Huge Opportunity for Metaverse Developers: News Event Dramatizations with Second Life Machinima

If you're like me, you spent a lot of last week watching news coverage of Osama bin Laden's killing, which included numerous 3D dramatizations, like this one from MSNBC. Give it a look, it's remarkably assy:

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Can you believe a major news corporation paid for this crap? I'm hardly a military expert, but I'm really guessing the Navy SEALS actually didn't look like that, and the building layout isn't very accurate. It strikes me that news event recreations like these could be done far better with Second Life machinima. The huge in-world economy already has almost all the assets needed (costumes, avatars, props, etc.), and there's more than enough talented SL builders able to quickly whip together a scale model of a given news location. (In this case, bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.)

Don't believe me? Take a look at this Second Life action machinima I wrote about a few months ago, rapidly shot with already existing assets:

So to me, it's easy to imagine bin Laden's killing (or pretty much any other news event) recreated with Second Life machinima. Yes, it could also be made in a first-person shooter engine like Counterstrike: Source, and while it might look visually superior, FPS engines don't have anywhere near the same amount of 3D assets. And then there's the legal rights or licensing you'd have to clear with the game company. (Whereas Second Life has a much more open policy on third party machinima production.)

So there's that. Of course, if Second Life machinima can excel at news dramatizations, it could absolutely rock for current events satires. The Daily Show recently hired a Taiwanese studio to do this machinima satire of the royal wedding (NSFW):

The Daily Show - The Wedding Banners Uncensored
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Now you tell me: Don't you think that crazed ultraviolent sex show could have been done way better in Second Life?

Comments

[ColeMarie Soleil]

I am all for re-enactment but I wish people would just stop glorifying the whole osama thing. Personally it sickens me.

[ina]

I received several requests to make Osama av's, to which I've said no to. But, incidentally, the sculpted talking Obama sculpted face is still available at Very Important Pixels http://www.flickr.com/photos/inacentaurdump/2539960491/

Disclosure - yes, this was used on an mShakespeare live theatrical April Fools Super Spoofhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/ic-beauties/3478137592/

[Ole]

i find the best sl-3D-osama-dramatization was made by naxos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16845815@N08/5683597426

as a military expert i have to say the SEAL and the building, costumes, avatars, props, etc. come very close to reality.

and then the proof it all was real and not only us-propaganda: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13539895@N06/5686052257

stunning!

[Hiro Pendragon]

Chinese news have been doing this for a few years. One of my absolute favorites was Tiger Woods when he crashed his car as his wife was chasing him with a golf club for cheating on her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i5FlC1MpkE&feature=player_embedded

As for OBL - as per ColeMarie's feelings, I think there's a balance between re-enacting something and showing something that may be in too much detail for evening news. I'm glad that MSNBC was able to restrain themselves in a way that most CSI & CSI knock-off shows are not. While the result may look quirky, I think it's a better alternative that more realistically showing the OBL hit-job on the news.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

I wonder how much of this is done in-house? An organization that has spent tens of thousands of dollars on "professional" software a few short years ago might be less than receptive to the fact that a free-to-play virtual world provides better results.

[Gabe]

I saw this broadcast and was thinking the same thing. CNN had an even worse animation. Even though Second Life is right under everyone's nose, the mainstream still doesn't realize its potential.

[john]

Good article.