I mentioned this machinima last week in another post but it deserves a post of its own: "Watch the World" by Robbie Dingo (aka Rob Wright). Created in 2007, it remains one of the best machinimas in Second Life ever made, because it beautifully illustrates the dynamic content creation that remains unique to Second Life, and weaves it with a classic folk song about another, slightly more famous artistic innovator:
From the maker of the hit machinima video "MESHONME", the first rap song inspired by Second Life, comes Lang, a private detective machinima series shot in Second Life.
Seriously, a whole series: Season Two and episode nine just came out! The editing and neo-noir cinematography is great, the voice acting is solid, and the dialog has some wry, self-aware humor. Lead creator Zatch Ixchel tells me that that's intentional:
"Lang began as a joke, and in many ways, it still is – at its core, it is a parody of the 'original series' we all like to binge on Netflix or HBO. The idea was always that Herman Lang believes he is the star of one of these highbrow TV shows, and acts accordingly. Sadie King, the show’s true protagonist, keeps things grounded. In short, Lang is a comedy series about two private investigators, one that’s competent, and one named Lang."
Another element I really appreciate: Unlike most SL machinima, the lip sync in Lang is pretty solid. Here's how he pulled that off:
This is a lovely machinima tribute to Christmas-time in Rieri, a Japanese town in Second Life painstakingly modeled from Google Maps and real photos of Tokyo neighborhoods. (Click here to visit.) Lead developed by Eripom Moonwall, Tokyo-based master creator of realistic cityscapes and military hardware, Rieri in SL currently boasts snowfall and Christmas lights that evoke the holiday season in Japan.
And yes, the Japanese celebrate Christmas in their own unique way -- and it also includes insanely hot sex. As Eripom explains:
Dropping on YouTube just an hour or so ago, here's the latest music video of BYNORAL, aka Yasushi Watanabe, a major figure in the J-Pop world (he's composed songs for top girl groups AKB48 and Nogizaka46) who earlier this year spun off a side project creating music videos in Second Life. Video summary:
This track is a sentimental song that incorporates various elements of electro, chill, and pop with the theme of light and darkness of modern society.
Not quite seeing the dark side of this beautifully shot, candy-colored video, but maybe the lyrics are where the shadows reside. He was actually active in SL ten years ago, so this side gig represents a return to the virtual world. (His new brand "BYNORAL”, by the way, is a play on "binaural stereo system."
For a user-created virtual world that's nearly 20 years old, it's difficult for anyone to create the first something in its category, but Zatch Ixchel has probably done just that: "MESHONME" is the first rap song inspired by Second Life that I'm aware of. And it's actually damn good, with a solid trap beat matched to Zatch's staccato rapping of uniquely clever rap lyrics that only SLers will understand:
I come thru with a lil sum suttin
You come thru with a Ruth to the function
Boy, you better poof, better move it or somethin
I'm bout to blow thru the damn roof with the dumb shit
Got a new suit with the HUD shit too
Only shed blood with a new tattoo
They're so on point, I thought he must also rap in real life, but he tells me no.
"I choose to do it in relative privacy/anonymity, even in real life," as he puts it. "I suppose this is because I see it as a character I am playing. To put my face on something like that would feel inauthentic. In Second Life, I don't have that issue."
"MESHONME" is very much about SL culture: "I guess I was inspired by the inherent materialism of Second Life," Zach tells me, "which complements the Hip Hop genre rather well. I also thought it would be funny to watch someone try and flex that sort of bravado and wealth in the context of a virtual world."
Nailed it. As does the video, which stars his RL wife Lucie. Full lyrics below courtesy Mr. Ixchel, who's originally from New York -- in case anyone wants to get an East Coast/West Coast avatar rivalry going.
As promised, New World Notes is very proud to debut the feature-length machinima by Huckleberry Hax. Put your headphones on, dim the lights, and press play. And join me below for director's comments (with potential spoilers) and running comments from the audience in the aisle!
STÖMOL! You've seen the trailer, you've read interviews with its lead creator Huckleberry Hax and co-star Caitlin Tobias. (Or if not, watch below.) You've also noticed Chris Nolan's Tenet has now been indefinitely postponed and are looking for a substitute brainy science fiction thriller to watch.
Starting this Thursday at 3:10pm SLT/Pacific, bring your popcorn and watch STÖMOL as it makes it world premiere here on New World Notes. Click play right then and join us in the watch party in Comments or in YouTube live!
You've heard about Stömol, the much-anticipated, upcoming feature-length machinima shot entirely in Second Life starring a cast of avatar all-stars fronted by Huckleberry Hax, the writer, director, producer, and leading man. (Making Hax, I guess, the Orson Welles of Second Life?) Now special to New World Notes readers, Mr. Max is giving away two free tickets for the premiere on July 23 at 3PM SLT.
Here's how to enter for a chance to win them, instructions straight from Hax's keyboard:
Turns out Christopher Nolan's Tenet won't be playing in theaters in July after all, so your best bet for a cerebral sci-fi action thriller could be STÖMOL, the feature-length SL machinima from Huckleberry Hax and crew. Mr. Hax just shared with me this teaser scene, redolent of cyberpunk noir.
Here's Hax to explain the scene:
"The scene features the film's protagonist, Epi Stömol (Huckleberry Hax), picking up a case from wealthy socialite Verity Certain (Ylva). Certain hires Stömol to track down her adopted son, a gifted coder able to retrieve and decode old media files rendered unreadable by the ruling government's 'digital hygiene' policy."
(Yes Hax is both the writer, director, and star of STÖMOL, which seems a bit much, but then again that's what they told Orson Welles. So, you know.)
The premise of feature, as Huckleberry puts it, is pretty Nolan-worthy:
Here's the latest machinima from beloved metaverse artist Bryn Oh, who now has a Patreon page which you should definitely consider supporting if you're among the hundreds of thousands who've loved her artworks over the years. This new piece, called "Hand", was shot in both Second Life and Sansar, and as with some of her other works, was sponsored in part by an Ontario Arts Council grant. (Yes, the Canadian government will pay you to make virtual world art.)
"I decided to use footage from both Sansar and Second life because each has their strengths for machinima," Bryn tells me. "Sansar can actually have really wonderful graphics. Unfortunately their filming tools were quite limited. Second Life on the other hand is great for filming in. Also my machinima are a catalogue of my artwork so I wanted to capture a bit of both."
