Essential Free Software

Written by Hugh Hancock and Johnnie Ingram, two of the best-known authorities on machinima, "Machinima For Dummies" teaches how to - at little or no expense - make virtually any movie using machinima techniques generally and Moviestorm, specifically.

"Machinima for Dummies" is a comprehensive detailed machinima guide in which the authors share all the methods and techniques used to create movies using game engines, APIs, and other third-party video editing tools. The book covers every aspect of machinima production, from live filming in a game through the creation of sets, props and characters, as well detailing the basics of cinematography, storytelling and sound design. Readers are taken 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.

Anyone who has ever been interested in animation and movie-making will be interested in exploiting machinima techniques and learning how to use Moviestorm to make high-quality, low-cost, easily-distributed videos. Perfect for amateur enthusiasts and professional filmmakers alike, as well as animators and gamers, "Machinima for Dummies" makes it possible for anyone to create anything from a short film to a feature-length movie, cheaply and easily, right in front of their computer.

"We are excited to be publishing 'Machinima For Dummies,'" said Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Wiley. " Experts Hugh Hancock and Johnnie Ingram show aspiring filmmakers everything they need to know to make animated movies. They've loaded the book with hands-on examples and great tips for creating characters, sets, props, storylines, and action -- everything you need to be a successful machinima filmmaker."

"When we were writing 'Machinima for Dummies,' we really wanted to give our readers the chance to make machinima right from buying the book, no matter what software they had access to," "Machinima for Dummies" co-author Hugh Hancock says. "Moviestorm was perfect – we'd never expected to be able to include a fully-featured machinima toolkit with the book. It's a great opportunity both for us and our readers." Said Hugh "In many ways, Moviestorm is the sort of package that long-term machinima creators have longed for ... We think Moviestorm is going to be huge."

"I think Moviestorm is one of the most exciting things to hit the machinima community for quite some time. Johnnie Ingram says "As a machinimator, having a product solely dedicated to the machinima creation process is a fantastic asset. Having commented on and documented Moviestorm extensively online and in 'Machinima For Dummies,' I'm delighted to be joining the team full time as Technical Author."

"We thoroughly enjoyed working with Hugh and Johnnie on this project, and are delighted to announce that Johnnie has accepted a position on the Moviestorm team, as our new Technical Author" Says Moviestorm Director of Marketing, Ann Garner. "If you're attending the European Machinima Festival, you'll find both Hugh and Johnny signing copies of 'Machinima for Dummies' on the Moviestorm stand."