Why do I make movies?

Why do I make movies? First and foremost, it’s because I have fun doing it. I never thought when I posted my first movie that anyone would ever watch it. I thought – hehe! Look what I did! I felt like a little kid who had figured out a new trick and wanted to impress herself with it over and over again.

From there, I began to look at the movies other people had made. There was (and still is) A LOT to be impressed by. I found that very inspiring. I realized I had stories to tell. I have always been a writer - I just never thought I’d have an outlet to lift those stories off of paper and into something visual.

My abstract movies really appeal to me because I remember trying to paint or sculpt. I would have a definite idea in mind and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get the tools to cooperate. With machinima, I have so many options and opportunities to see my inner vision come to fruition. Each and every movie I finish leaves me with a sense of completion. That is a feeling that is beyond measure.

Nowadays, when I find myself looking around and realizing to no little astonishment that over the years I have been blessed with a growing audience, a large part of the enjoyment I receive is in seeing comments about how my work has touched someone. Hearing from someone that I managed to tug at an emotion they haven’t felt in a while, or that a forgotten memory had been brought to the fore for them, is astounding. Reading that I made someone think and reflect is truly inspiring to me, and keeps me energized. I never know which movies will reach which people, but it seems that I always speak to someone on some level. That leaves me gazing in the mirror with no small amount of awe wondering…what brought me to this place? I am honored that anyone takes 5 or 10 minutes of their time to click play on one of my movies.

Some of my movies have multiple actors, some just me narrating, and others no voices at all. When other actors volunteer for my projects, I am again so flattered and grateful that they like my script enough and trust me enough to be willing to participate in the production.

The assistance I have been given over the years from actors, musicians, technology gurus, supportive fans – none of these were the reason I delved into machinima, but they are a significant factor for my continuation.

Anyone Else But You

So, I did a duet with a friend from overseas (Sparky). He did the guitar and sound editing, and then I put together a music video. Big writers coming to machinima - beware! You can't top flying monkeys. Or flying pants!




The song is originally by The Moldy Peaches from the Juno soundtrack.

The Thingy

A woman. The desert. A mystery. The Thingy.



I know, I know - it's a silly title. The competition I made it for has pre-designated movie titles, and the challenge is to create a movie to go with the title.

This is an abstract piece complemented by music from Kevin MacLeod. It was made in iclone3 and edited with Ulead.

It Is My Nature - A Tale of Gwaeold

I had the recent pleasure of working with animatechnica on his fantasy movie It Is My Nature: A Tale of Gwaeold.

This is based on the old fable "the scorpion and the frog" - this time set in the land of Gwaeold, a fantasy world animatechnica has been chronicling. Featuring me as the talegiver, Peter Martin as the Nazrani, and Wolfzone as the Elohim. Music by Mediaeval Baebes and Gerhard Daum.

I am really impressed by the unique flair he brings to his fantasy films, and what really catches my eye in this one is the Elohim's steed.

Voiceacting - Casting calls vs direct approach

Voiceacting is a challenging hobby, especially as each director brings his unique flair to his project. As I’ve branched out more into the general machinima/animation community, I thought I’d share a bit about my experiences in accepting/declining/casting roles.

I’ve gotten spoiled by working with the same core group of people over the past three years, and as a group we have developed fairly specific methods of approaching voiceactors and being aware of the expectations of both directors and VA’s.

Our casting decisions are usually made using one of these method: open casting calls or approaching specific voice actors – or a combination of the two.

Casting Calls

Open casting calls can be a lot of fun and draw attention to talent that the director wasn’t aware of. A typical casting call reads like this:

Casting call for Project Z
Role: Sam
Gender: Male
Age: 20-40
Preferred accent: Mid-western US
Number of lines: 10-20
Character description: A rather grouchy man who only gets cheerful when other people are miserable
Sample line: “These pretzels are making me thirsty”
Send lines to: myemailaddress@fakeland.com

Role: Betty
Gender: Female
Age: 20-30
Preferred accent: Southern drawl
Number of lines: 30-40
Character description: She masquerades as a southern belle but stirs up trouble behind the scenes
Sample line: “Why, I do declare!”
Send lines to: myemailaddress@fakeland.com

When I enter a casting call, I still follow the criteria I have outlined below in making a final decision about a role.


Direct Approach

When a director approaches a VA via email, forum PM, etc. about a role, that means he/she has a specific role in mind for the VA to play.

The first round of information I find helpful to gather up before making a decision includes, in no particular order:

#1 I want to make sure the directors knows that just because I agree to consider a character or read a script doesn’t mean I’ve accepted the role.
#2 I almost always want to read the entire script before I’ll commit to a project. If the script isn’t available at this point, a general synopsis will suffice.
#3 I am looking for interesting characters to play. Who is the character I am being asked to play? What is her relation to the other characters in the movie? I love it when I receive a character background to consider along with the script. I’ve even on occasion received a jpeg of the character as well.
#4 I want to be directed. I hope to see on the script at least some general guidelines regarding the lines. I’ve seen notes from “soft, urgent whisper” to “In this line Rosie is worried about waking up the rest of the house, but she is on the phone with Ray and really needs him to know that she is about to sneak out”, which would bring out a delivery far different from “In this line Rosie is hiding in the closet worried that her attacker will find her, but she is on the phone with Ray and wants to make sure he knows she is in danger”.


My usual list of questions when I’m making a final decision about a role:

#1 How quickly do you want the lines back? It can take me days to weeks to finish up voiceovers and I prefer upfront communication about this at the beginning. If the movie needs to be finished within a few days, I am not the best choice.
#2 What format should the lines be sent in (i.e., .ogg, .wav, .mp3, etc.)?
#3 Where should I send the lines?
#4 Is there a possibility the movie will be used for commercial purposes?
#5 I want the opportunity to watch some other work by the director so I can get a feel for his/her style.


The toughest part of considering roles can be saying no. Sometimes a director can be very persistent, almost to the point of pushiness. I do have a standard neutral response I use when declining roles, but depending on the director, I might provide more of my rationale.

The most rewarding part of voiceacting is working with some simply amazing directors. I have enjoyed that unique privilege over the years and look forward to many more such experiences.

I Will Not Speak of It Released

I Will Not Speak of It premiered at the TMU Movie Night (please watch the TMUnderground blog for more information on that event).

A special thanks to Rainman, www.coolclones.com, James Martin, thebiz, and BiggsTrek.

The vast majority of the movie was created using iclone3, but can you spot where I integrated TheMovies as well?


Some secrets are better left unknown....and unspoken....



If you follow the link to Vimeo you can watch the movie in HD.

I Will Not Speak of It to premier at TMU Movie Night

I will Not Speak of It will be showing at the TMU Movie Night this Saturday.

I keep trying to come up with a good way of describing this movie, and I'm still sticking with "an emotional short." Oddly enough, I'm especially pleased with the way I did the ending credits.

Anyway! All are welcome to the event, and I will be uploading the movie elsewhere after Saturday.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the other movies and trailers that will be shown at the event.



The location will be at Overman's Theatre in Jamville (thank you Overman!)