Machinima For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: model viewer, mass battles, cave troll, The Sims, World of Warcraft, Neverwinter Nights (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a great start, covering machinima-friendly games like World of Warcraft, Half Life 2 and Unreal Tournament." (PC Plus, February 2009)

Product Description

Use this book to learn how you can, at little or no expense, make virtually any movie using Machinima. The authors guide you from making your first Machinima movie to a grounding in both conventional filmmaking and Machinima technology that will let you tackle very complex film projects.

The book focuses on the following Machinima platforms:

• The Sims 2: Arguably the most popular Machinima platform of all time, The Sims 2 allows you to tell stories ranging from romance to noir action.
• World Of Warcraft: Tell your own tales of heroism in the world of Azeroth, following in the footsteps of award-winning Machinima creators and even the makers of South Park.
• Medieval 2: Total War - This astonishing new game allows you to create Lord of the Rings-scale medieval battle films using just a home computer!
• MovieStorm: For the first time, unleash the power of Machinima as a professional user using a fully-featured, fully-licensed commercial Machinima platform.

You'll be introduced to all aspects of Machinima production, from live filming in a game through the creation of sets, props and characters, as well as the basics of cinematography, storytelling and sound design.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 403 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (September 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470096918
• ISBN-13: 978-0470096918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #221,045 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One book to rule them ALL..., September 6, 2007

By	Sean "Sean" (Cinnaminson, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

Finally! A book discussing the many aspects of Machinima for a "dummy" like me! ;) I've been looking all over the corners of the web for advice and tips for filming, editing, and creating Machinima, but now I can just look at this book for easy reference. The book kept me pretty interested throughout, and I felt that the writers really worked hard. (I read their blog..) :)

The book details the aspects of Machinima in a variety of games; some I never even heard of before! There are enough tips, hints, and advice in this book to allow any person, beginner or novice, to feel confident enough to enter the world of Machinima. Oh, and the attached DVD was an incredible bonus! I never even heard of "Moviestorm", but it came free (yes, FREE) with the book. This is one book that any "Machinimaker" needs, no matter your skill level! :)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Skims the surface without really teaching anything, August 29, 2008

By	Andrew P. Syring "Drewbie" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book having done some writing and voice acting for machinima productions in the past. What I hadn't personally done was the actual production, sound, and video editing to make films of my own. I was excited to see this book plugged on many sites I frequent for machinima discussion so I bought it as soon as it was released. Reading through the book, many of the very, very basic topics were covered, but none of them were covered in great detail. There were as many pages covering the topic of where to host your film and how to spread the word about it as there was on how to actually produce a product.

In the end, the title of the book really does accurately reflect the type of person that would get anything out of it. If you even know what machinima is, you're already far too advanced for this book to be of any use to you.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rhymes With "Cinema"!, September 14, 2007

By	Mark Fulcher "Fulkster" (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm pretty much a beginner to this topic, and I've found this is precisely the book you need to get if you want to learn how to make movies on your PC... I've found answers to every question I've ever had without all the jargon (and understandable definitions of jargon I've heard). It even gives advice on getting organized and how to go about creating a story... and with the included DVD (which has a little machinima program called "Moviestorm"), you can get started right away, and for free. Time for creative fun!

Highly recommended!