Machinima appreciation: “Avatar” by Lainy Voom

This is a bit of an oldie but a goodie.  I’ve been thinking about machinima recently and how much I’d like to put one together.  This probably comes from the fact that I’ve had quite a bit of driving for RL work and, listening to the radio, my mind drifts into mental storyboards for the songs that I’m listening to at the moment.

When thinking about the type of machinima to make, I’ve noticed that most are either REALLY well done but somewhat moody, or they’re light and upbeat while looking a little – um – simplistic.  One machinima came to mind, however, that split the difference in that it’s light and upbeat while still reasonably complex, Lainy Voom’s “Avatar”.  So, as it’s on my mind, I thought it would be fun to share my appreciation for Lainy’s considerable talents.

Here’s “Avatar”.  Enjoy – and make sure you maximize the image to full screen to take it all in…it flies by quite fast!

(Hat tip to Corcosman Voom – no relation – for helping me find this piece.  Hadn’t thought to look on Vimeo!)

The wierdness that is Bay City, part one

Honest, I don’t know how I get caught up in this stuff.

I’m a member of the Bay City Alliance group, “an informal group for communicating, marketing, and planning events and celebrations” (per BlueGin Yifu, the group owner).  Keeping in mind that I enjoy a good celebratory event or two at Second Arts, I feel that this type of group is both good for my little gallery but, more importantly, good that my gallery helps promote a positive message about Bay City and the great people who reside there.

BGY, as I call her, convenes weekly meetings on Sunday afternoon at the Bay City Centre, a great place that hosts informational signage about the many stores, galleries and places of note in Bay City.  The meetings themselves cover the gamut of issues related to any geographic community of interest in Second Life: 1) How to build traffic, 2) How to ensure a steady stream of fresh events/content to get the traffic to make a habit of coming to Bay City, 3) How to best communicate with the Lindens as a community (in part so they honor their commitment to build an infohub in Bay City), etc.  The all-volunteer core membership has organized parades, promoted member events and even distributed holiday decorations to get everyone in the holiday spirit.

And then there are the mall cops.

Yes, Bay City has a self-designated police station.  SL police is a form of roleplay where the members “patrol” the community and try to promote law and order.  I dealt with this type of group when I owned Oyster Bay – the SL PD was in the Shepherd sim – and I found that they were good for bugging the dickens out of me and shooting temp-rez bullets all over the sim.  Suffice to say I wasn’t thrilled when this gang set up shop down the street from Second Arts.  But it’s mainland, and we all have to put up with each other’s peculiarities and eccentricies.  That’s part of the “joy” that is mainland!

The cops in Bay City, though, have a different approach.  They want to build upon the stylistic (art deco-ish) and landscape (flat) uniformity of the Bay City infrastructure by organizing a self-government.  Here’s their initial presentation, from a NON-Bay City Alliance meeting held at the cops’ place on February 15.  I thought I was at that meeting, but the meeting transcript says I was not – and I can’t believe that my comments would have been edited out.  I must’ve seen the presentation at a subsequent gathering.

As for this Metaverse Republic thing, I’ve got a notecard with some FAQ about them after the fold…

“Down Route 8” – Inworld photo show by Winter Wardhani

Opening today and running for the next four weeks, Winter Wardhani shares her visual impressions of the SL mainland in vibrant color…

DOWN ROUTE 8 – DISCOVERING MAINLAND

This exhibition is born from a challenge made to me by rm Sibu, after she saw some of my pictures in Flickr and Koinup. I was a bit reluctant at first.

In my 2+ years of SL I haven’t been much on Mainland except for some shopping or to get material for blogging, and the idea I had of Mainland was probably the same as yours: lots of clutter and chaos.

I ended up taking the challenge and decided not to go to the recently rezzed sims like the Nautilus but, instead, explore the old Continent and glad I did it.

Starting walking down Route 8 I found gorgeous places along the way which easily match any private island and I try to show you some of those places in this exhibition.

The creativity of Second Life residents doesn’t stop to amaze me and I hope that, like me, you will go down the Linden Roads and let yourself be marvelled by lots of lovely spots that emerge at each curve of the way.

Enjoy the exhibition which is kindly sponsored by Xaraz and TD Realty.

Welcome to Mainland!
Winter Wardhani

Absentee blogger?

I haven’t posted much over the last few days, I know…but I’ve got a couple excuses.

• Jazz Calhern asked me to put a small show together at her Jazz by the Sea gallery, so I’ve been taking some new inworld photos to freshen up my collection.  Expect that to launch in the next week or two, I think.
• RL work has been crazy…and I’ll leave it at that.  
• I’ve been Twittering and Plurking all over the place.
• Lastly, I have been trying to make a little time to have FUN in my SL.  Not that blogging isn’t fun, but my virtual time is precious.  An avatar’s gotta make choices.  

Change is a constant in both my RL and SL, and other major changes are to come.  (About 10 weeks away, I believe.)  

Stay tuned!

StormEye – new immersive art build

Douglas Story and Desmedona Enfield have created a wonderful multlmedia, immersive installation that brings us into the world of weather. Sun, clouds, rain, lightning…the whole thing. Make sure to follow the instructions at the landing zone for maximum enjoyment, grab an umbrella, and come see for yourself!
posted by Morris Vig on NMC Campus West using a blogHUD : [blogHUD permalink]

Closing night at The Husk

To celebrate the pending closing of AM Radio’s “The Husk,” NMC’s Larry Pixel hosted the brilliant guitarist, Joaquin Gustav, for an impromptu concert. A fun evening in one of SL’s great builds!
posted by Morris Vig on NMC Arts Lab using a blogHUD : [blogHUD permalink]

Talia Fournier opens at Mill Pond on Thursday

After meeting Talia at Phinn Boffin’s opening at Second Arts, she invited me to look at her works. Talia’s style is moody, somewhat raw, definitely post-processed….she says it evolves from the DC Comics’ “Sandman” series, and I believe her. She opens a show of roughly 5-6 pieces at the Twilight Peace Gallery in Mill Pond on Thursday at 7PM SLT. Winston Ackland will be performing live, and you can meet Talia there. Come check out this impresive virtual photographer!
posted by Morris Vig on Mill Pond using a blogHUD : [blogHUD permalink]

Art gallery growth in SL passes 600 mark

 

From Sasun Steinbeck, leader of the Art Gallery Owners SL group:

 

Art Is Alive and Well in the World of Second Life – Over 600 Art Galleries Confirmed As Growth Continues

On Feb 16th, the Galleries of Second Life list published by Sasun Steinbeck broke the 600 mark with 455 general galleries, 101 photography galleries, and 46 erotic galleries cataloged on her well-known list. Contrary to fears of a mass migration of creativity out of Second Life, this demonstrates that art is continuing on a steady growth curve for the benefit and enrichment of all the citizens of Second Life.

“I’ve been maintaining this list since may 2006, and I’m extremely happy and proud to see us reach this amazing level of growth in the art world of Second Life,” said Sasun Steinbeck. “This is truly a milestone event.”

Sasun Steinbeck uses a sophisticated scripted network of kiosks throughout Second Life that she designed and implemented to automate the collection of current data on all of the art galleries in Second Life, enabling weekly updates to be published via notecard and a gallery tour HUD distributed by the kiosks as well as her blog. This is her 96th edition of the list.

The current edition of the Galleries of Second Life list can be found at http://sl-artgalleries.blogspot.com.

For more information, please contact Sasun Steinbeck in-world.

Photobook: “Changing Hues” opening party

What a great couple of hours!  Thanks to Phinn for making this afternoon in Second Life so enjoyable.  And you to EVERYONE for coming!  (If you showed up, I probably snapped a photo of you…)

“Changing Hues” opens Saturday!

GRAND OPENING RECEPTION

featuring Phinn Boffin

Saturday, February 7 – Noon PST

Second Arts photography gallery is pleased to welcome Phinn Boffin in a rare exhibition of her inworld photography, “Changing Hues.” Please join us at a reception for Phinn as we celebrate the opening of her show. Over three and a half years’ worth of experience in virtual photography has culminated in this collection of over 30 pieces, most of which show off the unretouched vision of the pixie photographer. It’s a magical vision, from one of SL’s great creative minds.  Please join us!