The Billionaire Shell Game: How Cable Baron John Malone and Assorted Corporate Titans Invented a Future Nobody Wanted

Amazon.com

Remember interactive TV? In the early '90s, before the Internet caught everyone by surprise, interactive TV was supposed to be the next big thing. Cable operators, phone companies, and media giants raced to get in on it, spending big bucks on pilot projects in places like Omaha, Nebraska, and Orlando, Florida. Americans were told that by 1995, every household would receive 500 channels. Or better yet, the two-way capability of coaxial cable would be harnessed to let us order virtually any program or movie whenever we wanted from vast digital libraries.

But the costs and technical challenges proved greater than anyone expected. The pilot projects failed to find much public interest in interactive TV or any willingness to pay much for it. Yet the dream beguiled many corporate chieftains for a time and suited the ulterior motives of others, according to L.J. Davis, who wittily chronicles the entire folly in The Billionaire Shell Game. The book relies heavily on newspaper and magazine accounts, but Davis weaves together an entertaining tale with a needle-sharp pen worthy of P.J. O'Rourke.

Davis writes that much of corporate America was sold on the chimera of interactive TV through the relentless self-promotion of Nicholas Negroponte, head of the MIT Media Lab, who is portrayed as little better than a charlatan with "a highly flexible notion of the truth." Victims of their own techno-enthusiasm include Ray Smith of Bell Atlantic and Gerald Levin of Time Warner.

But the central and most fascinating figure is John Malone of cable giant TCI. Far from being taken in by interactive TV, he is pictured as cynically exploiting its promise in order to cut favorable deals with less savvy CEOs and to extort ever-higher fees from cable subscribers. "Wrapping himself in the mantle of the future," Davis writes of Malone, "he would find his sucker." The book presages but ends before Malone achieved his greatest triumph, convincing AT&T to pay $48 billion for debt-burdened and technologically lagging TCI.

The Billionaire Shell Game is a fun read and a good reminder that much claptrap comes wrapped in visions of the future. --Barry Mitzman

Book Description

In 1992, John Malone, the brilliant, hard-nosed, and widely feared CEO of cable giant TCI, announced that the 500-channel information superhighway was imminent, and he was going to build it.  The media went nuts.  Companies by the hundreds, investors by the millions, politicians of all stripes, rushed to embrace this marvel of the age, this technology that would change our lives and make the savvy and the quick rich beyond the dreams of avarice.

Trouble was, John Malone's interest in building the 500-channel information superhighway was largely rhetorical.  He was much more interested in selling his debt-ridden company, with its notorious reputation for wretched customer service, to Ray Smith at Bell Atlantic--in what would be the largest merger in United States history.  But sometimes bluffs--even $33 billion bluffs--get out of hand.  As entertainment, phone, computer, and electronics companies raced to spend vast sums on interactive digital television (the miracle technology at the heart of the information superhighway), nobody stopped to answer a crucial question: Was John Q.  Public really going to fork over his hard-earned dough to have a conversation with his television set?

Witty, brilliantly reported, and wickedly revealing, The Billionaire Shell Game follows the best and the brightest of the information age--people like Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin, Wired guru Nicholas Negroponte, media mogul Barry Diller, the unpredictable genius Ted Turner, and the only man Malone truly feared, Rupert Murdoch--as they enthusiastically spend their stockholders' money in pursuit of a glittering future.

L.J.  Davis has written a wildly entertaining tale of greed, stupidity, and the high-tech shell game.

Customer Reviews:

Cable Barons.......2000-01-15

This book is the single best book summarising the history of cable and its influence on our lives.

Good content, jumbled delivery........1999-11-18

I liked the book because I enjoyed reading about the players involved. It would have been a better read had the author not "bounced" around on the time-line so much, & left a few cliche's out.

Inartfully written but fascinating history of cable TV........1999-05-13

It's a history of Malone's cable empire that grew out of TCI, and the early struggle among entertainment, electronics, and telecommunications companies for control of the coaxial pipeline that brought us interactive digital television and the information superhighway's express lane.

A blurb on the back cover from Les Brown, founder of Channels magazine, speaks of the author's "explosive wit." I find Davis's writing, in this book at least, annoyingly snide. His bias against Malone drips from the pages.

Nevertheless, he presents a fairly interesting history of the cable industry, providing a backdrop to the high-stakes, seminal deals being done in the media industry now, involving mega-players such as AT&T, Time Warner, Microsoft, MCI, America Online, Comcast, and MediaOne. This is a time of monumental change in the media industry, and it helps to have a sense of the history.

The titans referred to in the tag line, besides Malone, include Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, Barry Diller, Gerald Levin, Nicholas Negroponte, Steve Ross, and Nick Nicholas. Oh, and the story prominently features Malone's political nemesis, a former Senator from Tennessee named Gore, who once called Malone the "king of the cable cosa nostra."

A good attempt on the sprawling tale of interative tv........1999-03-02

The author takes a particularly negative stance towards boosters of new technology (such as Nicholas Negroponte)--some of it deserved, but some of not. It's as if he feels it's his role to be negative to counter all of the hype. Since I generally don't have much trouble distinguishing hype about technology from reality in the media, I was kind of annoyed by all the anti-hype, but others may appreciate this.

The other problem with the book is that it sets out to tell the story of John Malone and his relationship with Bell Atlantic. Once it passes the point chronologically when that relationship ends, the narrative of the story seems to wander around without a direction. It occurred to me that the author was trying to tell a story, but in presenting fact, not fiction, he had difficulty with the fact that the story he's telling hasn't ended. The story of the inter-relationships between media companies in the 1990s is incredibly intertwined, and he has tackled it in a style that involves glossing over the vast number of details.

I'm glad I read the book, but I had a strong personal interest in the subject matter.

Interesting subject diminished by mediocre delivery.......1999-01-18

Reads like a high school term paper written on the last day of Christmas vacation, an overdose of encyclopedia trivia and lots of cliches stretched to fill the requisite number of pages. How can so many media deals be discussed without any analysis of Herb Allen's role? Is Dr. Malone's only redeeming quality his love for his wife? Many of the people who sit in the "glowing circle of his electric hearth" knocked on his door. Bankruptcy BAD, Malone NOT SO BAD? Was Shaquille O'Neal's skin hue really the only example of digital compression's color problem that Davis could find? Surely some inanimate object that could be more appropriately described as "black" appeared green when telecast via digital.

Book Description

The Machinima approach to creating movies promises to revolutionize the computer animation industry and this book will serve as the industry bible for emerging filmmakers. It expertly covers the very latest technology in filmmaking, from the history of Machinima, who the major players are, and where the Machinima movement is going. Conventional filmmakers are quickly adopting this medium as a much easier and economical way to produce animation films. This book contains a wealth of tips, tricks, and solid techniques to creating your own Machinima films from some of the best creative minds in the industry. Numerous hands-on projects are provided to show readers how to expertly create, edit, and view their own films. Some of the hot topics covered include developing actors, preparing sets, incorporating audio, adding special audio and visual effects, using the best post production techniques, using the best game engines, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Unique and informative.......2004-11-09

This is well written walkthrough of filmmaking with game engines like Quake and Unreal. It starts with a basic introduction to the field. He then goes into installing and using the Machinimation application that you will use to choreograph your film.

The book then follows the path of increasing complexity, starting with moving lights around, then adding actors, animating the actors, controlling the characters and adding visual effects. He then continues all the way through to capturing the video and audio and completing the filmmaking process.

One of the best chapters is the section of cinematography where the author strays from the introductory form to give practical advice about how to make a better film. The chapter on character development is also excellent, showing the development of a character from rough sketches to a full three dimensional model.

I enjoyed this book. It was a well written introduction to a whole new field of artistic expression. Definitely a must buy for those interested in the field. Those who are curious may want to browse it, but won't find enough outside of the strict walkthrough to make it worth the price.

All Aboard!!.......2004-10-08

Marino does a superb job of detailing Machinima's short history, hitting on the high points in its growth from a spark to a major media storm banging down on mainstream media's door.

3D Game-Based Film Making covers most of the basics in the creation of a machinima film while at the same time informing the reader of the many ways that machinima and conventional filming share some of the same techniques and history but also showing the power that machinima welds that sets it apart.

The tutorials in the book are geared for people just getting their feet wet in this vast new medium. Marino takes a slow but meaningful pace so that readers can "walk through" the lessons and have a chance to review the steps they have just taken without getting lost in the process.

The book does have it's shortfalls but I guess this is due to the world of machinima being so vast. Having some of the tutorials examples on the disc would have been nice to have something to compare you work to. Also having some machinima films to watch so there can be some visual reinforcement of what you are trying to create but I suspect it was due to legal issues that they could not be included.

Overall well worth the price for the beginner who is just getting into the medium. The amount of information is staggering but when you go through it, it enriches the journey of discovery into this brave new world.

Will save beginners from countless Google searches.......2004-09-30

I heard of machinima about a week ago in the Economist magazine which also featured comments from Paul Marino, this book's author. A week later and I've got the book, but I'm a little let down but what the book has added to my knowledge.
I'd say someone who has only heard of machinima and hasn't designed their own level in a 3D game would get tons of gems from this book. Whereas poor me with a week's worth of Google searches looking for tutorials on UnrealEd 3.0 and so forth - well I only got enough information to round out my status as a serious machinima beginner.
In fairness, however, after a couple of hours with the book I was able to get the finishing touches I was looking for and successfully burned my first machinima movie to DVD. So it was a small boost I got but a very welcome one (the boost included my spending $29 for the full version of Fraps). So, yeah it will give you the tools in one place to get a finished product.
I am disappointed that Marino ends the book with a tutorial on character modeling. The tutorial is well-written but by its end you'll be looking at a cute character cast in concrete (no words on skinning or rigging, etc). Worse this character will be stranded in a program called Silo (by the way blender from blender.org seems just as good and is cross-platform and a free download) with no hint of the challenge of getting this spaceman into a 3D level designer.
The machinima community would be better served with a tutorial on how to get custom sounds and meshes into UnrealEd et al, and how to do lipsynching.
In short too much time spent teaching you how to use tools (tools generally come with their own instructions and tutorials anyway).
I was also disappointed to find no samples of machinima movies on the cd. These are such a pig to download after all. How about including one and then some kind of analysis about what makes that one sample special.
The book is called the Art of Machinima but it seems more like the Activity of Futzing with Tools.

A guidebook for anyone who wants to make a 3D animated film.......2004-09-08

3D Game-Based Filmmaking: The Art Of Machinima by Machinima and animation film director and designer Paul Marino is a guidebook for anyone who wants to make a 3D animated film on their PC but isn't sure where to start. Step-by-step instructions teach the reader how to apply tools from best selling games such as Unreal Tournament 2004 and Quake III Arena to create Machinima, a new term coined to describe animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3D world. Everything from virtual sets to memorable character design, fluid cinematography, tips on editing and distributing Machinima productions, and much more pack this informative guide especially for anyone seeking to fullfill their drive creative expression at extremely low cost.

Get an early start.......2004-08-04

Did any of you go to various Internet World conventions in the 1990s? Where VRML companies extolled its virtues and described how it was the future. Well, VRML was ahead of its hardware. Its successor appears to be Machinima.

Marino gives a nice explanation of its merits. The convergence of 3 approaches. Traditional filmmaking. Animation. And the 3D game techniques spawned by Quake. The text has enough examples to let you get started as your own film director, given a typical PC made in 2004 as your hardware platform.

It may indeed be as Marino suggests. That we are lucky to be present at the start of an entirely new era of artistic creativity. One that is very democratic. For a minimal outlay of capital, you can script and play out your own film. Essentially limited only by your own ability. The equivalent of music synthesisers that let anyone be a composer.

The illustrations in this book also suggest that these are early years. The relatively low resolution of the images points to room for further advances in resolution and rendering. Also, while the book shows a panoply of things you can do in Machinima, undoubtedly more powerful editing capabilities will emerge later. Which may be all to the good for you. Plenty of room for you to help bring about these advances.

Gaming Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools

Average customer rating:

Wonderful launch point for more exploration
Good book if you enjoy games--old or new
100 Clever Game Console Hacks for Gamers
Covers a lot of ground...
Covers every conceivable computer game type

Gaming Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools
Simon Carless
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596007140

Book Description

It doesn't take long for an avid--or just wickedly clever--gamer to be chafed by the limitations of videogame software or hardware. If you want to go far beyond the obvious--whether you want to modify your console controller to work on other consoles, create your own text adventure, or modify your Game Boy--there's an awful lot of fun you can have for cheap or free, using the creative exploits of the gaming gurus. Gaming Hacks is the indispensable guide to cool things gamers can do to create, modify, and hack videogame hardware and software. Everything from social exploits and tips to be used in MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) to soldering-iron heavy hardware hacks is covered in this extreme-cool hack guide written by gamers for gamers. Gaming Hacks offers a stunning variety of hacks, exploits, and other creative acts on both modern and archaic console hardware and today's PC hardware--one hundred detailed, ingenious hacks are included. Gaming Hacks also includes detailed software-based looks at MMO (massively multiplayer) titles, FPS (first-person shooter) games, machinima (real-time movies created using game engines), emulation, save-game hacking, and many other miscellaneous subgenres and topics. Gaming Hacks shows hardcore gamers how to configure the best FPS peripherals, hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System, modify their Game Boy, watch movies and listen to music and their Sega Dreamcast, and much, much more. Gaming Hacks shows you how to do things you didn't know could be done. If you want more than your average gamer--you want to explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, make your games do what you want them to do Gaming Hacks will show you how. You don't need to be gaming guru to pick up Gaming Hacks; you'll be one when you put it down.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful launch point for more exploration.......2005-06-10

This book covers a lot of ground -- check out the table of contents and you'll see something for every flavor of computer or video game, from the Atari VCS to PC-based first-person-shooters and massively multiplayer online role-playing games, to handhelds like Palm and Pocket PC devices, to all of the major console machines you attach to your television.

Like any computer book, this is full of ephemeral information that may not age well. In a few years, many of the links given here will cease to exist, and much of the hardware referenced could be difficult to find. Some of the tools which seem cool today will be commonplace, having been built into new revisions of hardware. The author does a good job of anticipating where this might happen, and sticks to generalities while providing specific examples wherever possible. As I write this review, the book has been in print for almost a year, and in my opinion, it remains fresh, relevant, and worthy of purchase.

Some of the activity described in this book is in the grey area between legal and illegal activity, and Carless takes care to warn the reader when he/she might be stepping on dangerous ground. Such caveats make this book even more interesting to this reviewer and probably others as well.

If you've ever done any of these things, enjoyed it, and wanted to do more, then this book is for you!
- played a Japanese game on a USA or UK territory console;
- played a "hacked" ROM of an old game in emulation;
- wanted to get more out of old games which are boring now;
- wondered about nonstandard import adapters and accessories;
- wanted to interface your console with your PC

In other words, if you're creative enough to want to think outside the narrow box that some manufacturers have put us in, and want more, you want this book, even if you've already done a lot of this stuff on your own. The weblinks alone will provide hours of entertainment, but the book draws everything together into a coherent whole. Cheers to Carless for writing this and to O'Reilly for having the courage to publish this in the age of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act!

Good book if you enjoy games--old or new.......2005-03-16

This book was a lot of fun to read and provides a lot of great tips for not only getting the most out of your current gaming system, but also for enjoying those games you played 20 years ago. The book starts out with an introduction to emulation and MAME, which allows you to play old console games (like the Atari 2600) or arcade games on a PC. The author even provides directions to illustrate how you can take an old Atari 2600 paddle controller and hook it into your PC (with a soddering iron and a little work). Any gamer who ever played on the Atari would love something like this.

In my favorite chapter, the author shows how to maximize portable devices for gaming fun. In one hack, the author shows how to play games on your iPod. In another hack, the author shows how to produce color pictures from the Game Boy's black and white camera attachment. There are even instructions for turning your PocketPC or PalmPilot into a Game Boy or even a Commordore 64.

The author has a section dedicated to creating the best game machine, where he discusses video cards, mice, and other peripherals. In other sections, the author discusses how to modify your gaming console, including Xbox mods, tunneling (e.g. making games play online that weren't designed to be played online), and other game hacks. Finally, the author rounds out the discussion by demonstrating how to create and add a vehicle to Unreal Tournament 2004. While it does require a bit of time and some work, I was surprised at how relatively easy the whole process was.

This is a great book to read if you enjoy gaming-regardless of whether they're games from 20 years ago or brand new. This book will help you to get the most out of your gaming experience and have a lot of fun doing it.

100 Clever Game Console Hacks for Gamers.......2004-12-29

If you want to go far beyond the obvious, whether you want to modify your console controller to work on other consoles, create your own text adventure, or modify your Game Boy, there is an awful lot of fun you can have for cheap or free, using the creative exploits of the gaming gurus. Gaming Hacks is the indispensable guide to cool things gamers can do to create, modify, and hack videogame hardware and software.

Everything from social exploits and tips to be used in MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) to soldering-iron heavy hardware hacks is covered in this extreme-cool hack guide written by gamers for gamers. Gaming Hacks offers a stunning variety of hacks, exploits, and other creative acts on both modern and archaic console hardware and today's PC hardware. One hundred detailed, ingenious hacks are included.

Gaming Hacks also includes detailed software-based looks at MMO (massively multiplayer) titles, FPS (first-person shooter) games, machinima (real-time movies created using game engines), emulation, save-game hacking, and many other miscellaneous subgenres and topics.

Gaming Hacks shows hardcore gamers how to configure the best FPS peripherals, hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System, modify their Game Boy, watch movies and listen to music and their Sega Dreamcast, and much, much more.

Gaming Hacks shows you how to do things you didn't know could be done. If you want more than your average gamer, if you want to explore and experiment, unearth shortcuts, or make your games do what you want them to do Gaming Hacks will show you how. You don't need to be gaming guru to pick up Gaming Hacks, but you will be one when you put it down.

Covers a lot of ground..........2004-11-22

If you're a gamer who is always looking for new information to improve your gaming experience, check out Gaming Hacks by Simon Carless (O'Reilly).

Chapter list: Playing Classic Games; Playing Portably; Playing Well With Others; Playing With Hardware; Playing with Console and Arcade Hardware; Playing Around the Game Engine; Playing Your Own Games; Playing Everything Else; Index

Like all Hacks titles, there are 100 hints, tips, and hacks that cover the spectrum of gaming, from hardware to software, from consoles to online gaming. If you're old like me, you might enjoy Play Commodore 64 Games Without the C-64 (#2) and Play Atari ROMs Without the Atari (#3). Those will take you back to your early days of computing. If you're into first player shooting games, Tweak Your Tactics for FPS Glory (#94) will help boost your scoring. Carless will even help you play Japanese video games without knowing the language in #97 - Play Japanese Games Without Speaking Japanese. He shows you some basic hiragana and katakana that you'll encounter frequently in those games, and that might allow you to bridge the language gap.

The only trouble I see with the book is that it's covering such a wide area of subject matter. Unless you're a full-time gamer, you'll probably find a number of areas in this book that don't pertain to your interests. In some ways, that's OK for a Hacks title, as not everything is meant to apply to every single reader. But this particular title seems to be a bit more scattered than usual. The material is good, to be sure, but each reader may have a different opinion of the book based on what their gaming interests are.

Covers every conceivable computer game type.......2004-11-13

This book covers everything. You can go old school and get information on Mame games and building your own arcade machine. It covers portable with information on PDA games, hacking your Gameboy, and installing a PS2 in your car. It talks about the online world with combat strategies, how to game the systems to make money, and how to find and avoid cheaters. It's got great advice on how to build high end gaming PCs. Consoles are covered as well. He talks about overclocking them and chipping them to play import games. And that's just a sample.

Were this any other type of book I would say that the coverage is unfocused because it's too broad. But it's a Hacks book and these are intended for people with a clue to give them material on a wider range of topics. It starts you off and expects that you will run with it. For example, you get a lot of information about how to create a home arcade machine with Mame, but you won't get the detailed construction plans.

The text is well written, though he does tend to use the gamer lingo, so you may need a translator if you aren't up to the minute. Certainly the best book I have seen for people who want to push their gaming experience beyond what you can get out of the box from Electronics Boutique.

Average customer rating:

Very Basic - Not Worth The Time
A new way of making movies based on technology originally developed for computer games
A new way of making movies based on technology originally developed for computer games
can be done on a small budget

Machinima
Dave Morris , Matt Kelland , and Dave Lloyd
Manufacturer: Course Technology PTR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1592006507

Book Description

"Machinima" offers an in-depth look at where machinima has come from, how and where it is being employed, and its future. It is one of the first books catering to the demand for practical information on this fast-growing and exciting new moviemaking medium. Examine how machinima has been put to use in recent blockbusters, including "Troy" and "The Lord of the Rings" and take an in-depth look at the production pipeline of machinima movemaking as you walk through every step of the process--from screenwriting techniques and storyboarding through character design, lighting, sound effects, and closing credits. You'll also discover where you can find machinima movies on the Web.

Customer Reviews:

Very Basic - Not Worth The Time.......2006-02-22

I was looking for a book that gives a intro tutorial on creating machinima, but this book is so basic that it fails even at that basic expectation. It has nice glossy pictures, but most topics of serious interest (e.g., copyright, setup, distribution, etc.) are nothing more than 1-2 pages, with half of each page space dedicated to pictures. I flipped through this book literally in 3 mins, looking for one reason to keep it but to no avail. It's going back to Amazon. I don't want to sound mean, but I want to share my views so that others don't waste their time ordering and returning this.

A new way of making movies based on technology originally developed for computer games.......2006-01-03

Matt Kelland, Dave Morris and Dave Lloyd's Machinima: Making Animaled Movies In 3d Virtual Environments provides examples of a new way of making movies based on technology originally developed for computer games. Machinima movies are made on virtual sets using virtual characters and 2D graphics engines derived from popular games - so any filmmaker with a home PC an create them. Learn how to build sets, handle animation, customize existing sets, and plug in characters through a title which addresses everything form camera angles and acting to a history of machinima.

A new way of making movies based on technology originally developed for computer games.......2006-01-03

can be done on a small budget.......2005-09-04

The book is a suitable first book on Machinima for those who've never dealt with the subject. It gives a good overview of the main topics in the field. And it shows the overlap with traditional film making in several ways. Most clearly in the necessity for good storyboarding.

But of course, the book also blends in the computer animation aspects. Where now these differ from traditional film animation by having the characters exist in a full three dimensional world.

It might be said that this is also true of mainstream digital animations like those from Pixar or SKG Dreamworks (eg. Shrek). But the book shows that the distinguishing aspect of machinima is its low budget. You and a few capable friends can easily ramp up the computing resources and software for a modest project.

Machinima For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Average customer rating:

Rhymes With "Cinema"!
Machinima For Dummies
One book to rule them ALL...
Just countering ill-informed criticism with ill-informed praise

Machinima For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Hugh Hancock , and Johnnie Ingram
Manufacturer: For Dummies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0470096918

Book Description

This book shows how the reader can, at little or no expense, make virtually any movie using Machinima. We take the reader from making their first Machinima movie to a grounding in both conventional filmmaking and Machinima technology that will let them tackle very complex film projects.

The book will focus on the following Machinima platforms:

The Sims 2: Arguably the most popular Machinima platform of all time, The Sims 2 allows you to tell stories ranging from romance to noir action.

World Of Warcraft: Tell your own tales of heroism in the world of Azeroth, following in the footsteps of award-winning Machinima creators and even the makers of South Park.

Medieval 2: Total War - This astonishing new game allows you to create Lord of the Rings-scale medieval battle films using just a home computer!

MovieStorm: For the first time, unleash the power of Machinima as a professional user using a fully-featured, fully-licensed commercial Machinima platform.

The book will contain introductions to all aspects of Machinima production, from live filming in a game through the creation of sets, props and characters, as well as the basics of cinematography, storytelling and sound design.

Customer Reviews:

Rhymes With "Cinema"!.......2007-09-14

I'm pretty much a beginner to this topic, and I've found this is precisely the book you need to get if you want to learn how to make movies on your PC... I've found answers to every question I've ever had without all the jargon (and understandable definitions of jargon I've heard). It even gives advice on getting organized and how to go about creating a story... and with the included DVD (which has a little machinima program called "Moviestorm"), you can get started right away, and for free. Time for creative fun!

Highly recommended!

Machinima For Dummies.......2007-09-12

This book is the perfect guide for anyone interested in making films. Not only does it reveal the world of machinima, but the authors have provided a very informative and useful guide to the world of filmmaking. This could very easily be the classroom for students who want to explore film production as well as open up the new possibilities of film to the seasoned pro.

Machinima for Dummies is simple to understand, entertaining and if you only want to get one book on Machinima - this is the one.

One book to rule them ALL..........2007-09-06

Finally! A book discussing the many aspects of Machinima for a "dummy" like me! ;) I've been looking all over the corners of the web for advice and tips for filming, editing, and creating Machinima, but now I can just look at this book for easy reference. The book kept me pretty interested throughout, and I felt that the writers really worked hard. (I read their blog..) :)

The book details the aspects of Machinima in a variety of games; some I never even heard of before! There are enough tips, hints, and advice in this book to allow any person, beginner or novice, to feel confident enough to enter the world of Machinima. Oh, and the attached DVD was an incredible bonus! I never even heard of "Moviestorm", but it came free (yes, FREE) with the book. This is one book that any "Machinimaker" needs, no matter your skill level! :)

Just countering ill-informed criticism with ill-informed praise.......2007-09-05

Somebody gave this book two stars because he thought it lacked coverage of Second Life. Oops, he was wrong. Even if he was right it's a stupid thing to attack the book about. So here's another uninformed opinion to balance out his.

Thomson Course Technology.(Going Digital: The Practice And Vision Of Digital Artists)(Machinima: Making Animaled Movies In 3d Virtual Environments )(Brief article) : An article from: The Bookwatch

Average customer rating:

Thomson Course Technology.(Going Digital: The Practice And Vision Of Digital Artists)(Machinima: Making Animaled Movies In 3d Virtual Environments )(Brief article) : An article from: The Bookwatch

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000FDFRHS
Release Date: 2006-04-14

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Bookwatch, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 533 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Thomson Course Technology.(Going Digital: The Practice And Vision Of Digital Artists)(Machinima: Making Animaled Movies In 3d Virtual Environments )(Brief article)
Publication: The Bookwatch (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: NA

Article Type: Brief article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Machinima
Leo Hartas
Manufacturer: ILEX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K71OSU

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