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In February of 2006, a newcomer to Sims99 won the "Best Movie of the Month" contest for her movie "The Heiress – The Wedding". This movie was a cross-over from a very popular Sims 2 "Story", and a creative way of bringing those Sims characters to life in a different way.
Sims99: What was your reaction to finding out that your film was chosen
above all of the others as ‘the best’ for that month?
Aim2009: I don't think there are words for how shocked I was. I was a newcomer to
Sims99 and although I knew the readers of my story were supportive, I never expected the response that I received from Sims99.
Sims99: Where did you draw inspiration from for this movie?
Aim2009: This movie was done in connection with a story I was writing called "The Heiress" which is based on The Legacy Challenge, but it has really evolved into much more than that. This particular part of the story was about the current Heiress in the Legacy Challenge family who went on a reality-style TV show with 8 bachelors to compete for her hand in marriage and a place in the Legacy. "The Heiress-The Wedding" is her wedding.
Sims99: What was the most difficult shot or moment in your winning movie?
Aim2009: The most difficult shot was cutting the cake. I had them both slice it which required multiple takes, and tricky angles. I think I went through about 30 cakes to get it right. Also - smashing cake in the face is somewhat random, so I had to go through several more takes to get that shot exactly right. The other difficult shot was the group smustle at the end. I held Smustle practice for a week to get all the sims dancing in sync.
Sims99: How long was production time on this movie from start to finish?
Aim2009: I worked on this movie for 6 weeks, only to lose EVERYTHING (custom content, sets, everything) when my hard drive crashed. I had already edited over half of the video and it was all gone. All I had was a few screen shots that had been emailed to someone. After I got my computer running again, I reconstructed everything, added several new elements and finished in just over 4 weeks. If you figure in the reconstruction time, it was almost 3 months in the making.
Sims99: What is your favorite scene in this movie?
Aim2009: My favorite scene is when the bride's dad, Socrates, wipes a tear from his eye during the ceremony.
Sims99: Do you have a funny production story about this movie?
Aim2009: Yes I do! Sims NEVER behave when you are trying to make them perform. There was a guest at the wedding who was imported from another story (on qosmic.net), a hunky heart throb type character named Thomas. As soon as I brought him to the lot, the bride, Caliopie, was constantly distracted by his presence. She swooned all over the place and she kept stopping to wave at him. She completely forgot about the poor groom. There were plenty of other sims in the room, but Cali was instantly attracted to Thomas... It's almost like she already knew all about him...
Sims99: Is there anything you would change about this movie, or were you 100% satisfied with the outcome?
Aim2009: There are plenty of things I would change now, because I think I've grown as a director and an editor. I don't think I can say I was 100% satisfied because what would be the motivation for growth? I always want to learn more and get better at the things I love to do, but this will always be a project that I am very proud of.
Sims99: What future movie projects can we expect to see from you in 2007?
Aim2009: There's a good chance I will do another music video for Llama Mama. (the band in my story)
Sims99: Do you have some advice for new filmmakers?
Aim2009: Watch a lot of machinima. The good and the bad. I believe you learn twice as much from failure as you do from success. Read the great tutorials on Sims99. My favorite advice from my favorite director, April Hoffman, is "don't stop until you get it right."
Sims99: What was your favorite movie(s) featured on sims99 in 2006?
Aim2009: I am always astonished by anything Jaydee produces, and Helena was no exception.
Sims99: Of your OWN movies, which is your favorite and why?
Aim2009: It's not uncommon that my current favorite is my most recent project. This one was not released on Sims99 since it dealt heavily with events in my story (which has continued on as "Confessions of an Heiress" The video is called "Love Changes Everything" and it is about the birth of the next generation that no one thought would be born. It helps to understand the full circumstances leading up to the birth (I think it took 15 episodes to get there... www.legacylandsims.com/confessions.php) But if you're curious what I've been up to, I guess you can take a look at the video here....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw2pG9PsjZs
Sims99: Of your OWN movies, is there one you dislike or would have done differently and why?
Aim2009: When I first started making machinima it was to make music videos for a band in my story called "Llama Mama" Although the videos were a big hit with my readers, they were technically very crude. There was next to no editing. I set the whole thing up as a multi camera shoot - listened to the song i was editing to on my mp3 player and used that for the cues to change the angles. I laugh at how primitive it was. I've promised to make Llama Mama a new music video someday that showcases a higher level of skill and technical investment...
Sims99: What do you like to see in a machinima movie?
Aim2009: I think I'm most impressed by camera work. That can be one of the trickiest elements, and masterful control of the camera combined with great editing hooks me every time.
Sims99: What are your thoughts on the future of machinima in general?
Aim2009: I think that the future for Machinima is only going to get better. I love the versatility of the medium. George Lucas used to say he'd be happy if he could make movies without actors (simply because of the conflicts and complications that can arise) I think Machinima comes close to that vision. (I'd hate to think that JarJar Binks was the answer...)
Sims99: How did you get started making machinima?
Aim2009: I've always made movies/videos in real life, but my early attempts at managing the sims camera were horrific. I got better at it while shooting pictures for my story and after making the Llama Mama videos, I discovered Sims99 and started watching other people's work. That's what inspired me to take it farther.
Sims99: Do you see machinima as having big-screen potential in the future?
Aim2009: Absolutely. It can be a very powerful medium, and when you consider the production costs, vs. real life production costs, it can't be beat!
Sims99: What are your other hobbies besides making machinima?
Aim2009: Photography and writing.
Sims99: Tell us something about yourself that's plausible, but untrue, and something that's unbelievable, but true.
Aim2009: I make my own sushi at home. I ran over myself with my own car
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