TMUnderground: New and Improved

Forum upgrade: Yeah, we're finally making the jump from vBulletin 3.8.5 to 4.1.9. Lots of new features and extra stuff, including...
  • Content Management System - this will replace the old TMOA homepage to provide links to show downloads and the radio streams, news and links to forum posts, RSS feeds to new uploads at TMU, and other things. It will have a relevance that the TMOA homepage never quite achieved...
  • Blogging - I know a lot of people blog on other platforms and will continue to do so - but for those who want to create a production blog for their films or other projects here, it will be available.
  • Forum Features - There's a lot of social media integration (you can integrate with Facebook, Twitter, etc.), including apps for your smartphone.


Other changes to look forward to in the coming months:


TMU University: Once the forum upgrade is done and everything is running smoothly, the next big project is TMU University.


TMU-U is something we've been talking about for at least a year, year and a half. Think of it as online machinima classes. We'll be running distance-learning software, and featuring workshop-based classes on both general filmmaking subjects (writing, editing, sound, etc.) and engine specific subjects (iClone, MovieStorm, the Movies, Second Life, etc.).


We hope to be able to recruit some people who really know their stuff in their respective areas and let them guide people in the workshop, with both instructor and peer critiques, to sharpen their skills. There will be lots more about this in the next month or so as we get our minds around how we want to approach it and start getting some instructors lined up.


TMOA: Yes, some new stuff for the radio station as well...
  • New shows - I'd like to add at least three and maybe 4 new shows to the lineup - I think Monk can handle a couple more shows on Saturday (though that's ultimately his call) and we've got an opening on Sunday before Ken & Cathy with Industry 101 on indefinite and perhaps terminal hiatus - and I can also do a show before Wolf & Dulci on Monday nights. Don't pitch your show ideas now - I'm concentrating on the other stuff at the moment, so you have at least a month or so to refine your pitch. I will tell you that we're going to be picky about the shows we pick up - as any of the hosts will tell you, it seems like an easy gig, but it takes some commitment to show up every week and keep it interesting (I don't worry about my show being interesting because, hey, it's MY show). To start your thought process, lemme say that we do not want a clone of any show we're running - if it's like Ken & Cathy with different people, the answer is no....
  • Radio Plays - I don't say radio dramas because they can be comedies.... This is something else we've been talking about for a while, since they're storytelling in an audio medium, so they're like a machinima film without the visuals - still need good writing, good acting, and good sound design to make something worth listening to. If enough people want to try their hand at it, we may do a weekly show, with 2-3 different stories (one-offs or a serial) in each show. If there's not much interest, some of us will still do them, but as one-offs.
So that's the overview of what we'll be doing for the next 3 or so months and beyond. Comments, suggestions, thoughts, etc. are, as always, welcome.