Tag: Linden Endowment for the Arts

LEA MoM KO

Posted on by Inara Pey

The inaugural Linden Endowment of the Arts (LEA) Month of Machinima (MoM) kicked-off today at the LEA theatre. On show were the entrants for the May competition, a bewildering array of films covering a wide range of subjects, some dark, some humorous, some musically inclined – all of them outstandingly brilliant. While it is somewhat unfair to single any single film on offer out, I have to admit there were two that I really did like rather a lot… of which I’ll return to in a minute.

Courtney Linden at the inaugural MoM

The event was well-attended, despite the loss of one of the sims serving the theatre as a landing point (LEA 3 was offline), over 50 people were in attendance, with Linden Lab represented by, among others, Courtney and Blondin Linden.

The finalists were all largely present at the event, and it was good to see Toxic, Draxtor and Crap there – and to get a few words in with Crap, who produces some of the most irreverent and funny machinima in SL – as anyone who has seen “Vinnie Linden” will attest.

A section of the audience

Machinima is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved creativity in Second Life – and in a form that can be carried outside of the virtual boundaries enforced by SL and other similar grids. The talent on display during the opening demonstrated this in full force – even if some of the resultant films were a little bewildering in terms of message and content.

Such is the power of Machinima and the depth of talent available in SL, I’m now more than ever convinced that Linden Lab needs to properly harness the available talent to help them fully and properly promote SL to audiences outside of the grid – something I’ve touched upon previously, and passed mention of while chatting with Courtney Linden, albeit briefly, yesterday.

Inside the LEA theatre

As it stands, the MoM has had a great start; and I hope LL will continue to push it throughout the month, not just via the official YouTube account and upcoming playlist, but through further showings at the LEA Theatre. I certainly hope that future MoM events will be given equal (or even greater) exposure by LL.

For those that missed the event, be sure to check-out the official MoM YouTube account – the playlist will be up shortly (if it is not by the time you read this).

So, which movies did I particularly like? Well – first there was Bakerman’s Trip:

Then there was Crap Mariner’s brilliant Oscar Goldberg Speaks Out:

Month of Machinima kick-off

Posted on by Inara Pey

The first Linden Endowment of the Arts  (LEA)-backed event will be kicking-off in May. The Month of Machinima (MoM) is set to be a rolling event, and one which will highlight some outstanding talent within Second Life.

The new event will kick-off on May 4th, at 10:00pm SLT, with a grand opening planned at the LEA Theatre in-world (which has four arrival points available: LEA 1, LEA 2, LEA 3, and LEA 4).

Additionally,  MoM has a dedicated YouTube account which will feature a playlist of machinimas submitted for the May event can be viewed after the opening ceremony. Currently, a short promotional video is available on the account.

For those more interested in LEA, there is an in-world Group with open enrolment available and where news of LEA-related events as well as news and other information can be obtained.

MoM is undoubtedly a good move on LL’s part, and I personally hope that the level of support shown will not trail off over time, but that it will continue to gain full and proper public exposure via the Lab as it rolls forward over time.