and UWA is known for such artistic contests with great prizes, publicity and fun events. For more information about them and this contest check it out here:UWAHere.

Here I will list some other great machinima web sites and some sites that are helpful when getting started with machinima. Machinima can be a very fun hobby, way to showcase or publicise an event or avatar, or even develop an income in SL as a producer. If interested in seeing more or learning more about machinima check these out:

One of my favs: MAGHere.

Some high quality professional machinima: PROMAGHere.

One of the best all encompassing (almost all lol) sites for beginners I have seen so far, including what tools to use and where to get them and how to make good machinima. This is a must visit for beginners as well as seasoned machinimatographers alike. Note all sections because there is a learning tool machinima that includes yours truly: MAGInVirtualWorldsHere.

A good friend's professional site: LoweRunoHere.

Insight into different aspects of machinima and another good friend's blog that also includes me in some places, yay!: MagnumSoniHere.

Another's friend's helpful and interesting site: SpyVspyHere.

Another good site featuring machinima and related news: AViewTVHere.

Of course there are many many other good machinima sites, but these happen to be some of my favorites and good ones to get people started and see other great works. Youtube and Vimeo are also great spots to view a lot of machinima. Have fun with the contest if you decide to participate.

SL Village People

Last night it seemed like there was a lot to do and many of my friends were working on things individually, but then very late (early this morning to be precise) I was in IM with my good friend Sonicity Fitzroy who said she had a second wind, so she and her husband Shock Soderstrom came on over to my place. We started getting goofy dancing and playing around and Jonnie Chun joined us. Then Lowe Runo showed up and we all got really crazy with vehicles, costumes, etc., and one thing led to another.. blame it on the second wind. Around 3am we decided we looked pretty cute in various costumes and some of us were looking kinda Village Peopleish so a machinima was mentioned. Done deal! I think I went to bed around 4 am.. or later. Hahaha.. such is my Second Life. Producer Lowe, the machinimaster, gets the thanks. Be sure to visit his YouTube for many more good vids and leave him some nice comments.
LoweRunoYouTubeHere. Or here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lowe_runo/4718107056/

YMCA Second Life from LoweRuno on Vimeo.

NeoVictoria

Asil Ares, Sim Owner and Creator

A few nights ago I visited a new sim called NeoVictoria, by owner and creator, Asil Ares, who is also know for her support of machinimatography. There is a website for this sim that you can visit here: NeoVictoriaWebsiteHere.

Asil gave us a tour of the role play and machinima areas. Our group consisted of Asil, myself, and friends and machinimatographers, Lowe Runo and Sonicity Fitzroy of MAG, PROMAG, and Lowe Runo Productions, LLC. We quickly changed into steampunk type clothes and off we went for a nice tour of this very large impressive area. The roleplay setting is a futuristic steampunk area with the character archetypes of the Community Combat System (CCS). NeoVictoria is already recently open, but there is a grand opening being planned for the near future.

NeoVictoria includes a skymall full of steampunk, Victorian and Gothic fashions, accessories, machinima tools and weapons. There was a large practice area and 7 seas. We toured the park, part of the interesting sewer system, maze, and nice machinima areas including settings and information designed to assist and provide for the ultimate machinima filming. I cammed out to see some interesting sites such as a steampunk skyship and other land areas we didnt quite make it to, as there is a lot to see and do. 3 of the 7 rental properties are already rented, but if interested hurry on over. The area is a role play area, not designed to be a build or script zone. Asil provided the rules which do state a request to film needs to be made, but still photos are readily allowed, so I took a few quick shots on our tour.


Lowe and I try out one of the machinima friendly areas.


Asil states it best herself in her website information about why she bought two sims for NeoVictoria. She says, "...it was only a matter of time before I learned I needed the technical control of a full SIM to shoot machinima the way I wanted to make it. And then, the desire to expand that vision into a community began to take hold. I love the possibility of a community whose roleplay isn’t lost once the scene is over. I don’t desire NeoVictoria to be SIM-chain with hundreds of players and dozens of factions, but rather, a small community of gifted artists who work together to bring their stories out of SecondLife and into the world of the real...
There are two SIMs (or regions) in the NeoVictoria estate: Machinima and NeoVictoria. NeoVictoria is our main SIM; here the great Strato Moblis giant airship watches over the town of NeoLondon. The land-level of NeoVictoria will have no rental properties, it purports to be a living city, with a market, church, municipal buildings and role-play shops, as well has an extensive underground. Look for fun stuff and special events to celebrate the opening of the main SIM."

Maze Entry Sign

Asil in front of the MAG NING live feed located in the machinima area

Check out NeoVictoria in SL here: NeoVictoriaHere.
or here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Machinima/16/128/703