I love exploring Second Life with my wife. We’ve shared a lot of snapshots along the way, but we’ve been doing more video of our adventures lately. I like to film off-the-cuff stuff when we’re having a good time and post it for your entertainment. Here’s one of Ravenelle’s “Blossom” character gettin’ down to Eric Prydz in a somewhat unlikely locale (thanks AM Radio!):
I think the “pump the camera to the beat” is a telltale signature of mine. Stems out of not easier being able to sync SL visuals to an incoming audio signal, sigh. Also wish media (both still and motion pictures) captured from SL could be auto-tagged (or output easy info to copy-and-paste) with not just SLURL, but creator name, description, etc. Would make it a cinch to share awesome people/places/things instead of having to do so many manual lookups after the fact. Something I’ve wrestled with since 2004.
And as a followup to the Zorba awesomeness — thx to FoxSan and Kevin for turning me onto this, because after getting the gesture made by Piero Padar, we went to this beautifully sculpted, Greco-Roman kinda place, and here’s the appropriate fun we had:
I’m encouraging my wife to do more narration with her videos. It distinguishes her and she’s got a wonderful voice. Here’s one she did recently:
Second Life videoblogging seems, on the whole, rare. I can think of some pioneering experiments, but endurance is tough. A few simple tools can make it a lot easier to get started. Like WeGame, but I use Camtasia because it’s more flexible to capture high-quality clips, and it’s easy to edit the final results in Vegas. As long as computer horsepower goes up, the barrier to entry comes down. That’s a message I’ve long stressed with my video tutorials.
Multimedia for the masses and all that.
![Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4341983054_53aed5ab46_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4341231363_c8b3458d23_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4341230493_2f782e6088_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4341963584_bda095aac6_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4341958070_318b895425_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4341206009_e30658c02b_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Alrighty already! I grinned, I giggled, I absolutely adored you two as you played. Play on!
So Vegas is a good way to go? I'm ready to graduate from my Windows Movie Maker and have been surveying my friends. A few have also mentioned it as a good choice.
Vblogging is great fun! My partner watches vblogs all the time, they are pretty popular in the Deaf community.
I've often thought of concentrating more on video blog entries. Video is such a great way to show off SL! I think my reluctance to use voice is one of the main things holding me back.- not sure why I still prefer typing in-world, but I do. Maybe I'll try making some video blog entries over the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.
Bettina: Sony's Vegas editor rocks! I've been using it for a couple of years now and I think it has a great combination of features and an easy to use interface. If it had more fancy built-in effects (like Adobe After Effects) I would never need to use another video editor.
I'd like to do some SL video blogging but what holds me back is that I'm a bit picky about the content, I want it to be perfect and given my current video editing skills and software, I can't achieve perfection. If I can get past that and just throw it up, warts and all, then I think I could really get into doing it.
@Bettina: I like Vegas very much for numerous reasons which I've blogged about at-length before, one of the key factors being usability and how its workflow enables you to edit quickly. The grid mode is a snap. =) Vegas Movie Studio Platinum can be had for US$70-80 on sale, sometimes that happens @ NewEgg.com
@Vlad: I was very hesitant at first to use my voice but doing it repeatedly has gotten me used to it. I look forward to yours!
@Sougent: Consider that one of the keys to get you closer to where you want to be is continually learning through experience. And also, through that, you may find, as I have, that "perfection" today is imperfection tomorrow. But that's fine if you keep on going!