Machinima has become an important aspect in the Super Smash Bros. community. With the introduction of Super Smash Bros. Melee's Camera Mode, and eventually Replays in Brawl, many amateur Machinima directors (Machinimators) have begun to post their work on video-sharing websites such as www.youtube.com or www.machinima.com. Machinima productions can be recognized for their wide variety, crossing many different genres such as action, comedy, adventure or a combination of these.
Production
Pre-production
Machinima Production typically can only begin with the acquiring of a capture device of some form, usually a capture card, AV camera input, or DVD recorder. Many Machinimators choose to plan their Machinima out - normally these are the higher quality productions. Scripts, storyboards, screenplay and other professional techniques are common among the amateur Machinima community.
Filming
Filming is often done making use of Camera Mode in Melee and Replays in Brawl. In Camera Mode, angles can be adjusted as a scene is being acted out and is recorded with a capture device in the meantime. In Brawl, it works differently. Scenes are acted out in a typical Brawl, and recorded through a capture device in Replay mode. However, due to technical limitations, many hack codes are available designed specifically for Machinima use, for instance codes to remove HUD and tags or to remove offscreen indicators, as well as improved camera codes. In Melee, hacks are used for the same use in a regular Melee, due to the fact that Camera Mode only supports three players (Player 4 controls the camera).
Most high-quality Machinima avoid moving the camera around, as it can lead to tackiness. Instead, clean camera cuts are used in editing, which can be achieved with Replays by recording the same scene twice from different angles and editing them together.
Editing
Most commonly, Super Smash Bros. Machinima makes use of voice actors, usually decided through auditions or other connections to the Machinimator. Editing is done on an editing software, often Sony Vegas, but some choose alternatives such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker. Music is a common factor, though recently few Machinima use copyrighted music, opting for the music used in the game itself to avoid legal issues. Most Machinimators hope for the highest quality, and many are being exported in 16:9 widescreen HD format.
Distribution
The most common form of distribution is uploading the video to YouTube. Machinima.com is another possibility, being a site designed specifically for high-quality Machinima. YouTube usually gives the option of viewing the video in a faster, lower-quality mode or a slower, high-quality mode.
Community
The Super Smash Bros. Machinima community is a fast expanding one. Many Machinimators are friends with one another, discussing their Machinima and generally chatting over message systems such as Skype or Microsoft Messenger. Many of the more famous Machinimators are closely integrated into the community, with their more notable works.
The community grows not only with Machinimators themselves, but also with voice actors and general fans. Even those who do not produce Machinima have found themselves talking among the famous and recognized, and voicing in some very high-quality productions. Though auditions are often held, voice actors are commonly found over voice-chat systems such as Skype.
A selection of famous machinimators and machinimas:
- Shippiddge: Smashtasm & Quite A Lot, Beans Co-creator
- Guitarmasterx7: Brawlgasm, Beans Co-creator
- Dexterboy124: Peach's Slutty Adventure, Not Exactly Royalty & Wolf's Retarded Mission, Beans Co-creator
- ShadowFox014: Smashtasm & Various
- Tom Kitsune: Smash Fighter
- RaustBD: Dairantou Gaiden & Dairantou Dentetsu
- MALRWiistation360: Various
- SSBVET: Various
- LuigiBroBrawl: Shindo
- megablueblaster: Silver Crisis, Virtual Force & Various
- Tigura21: Smash King
- SuperDoodleMan: The Last Tier War & The Wrath of Giga Bowser