How to Attend the Machinima Expo

November 15, 2012

The Machinima Expo will be taking place this Friday through Sunday (Nov 16-18th). The actual festival takes place inside of the virtual world of Second Life, but we are also LiveStreaming the entire event through our machinima-expo.com website. If you are reading this, you are at our website and can watch all of the programming and films we have chosen to screen. There is a chat channel to the right of the screen where you can comment on the films and/or events as they happen. You don't have to register, just type in a name and you are good to go. 

If you want to know what the programming schedule is click this link for Programming. If you want a list of all of the films screening and what's on any particular screening reel, download the Movie Reels document. Both are Google docs so you can download them in any format you like. 

If you'd like to attend the Expo by coming to Second Life, just click the slurl below and follow it to the fountain area in Dainie Fraina's beautiful Manhattan Reverie New York sim. In the picture above, I'm sitting near the fountain with the Expo theater behind me. 

Click to go to the Second Life location of the Machinima Expo

The Expo is being broadcast live 24/7 at the theater. But that's not all, you can explore the New York by checking out the shops (several are from our sponsors Muvizu, Moviestorm, 3Dconnexion, Open This End, Reallusion and Unity3D), exploring Central Park and perhaps dancing in the Manhattan Reverie's night club. More information on the Midnight Manhattan Reverie Second Life sim is here. 

We also have the VideoDome theater which is showing select machinima from our screening reels. The VideoDome is a unique, 360 degree theater that has to be seen to be believed. Created by Thoth Jentzen, the VideoDome is a kaliedescope style presentation that is mind blowing. Access to the theater is through a special "door" right next to the Expo Theater. You can't miss it. 

I also want to recommend Joe Farbrook's Media Installation. Although it's not on the Expo sim, it's still quite remarkable. Joe was on our Expo jury and has spent considerable time exploring alternative media creation in virtual worlds. He recently wrote me about creating installations in Second Life: 

Virtual installation art opens up a lot of possibilities in concept and form to break away from, and deconstruct video game aesthetic.  Unexpected constructions can be explored; such as walls made of people, people textured with video, terrains made of text, particles made of cars, lens flares made of ghostly images, animated sculptures made of flesh.  I am always reminded of Salvador Dali’s melting clocks in ‘Persistence of Memory’ and his images of deconstructed people, or people with drawers built in.  His unexpected arrangements have an uncannyness to them.  As video games engines can render with photorealism, they have the power to conjure the uncanny.

Whether you are attending the Expo in Second Life or watching our LiveStream channel here through your browser, if you have any questions or want to comment on anything, just pick a name and sign in to our chat session to the right of the screen. We have staff members monitoring the session and will answer your questions promptly. 

We hope you enjoy the 2012 Machinima Expo. We've put a lot of work into putting it together. Enjoy the films and the programming!

Ricky Grove