Groups, links, etc.

Several Important Items:

Character/Costuming:
1) I would like to open this up to others in the class to create avatar body types, faces, hair, etc for Kuno and Vasti. (This is not required but those of you who have done little in SL to show us this past month might take this as an opportunity to engage in some actual work - you may also just have some ideas you would like to see realized for the costumes). We will have a fashion show first thing next week to choose avatars and costumes, the more options the better!

2) I would also strongly encourage those already involved in avatar/character design to go a bit deeper in terms of making their characters and costumes. Specifically, please try to use the templates shown to use by Christopher last week for making clothing. Using the existing shirts and pants is one way to go but these designs you have made are generally a bit simplistic, lacking in any sort of details that one might typically find on clothing (seams, pockets, details). These kind of details in terms of texture of the fabric, color and fit can be very much enhanced by actually creating original clothing. Give it a go please, use your photoshop skills to work on templates to translate to some costume designs. I more than suspect that you will find the results more interesting than what you have attempted so far.
http://secondlife.com/community/templates.php

3) Groups: We have our groups, still waiting for the first group's list:
Group #1
?????

Group #2
jesse- scripting and tram
jiawen- building mending ap
luke- builing (focus on hatch)
yureka- building mending ap, snakes
chantelle- casting and scripting
brett and quincy- getting pictures and textures
clint- tram
tom- ABSENT, but we think consistency is his focus???

Links:
http://treet.tv/shows/tonightlive (this is the talk show I appeared on this past weekend, I am interviewed at the second half of the show, this recording is a machinima from a live event, notice the lips moving - easy to do)

Patrick Lichty, visitor to our class next week. Here is his website and a slurl for an exhibition of his work in SL.
LOOK AT BOTH OF THESE BEFORE CLASS NEXT WEEK - THIS IS REQUIRED!
http://www.patricklichty.com/
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Odyssey/38/18/24

Machinima Film Festival!!!

MaMachinima Film Festival.

Saturday, February 20th from 10am to 6pm SLT

http://mmif.org/

or direct to SL:

• MMIF3 Public Seating Region

http://slurl.com/secondlife/MMIF3/222/222/33

• MMIF 4 Public Seating Region

http://slurl.com/secondlife/MMIF4/22/233/33

This looks to be quite interesting - feel free to attend some of the screenings inworld and write about this for the class requirement - one authorized screening/exhibition.

Also, I will be doing an interview inworld on Sunday at 4:30pm, a talk show of sorts, it will be inworld and streamed to the internet if you would like to see it:

"Tonight Live with Paisely Beebee"
Sunday, February 21, 6pm

Second Life and streamed live:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Northpoint/207/143/32
http://streams.treet.tv/live.mov

Due Tuesday, February 17th!!!

Tuesday, February 17th, come prepared for the workshop with Christopher Head!

1) Screenplay/storyboard - revised and prepared for distribution to all.

2) Sets/Locations - complete basic object prims in SL for incorporation of scipts: living pod, corridor, airship interior/exterior, ventilation hatch, tram, etc.

3) Characters/Avatars - complete several iterations of Kuno and Vasti in the teal? scubs-like jump suit with variations skin tone, facial structure, hair/no-hair, etc.

The above video is a 2009 version of "The Machine Stops" - a different adaptation of the story that takes some liberties with the story, quite short. Interesting to note the two different adaptations of the story - ours will certainly be quite different, perhaps somewhere between the two in terms of the narrative and length. Worth watching but try not to let it define how you think of the story, sets, characters, etc (oddly, she doesn't seem to be his mother in this one?)

Workshops and visitors!!!

Tomorrow, March 10, all groups to present their progress to the class for input!

Starting next Wednesday, we will be having three consecutive weeks of visitors to our class!

1) March 17 - Christopher Head, expert SL builder/scripter will present a brief overview of his work followed by an intensive workshop focused on developing expert building, scripting and avatar creation!
Here is a project for which he provided technical assistance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHEDym1aOZs

2) March 24 - Matteo Bittani, writer/curator/researcher of game art, followed by a lecture at 3pm in the lab.

3) March 3 - Patrick Lichty, SL artist, critic/curator, animator for the "Yes Men".

All three of these visitors will be with us for the entire class period - these should provide invaluable outside input into the process of creating, from the purely technical to the formal and conceptual. The first visit will be an active workshop involving all. For Bittani and Lichty we will briefly introduce the project to both of them followed by our normal class activities - seeking their input and feedback as we move forward on our collaborative production. I may have Patrick do a 1/2 hour or so talking about his work in SL. Both of them could be very helpful in terms of talking with us about how to get this work "out there", etc.

More soon!