Well alrighty!

Things are still going strong, steadily and nothing drastic has happened --- except for Keith waking up and yelling while pointing to the corner of the room. Come to find out he was having a dream about tornadoes or something weird like that. He does some creepy stuff in his sleep sometimes. He sits straight up and talks - with his eyes open yet never remembers a thing. Its quite entertaining, really.

Second Life has been running like crap for both of us so we've steered clear for a bit. He's been editing footage here and there - but mostly he's been really busy with work when he isn't freaking out in his sleep.

I finally got my epic mount in WoW. Huzzah. I'm the sexiest alliance warlock ever. That's just all there is to it.

While Keith was sleeping earlier today I got bored and lonely - so I made another video. I'm not going to call it machinema - because it isn't. Its simply a music video. I didn't plan anything - nothing is original .. its just a music video. And while I'm on that topic I just want to rant for a minute.

Keith is very busy and doesn't keep up with things on the 'virtual plane' but I do. I watch everyone's videos, I comment when I deem it necessary, give pointers when I feel they are wanted/welcomed -- that kinda thing. Just because you have FRAPS does not mean you make machinema. Just because you can use a few transitions doesn't mean what you are making is movies. There are some people in WoW (and SL too) that make these videos that are just spontaneous. There's a guy in WoW that does one almost every week. It has no dialogue - no real story line you can follow ... so I call it a Vlog. Its a video blog of your gaming experience.

There is a difference in a vlog and machinema. There are differences. I realize most of my problem is because I'm so protective of Keith, his work, and his ideas. He's such a soft spoken 'nice guy' that sometimes someone has to stick up for him. Anyway - we've kinda been insulted in general as far as the 'machinema' community goes. No we don't have time to play a video game 24/7. We don't get paid for those tutorial videos. We do those for free as a service to the community - and simply to do what we like to do. We genuinely enjoy making videos. I love to write - Keith loves to edit. Its one thing to be a fan -- its quite another to be a demanding person who has no idea what it is they are asking. So to clear it up - I'll just go into detail. Maybe some people will calm down. Oh and call me a bitch .. but I just want everything crystal, k?

Keith is in the military. He works 12+ hours a day at least 5 days a week (sometimes 7+ days in a row). The Air Force is his full time job. Anything done outside of his working hours is merely a hobby. You cannot expect him to keep appointments on short notice. He's in the military. He never knows when he's going to get off work at 0300 only to be called at 0900 and be asked to work another shift. Now if there has been sizeable notice given then usually something can be arranged. As far as filming goes - if he HAS to go to work I can fill in and film it for him on his computer. But with all that in mind - it really makes things crappy for us when people cancel at the last minute. We have to schedule things - and to send an e-mail hours before an event and say 'Oh we got someone else' is just fucking rude. I mean really!

And I'm probably just tooting my own horn ... but who else could you possibly get to film your fake weddings and put as much talent into them as Keith does? I mean seriously. There are a lot of self proclaimed 'machinema-masters' in SL -- but like I said just because you have FRAPS and you used a couple transitions doesn't mean a thing. Just like lining up MP3s in SAM doesn't make you a DJ. The SL wedding thing has really been a strain on Keith .. which is why I've really been working on my skills lately. Unlike Keith I'm completely self-taught. He's the professional and it shows -- but still. I plan to start filming the weddings and editing them to let up on Keith's schedule some. He has contract work to worry about -- I'll start taking care of everything else.

Sorry about my slight detour -- but a few things suddenly sparked my mind and I just had to get it out. Anyway! Keith and I will be gone for 3 weeks starting March 16th. His papers say to report no later than May 31st .. so that's when we'll be moving to the UK :)

[back to my video]

I don't have the YouTube link for it yet - so here's a quick snapshot from the footage reel. Just cruise over to the right toolbar and head over to NSS to view the video. Its on the main page :)

UPDATE