Here is a quick video tour of the "Awesome Philippines" island in Second Life, a joint project of the Philippine Department of Tourism and MTV. Sorry about the low volume on some of my audio, and all of my "ums". All of the ambient sounds you hear come from Second Life. You can also check out my pics I took of the island.
Or you can visit it yourself by going to this teleport link. All you need is a free Second Life account, a reasonably fast connection to the internet, and you are ready to go.
Here's the first in a series of machinima reports by my friend Draxtor Despres on the Producer's Institute, run by the Bay Area Video Coalition in San Francisco. Draxtor's first guest is Wendy Levy of BAVC, the coordinator of the Institute, explaining what it's all about.
For those of you not in Second Life, here is a lovely video tour of the new MacArthur Island sim led by the avatar of MacArthur Foundation president Jonathan Fanton. I love the production values of this machinima, and how it encapsulates in seven minutes the broad range of projects being supported by the MacArthur Foundation around the world.
Fans of the machinima series "Tiny Nation" will be happy to know that you can now purchase all sorts of "Tiny Nation"-branded clothing and merchandise from Ill Clan Studios. For those that haven't seen the show, it's the story of a cute but profane group of backyard animals who stage various unsuccessful rebellions against their human oppressors.
Head here for the Tiny Nation online store. For some reason they don't sell a flask, bandolier or beret, but maybe that's coming later. Can action figures be far behind?
My friends at Ill Clan studios produced this sweet little machinima as a "book trailer" for the young adult thriller novel Cemetery Street by Brenda Seabrooke. Produced in Second Life, it's an interesting marketing tactic to attract new readers in the YouTube era.
Rita and Josh have since uploaded to their website the complete report, a graphic novel presentation of their findings, and a fine machinima video. My buddies at the Ill Clan co-produced the piece that you see above. The YouTube version doesn't really do the video justice, which features some great camera work, filters and audio mixing. You can download the high rez version here.
Several people at the event remarked that before they saw the machinima, they were a bit unclear on the point of the project, but afterwards they got it. Which to me demonstrates that different forms of media can be used to convey messages that hit people in different ways. Virtual worlds can be very difficult for people -- even tech-savvy people -- to grok. Video is often the best form of media to bridge that understanding gap.
My buddy Draxtor Despres filed his first story for PBS's "Frontline/World" show today, about human rights advocacy within Second Life. Drax focused his reporting on the Virtual Gitmo camp created by Nonny de la Peña and Peggy Weil. And he describes the somewhat mixed reception he got from other human rights activists in Paris when he won an award alongside advocates in the trenches in Chad, Gaza and Indonesia.
Draxtor also made reference to the event I produced in March of last year that brought the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into Second Life, which was a nice surprise. You can even see me for a second as the camera pulls back at the 5:30 mark!
I'm looking forward to future dispatches from Draxtor on PBS!
While I was in DC for the real thing, apparently there were several virtual gatherings of people from around the world to watch the Inauguration of Barack Obama yesterday. My friends at Ill Clan Studios provided this excellent video coverage of one such event from NetRoots Nation in Second Life.
There were definite advantages to watching this historic live and in person. That said, the virtual inaugural viewing experience has its own unique attributes:
Being among a gathering of individuals around the world for a shared experience in an immersive space
Chatting and banter without disturbing the ongoing proceedings
Less likely to get frostbite
Obamania souvenirs are much cheaper!
Lag and logouts are way better than long lines and crowded Metro trains
You can Google the right words when the Justice Roberts messes up
No restricted ticketed areas
Your sequined designer ballgown for the SL Capitol Hill ball only costs US$2
Those crackpots at Ill Clan machinima studios have unleashed a special holiday mini-sode of their machinima series "Tiny Nation." This time the elite squad of cuddly backyard creatures takes on "O Tannebaum," with typically disastrous results.
