Machinima Woes!
Those annoying star things
When shooting machinima, sometimes you run into a few technical walls. Not to fret— I ripped my hair out over these issues for you already and have come up with some solutions. 😀
Issue: When I’m filming, an avatar started to edit something and white stars shoot out of their hand. Help!
Solution: Turn on your advanced menu. Click advanced- Rendering- Types- Particles and let go. Particles will no longer be seen, including those annoying star things. Careful though, it will also turn off any effects such as a campfire, fog, etc.
Why 2 cameras during a live machinima shoot can save your (pardon my french)
Robot arms a comin'
In the real world, live shoots are intense. You got a bunch of union guys on every corner of the room with these big robotic moving arm things, while another guy is in the back surrounded by what looks like bullet proof glass configuring a huge switchboard, which essentially switches from one camera view to another. Believe me, I was in that scenario. And my large robotic arm knocked a screaming teenage girl on the head during a heart-throb JPop concert (woops). In machinima, none of this is the case. Well, hypothetically it is but it’s a lot less complex and show-y.
If you are planning a live event and want machinima coverage, I URGE you to consider two individuals on 2 cameras. Planned well, you can get an assortment of nice shots that wouldn’t have been possible because with one camera, you’re just so focused on getting the conservative, front-on shot that you overlook the glorious moments that you can experiment with. Last week I shot a graduation ceremony in Second Life for Manchester School of Business and worked with a very talented machinimatographer named Cisko. What I got back from him was GOLDEN footage and a little extra sauce for the editing stage (he even had time to get some neat artsy shots of the venue and other shots that are low priority but sometimes end up being the most memorable footage).
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