Machinima


 * To see a list, see the Fan movies category.

Machinima, a portmanteau of machine cinema, is a collection of associated production techniques whereby computer-generated imagery (CGI) is rendered using real-time, interactive 3-D engines — such as those of games — instead of professional 3D animation software.

Creating machinima is a popular pastime among gamers. It is the process of creating movies about the game by capturing gameplay and putting it together with music with editing software.

Note: Recording gameplay (for example PvP videos from World of Warcraft) isn't considered machinima. Machinima implies that a movie editing program has been used at some point.

Production
To make WoW movies, one needs a couple of programs (most of them can be downloaded for free), a bit of time, and some creativity.

First, you need to get some video capturing software from Fraps.com, Wegame.com (I prefer this one because it works well and its free), or Planetgamecam.com. For Mac OSX, you don't need separate software since video capture is built into the game. The next step to making your own WoW movie is the video editing software which, if you are using Windows XP, you already have and is called Windows Movie Maker. Or you can use WoW Model Viewer. For Mac OSX, you can use iMovie, which comes standard with your Mac.

Now you have the software you need, next come up with an idea, capture some game play, edit it down, and add some music or voice overs. Next, upload your new WoW movie to sites like YouTube.com, Warcraftmovies.com, Machinima.com, or Google Video and you will be on the way to stardom.

Notable machinimas

 * The South Park episode "Make Love, not Warcraft" has many scenes made out of machinima based from the game.
 * BlizzBlues was a WoW machinima series.