MACHINIMA AS PERSONAL EXPLORATION: TWO EXPERIMENTAL FILMS FROM TUTSY NAVARATHNA AND PING-YAO CHEN

摘要

Both films are personal expressions of fear/concern about individual and group identity in the virtual age. The film-makers use a variety of styles in an experiment to visually express their feelings. They combine images from game worlds and real-life in ways that are poetic and disturbing. Sound and music play very important roles in both films. A Journey into the Metaverse uses a human narrator, which personalizes the film and creates an intimacy with the viewer. Go West uses written narration to describe the director's experience in the bizarre virtual world of the film. You might think this distances the viewer's experience, but ironically it creates an even greater bond as the viewer takes the same citizen/player point of view in the film.