Late last year, the avatar known as Lyric Lundquist began creating SL machinima that was so accomplished, unique, and rapturous, she seemed to re-invent the form. In recent weeks, the woman behind Lyric turned her camera back on herself, and the effect was just as striking. Wherever her camera is facing, however, you're left wanting to know more. And so Ms. Lundquist invited me to tea on a floating platform, and told me about how she learned to created machinima without any prior experience, the sensuality of both worlds that inspires it, and the relation between her two personae. All that and more after the break.
How she creates her machinima
I usually start with an emotion. And... when I look back at the short videos I've created, I realize that they correspond with my real life and how I was feeling at the time.
I really adore "Decomposing Ego". It has been one of the films that has gotten less attention, but it got across what I was feeling, which was tortured sensuality, and the collision of nature and cyberspace, two worlds that are equally alluring to me.
So far, I think my senses are at the highest when I'm either a) in the middle of Second Life or b) in the middle of the forest. So to in some way merge those two worlds with the elephant in "Decomposing Ego" using the heavy particle back drop made by Seide Tripp.... was a baby step in getting there.
How she found her place in Second Life... through Flickr's SL Screenshot community
SL was actually more sensual to me when I first started. In a slightly pornographic kind of way... I was experimenting with women more than in my RL. Then, something just switched inside me. I became repulsed in SL. I got sick of all the empty sexual advances. I started searching for something deeper... I didn't realize that there was a community there [in Flickr]. When I found it, it was like a breath of fresh air... I thought, thank fucking god. There are some people in the metaverse that are digging.
How she makes her machinima with no prior filmmaking experience
I've always had these ideas in my mind, with no real way to get them out. SL seems to vibe with me just right as a medium. Yes, I taught myself totally... [I use] iMovie. That's it... ALTHOUGH (thank you Mescaline Tammas!) I have just started learning how to use Final Cut.
How she balances real world and Second Life work
I went to a good college in Boston, got a job in marketing in New York City, was promoted and have been climbing ever since. But I hate it.
If I could make enough money making SL machinima for a living I would do it in a heartbeat. It's a creative medium that speaks and vibes with me so strongly. I have so many ideas and boundaries to push, but because of my RL job and my RL LIFE (which is proving to be more and more demanding), I feel like I never have enough time to make the kind of videos I long to make. If my real life job entailed pioneering SL machinima, I'd be one happy fucking camper.
How she chose her avatar name, Lyric
It's slightly complicated... I certainly have a love affair with music. I have an appetite that needs to be filled or else I start feeling empty. But, the idea behind "lyrics" to me is interesting. I think that it's not just the verbal words that are lyrics in a song, it's every musical element. They are all stories. I especially love songs without lyrics, because you aren't force fed what you are supossed to feel. Plus the word is super fucking sexy. It rolls off your tongue, it has a nice hard ending.
How she created her avatar persona
I've always been moved by exotic women. They have this beautiful commanding presence that has a hypnotic effect over me. I wanted to emulate that feeling with Lyric, which is why she is kind of Asian/Filipino-looking. I've also been a huge fan of both H.R. Giger and Louis Royo since I was a teenager and I feel connected to the way they depict female characters. Subconsciously that is probably where some of the cyberpunk and fantasy sides of Lyric come from. And then, of course, I always keep Lyric geared up in slightly edgy, dark, avante garde clothes because that is what inspires me and pushes my mind to new places.
I never had the slightest desire to recreate my real life self in Second Life. Where is the fantasy in that? In terms of her personality, Lyric is me. And I am Lyric.
How she felt revealing a glimpse of her real life self
It felt good... and it felt slightly scandalous, like I shouldn't be doing it. However, I think that I've revealed more of my true self through the machinima I've made than the one or two short videos I've made which feature my RL "self" or body. Strangely, I felt more anxiety posting my machinima than the videos of "real life me"...
I've always been a fairly confident person in real life. Second Life is another story. SL to me, is my creative stomping ground. If I'm feeling shaky creatively, I'm feeling anxious in SL. So, posting RL videos for me is just thrilling, because it gives SL friends and contacts a stable(ish) side of me to view. I've always semi-loathed people who are afraid of merging SL and RL... I like a bit of both.
Great article! Lyric, and her work, are well-deserving of recognition.
Posted by: Nebulosus Severine | Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 01:10 PM
Lyric is an artist. One of the best. Always love to see her work. I view them frequently.
Posted by: Ann Otoole | Tuesday, April 21, 2009 at 03:48 PM
I try to read NWN every day, but I'm just now finding this blogpost. I'm just crazy about Lyric Lundquist's work. In fact, I just blogged about it: http://npirl.blogspot.com/2009/04/sl-is-killing-me-redux-new-video-by.html Now I"m going to go back and point to this piece. Synergy!
Posted by: Bettina Tizzy | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 07:35 PM