No Place Like Home

While filming in Space Engine for another video project, I was capturing this departure from Earth when a really great song was playing in Winamp. I found myself swept away by the majesty of it all and decided to make a standalone movie.

I hope you like it! It makes me feel sad and small, but also hopeful, and infinitely precious at the same time. And the soundtrack is one of the most powerful pieces of music I've heard in years.

PS That's all one long take, with me steering the camera with ridiculously delicate inputs.

Christine Sun Kim

This is filmmaker Todd Selby's portrait of hearing-impaired artist Christine Sun Kim, and explores her reclamation of sound, by means of converting it into a physical experience.

Todd Selby x Christine Sun Kim on Nowness.com.

Murmuration

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

A collection of starlings is called a Murmuration.

Android Dreams

Samuel Cockedey's time lapse photography of Tokyo, set to the soundtrack of Blade Runner.

android dreams from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo.

The Adventures of Bill and John, Episode II

I'm a flight simulator nut, so of course this tickles me. But it's one of the best machinima I've ever seen. The comedic timing is perfect.

Deadmau5 - Raise Your Weapon feat. Greta Svabo Bech

I just adore this song, especially where it goes bonkers in the middle.

Beats Antique offers their album "Collide" as a free download

This is seriously eclectic music, very sensual. Check it out! Thanks to Lotus for finding this treasure trove. Beats Antique website.

A Blender Explosion

I found an excellent tutorial for creating fireballs in Blender 2.59 by Zeitfreund(see his video). This is my elaboration of that idea, which I used also to learn some new features of Blender, namely rendering in distinct passes and compositing with Blenders video editing tools.

Another challenge I set for myself was using only freeware tools to make this animation.

LA Light -- A video by Colin Rich

"Los Angeles is the most beautiful city in the world, provided you see it at night, and from a great distance." -- Roman Polanski

This is the view of Los Angeles Koishi glimpses when she and Val descend from the Hollywood Hills, on their way to the Goth club.

LA Light from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

GTA IV: Inception

Someone made a great Inceptionesque machinima using GTA IV, which in my opinion is one of the greatest video games ever made. Enjoy!

Billions and Billions

A video I made using the Space Engine simulator.

Stormchasing (Fuel gameplay)

I really enjoy this game.

The solar wind, sonified

Parts of this music were created by a process called sonification, where data is converted to sounds according to a look-up table.

SpaceEngine Universe Simulator

There's a remarkable bit of free software from Russia called SpaceEngine that simulates the entire universe. Seriously. Here are a couple of video examples.



This video shows the staggering scale of the simulation.



There's a pretty spectacular double sunrise at the end of the video above.

And



Try it for yourself! The controls are a little wonky at first, but with this tutorial and the help file that comes with the game, you should be traveling the cosmos in no time.

Venice Fly Through

Los Angeles has its problems, but I love being here anyway. This video presents a dreamlike journey above Venice Beach, one of the most colorful parts of the city.

Arma 2 Free To Play

Wow! It seems there's a free-to-play version of Arma 2 coming this month. I shall have to check out the demo version.

Of course, Arma3 is looking pretty good, too.

Cassini Mission set to NIN music - lovely space porn

This is just gorgeous. And while it seems to have been treated a bit (mostly in editing, but some post as well) it's all real footage.

From creator Chris Abass's site:

I truly enjoy outer space. It's absolutely amazing that we now have the ability to send instruments out into the void of the universe to observe all sorts of interesting things. Asteroids! Moons! Planets! Dark matter! This is the perfect opportunity for a Carl Sagan quote:

"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known."

The footage in this little film was captured by the hardworking men and women at NASA with the Cassini Imaging Science System. If you're interested in learning more about Cassini and the on-going Cassini Solstice Mission, check it out at NASA's website:

saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/​science/​index.cfm

Track: 2 Ghosts I, Ghosts I – IV by Nine Inch Nails
Self-Directed / Edit / Sound Design / Comp / Color

Enjoy!

CASSINI MISSION from Chris Abbas on Vimeo.

Memories of There

I started playing There in 2003 (I think) and was sad when it shut down in 2010. Here's a series of accounts by Therians filmed before the curtain fell. I met a lot of long-term friends there, some of whom I still chat with in different venues to this day.

Swimming through a jellyfish swarm

JELLYFISH LAKE, PALAU from Sarosh Jacob on Vimeo.

Space Porn

Yes, this is a real photo, from this amazing photoset. I'd embed the image, but it's not allowed.

Minecraft on Acid

The only way to make a totally pixellated universe stranger is to deform it aggressively. Dubstep is the perfect music for this video.

Why L.A. Noire is so cool

Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

Is an economy best driven from the ground up, or the top down? Here's a brilliant rap video to help explain the ongoing argument.

Ultimate Dog Tease

I had to watch this four times, I was so charmed.

Dangerous news

Well, my novel Dangerous is done, aside from some general tightening of prose (a never-ending task). I'm starting to send out query letters, so wish me luck! A couple of people sent me links to the same wonderful song, and I've deemed it the official title track of Dangerous. It has just the right mix of dark, smoky, and playful. Check it out, below.

How a differential gear assembly works

I saw this video on Boing Boing and marveled at its precise, clear explanation of how a car's differential gear works. It's amazing!

The Aurora

This will knock your socks off. I strongly recommend you watch it with sound.

The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

Houseplants of Gor

If you have even the least knowledge of John Norman's Gor series, you really need to read this parody. I laughed so hard I almost peed myself. Thanks to V for the link!

(In case the link breaks, I'll repost the contents here. All I know about its origins is that it was written by someone named Elle.)

HOUSEPLANTS OF GOR

The spider plant cringed as its owner brought forth the watering can. "I am a spider plant!" it cried indignantly. "How dare you water me before my time! Guards!" it called. "Guards!"

Borin, its owner, placed the watering can on the table and looked at it. "You will be watered," he said.

"You do not dare to water me!" laughed the plant.

"You will be watered," said Borin.

"Do not water me!" wept the plant.

"You will be watered," said Borin.

I watched this exchange. Truly, I believed the plant would be watered. It was plant, and on Gor it had no rights. Perhaps on Earth, in its permissive society, which distorts the true roles of all beings, which forces both plant and waterer to go unhappy and constrained, which forbids the fulfillment of owner and houseplant, such might not happen. Perhaps there, it would not be watered. But it was on Gor now, and would undoubtedly feel its true place, that of houseplant. It was plant. It would be watered at will. Such is the way with plants.

Borin picked up the watering can, and muchly watered the plant. The plant cried out. "No, Master! Do not water me!" The master continued to water the plant. "Please, Master," begged the plant, "do not water me!" The master continued to water the plant. It was plant. It could be watered at will.

The plant sobbed muchly as Borin laid down the watering can. It was not pleased. Too, it was wet. But this did not matter. It was plant.

"You have been well watered," said Borin.

"Yes," said the plant, "I have been well watered." Of course, it could be watered by its master at will.

"I have watered you well," said Borin.

"Yes, master," said the plant. "You have watered your plant well. I am plant, and as such I should be watered by my master."

The cactus plant next to the spider plant shuddered. It attempted to cover its small form with its small arms and small needles. "I am plant," it said wonderingly. "I am of Earth, but for the first time, I feel myself truly plantlike. On Earth, I w as able to control my watering. I often scorned those who would water me. But they were weak, and did not see my scorn for what it was, the weak attempt of a small plant to protect itself. Not one of the weak Earth waterers would dare to water a plant if it did not wish it. But on Gor," it shuddered, "on Gor it is different. Here, those who wish to water will water their plants as they wish. But strangely, I feel myself most plantlike when I am at the mercy of a strong Gorean master, who may water me as he pleases."

"I will now water you," said Borin, the cactus's Gorean master.

The cactus did not resist being watered. Perhaps it was realizing that such watering was its master's to control. Too, perhaps it knew that this master was far superior to those of Earth, who would not water it if it did not wish to be watered.

The cactus's watering had been finished. The spider plant looked at it.

"I have been well watered," it said.

"I, too, have been well watered," said the cactus.

"My master has watered me well," said the spider plant.

"My master, too, has watered me well," said the cactus.

"I am to be placed in a hanging basket on the porch," said the spider plant.

"I, too, am to be placed in a hanging basket on the porch," said the cactus.

"I wish you well," said the spider plant.

"I, too, wish you well," said the cactus.

"Tal," said the spider plant.

"Tal, too," said the cactus.

I did not think that the spider plant would object to being watered by its master again. For it realized that it was plant, and that here, unlike on Earth, it was likely to be owned and watered by many masters.
-----
By Elle, who has read far too many Gor books and taken far too many finals to be allowed to run rampant on a computer.

Hard Charger: Wide Open

I think you'll enjoy this insane machinima made with Grand Theft Auto 4.
Nothing says 'car chase' like a '69 Dodge Charger.
Thanks to Chriz for the link.

Interactive 360 degree helicopter ride

Thanks to Lotus for this awesome link!

The Trashmaster

Behold a feature-length film shot entirely in machinima, in Grand Theft Auto IV. It's amazing, and as well shot as any theatrical film. When I learned the creator is French, I wasn't surprised. It feels like a Luc Besson film. Enjoy!

Fract

Fract is an indie game beta being developed by Richard Flanagan. He describes it as "Myst + Rez with a heavy dose of Tron", which seems entirely accurate.

FRACT - Indie Adventure Game from Richard Flanagan on Vimeo.

The Fract homepage (complete with downloads for Mac and PC) is found here.