Machinima – Oz Style

Machinima in SL can be a very hit and miss affair, but its appeal continues to grow. One reason for the growth is the use of machinima by companies to promote their in-world presences. Australia has its own specialist machinima creator in Skribe Forti.

A veteran of nearly twenty years working in the Australian film and television industries, Skribe now spends much of his time in Second Life making videos there.

“There’s so much potential for video in Second Life, both as a means of artistic expression, but also corporate promotion. We already get land owners piping movies into their sims. There’s no reason why that can’t be used to show whatever the owner wants – whether it’s the features of a new product, publicising an event or just providing a reason to hang around. There are a million active residents spending two million bucks a day. If you’re on the sell, you’ve gotta have a piece of that. And that’s where we come in.”

Forti’s initial impressions of Second Life were less than complimentary.

“It looked to me as though it was just IRC with funky graphics – a video game without a purpose. My initial impressions were wrong. It’s like life. You make your own purpose. And that’s what I’ve tried to do.”