Resident Juria Yoshikawa created a YouTube group for all machinima that tries to capture or document art in Second Life. If you are an artist or have ever filmed pieces that deal with your favorite artwork, please consider joining the group. Much like the various Flickr art groups, this is an excellent opportunity to see what is out there, be inspired, and eventually promote your own work.

Juria also had a interesting art installation that recently closed, Blink. You can see videos of it here, it looks fascinating and surreal.

Thanks to the Second Arts blog for the tip!

The Pixels in Pink ladies are at it again! They've designed their campsite, appropriately named PiP Film Noir, to be a brilliant mix of greyscale and ... pink! The ladies, Torrid Midnight, Zyrra Falcone, Hosequeen McLean, Pukk Abel, Rose Farina, Stella Costello, Fallingwater Cellardoor, Nephilaine Protagonist, and several others, have created an element of mystery and awe that just calls to you.

A very tired, overworked Stella Costello mentioned that she was making a Machinima this morning and I'm sharing it with you! As you can see from the film, there are auctions, vendors, flowers, dancing, a theater, and even PIE! Please stop by and donate or purchase items if you can, as all proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.

Just as a reminder, Relay For Life officially starts at 2pm SLT/PDT today, but the sims are open now to explore.

This is the seventh in a series of largely demographic interviews that are conducted with established residents, to find out more about them and their involvement with Second Life, and to contrast the differences between their views and experiences and those of the newer residents. The questions may be tailored slightly for each interview; responses may be edited for purposes of clarity.

I see Dustbin regularly at my office hours in Hallasan. I originally met him on what I think was his first day in Second Life. "I am a Second Life Mentor," he says, "I have been since I was about 90 days old I think. It has been a great experience. I have met people that are great artists just starting out in SL, it is incredible watching them progress quickly to making new and unique things."

I had the chance to meet Marshall Kirkpatrick, of Splashcast, back in March at SXSW. We had a long talk about the service that they offer and how it could possibly help Second Lifers. Hamlet Au, of New World Notes, actually created a Second Life Machinima channel back in January that was featured on the site. I see a lot of potential here as a way to show off our work without taking up a lot of space.

What is Splashcast? It's a different way to share media. You can display pictures from Flickr, audio, and even videos from YouTube. You can also upload your own media. It is then turned into a slideshow of sorts that you can widely distribute with the click of a button.

I've been meaning to re-upload the old Grid Review Machinimas that I made ages ago, so this was the perfect opportunity. After a grueling four hour upload process to YouTube, I was able to load all of the links into Splashcast to make a show. Now I'm able to bring them to you in all of their glory! Have you made a show or channel? Share the link in a comment!

File this one under dream jobs for Machinimists, folks! Global Kids is looking for an Online Leadership Program Associate specializing in video.

While the Machinima teaching I do is in-world, they are actually looking for someone to help with their real life intern program in New York at the Museum of the Moving Image. Named the Virtual Video Project, they meet twice a week. The program works with teams throughout the year to make films to call awareness to issues such as body image and child soldiers.

The specialist would bring their expertise in techniques for storyboarding, editing, and filming. If you're interested in the position, they even put their application materials online. The only question I have is where are these jobs in Texas? I'm so jealous!

The teens haven't had many options for Machinima tools. Most of the tools have been brought over from the Main Grid. One of the earlier options, the Alt-Zoom camera, had a steep learning curve. Even after being explained by Eric Linden, many teens were unable to grasp the concept of it. I know all about this from my work on the Main Grid.

Global Kids, in collaboration with Filming Path creator Geuis Dassin, recently brought over the Filming Path Camera HUD at a reduced price from the Main Grid. Cost, however, still appeared to be a prohibiting factor in their purchase of the tool. I am pleased to announce that Geuis recently made the tool FREE for the teens!

This is a big step in the right direction for Machinima on the Teen Grid. With the Joystick Flycam still in beta, not to mention the required USB adapter and joystick, the FP HUD will offer them a free, easy alternative for dolly shots. Thank you for your generous contribution, Geuis!

Back in March, I issued a call to vote for finalists on Machinima Premiere's website for the Online Machinima Film Festival. Voting ended on April 30th and the results are in. MPrem will announce the winners tomorrow, Saturday, May 26th. As a matter of fact, they've planned a whole series of events around it!

Who: Machinima Premiere
What: Online Machinima Film Festival
Where: Hathead Island
When: Saturday, May 26th, at 12:00pm PDT (SLT)
Why: Because you know you love machinima!

Program:

• 12:00 - Live entertainment from jazz pianist Luigi Volare.
• 12:30 - Awards Ceremony: Award ceremony hosts, gToon Jun and Sol Bartz (aka Overman) will announce the finalists and present the awards, with a specially designed trophy for the festival, and with a short screening of each winning film.
• End of Awards Presentation: OWA Fund Presentation: a check will be presented to the One World Action charity.
• Party: Everyone will then be welcome to retire to the Sky Lounge for the post awards party and further screenings of the award winning films, where you'll have the opportunity to meet and socialize with machinimators and fans from all parts of the world and to take part in further entertainment.

[Thanks for the info, Michelle of Britannica Dreams!]

Wiley Publishing, in collaboration with Machinima forefathers Hugh Hancock and Johnnie Ingram, will be publishing a Machinima for Dummies book, slated to be released in August 2007. I first heard of this book when they'd contacted me in-world to chat about Second Life Machinima. A quick glance at their site gave me all the clues I needed that Second Life would not play a major role in the book. However, it's worse than I've feared ...

According to this blog entry, they were apparently quite critical of Second Life as a Machinima application. Maybe they aren't giving it a proper chance. They mention cost as a prohibiting factor, but they might fail to realize that there are places like Lukanida that offer low lag settings for filming, for free! I'm really curious to see what they mentioned about SL, though.

It puzzles me why people that use other platforms are so negative about Second Life as a medium. Perhaps someone could offer their insight in an email or comment. In the meantime, their book is available for pre-order now on amazon.com, and includes a FREE copy of MovieStorm, which I'll be blogging about shortly.

Yes, folks, "sculpties" will soon arrive on the preview grid. Torley Linden made a blog entry on the official Linden blog regarding this momentous occasion. SLI reader Tao Takashi was able to get some information out of Robin and Joe Linden, with the announcement that sculpties will be added to a beta client next week. I guess we'll have to wait just a bit longer to taste the forbidden fruit. *sigh*

What will sculptable prims mean for us? Watch this machinima and see for yourself. Imagine being able to bypass the 31 prim limit of a vehicle because you molded the shape. Imagine lower prim avatars and furniture. Hell, just imagine, in general! This is truly the biggest news that has come out of Second Life since flexi-prims!

The ARG ended on a positive note, with qDot explaining the reasoning behind Cubesque and CubeOverload. For those curious, Funk Schnook appears to be the "winner" for finding that old blog entry. What was your opinion of the mystery?

I'm so excited to announce a feature that didn't make it into the release notes, but will help the Machinima community as a whole. If you go into the Client part of your Debug menu, you'll see a new option for "Joystick Flycam." Hook up your joystick, adjust the sliders in the Flycam menu, and you're off!

The cam was made by Runitai Linden, the man responsible for dynamic reflections. We should all be so lucky that such a talented man works for Linden Lab!

This is a big step in helping the Machinima community as it will enable us to make much smoother shots. I can't wait to see what work comes out as a result of this new feature. Are you a Machinimist that has tried this feature? Leave a comment!

*Please note that I've only tested it with a one stick joystick and I've been advised that if you have a two stick joystick, it works MUCH better.

I've just received word that the registration site for SLCC 2007, taking place in Chicago from August 24th-26th, is now open! The cost of the full weekend will be $185 USD, or 50,000L. The event will be held at the Chicago Hilton where there will be four tracks: Business, Education, Social, and Machinima.

There will also be an optional Masquerade Ball, sponsored by Strokerz Toyz, for an additional $5 USD, or 1500L. The registration caps at around 850 or 900 residents, so if you would like to attend, it's advised that you register now! For more details, please visit the official blog for SLCC 2007.

This Friday, April 20th, will see the kick-off of the International Technology Expo, showcasing well over 50 vendors and developers from all over the world. Organized by the V3 Group, the Expo will take place on Silicon Island and feature a keynote address by Jim Parkinson, VP of Collaboration and ISV Engineering at Sun Microsystems, who will discuss the company's role for 3D worlds.

The Expo will also host a number of interesting panel discussions on topics ranging from Digital Property to Client Demands to User Experience. SL Cable TV will offer a weekend-long simulcast, with additional interviews to be hosted by SLBC-Radio. Finally, the People's Choice Awards for Most Innovative Technology will take place at the end of the weekend, with the winner to receive a year's free rent on Silicon Island, as well as a copy of co-sponsor Reallusion's iClone, a 3D Animation and Machinima suite of software tools. Don't miss this event!

Since there aren't many teens on the Teen Grid, most of them will have recurring roles in the tales of my work there. One of the teens previously mentioned, Kit Axon, turned 18 on the day that I arrived. A frantic Wicked Loudon, a triple threat known for his skins, hair, and Machinima, was eager to continue filming his video memorial to her, so our conversation was cut short. I somehow stumbled upon his Machinima a few days later and, reader be warned, it still makes me cry every time.

It may seem like any other Machinima to the naked eye, but I'm going to provide the necessary insight for you to see what made me emotional. Kit Axon, a resident of the Teen Grid from November 8th, 2005 to March 31st, 2007, was a beloved resident, a social butterfly, and pose maker. She left behind her best friend, Lucky Figtree, whom still has over two years before she arrives on the Main Grid. Together they cried on Skype, as her time was slipping away. If she were to lose connection, she'd be gone forever.

In his film, Wicked captured some of his favorite moments with Kit, which also give us another peek at what islands look like on the Teen Grid. They can be seen water skiing, dancing, hugging, and crying together throughout various parts of the grid. I'm even in a few fade shots in my tiny cow avatar! The part that REALLY gets me is at the very end. I don't want to spoil it for you, but have your tissues ready. If you are as touched by Wicked's Machinima as I was, leave a comment on his YouTube page!

Oh, Machinima, how I've missed thee! Some people say that you can never have too much of a good thing, but they were wrong. After working on The Grid Review, I haven't been able to open up an editing program and dig into Machinima for about two months.

The Teen Grid, however, inspired me. Most of the content on the islands is teen created. For example, for the one year birthday of Global Kids, they held a contest where you could win 1000L for designing the best birthday cake. Ryan Dayton actually made a surprising amount of the content, so I definitely look forward to seeing what he can do on the Main Grid.

Until I can get some of the teens to create their own Machinima or find those that already have, I can only offer you my look at the three islands owned by Global Kids. The main island is in the middle and there are islands for gaming and Machinima on either side of it. If you are a teen that has made Machinima, please send Machinima Guru a link on the Teen Grid!

Students at the University of Southern California (USC) should take special note of this if you're interested in Machinima. In the Fall of 2007, they will be offering a seminar on Game Studies.

What will you do in this class? That's the most exciting part! You'll play games, watch movies, and discuss the possibilities of Machinima as an art form. They will be encouraging documentaries, especially about games themselves, so this is your chance to make your very own Machinima about Second Life!