Saturday, December 4, 2010

Phaylen Fairchild: The Still and The Machinima










Wonderfully Phaylen. Make Me Laugh, beautifully! Ah, we meet again, for the continuation of my series on art in machinima, as I feature the art of machinimist Phaylen Fairchild this round. Her machinima work is beautifully captured and created, but her stories are typically comedic. Her humor is well conceived and executed, and her visuals are striking. I had a moment to chat with her about connections between visualization in art and machinima. I will be interviewing her at length for an upcoming book dealing with machinima, and I look forward to our extended talk. For now, I have a couple of emerging theories about this still art and machinima bond. First let me make it clear, that not every still artist is or becomes a machinimist. Second, not every machinimist is or will become a still artist. Yet, machinima, solely and collectively as a film genre, are composed (yes, I have used the appropriate word in this case) of a series of still frames. Motion moves us forward through the frames.

But there are times in a film, where the producer wants the audience to stop - and absorb the moment. It is as if the film stops, the screen appears frozen, and of course in a film that never happens technically. But for the viewer it does - time stands still. Stillness requires mastery in a motion picture. A still photo invites us to experience the artist's reality often in the same way. So as you contemplate on all this, I would like you to look through the eyes of Phaylen, and tell me not if you cannot see the richness of this frozen space (but never frozen image). It is a space filled with an imprint from her mind of a story revealed on virtual canvas, let's say a composite of her imagination, memories and vision. Each still work has a setting, character, and a story to tell.

This is the mind of Phaylen Fairchild, machinima diva of Second Life, WOW, and virtual kingdoms yet to conquer. She understands what makes us laugh (as in her World of Warcraft Divas series, to name only one). But when you look at and through her still photography, you begin to know there is so much to her understanding of the human soul, what makes it tick, and the self-knowhow of understanding makes herself inspired. Get a glimpse of her soul, and you will begin to appreciate the importance of every frame of your machinima. Just remember Phaylen does know how to have fun, but beautifully, in her art and machinima! She is playful and contemplative, and image matters in still and motion works. So when you smile at her ironic artistic interpretations of virtual life, or gut roll onto the floor while watching her beautifully composed machinima, you have entered Playlen's (lol, Phaylen's) world of artcraft. - Soni :)

Her work is on display in the outside court of the
Radiant Cathedral and Museum
Phaylen's Sample Machinima:
DiVAS - Phaylen and The World of Warcraft
DiVAS Season 2, Episode 2
Phaylen and The World Of Warcraft Blood Elves
DiVAS: Season 2 Episode 3
Moxie Polano: Haute Couture - Commercial
Harbinger Movie Trailer


Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice (working title, McFarland, 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo. The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to Aview.TV/Sonicity/

* * * * * * *
Just Published: "Media, Machinima and the Virtual Runway: The Rise of Fashionista in Second Life" (November 2010) in SCAN Journal, by yours truly under my RL name.
Photos taken at the Opium Time Machine Fashion Event, Summer 2010). (Soni, BEST OF SL Magazine reporter/photographer, in white)















Monday, November 15, 2010

The Character of Art: The Still and The Machinima













Machimimatophers are storytellers and artists. Yes, or should I say, "Oui"? I begin this new series with a focus on the "artistic" component of machinima. A number of machinimatophers began their interest in machinima through photography and other still work. It is with that mindset that I venture to look behind the mask of the machinimist to see what makes her or him tick artistically. I begin this series with the works of Iono Allen, relatively new to the scene of machinima (but not art). A glimpse of his gallery is displayed above; it encompasses his estate - in the air and underwater.

*******************************************
I will continue the series next time by focusing on the still work of machinimatopher Phaylen Fairchild. Her work is now being exhibited at the Radiant Cathedral and Museum.



******************************************************
What is that connection between the still and moving image, and how does understanding how to capture a concept or idea in a frame translate to machinima?

An image is worth one thousand words. That is the old adage. I am not here to persuade you of the quantitative value of a photo. I would like to suggest that there is a connection between one's ability to capture an image on canvas and to craft machinima into an art form. In essence, what is a film but a series of frames, or moving images. Of course, this sounds elementary until you comprehend the complexity that might go into a frame. A series of frames create the moving image. A concept is illuminated in a frame through the right mix of light, color, and technique. We experience a sense of voyeurism when we can see aspects of ourselves in a photograph or painting. I call it a connection to humanity, that something that tugs and beckons us to look deeper into the image. That same sense of expressiveness helps to define art machinima. Art machinima has character; maybe not in the traditional sense of other machinima. All in all, machinima must have a focus that is reachable and translatable to the audience.

Welcome to Iono's World
I would like to introduce the work of artist and machinimist Iono Allen of Paris. His still art in 2009 foreshadowed his machinima style to date.






























****************************************
Perhaps machinima begins with a concept, image, still frame in the mind.
I had an opportunity to interview Iono recently, and asked him about his machinima. What is his focus? You see I have this theory: good machinima tells a story. Even art machinima draws us into the work based on its ability to captivate and intrigue us. When Iono sees an installation, he typically seeks to find that something that draws him into the piece. It is that something upon which he derives his interpetation of the work.
Iono understands the power of imagery in his photos and machinima. He captures what he sees in still and moving image. Machinima allows him to interpret through his lens the installations of others. As screenplay writer translates a novel, the interpretor reads the text through his or her own lens.

Iono explains, "Well I think that firstly the exhibition has to 'talk to me'. I try to find a link for the whole machinima - a subject, something which is not obviously said in the exhibition, something personal but without betraying the artist."

Most recently, Iono has created a machinima based on the installation of Betty Tureaud's Nine Steps to Heaven, which plays homage to Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke).

"For Betty's install, it was a bit obvious," explains Iono. "I wanted to have this old man, this astronaut, as in the movie that was not in the exhibition. It's a kind of personal interpretation, even if we both have been inspired by Clarke."

In his description of the video, he states, "I could not help to wear my space outfit and to dive in this Space Odyssey, like Dave Bowman did some time ago. Come with me?" Iono offers the viewer a personal invitation to see what he sees. Perhaps the viewer's interpretation will be slightly different. But he challenges each to have fun with art, and make it his or her own.

Iono has established a positive relationship with artist Rose Borchovski, having made machinina from her Susa Bubble installation series. He tries to find the soul of the story, the character, within an installation. What is important is that this character is often expressed as Iono. He visualizes himself into the work. In the beginning, he explained, he was not sure how to approach his machinima work. His early works were transparent, still with a bit of personality in that they were captured his way. You can see the difference between his first machinima about Susa Bubble - The Story of Susa Bubble - and his latest one, Fears. In the last one, he was, admittedly, Susa Bubble. Yes, Iono put himself in the character mindset of Susa.

He added, that it is fun to transform himself as in A Question of Honor: "It was great to be a samuraï."

Rather than merely archive the installation for the sake of preservation, Iono interprets the work through his point of view. Alas, even documentarians interpret history through their perspective. Subjectivity is the essence of art and creative intelligence.

Being a sound person myself, I made a reference to Iono about the work of author Paul Miller, MIT scholar and sound artist, who states that all culture is sampled, that all work builds upon the former. Iono concurred, "It's just as you said, I am building upon art." Iono's still work reveals his understanding of color, texture, lighting and his unique interpretation of life. He is an art collector in RL and SL. His gallery in SL is a bit deja vue of his machinima - or should I say vice versa.

Iono Allen's untitled art gallery rests in the midst of an artistic wonder- land, surreal and serene. A visit to his gallery and surround- ings (especially his underwater exhibit space) underscores how machinima reflects his love for art in life, be it SL or RL.


For more on Iono, White Lebed's article adds quite a more detail about his background.
* * *
Video References:
A Question of Honour
The story of Susa Bubble - Rose Borchovski Artwork
Fears - The Story of Susa Bubble - An Installation by Rose Borchovski
Nine Steps to Heaven - An Installation by Betty Tureaud

Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice (working title, McFarland, 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo. The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to Aview.TV/Sonicity/

Monday, November 1, 2010

Part IV-V: CyberFeminism in Machinima Art






























REIMAGINE CYBERFEMINISM & MACHINIMA
Photos by Sonicity Fitzroy: The Second Life exhibition Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, part of the Imagine Festival

This amazing collection of images of humanity and technology expresses the inseparability and convergence of person and machine. In this blog I delve into framing machinima through the lens of cyberfeminism - in essence, the consequences and opportunities for the infusion of women and machine along the virtual path of cinematic expression through machinima.






















Women in Machinima: Series Conclusion

I was recently invited to write an article that focused on women machnimists in virtual worlds, particularly Second Life. I have attempted to condense my lengthy academic discussion into a blog series on whether whether there is a a feminist perspective - or let's just say a woman's perspective - in machinima and how might it be utilized to understand the role of women in virtual worlds. This is the conclusion of five commentaries that have been posted over the last several weeks. I am collapsing parts IV and V into one blog. (I took a brief diversion to cover women's role in the 48 Hours Machinima competition in Second Life.)



Part IV: Cyberfeminist Expression in Machinima
Verena Kuni, in her 2004 article "Frame/Work," asks, "What is contemporary cyberfeminist art? Who is producing, who is processing it? Where is it to be found? How is it to be defined? Are there even any contemporary cyberfeminist artists? And if so, what about their public recognition?" (136). Finally, how do such questions inform "academic discourses on cyberfeminism?...Cyberfeminism has had an enormous impact on the visual arts today [and]...has worked to transform art - and the artists themselves."


Can one apply such questions to the art and practice of machinima making? As Kuni explains, cyberfeminism is "a revolutionary strategy, a way of life" (143). In machinima, it provides the producer and viewer a way to assess political and social perspectives. The machinima, or the art, becomes a cultural activity. Kuni adds, "New media is not essential for cyberfeminism art practice, but it does offer possibilities for working directly with the artist-audience relationship, and exposing multiple, complex overlapping meanings within the same piece - useful for cyberfeminists determined to challenge the certainties of our society" (145).
As Elisabeth Strowick explains, "the digital act...articulates both relationship" between the real and virtual self "as simultaneous" (316). In a sense, it is the interface between the performance of the real and virtual, and how gender impacts this relationship, that is critical to examination. Ingeborg Reichle in "Remaking Eden" reminds readers, "The transgression of art and life or of human and machine was the explicit goal of the historical avant-garde of the 19th and 20th centuries, in particular of the Italian futurism" (251). Identities blur as human and machine become one entity. The genesis of the word machinima draws from a conceptual assimilation of machine and cinema. The viewer and the producer accept the virtual platform as a plausible environment to tell the story or communicate a message. Machinima plays off such anxiety and quests for identity in virtual worlds and spaces.

Nayer questions whether "the possibility of multiple and different identities mean that the problems of embodiment in real life - oppressions, harassment, exploitation, pain - are resolved in cyberspace" (118). That, of course, is optimistic for "the role and impact of technology" is contextualized by social and cultural experiences (118). Technology is a tool toward achieving an outcome. Machinima is a tool that provides opportunities for artistic and communicative expression, and it might be thought of as a cult artifact of the male-oriented game world. But the practice of machinima is increasingly performed by women. Virtual worlds like Second Life provide a level playing field for men and women. Whereas the portrayal of the game world has been typically from a male perspective, women machinimists present another look into virtual communities.
Part V: CyberFeminist Pedagogy
Katy Campbell, in her article, "Power, Voice and Democratization: Feminist Pedagogy and Assessment in CMC," explains that technology, intentionally implemented, might assist in facilitating a collaborative space for dialogue beyond "social barriers of sex, age, race, physical appearance..."(Campbell). Machinimatography can merely reflect on what is going on in a virtual world, or it can offer a different lens to understand one's experiences in RL and SL. The machinimist cannot readily isolate their human perspective from their filming. It is the human eye that cultivates the machinima. Particularly in a residential game like Second Life, the filmmaker becomes the storyteller that bridges the two societies, real and cyber. The SL camera lens allows one to reevaluate gender and cultural stereotypes, to reconsider issues of social justice, to participate in recreating history and literature through role play and acting, and to serve as an expressive and experiential medium.

Machinima gives voice to women's issues in virtual and gaming worlds, and it also allows stories to be told without voice. It can be a platform for autobiographical and biographical works, or be used as an advocacy tool for social issues. It can help one rediscover and retell the stories of significant women. Machinima can be a vehicle to tell the ordinary stories and experiences of women in the gaming world.

There is an inherent mentoring among women machinimists that ideally should take place - and does at times - to foster unique gendered perspectives on machinima as a representative art form of not only the futuristic notion of cyberfeminism (as demonstrated in part through virtual worlds) but of women in all their diversity of appearance, motivation and culture. It is sometimes easy in the rush of life to forget that we, as women, are participating and crafting our futures, and our decisions become the foundational principles in the architecture of virtual life. As filmmakers, the final work is often all that is seen. But the process is of utmost importance toward the authenticity of the work.

That has been my motivation behind this series on women machinimists - to call attention to the significant role of women as media makers in the shaping of cinematic expression and mediated daily life, be it virtual or just forward thinking in the real world.

References
Campbell, Katy. "Power, Voice and Democratization: Feminist Pedagogy and Assessment in CMC." Educational Technology & Society 5.3: 2002. Web. August 28, 2010, from http://www.ifets.info/journals/5_3/campbell.html
Kuni, Verena. "Frame/Work." Cyberfeminism, Not Protocols. Eds. Claudia Reiche & Verena Kuni. Brooklyn, New York: Autonomedia, 2004. 133-148. Print.
Nayer, Pramod K. An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures. West Sussex,
United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. Print.
Strowick, Elisabeth. "Cyberfeminist Rhetoric, or The Digital Act and Interfaced Bodies." Cyberfeminism, Not Protocols. Eds. Claudia Reiche & Verena Kuni. Brooklyn, New York: Autonomedia, 2004. 301-324. Print.

Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice (working title, McFarland, 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo. The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to Aview.TV/Sonicity/

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Women's Machinima - More Than Virtual Vision

Putting the Spotlight on women again! But this is a detour away from my series, although still it relates to women machinimists. Just that I will take some time to acknowledge some very timely women's efforts, pertaining to a couple of big machinima competitions.
Behind every great man, there's a woman - and not any woman. Chantal Harvey, 48 Hour Film Project founder in Second Life, is caught behind the legendary RL film director Peter Greenaway. But in no way is she in anyone's shadow.

Over the last few weeks, some major machinima events have take place in Second Life. I would like to take note of the strong force behind these events by the strong women who contribute to them, and shape these events. At the 48 Hour Film Project/Machinima screening held in UWA/BOSL Amphitheatre in late September, I really got a kick out of the machinima The Titty Tour (by the Jewell Theatre Team), especially the in-your-face title exclaiming "I AM WOMAN - Hear me roar" to those women who totally get it - what it means to step forward and acknowledge that women bring a unique perspective to the screen and life.

My media career was built off the hard work of the women before me, and the women machinimists today are paving a path for a new generation. Don't kid yourself: those budding women machinimists are watching the women producers and the characters they bring to the screen. You don't have to claim you are feminist to understand that there is something extraordinarily brilliant about being female. That perspective needs to come to the screen - strong women who kick machinima ass by being real (real characters, credible, authentic; btw, I love the little girl in the movie Kick Ass. She is real in her own right on the screen.)

Ah, I digress again! I want to say a few words also about the last major media event that was sponsored by the University of Western Australia at the UWA-BOSL Amphitheatre. It was its final in a series of year round competitions: UWA's 3D Art & Design Challenge and MachinimUWA II: Art of the Artists. See my Best of Second Life Magazine blog for more on that.


What I did note from that event was as Taralyn Gravois (above, top), the director of the UWA-BOSL Ampitheatre, steps down from her role this year for machinima events like this, FreeWee Ling and Chantal Harvey step up to the plate: FreeWee as curator and Chantal as manager of the amphitheatre. Where do we know Chantal from, but the powerhouse that brought us MaMachinima the group, the 48 Hour Film Project (Machinima), and MaMachinima International Festival. Of course many other women have contributed to her efforts, as well as others, like Toxic Menges, Phaylen Fairchild, and Pooky Amsterdam. And what about that extraordinarily talented Flimsey Freenote, one of the winners at the 48HFP.


Another rising star, who has paid her dues by working hard on her skills, is Laurina Hawks, one of the top winners of UWA's lastest and final machinima competition (noted above) of this year. First place was tied by both Laurina (No Tomb for the Arts) & Bradley Dorchester (Art of the Artists).

I would also like to shine the spotlight on those men that have helped to make these events possible as well, such as Jayjay Zifanwe (CEO, UWA), Frolic Mills (CEO, BOSL), and LaPiscean Liberty (Aview.TV) - and many others I am leaving out.

It is extremely important to acknowledge the women of machinima, given they will help to define the film and television industries in years to come, let alone the field of machinima. I would like to acknowledge Moo Money for her work on my book project, for she has brought much experience and talent from her days with Machinima.com, Second Life, and beyond.

It is always time to celebrate the advancements of women in machinima. Keeping it short and simple this week. My blog series, Women Machinimists, will be back on track next time.

:) Soni

Machinima: 48 Hour Film Project (September 17-19)
UWA MachinimUWA II: Art of the Artists (October 10)

References:
Bravin, Persia. BOSL Blog, September 26, 2010. (48HFP)
Fitzroy, Sonity. BOLS Blog, October 12, 2010. (UWA Challenge w/links)

* * *
Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice (working title, McFarland, 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo. The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to Aview.TV/Sonicity/

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Part III: Women Machinimists





A Woman's Trial by Chantal Harvey

I was recently invited to write an article that focused on women machnimists in virtual worlds, particularly Second Life. This blog series represents the condensed version of my lengthy academic discussion into a blog series on whether whether there is a a feminist perspective - or let's just say a woman's perspective -in machinima and how might it be utilized to understand the role of women in virtual worlds. This is part 3 of five commentaries that will be posted over the next month or so.

Lainy Voom's recreation of H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon is one example of how avatars can portray credible characters. Voom is a well respected woman machinimist, who began to be noticed for her work in 2007, with the release of A Tale from Midnight City. New World Notes blogger and author of The Making of Second Life, Wagner James Au described her work as "pagan noir," and elaborating, he wrote: "In every element-- mood, photography, editing, storytelling, choice of shots, and more-- it transcends SL and machinima as a medium" ("Your Tube").

The main character contemplates her life in a darkly lit cafe. With a bit of flange added to the audio mix, the viewer hears "I will never amount to anything" amidst a swirl of her thoughts. As the mysterious winged creature, the soul catcher, enters the room, she acknowledges its presence calmly, as in expectation of this fateful meeting. Glimpses of a gun in her hand are revealed periodically. She says to the winged being, "I know who you are. I'm ready." At that point, she raises her gun to her head, and shoots, as the film flickers to black. The dark splatter on the floor implies her death. The film ends. The reason for her suicide is not disclosed, but the storyline does open up some possibilities for discussion on the portrayal of women in machinima.


A Woman's Trial by MaMachinima Founder Chantal Harvey is another instance of machinima's potential to develop strong characters in short films. The MaMachinima International Festival (MMIF) invited more than 60 machinimists to participate in the second annual international real life and virtual film screening, among which one third were women machinima makers. A producer herself of more than 150 machinima works, Harvey has garnered a following for her features. In early 2010, she created a 9 minute film based on a work by 19th Century Transcendentalist author Louisa May Alcott, printed in the New York Ledger in 1868 (Graham).

It was then that Alcott attempted to persuade women to consider the benefits of freedom over marriage. Her comments were directed to the young women readers of her time. Harvey opens her film with a passage from Alcott's writings, as published in the Ledger: "One of the trials of woman is the fear of being an old maid." The passage continues,

To escape this dreadful doom, young girls used to rush into matrimony with a recklessness which astonishes the beholder; never pausing to remember that the loss of liberty happiness, and self-respect is poorly repaid by the barren honour of being called "Mrs." instead of "Miss." (Harvey)

Harvey carries forth Alcott's message with distinction. Her narrative is strong and unyielding, but implies deep reflection upon the part of the character she portrays. Is Harvey attempting to revisit Alcott's life? She would not be the first or only to do so, given a Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documentary on Alcott was released in late 2009 and the subsequent release of Kelly O'Connor McNees' The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott in April 2010. McNees' creates a romantic tale around Alcott's life as a young woman. The book is set in the summer of 1885, and weaves fact and fiction to depict Alcott's struggle over her choice between two paths, career or marriage.

In March 2010, Harvey released a machinima version of Alcott's message. The film begins with a closeup of a late-aged woman in a frumpy dress. Harvey narrates the story in first person as the main character, Gwendolyn, explains that she was a rich man's daughter, "who was once pretty, accomplished, sensible and good." The character notes, "I lived a fashionable life and found that it did not satisfy me." The film cuts to her earlier days of life, and acknowledges the past through its use of black and white images. Gwendolyn continues, "No lover could promise anything else except the promise of life itself." The film returns back to present day, and we see Gwendolyn alone on the streets, amidst empty cafes in Paris, France. Maintaining conviction in her voice, Gwendolyn states that she "never did find a suitable husband her father had hoped for. Instead I lived a restless, tragic life with many ups and downs." One begins to understand the consequence for and acceptance of her chosen path. Gwendolyn's independence, one begins to learn, is not merely her choice to remain married, but one that informs her opinion on life itself. The narration continues,

I have obeyed instinct and to this day, walk the path I chosen, and let me tell you, my sisters, do not be afraid. Loneliness is a natural state, loneliness is a thing that is natural amongst friends - and beyond life. (Harvey)

At this point, Gwendolyn stands on a ledge of the Eiffel Tower. The film cuts to another black and white image, in which she is dancing with a man from her past (real or imagined) while the director cuts to her falling from the tower (in color). Both scenes - the dancing and the falling - overlap, and now the past regains its color. The machinima was shot in Second Life, mainly in a simulated recreation of Paris 1900. This work is an example of the storytelling power of machinima. Machinima provides an accessible means to bring new life to literature using the game platform of Second Life and a setting already created within that virtual environment. The producer can create and fashion avatars. In this story, Harvey's voice affirms Alcott's message.

One begins to see the potential of machinima for easily and affordably bringing women's voices to the forefront. The character is a credible representation, and works well to stimulate dicussion on Alcott's work and the issues that she wrote about - marriage, suicide, sex, insanity, jealousy, anger and loneliness. At this point, one might appreciate the teaching moment, where art and pedagogy stimulate thought on women's role in virtual worlds, drawing from the past and looking toward the future. The metaphorical leap of Gwendolyn presents a starting point on various paths women have taken throughout history.




Photos are from the screening for the Machinima: 48 Hour Film Project (September 17-19) in Second Life at the University of Western Australia/Best of Second Life Auditorium. http://slurl.com/secondlife/UWA/6/248/1638

The event is produced by Chantal Harvey, btw.






Next week, I will take a detour from this series on women machinimists, and take a look at the relevance of that machinima event - and really it is very much related to this series on the woman's perspective.

:) Soni


References
Au, Wagner James. "Lainy Voom's 'Dagon,'" Magnificent Second Life Machinima of H.P.
Lovecraft Short Story." New World Notes. Web. March 31, 2010, from
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2010/03/lainy-vooms-dagon.html
Au, Wagner James. "Your Tube, Your Obliteration. Tale from Midnight City."
New World Notes. Web. May 22, 2007, from
http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2007/05/your_tube_your_.html
Graham, Ruth. (October 29, 2009). "Little Women, Big Sacrifices." Slate. Web.
August 4, 2010, from
http://www.doublex.com/section/arts/little-women-big-sacrifices
Harvey, Chantal. "A Woman's Trial." YouTube. Web. March 2, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3l8eYPUZzo
Louisa May Alcott. The Woman Behind The Little Women. Nancy Porter Productions,
Inc. and Educational Broadcasting Corporation. 2009. Documentary.
O'Connor McNees, Kelly. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott. New York:
Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, 2010.
Reisen, Harriet. The Woman Behind Little Women. New York: Henry Holt. 2009.
Voom, Lainy. "Dagon." YouTube. Web. March 2010, from
http://vimeo.com/10281182
Voom, Lainy. "A Tale from Midnight City." YouTube. Web. May 21, 2010, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCSknY0Sa6I




Forthcoming, Machinima: The Art & Practice (McFarland, 2011) by Sonicity Fitzroy and Lowe Runo. The Professional Machinima Artist Guild graciously provides syndication of Sonicity’s blog Magnum: The Machinima Review to Aview.TV/Sonicity/