Editing Machinima (section)

===Character and camera control===
Kelland, Morris, and Lloyd list four main methods of creating machinima.<ref name="Kelland 80">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=80}}</ref> From simple to advanced, these are: relying on the game's AI to control most actions, [[digital puppetry]], recamming, and precise scripting of actions.<ref name="Kelland 80"/> Although simple to produce, AI-dependent results are unpredictable, thus complicating the realization of a preconceived film script.<ref name="Kelland 82">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=82}}</ref> For example, when Rooster Teeth produced ''[[The Strangerhood]]'' using ''[[The Sims 2]]'', a game that encourages the use of its AI, the group had to create multiple instances of each character to accommodate different moods.<ref name="Kelland 82" /> Individual instances were selected at different times to produce appropriate actions.<ref name="Kelland 82" />

In digital puppetry, machinima creators become virtual actors. Each crew member controls a character in real-time, as in a multiplayer game.<ref name="Kelland 87">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=87}}</ref> The director can use built-in camera controls, if available.<ref name="Kelland 87" /> Otherwise, video is captured from the perspectives of one or more puppeteers who serve as camera operators.<ref name="Kelland 87" /> Puppetry allows for improvisation and offers controls familiar to gamers, but requires more personnel than the other methods and is less precise than scripted recordings.<ref name="Kelland 87" /><ref>{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=349}}</ref> However, some games, such as the [[Halo (series)|''Halo'' series]], (except for Halo PC and Custom Edition, which allow AI and custom objects and characters), allow filming only through puppetry.<ref name="Nitsche 2009, 113">{{harvnb|Nitsche|2009|p=113}}</ref> According to Marino, other disadvantages are the possibility of disruption when filming in an open multi-user environment and the temptation for puppeteers to play the game in earnest, littering the set with blood and dead bodies.<ref name="Marino 2004, 351">{{harvnb|Marino|2004a|p=351}}</ref> However, Chris Burke intentionally hosts ''[[This Spartan Life]]'' in these unpredictable conditions, which are fundamental to the show.<ref name="Nitsche 2007" /> Other works filmed using puppetry are the ILL Clan's [[improvisational comedy]] series ''On the Campaign Trail with Larry & Lenny Lumberjack'' and Rooster Teeth Productions' ''Red vs. Blue''.<ref name="Nitsche 2009, 114">{{harvnb|Nitsche|2009|p=114}}</ref> In recamming, which builds on puppetry, actions are first recorded to a game engine's demo file format, not directly as video frames.<ref name="Kelland 90">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=90}}</ref> Without re-enacting scenes, artists can then manipulate the demo files to add cameras, tweak timing and lighting, and change the surroundings.<ref name="Kelland 90-91">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|pp=90–91}}</ref> This technique is limited to the few engines and software tools that support it.<ref name="Kelland 91">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=91}}</ref>

A technique common in [[cutscene]]s of video games, scripting consists of giving precise directions to the [[game engine]]. A filmmaker can work alone this way,<ref name="Kelland 94">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=94}}</ref> as J. Thaddeus "Mindcrime" Skubis did in creating the nearly four-hour ''[[The Seal of Nehahra]]'' (2000), the longest work of machinima at the time.<ref>{{harvnb|Law|2000}}; {{harvnb|Skubis|2000}}</ref> However, perfecting scripts can be time-consuming.<ref name="Kelland 94" /> Unless what-you-see-is-what-you-get ([[WYSIWYG]]) editing is available, as in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption]]'', changes may need to be verified in additional runs, and non-linear editing may be difficult.<ref name="Kelland 94" /><ref>{{harvnb|Hancock|2000|p=1}}</ref> In this respect, Kelland, Morris, and Lloyd compare scripting to [[stop motion|stop-motion]] animation.<ref name="Kelland 94" /> Another disadvantage is that, depending on the game, scripting capabilities may be limited or unavailable.<ref name="Kelland, 129">{{harvnb|Kelland|Morris|Lloyd|2005|p=129}}</ref> Matinee, a machinima software tool included with ''[[Unreal Tournament 2004]]'', popularized scripting in machinima.<ref name="Kelland 94" />