Editing Machinima (section)

==History==

===Precedent===
1980s [[software cracking|software crackers]] added custom introductory credits sequences (intros) to programs whose copy protection they had removed.<ref name="Marino 5">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=5}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Green|1995|p=1}}</ref> Increasing computing power allowed for more complex intros, and the [[demoscene]] formed when focus shifted to the intros instead of the cracks.<ref name="Marino 5"/> The goal became to create the best 3-D demos in real-time with the least amount of software code.<ref name="Nitsche 2007"/><ref name="Marino 5"/> Disk storage was too slow for this, so graphics had to be calculated on the fly and without a pre-existing [[game engine]].<ref name="Nitsche 2007"/><ref name="Marino 5"/>

In [[Disney Interactive Studios]]' [[1992 in video gaming|1992 computer game]] ''[[Stunt Island]]'', users could stage, record, and play back stunts. As Nitsche stated, the game's goal was "not ... a high score but a spectacle."<ref name="Nitsche 2007"/> Released the following year, [[id Software]]'s ''[[Doom (1993 video game)|Doom]]'' included the ability to record gameplay as sequences of events that the game engine could later replay in real-time.<ref name="Marino 3">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=3}}</ref> Because events and not video frames were saved, the resulting game demo files were small and easily shared among players.<ref name="Marino 3" /> A culture of recording gameplay developed, as Henry Lowood of [[Stanford University]] said, "a context for spectatorship.... The result was nothing less than a metamorphosis of the player into a performer."<ref name="Lowood 2006 30">{{harvnb|Lowood|2006|p=30}}</ref> Another important feature of ''Doom'' was that it allowed players to create their own [[mod (computer gaming)|modifications]], [[Level (computer and video games)|map]]s, and software for the game, thus expanding the concept of game authorship.<ref name="Lowood 2005 11">{{harvnb|Lowood|2005|p=11}}</ref> In machinima, there is a dual register of gestures: the trained motions of the player determine the in-game images of expressive motion.<ref name="Krapp 2011 93f">{{harvnb|Krapp|2011|p=93}}</ref>

In parallel of the video game approach, in the media art field, [[Maurice Benayoun]]'s Virtual Reality artwork ''The Tunnel under the Atlantic'' (1995), often compared to video games, introduced a virtual film director, fully autonomous intelligent agent, to shoot and edit in real time a full video from the digging performance in the Pompidou Center in Paris and the Museum of Contemporary art in Montreal. The full movie, ''Inside the Tunnel under the Atlantic'',<ref name="Benayoun 2011 44-49">{{harvnb|Benayoun|2011|pp=44-49}}</ref> 21h long, was followed in 1997 by ''Inside the Paris New-Delhi Tunnel'' (13h long). Only short excerpts were presented to the public. The complex behavior of the Tunnel's virtual director makes it a significant precursor of later application to video games based machinimas.<ref name="Benayoun 2011 50-54">{{harvnb|Benayoun|2011|pp=50-54}}</ref>

''Doom''{{'}}s 1996 successor, ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', offered new opportunities for both gameplay and customization,<ref name="Lowood 2005 12">{{harvnb|Lowood|2005|p=12}}</ref> while retaining the ability to record demos.<ref name="Marino 4">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=4}}</ref> [[Multiplayer video game]]s became popular, and demos of matches between teams of players ([[Clan (computer gaming)|clans]]) were recorded and studied.<ref name="Kelland 28">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=28}}</ref> [[Paul Marino]], executive director of the AMAS, stated that [[deathmatch (gaming)|deathmatch]]es, a type of multiplayer game, became more "cinematic".<ref name="Marino 4" /> At this point, however, they still documented gameplay without a narrative.<ref name="Lowood 2006 33">{{harvnb|Lowood|2006|p=33}}</ref>

===''Quake'' movies===
On October 26, 1996, a well-known gaming clan, the [[United Ranger Films|Rangers]], surprised the ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'' community with ''[[Diary of a Camper]]'', the first widely known machinima film.<ref name="Lowood 2006 32">{{harvnb|Lowood|2006|p=32}}</ref> This short, 100-second demo file contained the action and gore of many others, but in the context of a brief story,<ref name="Lowood 2006 32" /> rather than the usual deathmatch.<ref name="Kelland 28" /> An example of transformative or [[emergent gameplay]], this shift from competition to theater required both expertise in and subversion of the game's mechanics.<ref>{{harvnb|Lowood|2005|pp=13, 16}}</ref> The Ranger demo emphasized this transformation by retaining specific gameplay references in its story.<ref>{{harvnb|Lowood|2005|p=13}}</ref>

''[[Diary of a Camper]]'' inspired many other "''Quake'' movies," as these films were then called.<ref name="Kelland 28" /> A community of game modifiers (modders), artists, expert players, and film fans began to form around them.<ref name="Nitsche 2007" /> The works were distributed and reviewed on websites such as The Cineplex, Psyk's Popcorn Jungle, and the Quake Movie Library (QML).<ref name="Marino, 7" /> Production was supported by dedicated demo-processing software, such as Uwe Girlich's Little Movie Processing Center (LMPC) and David "crt" Wright's [[non-linear editing system|non-linear editor]] Keygrip,<ref>{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=28}}; {{harvnb|Marino|2004a|pp=6–7}}</ref> which later became known as "[[Adobe Premiere Pro|Adobe Premiere]] for Quake demo files".<ref name="Marino, 7">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=7}}</ref> Among the notable films were Clan Phantasm's ''Devil's Covenant'',<ref name="Marino, 7" /> the first [[feature length|feature-length]] ''Quake'' movie; Avatar and Wendigo's ''Blahbalicious'', which the QML awarded seven Quake Movie Oscars;<ref>{{harvnb|Machinima.com staff|2001}}; {{harvnb|Heaslip|1998}}</ref> and Clan Undead's ''[[Operation Bayshield]]'', which introduced simulated [[lip sync]]hronization<ref name="Moss">{{harvnb|Moss|2001}}</ref> and featured customized [[digital asset]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Lowood|2007|p=179}}</ref>

Released in December 1997, id Software's ''[[Quake II]]'' improved support for user-created 3-D models. However, without compatible editing software, filmmakers continued to create works based on the original ''Quake''. These included the [[ILL Clan]]'s ''[[Apartment Huntin']]'' and the [[Quake done Quick]] group's ''[[Quake done Quick|Scourge Done Slick]]''.<ref name="Marino 8">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=8}}</ref> ''Quake II'' demo editors became available in 1998. In particular, Keygrip 2.0 introduced "recamming", the ability to adjust camera locations after recording.<ref name="Marino 8" /> Paul Marino called the addition of this feature "a defining moment for [m]achinima".<ref name="Marino 8" /> With ''Quake II'' filming now feasible, [[Strange Company]]'s 1999 production ''Eschaton: Nightfall'' was the first work to feature entirely custom-made character models.<ref name="Marino 9">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=9}}</ref>

The December 1999 release of id's ''[[Quake III Arena]]'' posed a problem to the ''Quake'' movie community.<ref name="Marino 10-11">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|pp=10–11}}</ref> The game's demo file included information needed for [[computer network]]ing; however, to prevent cheating, id warned of legal action for dissemination of the file format.<ref name="Marino 10-11" /> Thus, it was impractical to enhance software to work with ''Quake III''.<ref name="Marino 10-11" /> Concurrently, the novelty of ''Quake'' movies was waning.<ref name="Marino 11">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=11}}</ref> New productions appeared less frequently, and, according to Marino, the community needed to "reinvent itself" to offset this development.<ref name="Marino 11" />

''Borg War'', a 90-minute animated Star Trek fan film, was produced using Elite Force 2 (a ''Quake III'' variant) and Starfleet Command 3, repurposing the games' voiceover clips to create a new plot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=122283&highlight=Borg+War |title=DEUX EX MACHIMINA – BORG WAR DOING TREK CON |publisher=Newsarama.com |access-date=2007-07-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929133848/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=122283&highlight=Borg%2BWar |archive-date=2007-09-29 }}</ref>  ''Borg War'' was nominated for two "Mackie" awards by the [[Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=4750 |title=See an Unauthorized Animated Star Trek Feature Film |work=IF Magazine |access-date=2007-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224634/http://www.ifmagazine.com/new.asp?article=4750 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An August 2007 screening at a ''Star Trek'' convention in Las Vegas was the first time that CBS/Paramount had approved the screening of a non-parody fan film at a licensed convention.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/NEWS01/208100371/-1/news01|title='Borg Wars' for next generation of movie makers|newspaper=Nashua Telegraph|access-date=2007-07-19|archive-date=August 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819183754/http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/NEWS01/208100371/-1/news01|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Generalization===
In January 2000, [[Hugh Hancock]], the founder of Strange Company, launched a new website, [[machinima.com]].<ref name="Marino 12">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=12}}</ref> Coined by Anthony Bailey in a May 1998 email to Hancock,{{sfn|Lowood|2007|p=183}} the term is a misspelled portmanteau of ''machine cinema'' (''machinema'') which was intended to dissociate in-game filming from a specific [[game engine|engine]]. The new site featured tutorials, interviews, articles, and the exclusive release of Tritin Films' ''[[Quad God]]''.<ref name="Marino 12" /> The first film made with ''[[Quake III Arena]]'', ''Quad God'' was also the first to be distributed as recorded video frames, not game-specific instructions.<ref name="Marino 12" /> This change was initially controversial among machinima producers who preferred the smaller size of demo files.<ref name="Kelland 30">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=30}}</ref> However, demo files required a copy of the game to view.<ref name="Nitsche 2007" /> The more accessible traditional video format broadened ''Quad God''{{'}}s viewership, and the work was distributed on CDs bundled with magazines.<ref name="Kelland 30" /> Thus, id's decision to protect ''Quake III''{{'}}s code inadvertently caused machinima creators to use more general solutions and thus widen their audience.<ref name="Lowood 2007, 184">{{harvnb|Lowood|2007|p=184}}</ref> Within a few years, machinima films were almost exclusively distributed in common video file formats.<ref name="Lowood 2007, 184" />

[[File:Hugh Hancock.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Hugh Hancock]] founded Strange Company.]]

Machinima began to receive mainstream notice.<ref name="Marino 13">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=13}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] discussed it in a June 2000 article and praised Strange Company's machinima setting of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]]'s sonnet "[[Ozymandias]]".<ref>{{harvnb|Ebert|2000}}; {{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=13}}</ref> At [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime Network]]'s 2001 Alternative Media Festival, the [[ILL Clan]]'s 2000 machinima film ''[[Hardly Workin']]'' won the Best Experimental and Best in SHO awards. [[Steven Spielberg]] used ''[[Unreal Tournament]]'' to test special effects while working on his [[2001 in film|2001 film]] ''[[Artificial Intelligence: A.I.]]''<ref name="Marino 14-15">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|pp=14–15}}</ref> Eventually, interest spread to game developers. In July 2001, [[Epic Games]] announced that its upcoming game ''[[Unreal Tournament 2003]]'' would include Matinee, a machinima production software utility.<ref name="Marino 16">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=16}}</ref> As involvement increased, filmmakers released fewer new productions to focus on quality.<ref name="Marino 16" />

At the March 2002 [[Game Developers Conference]], five machinima makers—Anthony Bailey, Hugh Hancock, [[Katherine Anna Kang]], Paul Marino, and Matthew Ross—founded the AMAS,<ref name="Marino 17">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=17}}</ref> a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting machinima.<ref name="AMAS">{{harvnb|Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences|2007|Ref=CITEREFAMAS2007}}</ref> At [[QuakeCon]] in August, the new organization held the [[2002 Machinima Film Festival|first Machinima Film Festival]], which received mainstream media coverage. ''[[Anachronox: The Movie]]'', by Jake Hughes and Tom Hall, won three awards, including Best Picture.<ref name="Marino 17" /> The next year, "[[In the Waiting Line]]", produced by [[Ghost Robot]], directed by [[Tommy Pallotta]] and animated by Randy Cole, utilizing Fountainhead Entertainment's Machinimation tools, it became the first machinima music video to air on [[MTV]].<ref name="Marino 18">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=18}}</ref> As graphics technology improved, machinima filmmakers used other video games and consumer-grade [[video editing software]].<ref name="Marino 19">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=19}}</ref> Using [[Bungie]]'s 2001 game ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', [[Rooster Teeth Productions]] created a popular comedy series ''[[Red vs. Blue|Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles]]''. The [[Red vs. Blue (season 2)|series' second season]] premiered at the [[Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts]] in 2004.<ref name="Marino 23">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=23}}</ref>

=== Recent history ===
{{main|Machinima, Inc.|Rooster Teeth|Glitch Productions}}
In January 2019, Machinima, Inc., which had [[Channel drift|shifted its focus away from]] machinima-based content into general [[Video game culture|video game-related]] fare in its later years, abruptly discontinued their [[YouTube]] channels, with all their videos set to private.<ref name=":0" /> This came shortly after then-parent company [[Warner Bros.]] (via its owner, [[Time Warner]]) was acquired by [[AT&T]]; leading to the subsequent formation of [[WarnerMedia]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/warnermedia-owned-machinima-to-become-part-of-atts-otter-media-1202506039/|title=WarnerMedia-Owned Machinima To Become Part Of AT&T's Otter Media|last1=Chmielewski|first1=Dawn C.|date=November 21, 2018|work=Deadline|access-date=November 22, 2018|last2=Hayes|first2=Dade|archive-date=November 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122022518/https://deadline.com/2018/11/warnermedia-owned-machinima-to-become-part-of-atts-otter-media-1202506039/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/att-buys-out-chernin-groups-stake-in-otter-media-1202898339/|title=AT&T Buys Out Chernin Group's Stake in Otter Media|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=August 7, 2018|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=November 22, 2018|archive-date=October 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011004501/https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/att-buys-out-chernin-groups-stake-in-otter-media-1202898339/|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 1, 2019, Machinima officially announced that it had laid off its 81 employees and ceased remaining operations.<ref name=":1" /> The company stated that certain employees were being retained to work for AT&T's [[Otter Media]] holding company, and that Russell Arons was "assisting with transitional activities as she explores new opportunities".<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/02/machinima-closing-layoffs-warnermedia-otter-media-1202547949/|title=Machinima Is Shutting Down, With 81 Staffers Laid Off|last1=Hipes|first1=Patrick|date=February 1, 2019|website=Deadline|access-date=June 3, 2019|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530135849/https://deadline.com/2019/02/machinima-closing-layoffs-warnermedia-otter-media-1202547949/|url-status=live}}</ref> The closure resulted in 81 layoffs from the company.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Samuel |date=2019-02-04 |title=Machinima is closing, and 81 people have reportedly been laid off |language=en |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/machinima-is-closing-and-81-people-have-reportedly-been-laid-off/ |access-date=2023-04-03}}</ref> 

An opinion piece from ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' UK blamed the company's collapse on an "obvious misunderstanding of what Machinima actually was, or what traditional media companies were even buying when they purchased a [content network]", with the possibility of future machinima distribution networks of that size emerging being slim.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Onanuga |first=Tola |date=2019-01-27 |title=The collapse of Machinima is a stark warning to YouTube creators |language=en-GB |magazine=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/machinima-youtube |access-date=2023-04-03 |issn=1357-0978}}</ref>

On March 6, 2024, [[Rooster Teeth]] general manager Jordan Levin notified employees that the company would close over the next several months. In an email, he cited reasons for the shutdown including "fundamental shifts in consumer behavior and monetization across platforms, advertising, and patronage", with it being reported that the number of subscribers to Rooster Teeth's "First" service had dropped to around one-quarter of their peak and that Rooster Teeth as a whole had been unprofitable for a decade. Then-parent [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] (formed from the sale of WarnerMedia from AT&T into a [[Reverse Morris Trust]] merger with [[Discovery, Inc.]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hayes|first=Dade|date=May 17, 2021|title=David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-warnermedia-att-merger-streaming-david-zaslav-1234758225/|access-date=May 17, 2021|work=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref>) would gauge interest in ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', and the studio's other [[intellectual property]] (including ''[[RWBY]]'',  and ''[[Gen:Lock]]'').<ref name="Variety Shutting">{{Cite web |last=Spangler |first=Todd |date=2024-03-06 |title=Rooster Teeth Is Shutting Down After 21 Years |url=https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/rooster-teeth-shutting-down-warner-bros-discovery-1235931953/ |access-date=2024-03-06 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

Within the timeframe between Machinima Inc., and Rooster Teeth's respective closures, Australian animator Luke Lerdwichagul would gain prominence from his ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' and ''Garry's Mod''-based comedy series, ''SMG4''. He would eventually form the independent [[animation studio]] [[Glitch Productions]] with his brother, Kevin, while continuing to work on the series.<ref name="SMG4">{{cite web |author=Walker |first=Alex |date=July 26, 2019 |title=Inside The Mario House That SMG4 Built |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/07/smg4-youtube-meta-runner-glitch-productions-australian-anime/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724082618/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/07/smg4-youtube-meta-runner-glitch-productions-australian-anime/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 24, 2019 |website=[[Kotaku]]}}</ref><ref name="inverse">{{Cite web |last=Asarch |first=Steven |date=26 January 2022 |title=The trippiest gamer on YouTube reveals the one line he'll never cross |url=https://www.inverse.com/gaming/smg4-luke-lerdwichagul-interview |access-date=31 March 2024 |website=Inverse |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SMG4 |url=https://www.glitchprod.com/smg4 |access-date=2024-04-21 |website=Glitch Productions |language=en}}</ref>