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Adding Resources and Content to A Group
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For example, when on the "In The Classroom" group page use the "In The Classroom" panel at the top left to publish different types of content to the "In The Classroom" group.
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Create your own interest groups via the "Group - New Group" link found on the "Create content" page. Groups can be private, moderated or public.
Machinima - Part 1
Introduction
Not all my problems are solved in a blinding flash. I can be a plodder, explore up an alleyway and find a dead end, make a left turn, maybe find a solution or find something amazing and new. This was my journey into Machinima. I was teaching film-making to students at Soundhouse® at Debney Park Secondary College. Though Soundhouse® is extremely well equipped, the storeroom doesn’t contain the really expensive tools for film making, such as steady cams, dollies, and camera cranes. I could show students examples of these types shots in films, but when it came to practical work they were stuck with a camera and a tripod with a head which struggled to perform even basic pans and tilts. Another issue facing students making films at school in class time is that schools basically look the same; as a film back-lot there is a limited array of environments to use as sets. There is also the issue of students moving independently around the school shooting films, which I have found does not always work well for classroom and school discipline.
I certainly knew the problem but it wasn’t until after a day of bumbling around, surfing on the internet, that I found out about Machinima. Machinima is the art of creating films by using the engine in the computer game which creates the 3D animation which we see on the screen. What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) applies; if you see it on the screen that is what you are capturing. First or third person games are commonly the basis to creating Machinima, although other games such as arcade and simulator games are used.
Machinima is not new; in fact it has been around for over ten years in some form. Initially gamers playing Quake could use the demo function to record and store in-game action to show off to their friends. It was a group of Quake players who are credited with realizing they could use the demo function to create a story with a simple narrative rather than a record of in-game mass destruction. The first Machinima film created by this group was titled ‘Diary of a Camper’ and by today’s standards it is extremely primitive, but it was the pivotal point where a tool created for one purpose was seen to have a completely new function.
Initially an underground movement, Machinima films were often passed around from person to person via the internet. The advent of YouTube increased its exposure to a much greater audience. Machinima started to find a place in mainstream media.
In 2007 an episode of ‘South Park,’ ‘Make Love Not Warcraft’, won an Emmy Award; the episode contained a sequence created by Blizzard Entertainment, set in the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft.