The story:

Lieutenant Maverick Burke awakes from cryogenic sleep to find no operating crew and the ship in the hands of a pirate clan. The ex special ops officer finds himself responsible for the remaining passengers of Colonial Transport AV451 and the dark secret it holds.

Our Story

(Be sure to view the updates tab for this project to see a 7 part machinima Q&A video series if you're not familiar with machinima)

This presentation video was made when the project was slated for a small series. Since then plans have changed. I am going to completely redo the first part and add the second series to it to create a full length feature film, close to two hours long.

See the link below if you want to watch the original AV451 series one to get the idea of what we're doing.

Machinima is animation using a game or virtual world engine to create real time action. I produced a short series called AV451 for under $400 and poor equipment. My goal now is to do the full length film with hired talent and proper equipment to give it a crisper, more professional look. Backed by a quality animated film, I am preparing to start a small online machinima community that springboards off the completed projects, complete with writing classes and collaborative projects to further the art.

The writing classes are offered by Laurie Notch, an accomplished writer and editor, who has directly been involved in the film industry for 30 years. She is a part of Zogby Entertainment, a production company looking for talents of all types. Those taking her class through the Machinima Studios will be looked at carefully for possible script work. The Machinima Studios will also be looking for talented writers in the future.

Why Machinima?

I am always intrigued with new, fresh ways of telling a story. The art of machinima has yet to really reach maturity, so it's almost an open field to play in. It's also relatively cheap to make. The film will be approximately the length of a long feature film at a fraction of the cost. And with online viewership through major machinima sites reaching into the high millions, the potential is exciting. Warner Brothers did a machinima series called "Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series," so you can be assured that Hollywood is paying attention.

What the money is for:

1. Equipment - One quality gaming computer with recording and editing software to capture smooth footage. Two low end computers to interact with the main computer through the game interface. Quality microphones and physical sound buffers to record audio.

2. Talent - Voice actors, animators, and virtual set builders to give the production a more realistic, cinematic feel.

3. Props - Structures and avatar items in the game, as well as renting game server space (virtual land) to film on.

4. Marketing - Paid web advertising.

What You Get

Your help is greatly appreciated. The rewards range from getting a digital copy of the work, to free professional script writing classes. Laurie Notch has teamed with me to launch an online, live streaming script writing course. She is an accomplished script writer, teaches college writing, and publishes a creative arts magazine. Her level of experience is worth hundred alone.

I am also creating a behind the scenes look and a "how to" course through this process. The course is a detailed look behind the scenes of the film production, giving detail on how we made our machinima, including the tools I will use, tips and tricks, and anything else related to this project that can help others do the same, or do even better.

A look at series 1:

You can see the original series 1 at http://machinimatalk.com

Here, you can see what can be done with only a few hundred dollars. Just imagine what can be done with your help.