Making+movies+in+Second+Life

[|Second Life] is a virtual world that is free to use and which contains al sorts of life-like and completely invented islands to visit. To begin, you need to create an avatar, and it is your avatar that navigates this virtual world. You can use the rich variety of settings available to you in Second Life to create all sorts of animated movies (with your avatar--and friends' avatars--starring as the lead actors!).

Here are some resources that help explain how to go about making your own Second Life movie (or "machinima"):
 * A general introduction to Second Life: []
 * 30 (and more) things every newbie should know before starting Second Life: [|http://sl4nowt.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/30-things-every-newbie-should-know-before-starting-second-life]
 * Eric Linden's Top 10 Machinima Tips: []
 * A set of guides to using the free Alt-Zoom Camera software: []
 * More guides to Second Life machinima-making archived by [|Machinima Librarians]
 * How to record on-screen action using [|Fraps]. Fraps is separate recording software. the free demonstration version lets you record 30 seconds of on-screen action at a time (you can then use iMovie or Windows Movie Maker to stitch these clips together into a longer video. It's very easy to use and comes highly recommended, but only works with PC computers):[]
 * Another Fraps tutorial: []
 * [|CamStudio] is another excellent screen-capture recording resource, too, as is [|Debut]. Both will let you record full-screen SL action as a video file.

Before making your own Second Life machinima, it's a good idea to spend some time watching some:
 * [|Second Life Channel: Machinima.com]
 * [|Second Life machinima on YouTube.com]
 * AJ Kelton's SL video hub: http://slvideos.wikispaces.com/