TMUnderground

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, machinimators of all ages, once again it is time for us to embark on the journey through people's minds and creativity and see what their ideas of passion are. So, without further ado, I give you the:

2011 Passion Competition Rules and Guidelines

Ethics also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality -- that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice, etc.

Good versus evil contradiction is the eternal story of mankind. The universe is made of oppositions, contrasts, conflicts and dilemma. The stories of God and Satan highlight this. There are also examples such as police forces versus criminals, arguments between husbands and wives (the wife is always right, right?) and even land owners versus city expansion (eminent [imminent] domain).

The task at hand will be to make a film showcasing the struggle between GOOD and EVIL, RIGHT and WRONG.

Rules and Guidelines

Dates: September 4, 2011 to November 12, 2011 (12 midnight EST)

Film Length: The film can be any length.

Film Age: This can be a new film or one you have made previously.

Engine: This film can be made using any program you desire (iClone, Moviestorm, The Movies, Poser, Daz, The Sims, game engines such as Halo, GTA, COD, WOW and more) or live action. Any form you desire.

Required Theme Element: Must show the struggle between Good and Evil, Right and Wrong. Any films not done in English should have English subtitles so the judging panel can fully understand the dialog.

Where to upload: Can be uploaded to any site (YouTube, Vimeo, Veoh, TMU, etc.) but a link must be given in the submission form. (example below)

Warnings: If any strong language or nudity is used, a disclaimer must be presented either at the start of the film or on the film page.

Credits: Any use of voice actors, music not supplied with the program of choice or composed by yourself, any mods not made by yourself or an official add-on is recommended to be credited either in the film or on the film page but is not required.

Persons not eligible: Due to the nature of the prizes, the 2010 1st place winner, Ben Tuttle, will not be eligible for the 2011 competition. His eligibility will resume in 2012. The 3 top finishers in the 2011 competition will not be eligible for the 2012 competition. Basically, anyone who is awarded prizes for finishing in the top 3 will not be eligible for the next year’s competition. This will be a permanent rule.

Number of entries per person/studio: You may enter up to 3 films but only 1 prize will be awarded per person/studio.

Prizes:

1St Place --
iClone Pro 5
Crazy Talk Animator
Sony Vegas Pro 10
Sound Forge Pro 10
Acid Pro 7
Moviestorm: Lifetime to a Themed Bundle or 1 year to MS Complete or 10,000 MS points

2nd Place --
iClone Pro 5
Crazy Talk Pro 6
Sony Vegas Pro 10
Sound Forge Audio Studio 10
Acid Pro 7
Moviestorm: 1 year Themed Bundle or 3 months MS Complete or 10,000 MS points

3rd Place--
iClone Pro 5
Vegas movie Studio HD Platinum
Sound Forge Audio Studio 10
Acid Music Studio 7
Moviestorm: 3 months Themed Bundle or 1 month MS Complete or 2500 MS points.


* All software is downloadable. Sony will let you opt for either download or hard product in the box.


Judges:

Chantal Harvey
Killian Wolfsinger
Sherwin Liu
Craig Harbison (Harb40)

Sample Submission Form:

Copy and paste the following and edit to fit your entry:

TMU Name: (the name you use on TMU --Required)
Studio Name: (if different than your user name - not required)
Real Name: (voluntary - not required)
Film Title: (The name of your film -- Required)
Film Length: (Minutes and seconds in length -- Required)
Genre: (comedy, drama, horror, etc. - not required)
Film Location: (a direct link to your film -- Required)
Film Description: (a brief idea of what your film is about -- Required)
Additional Info: (Cast, credits, posters, etc. if you desire)

Using this format will make it easier on the judges to find and keep track of your film. All entries must be made through on the TMOA Radio forums thread.

All entries must be submitted through this thread. If you have any problems, please contact me and I will help you.

So, start filming, enter and Good Luck.

Ken has returned from his trip with the aliens and seems fine except for the funny walk. I asked him if it was true what they say about aliens doing the anal probing and he gave me a stare that could kill a fly at 10 paces and said "Do you want me to demonstrate what they did? Huh? Do you, do you huh? If not then get running fat boy!"

So I decided not to press the matter any further and left to go do some laundry. I might add that I only left as fast as I did as I had some very urgent laundry especially the trousers I was wearing.



Anyway we have a show.

Being the New Years special we will be reviewing 2010 and would like to ask as many of you sweet people to come on the show as possible. We would also like to ask the not so sweet and the absolutely undesirable ones to drop by too. If you are reading this or have been told that I said this, then you are not one of the undesirable ones. It's that other guy, OK?

So if you want to come on the show either contact Ken or myself before or during the show, you can also contact Monk during the show as he will likely be running the boards unless he escapes from his cage.

I know it my seem cruel to keep a grown man in a cage, but we are talking about Monk here and we are thinking of everyone's safety. The last think that anyone wants is Monk running amok in public, I mean at the very least it might cause a major diplomatic incident not too dissimilar from the Cuban missile crisis, and we all know how bad that could have turned out, right?

BTW does anyone know how to get some really stubborn stains out of trousers?

Plus we'll have all the regular BS, Rednecks Massacre Cinema with The Monk. RPO will be doing his preview of 2011 movie releases.

The show begins at 2 pm Eastern, 7 pm in the UK, 8 pm in Europe, and the early hours of Monday morning along the western side of the Pacific Rim. Why not head over to the TMOA website Where you can find the show streams or you can click one of the handy links below.


Links to streams


You can also listen from the TMUTheater.

Don't forget you can hang out with your friends and fellow film makers in the TMOA chatroom.


Roger

Narrative: The Story Teller Contest

With winter fast approaching, I thought it might be a good time to release details for the 2010/11 Storyteller Contest. I ran this once before using ‘Once Upon A Time…’ as the theme (original contest thread is HERE)

A great movie (often) needs to have a great story driving it; and there are many different ways of conveying that story to an audience. This year the Story Teller Contest will focus on Narrative Techniques.

Narrative is generally accepted as possessing two components: the story presented and the process of its telling, or narration, often referred to as narrative discourse. Story is a series of represented events, characters (or agents for some), and actions out of which the audience constructs a fictional time, place, and cause–effect world, or digenesis.

Key points

• Create a movie or audio play utilising narration to enhance the story

• Solo or group project

• Any length, any genre, any format (TM, MS, I clone etc)

• Narration workshop hosted by Jase & AND on the 101 Show (date tba)

• Prizes tba (anyone that would like to suggest or donate a prize please pm me)

So, your mission, should you chose to accept it, is to create an original piece of machinima or audio theatre that employs narrative techniques to enhance the story. Your submitted piece will be judged on the effective use of narration in your story, originality, creativity and overall story quality

Very basically there are 2 types of narration, first person and third person. First person narration involves one of the characters within the story providing narration in either a past or present context. Third person narration involves a character not directly involved with the story providing narration. There are many different ways you could use narrative techniques to provide another dimension to your story

Rules

• Submission period will be from 1st March 2011 to midnight 31st March 2011

• Must be an original works created for this contest

• Any machinima platform is acceptable

• Movies must be uploaded to the Story Teller Contest page on TMU (details tba)

• Narration must be audible (i.e not by subtitle)

As with any contest the primary aim should be to have fun, so get thinking, have fun and we hope to see you taking part in this years Story Teller Contest

Congratulations to the winner of the 2010 Ollie for Best Picture - Death in Venice by ChatNoirStudios:

Death in Venice (Moviestorm machinima) from Chat Noir Studios on Vimeo.

This movie also received the Ollies for: Best Picture, Best Mystery Movie, Best Soundtrack and Best Long Form Film

How to use Scene Reblocker with The Movies Game to make custom scenes (tutorial by sexymaria)

Scene Reblocker was made by Gleem and is available at DCModding.

D.L. Watson (hey thats me!) has a brand new live-action short film entitled "The Letter" premiering TODAY!



A member of a dangerous mafia family finds himself in a forbidden love and his only redemption is through a letter...

Written, Edited & Directed by D.L. Watson
Starring: Nicholas Evan Brooks, Kristen Lee, Don Moore, Chris White and Nick Blacketer

Visualfx by D.L. Watson
Associate Producer Brian Wardell (Emerald Edge)
Music by Jesse Pringle

Made on a budget of $21

The film premieres at 10:00am PST/ 1:00pm EST/ 6:00pm UK.

The second showing will be at 7:40pm PST/ 10:40pm EST/ 3:40am UK.

Hope to see you all there!

www.tmutheater.com

TECHNICAL AWARDS 2010

1: BEST SOUNDTRACK FOR A MOVIE OR SERIES
Death in Venice (ChatNoir)
Tribute (RikVargard)
Incubus (ChatNoir)

WINNER: DEATH IN VENICE (by ChatNoir)

2: BEST SOUND EDITING IN A MOVIE OR SERIES
Incubus (ChatNoir)
CQ: Blackstar Rising (K4)
The Calling (JosephKW)

WINNER: CQ: Blackstar Rising (by K4OWNZALL)

3: BEST SOUND DESIGN IN A MOVIE OR SERIES
CQ:Blackstar Rising (K4)
A Nightmare in Hell (Laviv42)
Voyages of the Sojourner (Ricky Grove)

WINNER: CQ:Blackstar Rising (by K4OWNZALL)

4: BEST CUSTOM MOD FOR A MACHINIMA MOVIE OR SERIES
CLEAR WINNER: Castle Greyskull by BudBundysMullet in the Greyskull Movies by Rage.

5: BEST MOD/SET USE IN A MACHINIMA MOVIE OR SERIES
Hybris (SamyHouse)
Solar Freyr (allpoint)

WINNER: Hybris (by SamyHouse)

6: BEST COSTUME OR MAKEUP IN A MACHINIMA MOVIE OR SERIES
Hybris (Samyhouse)
Voyages of the Sojourner (Animatechnica)
Grayskull (Rage)

WINNER: Voyages of the Sojourner (by Animatechnica)

7: MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A MOVIE OR SERIES
A Nightmare in Hell (Laviv42)
The Calling (JosephKW)
Voyages of the Sojourner (Animatechnica)

WINNER: The Calling (by JosephKW)

8: MOST OUTSTANDING MODDER FOR A MACHINIMA ENGINE
MikeDBoing
Warlord
SexyMaria

WINNER: MikeDBoing

9: BEST MACHINIMATOGRAPHY IN A MOVIE OR SERIES
Elegy to the Mind (Reepicheep)
Denial (Macwemyss)
The Bard (AnimaTechnica)

WINNER: The Bard (by AnimaTechnica)

The Film and Community Award Winners will be announced on the 2010 Ollies Special tomorrow night.

This year, we are splitting the awards into two separate categories:-

On Saturday 16 October, we will be announcing the Technical Awards (sound, vision, etc) on The Weekly Look TMOA Radio Show (thanks to Chris62 for allowing us to displace the second half of his show!).

On Sunday 17 October is the full Film and Community Awards, on the Roger & Ken Show on TMOA Radio.

Who will win? Be there for the machinima event of the year to find out!