Voting has begun for the top 12 machinimas!

 B. Kiddo's  'The Cats will Play' is a tribute to 'Grindhouse'. Grindhouse, the movies? Not only, it was also an area in New York, famous for it dancing theatres with stylish stippers. In Second Life, what would be the one thing a sexy lady wears and does not take off ever? Of course: guns, ears & a tail! Would somebody contact the 007 productions with this idea, so the next Bond movie featurs Catwoman, please?

Aweomse because it has girls, guns, neko ears & tails brought to a nice flavour with a touch of silhouettes and a whole lot of kick ass music.  (go vote)

2. Chantal Harvey - Arthole presents: Orientation

 A capture of ideas grown in Arahan Claveau and Nebulosus Severine's ingenius minds, this machinima directed by Chantal Harvey is what George Orwell would have thought of in stead of 1984 if he knew about 'Soylent Green' and 'Second Life'. Oh... and bunnies! On the beautiful tunes of 'Guantaremera’ this is a shocking - but funny - machinima.

Awesomeness rating for lot's of bunnies and a new look on classic ideas. (go vote)

3. Silver & Goldie Goodman - Swift Kick Moms for Truth

 "Swift Kick Moms for Truth" is a one-minute "machinima" video featuring virtual versions of Obama’s grandma and McCain’s mother scolding the candidates for their deceptive ads. Lead-in by virtual Tom Brokaw.  Created in the Second Life® virtual world by Machinima by Silver and Goldie,  with voice artist Mark Winston.

Awesome why? Watch both presidential candiates cry from shame, as their 'grannies' reprimande them. (go vote)

4. Krrish Spyker - The Visitor

Directed by Krrish Spyker for machinima production house KS Productions, 'The Visitor' is a well thought off, visually stunning virtual story filled with darkness, adventure and ghosts. Neat accents & vocals - with subs for those who need it, no, not that kind of subs!?!! - make this a top production.

We're in awe because it's such a fascinating storing, and we have a secret crush on the ghost. (go vote)

"The Visitor" from Krrish Spyker on Vimeo.

5. Halden Beaumont - Beyond Magic

Halden Beaumont - and his human Hugo Almeida - created this visually stunning* piece of machinima to showcase our virtual world's 'strong points'. Potential: Communication, Education, Knowledge and Hope in Second Life.  (* it contains footage shot at Rezzable's Black Swan)

We would have loved this one even if it did not feature Black Swan for it's overview of Seond Life's strenghts. Great 'quick introduction to'. (go vote)

6. Bobby Lee Linden: Public Service Announcement #1

Bobby Lee Linden (no relation to the Lindens of California) is a good old boy from the trailer park. Always has a beer in hand.  He is the nephew of Older the Elder and refers to Older as his "drinkin' uncle." He bakes chocolate cupcakes that have hallucinogenic effects, especially on Lady Letitia.  He does public service announcements about various introductory issues in Second Life. His 'Public Service Announcement #1' is virtual comedy of the best kind: where & how to attach your penises, when should I get it out, when should I leave it in inventory and some quick tips about poseballs.

Absolutely Awesome because the 'LMPAO' acronym was probably invented especially for this machinima. Or should that be LMPO? ;) (go vote)

7. Dizzy Banjo - Message in a Bottle at SL5B

Footage from the SL5B exhibition 'Message in a Bottle' by Dizzy Banjoy and Lillie Yifu. A colourful spectacle with music Dizzy wrote especially for the machinima. A collection of 'positive messages' about our virtual pasts and hope & dreams for it's future. Something that everybody that has a 'does Second Life have a future' dip should watch!

Astonishing in it's awesomeness for bringing real life positive testimonies from Second Life's residents. The wide variety of accents is a nice and fascinating bonus. (go vote)

8. Irah Anatine - SLoundtrack

An captivating intro about the meanings of first & second life, lonelyness, happyness, joy, weaping, futures, pasts, ... illustrated by a mixture of images, of which most are Second Life machinima ones. Depending on how you are feeling now, Irah Anatina's SLoundtrack will make you burst out in tears, or burst out in happy laughter.

Awesomeness lies within the beautiful composition of images and the soft, comforting voice that tells a whole lot of truths. (go vote)

Miss Anatine asked us to redraw her 'SLoundtrack' from voting in favour of Halden Beaumont's 'Beyond Magic', as Halden is Machinima Director of her 'Babel Project'. It would be unfair to transfer the 40 votes Irah already acquired, so those will be rendered void. Miss Anatine saw no problem in leaving her machinima up for your viewing please, so please, enjoy:

9. Nitwacket - Sucker

Pyewacket Bellman - also known as 'Nitwacket' - created this 'vampire music video' especially for Vampira Kanno's song 'Sucker': 'Vamp and I met in Second Life when we were both very new. During 2007 - the year of "The Great Lag" - we struggled with the Second Life learning curve in an attempt to create a "live" format for her music in world. We never did figure that one out, so I decided to learn machinima.' Chosen for screening at the Cambridge Film Festival, this is certainly one to watch!

Awesomeness rating for sexy vampire, great song, lots of wings and dazzling view points. (go vote)

"Sucker" - Second Life Music Machinima - HD from Nitwacket Machinima on Vimeo.

10. Torley Linden - Watch Cat Heads Roll

No need to introduce Torley 'Watermelon' Linden, but Torley felt the need to showcase some Second Life functionability to us. Containing Dynamic realtime shadows & per-pixel lighting, Havok 4 physics, WindLight atmospheric rendering and sculpties this video is a humerous 'show off' of Second Life capabilities. Torley's beloved Ravenelle is starting as the cute dancing kitty.

(Awesomeness)² because of the typical Torley 'happy happy joy joy' atmosphere. Lovely colours, high tempo and shadows! Shadows!! (go vote)

11. Claus Nehmzow - Cigna / vielife health education in Second Life

Cigna and vielife partnered with Method to develop a virtual extension of their health coaching service. This machinima by Claus Nehmzow captures how this can be implemented: in-world voting, presentations, virtual dinner tables, foodlabel explanations, 'whack a food' game, ... . Prime example of education in virtual worlds.

A worthy education video because of it nicely illustrates the different tools that are available to SL educators & their impemantation. (go vote)

12. John Escher - John Escher The Series

The story: ''Professor John Escher has earned renown for his psychology experiments on students using avatars in 3D virtual environments. After his wife, Lisa, is diagnosed with a terminal illness that confines her to the hospital, he finds himself drawn deeper into the virtual world to combat his loneliness. It exposes him to his darker side... While working on one of his experiments, Escher receives a phone call from his wife who tells him she feels certain she is about to die and begs him to come her side.  He rushes to the hospital to find her bed empty. Escher confronts a doctor who hands him Lisa's two-day old directive donating her organs to waiting transplant patients. She has passed away and her body is undergoing harvesting. Escher is left shocked and grieving and on his own. But when Lisa’s avatar is hacked, he no longer knows whether she is really dead or alive… '

Absolutely confusing mixture of 'real life' and 'second life'. I'm still not sure if the humans are real, or if they were programmed by avatars. Exactly this kind of weirdness makes this show so fasinating. (go vote)

13. B. Kiddo - Play

From the same machinima director as 'The Cats will play' is 'Play', a dark & sexy music video on Frontline Assembly's 'Predator' song. Like pretty animations, hot avatars and sensual dances? Then this one is the one for you to watch!

Awesome why? We're suprised you still need to ask, but here we go: dark, sexy, pretty animations, hot avatars, sensual dances. (go vote)

14. Draxtor Despres - Gobal Justice (Second Life Style)

The International Justice Center opened recently in Second Life with a panel discussion featuring International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. What will the SL community do to further the cause of the forgotten and helpless of the world? Draxtor Despres captured some voices from the frontlines.

A must see as it's yet another perfect illustration that Second Life can serve positive, real life influencing purposes. (go vote)

15. Mescaline Tammas - Duran Duran Second Life Machinima Mashup

A short film shot in Second Life, for the DD 'Falling Down' Video Mashup Challenge. Mescaline Tammas (silenticeriver on YouTube) dedicates this video to The Creatorrrs, Duran Duran and their Second Life Fan Community.

Absolutely Duran Duran! (go vote)

16. Anthony Fontana - Avatar Meets Girl

This work is the first by the collaborative husband and wife team known as Fontana. By reflecting on individual personalities and real world identities, similarities between virtual world persona's are expressed through emotive animations common to the Second Life avatar, yet intriguingly unique. These works begin to examine the emerging language of machinima (machine-made-cinema) and its role in the continuum of traditional cinema language; machinima that documents and expresses the memories and experiences of avatars. Through a large aggregation of images, videos, and installations based on the accumulated inventory of the Fontana avatars, Anthony and Sandra supply the viewer with information that is both identifiable and indifferent; bridging connections with those who understand the virtual world phenomenon and those who have not yet begun to understand its impact on society at large.

A must watch because it's pretty hard to explain this intriguin machinima in words! (go vote)

Avatar Meets Girl from Anthony Fontana on Vimeo.

17. WBA-Advertising -  CCS Combat Twilight Zone Movie

An advertisement by WBA-advertising (wba-advertising.com) for Kevtun Vandyke's CSS combat sim 'Twilight Zone'.

Awesome because it's a great display of the CSS combat system and Kevtun has build a lovely sim. (go vote)

18. Osiris Pfalz - The Building of Flower Tower 2

This machinima by Osiris Pfalz shows the building process behind the final one hour sim build project by famous Second Life artists Eshi Otawara.

Absolutely obliged to watch this one if you like Eshi's art or pretty things in general. (go vote)

The Building of Flower Tower 2 from Osiris Pfalz on Vimeo.

19. Joga Kidd - X Genesis

A fake trailer for an action series inspired by and shot in Second Life by Joga Kidd, B. Kiddo productions!. Lot's of Ghost in the Shell references, but that's nothing we're going to complain about. If the X Genesis series ever happens, we volunteer to be the first hardcore fans!

Animation & Second Life... what do you want more? (go vote)

X Genesis from Joga Kidd on Vimeo.

20.  Lainy Voom - The Making of Second Life

Lainy Voom presents selected scenes from *The Making of Second Life*, the new Harper Collins from Wagner James Au, who writes about the company and the community who made the user-created virtual world here. Combining Second Life machinima with comic like stills and backgrounds, this might be the most 'visually daring' ever made SL machinima.

(Awesomeness)² because exactly that comic style makes the avatar look more 'real'. (go vote)

The Making of Second Life from TheMakingOfSecondLife on Vimeo.

21. Nitwacket - Hosoi Ichiba Machinima

Niten Altamura (Nitwacket) shot this machinima at the beautiful Second Life sim 'Hosoi Ichiba'.  A young boy & girl enjoy the good weather and nice weather, until he falls asleep and she disappears. Looking everywhere for her in the night time Hosoi Ichibi, the boy misses her tremendiously. He still returns to the sim & water when he is an grown up avatar, thinking of her. If you ask us? We think LL inventory-lossed her! ;)

Astonishing must see because of the beauty captured. (go vote)

Hosoi Ichiba machinima by Nitwacket from Nitwacket Machinima on Vimeo.

22. Akanjee Yongho & Anamkhaï Sodwind - NooB (Episode 1)

The Alienhearts like n00bs, that's for sure! Noob - by Akanjee Yongho & Anamkhaï Sodwind - is an awesome series pilot about a newbie avatar's first adventures in Second Life. From questions like 'how should I fly' to 'how can I get that girl', all is covered with nice images & dialogues: 'I'm already page up and it just... whaaa.. woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!' Mr Yongho, we're waiting for Episode 2! Lead role is for newb Charliee Courtois.

(Awesomeness)³. Contains dancing cows, no violence, some caging, kewl avatar, newb avatars, stupid avatars, smart ass avatars, humour, emotions & Second Life truths. (go vote)

23.  Molotov Alva and his search for the Creator (part 1) - Cinemax

Molotov Alva leaves his existence in the real world to examine the meaning of life in Second Life. As the journey begins, he creates a series of video diaries (dispatches) to document the experiences that transform him in this brave new world. (go vote)

Not so awesome: youtube video not available in all countries. But we assume you've all seen it before! ;)

24. Lainy Voom - The Dumb Man

Miss Voom’s ‘The Dumb Man’ is a darned impressive Second Life machinima interpretation of the story written by Sherwood Anderson. It’s far beyond what we usually see in Second Life - WindLight regardless - and contains some incredible eye candy.

Awesomeness, including the incredibely creative post-processing and inworld shooting Lainy has done. (go vote)

The Dumb Man (Main Project Jan 2008) from Lainy Voom on Vimeo.

That's all folks. You've watched all 24 SL machinima nominees. Take your votes and help us choose the 12 best to be represented in the upcoming Machinima Festival.