For those of you that have complained about Baron Soosdon's music videos that have no plot and are merely a bunch of color filters, this may be a breath of fresh air. The Scarlet Thorn, one of Baron's entries in Blizzard's Worldwide Invitationalmachinimacontest, centers around Lady Sylvanas. While there is no dialogue in this epic movie about beating the Scarlet Crusaders to a bloody pulp, you can expect plenty of action!
[Via #machinima on Quakenet IRC]
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
In our daily quest for acceptable machinima to feature on WoW Moviewatch, it's very rare that we ever come across someone that we feel could end up as epic as Baron Soosdon, otherwise known as Rick Astley, Jr. Apein managed to start his path to greatness from his very first (and only!) video, Animal I Have Become. We haven't been this impressed with an up-and-comer since Lagspikefilm and Gnomechewer!
Apein has some big shoes to fill, but he already has a blog, where he posts teaser shots of his work in progress, and knows to upload to Vimeo. We were also impressed that he was able to keep the aspect ratio intact throughout, not get excessive with Model Viewer, blend platforms, and not go super crazy with the effects. However, we do object to the heavy blurring and the random zooms in and out. That wasn't enough to distract us from the beauty of this music video, though.
Before there was Nyhm, there was a guy, sk3uled, and his Avril Lavigne CD. What did he come up with? A parody video, Healer, to her song, Girlfriend. You can thank (or curse!) Baron Soosdon for this submission. At least it wasn't a Sir Mixalot Rickroll.
The lyrics are probably the best thing about the video. The "singing" is monotone and the aspect ratio isn't consistent. Believe it or not, this is the better version. His previous attempt, made over a year ago, was recorded with a bad microphone and what looks like a bunch of pictures thrown into a slideshow program.
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Continuing on our unintentional weekend of Baron Soosdon, we came across an older video of his that isn't a music video! Instead, it turned out to be an artistic "epic raid" video of two guilds, The Beastro and Beyond Oblivion, kicking buttocks pre-TBC. Blackwing Lair: The Last Ride weaves in battles with cut scenes containing plot elements combined with the sounds in-game. What interested me more was the camera that he used, which allowed him to get distance shots.
Who knew that machinima was about murdering murlocs for Baron Soosdon? You'll learn that, and more, in this short video about what this expressive medium means to him. While he speaks in Finnish, and uses a voice modulator as well, he does put English text on the screen for the viewers. If you're into senseless violence against murlocs and enjoy a good Rick Astley tune, then you'll like this clip.
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Baron Soosdon is back again with another video. This time, he's slowed things down a bit, with Chilled Escapism. Though this is the seventh video in the Escapism series, it's much less intense than the others.
Given that this is such a departure from his typical fare, Baron prepared a response (edited for content) in advance for the potential naysayers, 'OMFG NO! FFS, ANOTHER "PEOPLE WALKING"-VIDEO!!11 CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! FOR EXAMPLE SOMETHING WITH A PLOT??+++!!11.' We couldn't have said it better ourselves. We, on the other hand, enjoyed the change of pace. It helps to mix things up every now and then!
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about at 15minutesoffame (at) wowinsider (dot) com.
Take a deep breath, everybody – that stale smell is just the whiff of a lame duck era. We'll be back in fresh air again soon. If you've been wondering what's left for you to accomplish between now and Wrath of the Lich King, we've got good news. As guilds begin taking down the infamous Kil'jaeden (the last boss of the Sunwell Plateau and final raid content available before the Wrath of the Lich King comes out) and a druid solos the hapless Onyxia, Tamzin is on your side. The creator of the madly popular tactical videos that have helped so many guilds master end-game raiding content, Tamzin wants to see as many players as possible experience juicy raid boss goodness. Her clean, classy and accurate videos have helped steer countless groups to success in content that might have blocked them in the absence of clear direction.
15 Minutes of Fame recently conducted a week-long correspondence with Tamzin about her strategy guides, her own WoW habits and experience and her work in the movie and music industries. She had so much to say that we decided to give her not just 15 minutes but a whole half an hour – two installments -- of fame. Read the first part of our exclusive visit with Tamzin after the break, and be sure to click the screenshot here to link over to her most recent video, a guide to taking down Illidan.
(Today's Moviewatch features videos of the WoW Bitfilm contestants asking for votes, however we are not suggesting you vote for anyone in particular. We are only showcasing them as they pertain to WoW. As there are fans of all platforms here, we know that you will make your choice based on your own preference. In addition, despite the image on Olibith's video before you play it, it is harmless.)
The World of WarcraftBitfilm Festival nominees are really working hard for their votes! With just a little over a month left to vote, they've each created a video pleading their case. We previously wrote about their chance to win 1500 Euros earlier this month.
The first one on the scene was Olibith, with a sentimental video about the contest, set to the Carpenters. Next up was Baron Soosdon, letting you know that if you don't vote for him, a "terrible curse" will fall upon you. The only one missing was Dopefish, whom I had to chase down to make a video in order to be fair.
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com. Previously on Moviewatch ...
See the Olibith and Dopefish vote videos, as well as a full list of the nominees after the jump ...
Baron Soosdon has been threatening to make a plotline machinima for quite some time, so it's good to see that he followed through with it! Kake Buk Island: Episode 1 - "You Damn Beach" is about an orc, Thok, that wakes up on a strange island. While exploring the island, he befriends two girls, Noki and Jiki, that need his help rescuing their pig from the sinister gnome, Sergei Gnum. All is not as it seems on Kake Buk Island, but I guess we'll have to wait for Episode 2 to find out!
KBI: YDB has an incredible line-up of special guests, including Drewbie, Olibith, and Baron himself, but I'm not sure what was up with some of the dialogue. Nevertheless, the cross-blend of World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 2004 made for a surreal set for Baron to weave his magic. As always, if you enjoyed the machinima, download the high quality version!
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Bitfilm, a festival that takes place in Hamburg, Germany, announced the shortlist today for their sixth annual event. Among the nominees are a whopping three from World of Warcraft. Despite WoW machinima only being a formidable contender in the last two years, Olibith took home the top prize last year with I'm Only Sleeping!
Baron Soosdon never ceases to amaze me. Since he took on the job at Machinima.com, he's been steadily producing stellar machinimas that really raise the bar for the rest of the WoW machinimators. While there's still no plot to speak of (or is there?), Rage & Rapture is about as visually stunning as you can get!
Baron is infamous for teaser shots of his upcoming projects on his blog, and thisone is noexception. Set to a drum and bass track of the same name, by Quadrant and Cease, the movements are fast-paced and intense. It really makes you wonder how he does all of this with just Sony Vegas 6 and Particle Illusion!
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
We all started from somewhere. Baron Soosdon was kind enough to show us his humble beginnings. While Baron's first effort, Twill for the Kill!, was better than most, it isn't even one tenth as good as his current movies. He admitted to us that he had a vague idea of what chroma keying was, but didn't know how to properly use it in a machinima. We hope that this encourages you to keep trying, even if your freshman project isn't the best!
Now that Baron Soosdon has landed a comfy job as Community Manager at Machinima.com, he has time to make lots of movies -- or trailers, at least! His next project is a cross-game video, Kake Buk Island, using World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 2004. There is an extensive list of guest voice actors tied to the project, including Drewbie (Insert cameo joke here!), Olibith, Tuesday Smith, and Vilaeryn. Since this movie seems to have a plot, yet he doesn't describe it to us, let's make one up for him!
(The sinister Baron Soosdon felt that Vimeo was the best quality stream, so he made me change it from the Veoh stream. Now it has a funky looking aspect ratio! However, he does not blame me for destroying his non-existant PR campaign, so it's okay.)
The year is 1985. Gnomeregan merges with Aperture Science, which causes a chain reaction, altering history forever. In 1987, they decide to install GLaDOS on a mechanistrider, which leads to a killing spree in 1989. In the distant future, only MechaMurlocs exist, except for one determined little gnome.
If you can believe it, Baron Soosdon completed this movie in one day! He was apparently inspired by an infectious tune that was mentioned in #machinima on Quakenet IRC. For more information about This Device Has Been Modified, check out his blog, but be sure to download the high quality version.
I chose some lighter fare for today while you get your patch 2.4 fix on. Garritt Windspire, of Windspire Entertainment, made the cutest music video in World of Warcraft. Being a short one myself (but not that short!), I find gnomes absolutely adorable. Baby It's Cold Outside is no Baron Soosdon production, but for what it is, it works well.
While I liked the video, there were some obvious flaws with it. The aspect ratio seems wonky, and the page turns are pretty cheesy. However, I thought that the surprise in the middle broke the music video up nicely. What's your favorite WoWmusic video?