Although the BlizzCon movie contest was hardly publicized at all -- no press releases about the contest or the winners -- it yielded the cream of the WoW machinima crop so we will be featuring the winning movies here at WoW Moviewatch for the next few days. The winner in each category, as well as the Grand Prize winner, received the newly minted Oswald award to put on their shelves. (I hereby dub thee The Ozzie!)

Today we feature the Grand Prize winner, Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by the typically brilliant Stone Falcon Productions. This film also won the Drama/Romance category (see below), even though I think it is better suited for the Comedy category. It's good, Snackish fun, with high quality film-making and acting, as all the Snackys are. I like the new fem gnome and I hope she continues in the series because she's a cute character and could make for a good foil for Snacky.

Here's a list of the other winners, along with links to ones that have been already featured on WoW Insider. We'll feature and comment on some of the others this week.

Action/Adventure Category

• Runner-up: The Future Soon by Spiffworld
• Runner-up: Mercy of the Sea by Sleeping Dog Productions
• Winner: Divided Soul by Falch Productions

Comedy Category

• Runner-up: Fruit of Elune by Myndflame
• Runner-up: The Dead Murloc by KILH Machinima
• Winner: The Rumpus Machine by Oblivious Films

Drama/Romance Category

• Runner-up: Dead Rain 2 by Bear on a Trampoline
• Runner-up: Redshift by Slashdance
• Winner: Snacky's Journal - Episode 4 by Stone Falcon Productions

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

When I wrote about the Warcraftmovies Synergy contest for machinima three days ago, I had no idea just how close of a fight it would be. The results are in and it was literally a battle to the death. Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair beat Martin Falch by a whopping three votes, with final scores of 299 to 296. Over the next few days, we'll be looking at the winners and giving requested feedback to some of the ones that didn't place.

Baron Soosdon and Pinkhair's machinima followed along with the Busted script, but there were multiple little touches that really made the film. In addition to weaving his 3d magic throughout, Pinkhair also used a third party program, Crazytalk, to animate the lips of one of the characters. Caruu mastered the sound, while he, Drewbie, Olibith, and Selserene voice acted. There are also tributes to the great Shepiwot, Drewbie's character from The Grind, the Robber Baron of Warsong Gulch, and the cast of Snacky's Journal. Even I played a part in it by ruining their PR campaign -- or so they say!

Try to keep in mind that neither script was good, so the contenders didn't have a lot to work with in the way of variation. Now that it's over, I hope that Warcraftmovies will use a different method for their contest next time!

[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...

Before Snacky's Journal, there was Beach Party 2. When an orc moves to a new town, he never thinks he'll have fun -- until he ends up on the beach. Soon he's making friends, surfing, partying, and even finding romance.

Dating back to November 2006, it's a throwback to the silly beach-themed films of the 60s, typically starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Jun Falkenstein, of Stone Falcon Productions, did an amazing job of capturing the essence of those movies. In fact, Blizzard and Xfire awarded her 2nd prize in the Short Feature category of the 2006 Summer movie contest!

[Via Warcraftmovies.com]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...

Lifeskool highlighted machinima as part of their Gametrotting series last year. According to Jun Falkenstein, of Stone Falcon Productions, those interviewed were asked to speak to the audience as if they'd never heard of this emerging medium. While most coverage of gaming and machinima tends to miss the mark, I found this documentary to be humorous and quite informative.

Some of the juicy morsels of this short doc include commentary by Philip Debevoise, of Machinima.com, and machinima from a variety of different platforms. World of Warcraft is discussed pretty heavily in the documentary, showcasing clips from Snacky's Journal, WoW 300, the South Park WoW episode.

[Via Jun Falkenstein]

Previously on Moviewatch ...

As we bid adieu to Hallow's End, I would like to take a moment to look back at some of the events we enjoyed during these few short weeks. We tricked, we treated, we slew a dead guy on a horse with a really creepy laugh. Ah, good times.

With pumpkin carving still on our minds, I present to you a Snacky's Journal moviewatch, only this one is completely devoid of Snacky or his overly boisterous Night Elf friend. It's a Hallow's End special, starring my personal favorite character from the series, Roberto.

NSFW: There's a reference or two in here that might offend the kiddies, or the stodgier guys in your cubicle.

Previously on Moviewatch...