PHOTOS GALORE 100 Theme Challenge
Costumes and Set Design Inspiration
Ad by Jorgha Haq
Contents
Contributors
letter from the editor
7
100 Themes Showcase
10
Meet Tabby and Lunxi
34
Film Talk
36
Twisted Reels
38
Meet Newt Davies
42
In Character
44
Machinima School
50
Get Set - Viking
56
Editor Minraed Arzhel Assistant Editors
Jorgha Haq Peacemaker IC
Contributors
Lunxi Weis
photo here by DNL - 100 themes - abandoned cover photo by Jorgha Haq
official host of SIFF http://simatography.webs.com
ad by Minraed
With the 9th season of SIFF underway, and the BIG news of The Sims4 coming later this year, I am having a hard time keeping focused on this cycle. We have some really great ideas brewing for our big 10th anniversary of SIFF in the Fall. There is much excitement in the air around the Simatography offices. While we tend to focus so much on SIFF around here, you can be sure that there is much more to Simatography, as you will see in these pages as we reveal the first handful of photos from the 100 Themes simtography challenge. Wow! The talent blows me away. So have a peek through these pages and see what is in store for 2014. Happy New Year Everyone!
Minraed Arzhel
Click here to view on ISSUU
SIFF Spring 2014 is underway All of the information you need to join is available on our website at
simatography.webs.com Film makers should view the document over there on the left side of this page. You will find all of the details and tips on submitting your film to SIFF. You do not have to qualify to participate. We accept and encourage all levels of machinima making skills. Everyone can join SIFF, even if you don’t make films. Have fun with us by contributing art, photos, stories, characters, celebrities, bands, building, custom content and more.
A big thanks to Sylent Whysper for inspiring our simtography with a new challenge to keep us busy for a LONG time. The 100 themes challenge provides us with 100 words and phrases to guide us. There is no deadline, and you can join anytime. How you interpret the theme is entirely up to you, with no limitations other than those of your own imaginations. Come and join us. Create and share your best Sims photography - simtography - with us today!
above - theme 33 - makeover left - theme 3 - beautiful eyes Photos by Sylent Whysper
be amazed by all of our 100 themes albums in our gallery HERE
Flobo
theme #2 - First Kiss
ZoeyZuko
Jorgha
Cat Ketty
Flobo
theme # 4 Dance
ChristieL
Theme # 1 - Flowers
Petalbot
Linday
SmokyTopaz
MinecraftGirl
BlondeChaos
PromDiva
Ronson14
Meestor Mark
Peacemaker
SmokyTopaz
Dice Smith
Cat Ketty
theme # 3 - Beautiful Eyes NiniSims
Titus Linde
Theme #16 - Run! Dice Smith
Minraed
Theme #6 - Ghost Linday
Theme #28 - Goodbye by Minecraft Girl
Theme #9 - Machine by Cat Ketty
Theme #37 - Dangerous by DNL
Theme #21 - Pets by ZoeyZuko
Theme #62 - Flying by ZoeyZuko Theme #19 - Music by Petalbot
Theme #11 - Anger by Peacemaker Theme #5 - Playtime by Flobo
______________________________________________
with Tabby Lloyd and Lunxi Weis Tabby and her newest intern Lunxi are on the lookout for the next big name in Sims Machinima.
Finding Peace is a massive Sims 2 and 3 collaboration posted under the YouTube channel of Saga World Productions. The variety and mix is not meant as one cohesive storyline, but rather an artistic collection of vignettes by 30 individual Sims machinima makers. As we head towards the addition of Sims 4 to the mix later this year I find that this is a wonderful look at where we have been and how far we have come while celebrating the lasting quality of The Sims as a medium for our story-telling. I chose to feature this MEP - Multi Editor Project - because it exemplifies what SIFF means to me and what we hope it means to all of our fans and contributors - it is a celebration of the vast array of talents that are hidden in this machinima community. Kudos to all involved.
watch it HERE on YouTube A Quiet Night In by Ballantyne Films And now for something completely different‌ This fun and clever little machinima will give you a chuckle. Don’t miss it. Hopefully this means that Ballantyne has been bitten by the Machinima bug and will be joining us at SIFF this season.
watch it HERE on YouTube
Introducing your cracked machinima review staff: Gus Rockman, Jor’gha Haq and Peacemaker. Throwing out the formality of traditional reviews, they talk about the relevant and irrelevant...but mostly the irrelevant to bring you a different kind of review. Get to know what your oddball viewers are really thinking, and have a laugh along the way.
Casper was Titus Linde’s entry into this years Dark Side Challenge. WATCH HERE Peacemaker: Yay! A sim that doesn't look like he belongs in a yaoi. Gus: I like the lighting. Looks real enough Jorgha: Every time I hear this music I want to grab a flute and play along Peacemaker: its smoothing, but misleading Gus: RIP headphone users though....A creep. Always good to have a creep in a movie. Peacemaker: Oh how I wish we could skip down stairs. Jorgha: It is. Gives plot I don't understand. What do fish have to do with a violin lesson? Peacemaker: Pacing, pacing, pacing Gus: Is that a ringbell or just the music? Peacemaker: Staring to build up tension Jorgha: It's much better in the original German Gus: That girl had it coming, for fishing the neighbour's fish Peacemaker: Wow, lighting is well controlled Gus: Yeah. Looks real. Peacemaker: Its always the Aryan. Remember that. Jorgha: I resent that Gus: This sound effect is creeping me out Peacemaker: Me too Gus: I guess mission accomplished
Peacemaker: she startled me like a banshee at midnight Jorgha: Is Titus playing the creeper? Gus: Haha Alex is everywhere Peacemaker: He does good work. They have such pristine hair for the middle ages Gus: I love how TS2 hair moves. Wow, creepy laugh Peacemaker: The woman will be scarred for the rest of her life, which is probably 36 hours or so. Jorgha: That long? Gus: Are we going to listen to creepy hip-hop? Jorgha: Better than gangster rap Peacemaker: Reminds me of Gansta's Paradise. So, what is he, a murder, vampire or other? Gus: Look at the little ratchet sleeping in the middle of the street. He's a fish rights activist Jorgha: Not sure. I watched it in German hoping that would be clarified. Nope Gus: This machinima tells the story of Peta Peacemaker: He kinda looks torn up inside maybe its a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going on there Gus: I think he's just a creep Gus: A la Sweeny Todd Jorgha: A creep with a conscience? Gus: I think I spelled that wrong Peacemaker: But how could you not swoon over a creep that looks like that? Jorgha: You swoon? Peacemaker: You don't? Gus: Have to look up what swoon means Peacemaker: Kinda like fangirling Gus: Oh Gus: You swoon for the creep? Jorgha: Normally girls swoon. Not so much guys Peacemaker: Well if you didn't know he secretly liked to kill little girls what would you think about him? Gus: I'd think he needs more polygons Peacemaker: Ok, bromance Peacemaker: LOL Jorgha: Swoon: verb. 1.To faint. 2. To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy Jorgha: I rarely swoon Gus: I swoon Peacemaker: Well I didn't faint, I am still here. Gus: There's no reason to be ashamed, Titus made you fangirl Gus: LOL Jorgha: I think he has a thing for creepers Peacemaker: That sim is so good looking, but the mass murderer (I am assuming) thing puts water on that fire Gus: And Alex voicing him Peacemaker: He is creepy good Jorgha: Alex is awesome Peacemaker: I would suck as voice acting, mainly because everyone would want me to say g'day Jorgha: Alex and Titus make an awesome pairing Jorgha: I think people would be disappointed you don't sound as Aussie as they would expect Gus: So, out of 5 llamas how much do we give this machinima? Peacemaker: a solid 4 Gus: I'd give it a 3.5 because I wish it was longer Peacemaker: I am generous. I would have given more if i knew exactly what the main character was. It leaves me wanting Jorgha: 4 because we don't know the nature of the creeper Peacemaker: LOL, Gus is the tough nut Gus: FINAL RESULT: 4 out of 5 llamas
NEWT DAVIES OF TOXIC DREAM “IT’S EITHER PUNK ROCK OR IT’S NOT.”
A fter
winning the very first Sims International Film Festival Band Search (now known as The S.I.F.F. Battle of the Bands), Toxic Dream became a household name and Newt Davies quickly became the most popular member of the band due to his unique personality.
Voted “Most Likely to Scare Little Children” by his senior
class everything about Newt is extreme, from the way he plays bass guitar to the way he eats spaghetti. Newt has always been a square peg trying to fit into a round hole and started his first garage band while in high school. No one took his music seriously and did thing he would ever succeed in becoming the star that he is.
N ewt started out as the bass player of Toxic Dream, a
role that has now been given over to newcomer, Phoenix Michaels. As Toxic Dream moves into 2014 and the S.I.F.F. Battle of the Bands, Newt has added punk rock Theremin to the band’s unique sound. “I was considering either the harp or violin but decided on Theremin. It’s really kind of a popular underground instrument at the moment.”
N ewt’s
popularity, outspoken opinion and experience with the S.I.F.F have earned him a spot as part of the S.I.F.F. staff as the face and promotional guru of the Battle of the Bands.
With Roaring Heights comes the inevitable Roaring 20’s inspiration. For your next Jazz Age, Film Noir or Prohibition Era machinima, fashion or photoshoot, be sure to have your characters dressed in style from head to toe.
costume design by Lunxi Weis - Words by Minraed Arzhel
Find most of These
without looking the Sims
e Styles and more
g further than 3 Store
www.cafepress.com/simatographystuff
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stay connected with the SIFF Buzz
By RuthlesKK
Custom Content Free Download at The Sims 3 Exchange CLICK HERE
Machinima School at Simatography has been underway for some time with a variety of staff, member and community made tutorials to help you become the best machinima maker you can be.
These tutorials are also
often helpful for improving photography skills. For beginners there are a handful of tutorials, both written and on YouTube that will guide you through the basics of camera settings in the Sims to using basic game cheat codes to manipulate your sims and your game. There are also tips on how to avoid the most common beginner mistakes so that your machinima project will look more polished. For intermediate and advanced machinima makers you too will find helpful guides and tips. Some of The Sims most skilled machinima makers have shared their secrets with us. Machinima school is about learning from one another. Coming
soon
we
will
have
our
own
collection
of
Machinima School videos which will give you inspiration to try out new cinematic techniques. In the meantime we are sharing a written example of one such lesson here. Flip the page.
By Minraed
Basic Cinematic Techniques #1
PAN
Panning Tips and Conventions:
Start and end your pan shot with a brief pause before and after the movement. This will help make transitions cleaner when editing.
Expect to repeat the shot many times, especially when following a moving subject.
Don’t pan too fast; it is hard on the eyes. Setting up a slower lerp duration will make the movement slower and the motion blur less obvious.
The typical convention is left to right, because that is how we read, at least in some parts of the world. It is understood that panning in the opposite direction can be useful when you want to create a feeling of tension or otherwise dramatic effect.
Aim to have good photo composition at both the beginning and the end of the pan scene. (you can get photography tips on the Simatography website)
Panning is the horizontal movement of the camera across a space. Common uses for panning would be to show a large space that cannot be captured in a single frame. Think panorama photos for example. It is also often used to follow a moving person, object or vehicle over a set distance.
The detailed, video version of this lesson will be available soon on our YouTube channel and at Simatography.
To see this effect in action Panning from above to follow a sim walking creates a sense desolation and of how far she has been walking. By Nittens - starts at 1:04 CLICK HERE to see it Panning across the window as the man outside transitions into a werewolf for an interesting effect. By Minraed - starts at 1:57 CLICK HERE to see it
Stage design, either for machinima or a photoshoot sometimes requires us to use custom content along with EA content. CC allows us to enhance the overall feel of the environment which can be the difference between mediocrity or critical acclaim. Over the past few years with the release of television series like Game of Thrones and Merlin, games such as Dragon Age, Dragon’s Dogma and The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, a trend towards historical or mythical storytelling has been on the up and up. How are we to replicate the feel with limited game content? EA Has supplied some in-game content such as the medieval outfits from Ambitions, store content including a castle building set, castle decor, Dragon Valley and to some extent Midnight Hollow adds to this, but these sets lack that something special. Mix in some custom content and you get a more intense feel. So where is this custom content I speak of? Tumblr of course! If you are unaware of the large simming community of this popular social network, you may want to come out from under your rock. If not, welcome to my addiction, and yes, it is more addictive then skooma.
What a lot of creators have been doing over recent years is the conversion of content from other games. What this has given us is a woolly mammoth’s worth of additional content to use as we see fit. One such creator is Murfeelee who is converting Skyrim content for use in The Sims 3. Not only is it awesome content, but a lot of it is recolourable so there is further customisation. From spellbooks, flying pages, dragon and troll skulls to thrones, shelves and pews, there is always new content popping up if you want to create a period look, or perhaps something a little more mythical. So if you are looking at taking a trip to ancient Scandinavia or the far off mythical lands of Tamriel, be sure to check out Murfeelee’s Skyrim content conversions as well as EA’s own creations. One or the other or mix them up, you wont be disappointed. Murfeelee’s simblr: http://murfeelee.tumblr.com/ Dragon Valley: http://store.thesims3.com/dragonvalley.html Midnight Hollow: http://store.thesims3.com/midnighthollow
www.suum www.thesimsresource.com/artist/fredbrenny
msim.com www.thesimsresource.com/artist/gissence