Machinima, the Next Gen Artform

I am not particularly picking one specific artist but a group of artists that conform to form a group called hankandjed. This group of artists create animated videos that are classified as Machinima (Machine and Anime). What this means is these artists will use specific programs to manipulate the artistic pictures they draw, piece them together and form an animated film. An example that I can give of these type of animation is called Doraleous and Associates as well as Red vs Blue which is created by another set of animation artists.

This particular genre used in this would be that which is similar to the film "Your Highness."

For arguments sake the above film could be considered art as what is used in this real-time film is acting, story telling and emotional involvement. With that being said Roger Ebert would tend to disagree as he states, "I did indeed consider video games inherently inferior to film and literature. There is a structural reason for that: Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control. I am prepared to believe that video games can be elegant, subtle, sophisticated, challenging and visually wonderful. But I believe the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art." (Champion, Keeping it Reel: Is Machinima A Form Of Art?). I do not agree with Mr. Ebert. As he looks at the term art as a emotional involvement why can't the same be said about Video Games or in the case that I am presenting Machinima? For instance, Red vs Blue is a Machinima series created by utilizing a game engine that is used in the Halo series. The brand name, Halo, a video game that is common household name for almost any gamer. In video games, the graphics ( artwork) are presented upon the medium (TV) to allow the consumer to interact and immerse themselves within the world of the game. Some common emotions that may appear as frustration, happiness, sadness, sympathy, empathy among others that I have not listed. Everything that I have previously mention are all things that can be present when viewing artwork. Now if we go back to Machinima, essentially this is the same thing. The acting is done in the background and recorded to go along with the images that go across the screen. Isn't this essentially an animated movie in which Roger Ebert reviews and considers art? How is this any different? How are video games any different? I do not believe that they are

As technology grows the more animation or digital trend will start to appear within movies or even to go as far as our everyday lives. Machinima, for instance Machinima created by hankandjed, will start to grow more and more as the ideals of gaming start to spread and become a lot more mainstream. The idea of art needs to be broken down to a more liberal base and we need to take a step back and view things that are created whether it be by hand or naturally, with a more open eye. By creating this Machinima, Doraleous and Associates, all they want to achieve is a fan base that enjoy watching the show. This in turn is assumed that this brings some sort of happiness to the fans by telling a story that is engaging and strikes up emotions in that viewer. Isn't that why we are fans of something because we enjoy the emotion that it strikes in us? 



http://www.digra.org/dl/db/09291.09190.pdf


http://www.hankandjedmoviepictures.com/#!press


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk1B8DiIJI8&list=PLBC839BEC48A3E264