Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/371911
j u ly . a u g u s t 2 0 1 4 c g w 2 7 G A M I N G . C I N E M A democratize this technology for the masses. "Typically, this technology is so specialized and so costly that it's reserved for the people who have money," says Margo. As a result, this content has to be geared toward the widest audience. "If you can democratize the cost and access these tools – out of this can come a ton of unique entertainment opportu- nities," Margo adds. Interestingly, the goals for Margo dovetail nicely with the tribulations of the machinima artists. They are all seeking better ways to make unique content outside of the typical and more costly process that drives the mainstream. However, not everyone has such a rosy view of the adoption of these animation techniques for traditional filmmaking. "We're seeing more animation tools that utilize real-time systems, which embrace the philosophical approach of machinima, yet remain firmly rooted in the 'animation' camp," Marino points out. "In this way, this usage could be seen as a threat to the basic tenets of what machinima is, and the adoption of these methods could limit [machinima's] maturation as a specific way of producing stories." L E G A L L I M I T A T I O N S Ask any machinima artist and he or she will have a story or two to tell from the legal world. Due to the nature of the machinima process, the potential for legal copyright and licensing issues abound – both with the usage of host game assets as well as the license usage for the host games' tool set. Nowadays, many companies have set forth end-user license agreements in relation to user-created videos. One such company is Blizzard, whose end-user license agreement for machinima can be found online. Even the fact that, in most cases, machinima is distributed freely online does not mean there's an open door policy, as sometimes the content might be behind a pay wall – which is forbidden unless the content is made available for free in some other location. "Primarily, [the issues] have revolved around the nature of game-based machinima as a derivative work of the game it's based on, which essen- tially leaves the creator of the machinima in question with no rights at all," exclaims Hancock. "I was prevented from releasing a DVD of my Gaming . Cinema film, BloodSpell, even though all proceeds were to go to charity, and I've seen far too many tal- ented machinima creators' ca- reers stunted by legal troubles." Marino has a different take and feels that legal issues tend to be far and few. His reasoning is that many publishers view machinima as an extension of their game's marketing. For him, the only legal issue that surfaced was during a video he created using a song by the band Breaking Benjamin. The machinima went viral aer being posted on the online site Kotaku – The Gamer's Guide. As a result, a producer from MTV called him, wanting to air it as part of its video show called "Video Mods." "I was happy to get the recognition," Marino says, "but having worked in machinima for a few years at that point, I knew we had to approach both the record label as well as Valve." Thankfully, MTV had no problem getting the record label's permission, but Marino also had to speak with Valve's legal team in hopes of securing their permission. "Aer a few iterations on the contract, we gained permission to air the video," he notes. The key to averting these issues is to just be smart about how and where you release your art. As machinima matures and becomes mainstream, more companies will establish these HUGH HANCOCK AND PAUL MARINO HAVE BEEN LONGTIME MACHINIMA MAKERS. AND BOTH ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE LEGAL WRANGLINGS THAT CAN RESULT FROM THE GENRE, AS WAS THE CASE WITH BLOOD- SPELL DUE TO THE DERIVATIVE WORK OF THE GAME ON WHICH THE FILM IS BASED.