Has anybody here tried to create their own machinima using something other than a video game engine? What I mean is, has anybody used an animation software to create a machinima video. I have 3D Studio Max 7 and am currently trying to learn how to do animations in the program. I'm just wondering if anybody else has tried to do something like this.
That's not machinima then. The definition of machinima is using a game engine as animation. What you want to do is just computer animation, which is completely different. More difficult probably, but different.
Well, see, if you don't use a video game it's not a machinimia. Using the game itself is what makes it one. Otherwise it's just an animation.
Second: man, unless you're in a class, 3d SMax 7 is probably going to kick your ass. Get one of those Dummies books to start (and I wasn't making a joke/cut), that's the best way to start learning a new design program.
Yeah, I just looked up the definition of machinima 30 seconds after I posted because I realized I might have misspoke. Oh well, I'm using the program to create title sequences for a machinima project so it kind of ties in but not really.
Yeah, even the "Quick Reference Card" is like 3 feet long but I'm working on it. I know quite a few people who have some experience in animation and graphic design. I knew 3DS Max7 was going to be hard even before I got the box. I'm only in 10th grade, but I still wanted to use it to supplement a machinima project.
True, but currently the only thing out there that is a real-time, virtual environment is a video game. Of course it still would be consider Machinima if you imported Animations you created from a third-party program into a game engine because that fits the description of Machinima.
Wouldn't it be possible to create a real-time 3D enviroment with an animation tool, and import animations from a game into it? You could put the Masterchief anywhere in or out of this world...
If you want to get really technical something is only machinima if it can be played back on the viewers computer in that engine. In the beginning that was the whole point. Instead of downloading a 100meg video for 15 minutes of viewing time you could download a 15meg file and let the game render it for you at whatever resolution you like. :-)
theres this book i have called The Art Of Machinemation. Its realy realy good. It teaches you everything. It even comes with a cd that has a FRAPS Demo, UT Machinema Demo software thingy, and some other cool things. Realy helpful book.
I saw a video of a tech demonstraton of some software called "Total Emersion Technology" that can take the images that a video camera sees, and add 3D images into that respond to everything in the actual environment as if it where part of the 3D environment. Technically that could be considered machinima
The reason that (some) game companies don't like machinima is because you're using their 3d art to create a video. The game company paid millions of bucks to make that. Deep.
It would be great if some day game publishers would contact independent film makers to make Machinima out of their games. "The Machinima Actors Guild". It could become a more legit form of movie making. And possibly an Academy Award for machinima projects in the future.
