Splitsie's Machinima How to: Step 1

Be Happy:

Like all creative projects the most important thing is to enjoy what you’re doing.

It is unlikely that you will be making any serious money from the production so it really should be a labour of love, if it starts to feel like work you might need to look at what you’re doing and reassess whether it is really worth it.

Machinima take a lot of time to put together, from the time you spend putting into the learning of the game engine itself to the time it takes organising the various actors to be available at the same time. Beware of this commitment before you start, having realistic expectations of the time it will take may help to delay any frustration you experience later because it’s taking… so… damn… long.

Another pitfall I’ve experienced myself is that of having the whole process end up like a job. If it starts feeling like work, take a step back and try to work out why, then fix it. This is a hobby, which means it should be fun. Or if you’re one of those people that believe that YouTube channels should be run like a business, why are you getting into the business if you don’t enjoy it, your experience on YouTube should be better than your everyday work, right?

All of this is really just a long winded way of saying, don’t lose track of the real reason you are trying to make machinima.

Have a great time!

For me the fun has always been the focus; my first foray into the world of machinima was done solely because it is my creative outlet, it gave a purpose to my builds in Space Engineers and that made me happy and has been a part of what has kept me going, that and Capac’s writing making me laugh every time I read a script.

 - Splitsie