A Message to Machinimators

Hey,

I'm currently in the middle of production for the first episode in new series I'm doing for Revive, but there are some things that I wanted to say here.

Recently I've been getting asked about how to become a better machinimator. While there is no magic pill that will make you become the next Jon CJG overnight, there are things that you can do to make you better.

I guess the most important aspect is practice. Take a look back at my first machinima that I made nearly 2 years ago. It's absolutely God awful. I had no idea what I was doing, but I made it in nearly 4 hours. It's very impressive how far I've come. Every machinima I made after that I got increasingly better. I started to figure out how to write a decent script and how to create dramatic moments that send a shiver right through your spine (I love creating moments like that in machinima.) It just took practice for me to get where I am now (As soon as Clash & Desire hits the internet for the first time you will really see my improvement.) Even since MLG EXTREME: The Movie, I've come a long way. The movie was absolutely instrumental in my machinima progress. I really learned a lot from it. It was very complicated and took a lot of thinking to create. Looking back at it, the acting (both voice and body), camera shots, and writing were horrid, but I learned from it. I guess that's all machinima is. A giant learning experience. No matter how good you are, you'll always learn and improve. So don't get discouraged if you're just starting out and you can't produce top-quality entertainment, it just takes practice.

The next thing you have to do is watch machinima. Study others' work. I've watched hours upon hours of machinima, just studying voice acting/editing/camera techniques. I've learned from those and have really stepped up my game. You can always learn from the competition.

You also need to develop your own technique. That means you gotta personalize your machinima with your own style; whether it be camera technique, editing technique, or writing technique.

As you advance in machinima you'll start to pick up on the more advanced things in machinima, such as character development in your script. But all of that will fall into place if you pursue it long enough.

Make sure you take every opportunity to promote and advance yourself, too. If it wasn't for all the work I've done in the past, I would've never ended up with Revive. And now I have the opportunity to really shine at Revive and help build a company with enormous potential.

Also, I'm not claiming to be an expert here. Like all of you, I need to practice and improve, and the only way to do that is to make machinima and study machinima. Trust me, I still make lots of mistakes.

Good luck on your machinima ventures!
-Scott

Random Fun in Reach 2: "Sergeant JT's War Stories"

Hey,

Here's Random Fun in Reach 2: "Sergeant JT's War Stories" is currently uploading. It's just a little bit of content to tide you over until I can officially resume MLG EXTREME on a normal schedule. I just gotta get through this coming week first. It's gonna be hell.

Thanks,
Scott

Updates...again

Hey,

Lots to talk about, where do I begin?

Clash & Desire has evolved into a monster project over the past couple of weeks. Voice actors have been enlisted, music has been produced, and scenes have been acted. We've given our script to a few people to read over, and everyone seems to love it. I still can't give out any details about the plot, but those will come soon.

I've been blown away by the help that Revive has given me in the production of Clash & Desire. They've handled every request I've given them with professionalism. I couldn't ask for more from them.

Secondly, MLG EXTREME will make its triumphant return this summer. Details on that coming up soon, too.

It's shaping up to be a great summer, folks. I was not expecting this partnership with Revive. It's funny how things can change so quickly. I'll save those stories for later, though.

So now we're working on two fronts. MachinimaRevive and ShawtyHullstineFilms. Stick around to hear more.

Thanks,
Scott

Just Checking In

Hey,

Wow, I've been gone a while. What's new, you ask?

Well, the scripts for Clash & Desire are finished and production should begin after we take care of forging the sets and such. I'm so excited to start. If you're reading this, then I consider you a loyal fan, so I'll let you in on a secret.

Clash & Desire will most likely run 16 weeks, depending on how Revive wants to release it. One week there will be a new episode, and the next week there will be commentary on that episode. That's how things are planned to go down right now.

Once season 1 begins airing, I'm going right to work on season 2. I'll also restart MLG EXTREME this summer, for those of you who are missing the show.

That's about it for now. See ya around.

Thanks,
Scott

Clash & Desire

Hey,

So a few days ago I added a new list on the sidebar of my blog titled "Clash & Desire- Season 1." That's the title of my new machinima series for MachinimaRevive.

I can't tell you how excited I am to start production on this series. With the help of the guys from Revive, I've written the entire season and after some final proofreading, I'll start acting and filming while the guys from Revive get the voices for me.

I've written this series with one factor in mind. Time. I'm going to be busier than usual this summer, so I've tried to limit episode times. I also believe that the season will start off a bit slowly, as most series premieres do. But I need time to introduce the characters. Trust me, things will get exciting after the first few episodes.

I'm not exactly sure when the series will start airing. I'm producing the entire season before Revive starts airing, just to make sure that we can air one per week or however Revive decides to release the episodes.

But all and all, it should be fun. Hopefully Team MLG EXTREME will make their triumphant return this summer, too.

Thanks,
Scott

Some news and stuff

Hey,

You guys haven't heard from me in a while, but I've been hard at work writing for my next thing. It's a time consuming job, but I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing. If I wasn't confident in it, then I wouldn't have completely halted regular SHF programming.

I'm not really at liberty to give many details about my next project at the moment, but there are a few things I can tell you.

First, I am writing a series exclusive to MachinimaRevive. I've been in close contact with one of Revive's owners for a while now and he and I have been talking for a good time, but it wasn't until a couple weeks ago after I finished the MLG EXTREME Movie that he and I really started thinking about a new project. I had a basic idea of what I wanted to do, but he got my imagination going and is also helping me write the script. He is also getting me some real voice actors and supplying other key components to this series, so I really can't take all the credit for it.

This series will be 8 episodes long, probably 1 episode per week, plus some director's commentary. There really isn't any violence in the series until toward the end, so the scenes should be easy for me to film. We're also trying to keep the episodes short, but I have a feeling that they could get a bit long.

I've really enjoyed writing so far. We currently have a story arc planned out and 3 episodes written. I'm really focusing hard on character development throughout the writing process. I'm also able to put a lot of myself into the main character, which is really enriching the story and development of the main character. I'm also putting a lot of effort into drama, but at the risk of losing comedy. I realize that without comedy a lot of people won't want to watch it, but I know that my strong suit is creating drama. My co-writer is keeping me in line and pointing out where some comedy needs to take place, so hopefully the series won't be dry of comedy.

I think this series will start off slow, as most series do, but things will pick up toward mid-season. You'll just have to give it time. And if people really like it, I'd be more than happy to do a second season.

We're going to produce all of the episodes before we release the series, so it should be a while before SHF resumes regular programming. I'm hoping that Team MLG EXTREME and friends will make their triumphant return sometime this summer.

And I haven't forgotten about the director's commentary of MLG EXTREME: The Movie. I'll get to that when I'm in the mood.

Thanks so much for your patience. I know that I'm not doing SHF any justice by depriving it of material, but I really want people to be able to see this story. I don't care if SHF doesn't benefit one bit from it. But I realize that this could potentially be a huge opportunity for me, so I'm gonna run with it.

Thanks,
Scott

Taking a little break

Hey,

So I mentioned a little while ago that we were facing some delays. Well after a bit of thinking, I've decided to take a little vacation. I'm not sure when my next video will be out. Possibly next week, possibly next month.

I looked through the MLG EXTREME's that I have recored yesterday and I wasn't really impressed by them. I don't want to put a bad impression on any new subscribers that we've gained after the movie. Plus, I need time to think about how to make the show better. I also need time to think of future machinimas. I have a few OKG's recorded as well, but those won't be out until I get this MLG EXTREME situation taken care of.

So spread the word about my absence. I don't want anybody thinking that I died.

Thanks,
Scott

P.S.- I'm also collaborating with an affiliate on a possible machinima series. More on that to come.