Photo by AjOya
SIFF is underway, the machinima submissions are flying in like crazy this season so it promises to be another awesome playbill full of talented film makers and story tellers. Find more SIFF updates inside this issue, and be sure to watch for our weekly SIFF Buzz mini-issues starting in August.
Follow Us www.facebook.com/Simatography www.youtube.com/user/Simatographers http://issuu.com/simatography @simatography siffandsimatography.tumblr.com/
Your Alien Loving Editors Each month we celebrate our community creativity with a different theme, which you have noticed if you have been following us for a while. Our goal is to inspire new stories, photos and machinima because The Sims games provide us with such wonderful possibilities. So for this month we are all about Aliens and outer space and exploring new worlds. We also take these themes and force our sims into a sort of cos-play which inspired our next theme so have a peek inside and see what we will be up to next month and join in on the fun. We are here to showcase the community, so consider joining us for some fun and we will showcase your stuff. and
Contributing Editors and Freelancers Clqian21 and‌ PeacemakerIC
ajOya
TenderWolf
Tinkerbelch
Callum
Gus Rockman
Aliens and futuristic themes have been a fave in the Sims community from the very start. We love how each new generation of The Sims games provides us with this theme in some way or another. With some creativity we can take our Alien themes even further, especially with the amazing custom content creators out there that let our imaginations run wild. So keep on flipping and be inspired by this month’s contributions.
Photo by SixamSims
Join us for next month’s theme Comic-Con Get the details
HERE
Photo by PeacemakerIC
Ethalor from the coming SIFF film Black Sun By TwistTVShow
Zheklor from the coming SIFF film Black Sun By TwistTVShow
Alien Gardening with Genesis By Jorgha Haq
Corellia Jade By Tinkerbelch Corellia is from the planet Sixam, she has always been considerd strange on her home world. Why you ask? her fascnation with all things not related to her own planet. Finally when she became of age, she was sent to the nerby planet of Simiam to learn about the people and their culture. She was only supposed to be there for 6 months. Only she fell in love with everything about the planet, and when she was called home, she just turned off her transmitter and never replied to them. She now lives in a small town called Newcrest, with a Simiam called Cypress, who looks kinda like an alien from her homeworld but he isn't. She still visits her homeworld from time to time, but it's rare, as everyone tries to get her to come home. They just can't understand what she loves about the planet that she would never want to return home.
Alien Gardening with Genesis By Jorgha Haq
Mother Earth! What’s happening to you? I’m not a saint, I’m a soldier, With orders from the Mighty “Truth”. Fighting for the greater good… Bonnie must get to the sun… By ajOya
Space Bar By Minraed
By Sylent Whysper
S’chn T’gai Spock S’chn T’gai Sybok By sixamsims
Planet VaferTor By sixamsims
Alien Warrior and Priestess By Ali W
By Ninisims
Valen the Alien By PeacemakerIC
Alien Meditation By Jorgha Haq
By Jorgha Haq
By Ninisims
Alien Sim and Home Download HERE
ET - Sims 3 Machinima By TenderWolf Watch it HERE
Find gothkittymimi in the Sims4 gallery and you will discover a collection of weird and wonderful buildings to add to your towns, many that fit into a space or alien theme.
Download from The Sims 4 Gallery
Previous page - alien temple and wedding park Left - futuristic space home Bottom - Alien Flower Store
Click HERE to get details
To see other interpretations of Mortimer’s story check out Doons99P’s Missing Bella and Remi Marocelli’s Bella Goth : The Return.
The SIFF Buzz your w The BUZZ will be back w August and runn Join us in the next fe
weekly-ish go-to publication for all things SIFF with weekly issues starting in the first week of ning through until the end of the season. few pages for updates on what is going on at SIFF right now.
Notes for Participants We are underway with our 12th season of SIFF, but the real fun has not even started yet. The Red Carpet fun will begin in August, and in the month leading up to the showing of the machinimas we will have plenty of fun things going on for the fans and participants so be sure to watch for the weekly SIFF Buzz starting again in August. The SIFF Machinima Manual has been updated with a few minor changes and clarifications. Be sure to have a look through it before submitting. You should be able to find answers to most of your questions there, but of course we are here to help you out so email us if you are not sure of something.
Read the preview issue of the SIFF Buzz HERE on ISSUU
Ÿ SIFF machinima must be a new production never seen before September 15th release date. We expect everyone to be sensible and respectable in terms of content - be sure to read our censorship policy clearly. (
Ÿ Your machinima must be rendered in the Sims game platform. Editing for effects is permitted, but MMD rendered machinima is NOT considered Sims machinima. Ÿ Submissions are all accepted. Everyone must submit using the proper format via email as per the rules document. Ÿ Submissions will be accepted starting July 1st and the deadline will be September 1st (this is the submission period, films are not due until September 15th) Ÿ There is plenty of fun for everyone so follow SIFF on our forums.
Get Your Copy of the ESSENTIAL and complete rules on issuu HERE
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amper Your Sim like a SIFF Celebrity
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BREE PAGE
CALLUM JAMES
An Interview With
GIMBITMAN
Hello Gimbitman, thank you for agreeing to be interviewed for Simatography Magazine. No problem!
How are you? Well I hope? I'm doing good! I've been a bit busy with my movie but other than that i'm good!
Inspiration/ reason behind the username? I liked the X-men and I tried spelling my username as gambitmen but it got misspelt into gimbitmen.
What equipment do you use? I use to brand genius for my mircophone and a home made pop filter.
What was the reason you started voice acting? When I was young I saw a Sims voice over series and I wanted to give it a go!
What was your first role in a sims production? How did you land this role? My first role was called disconnected and I got it by auditioning.
How did you prepare for it? Were you nervous? A little but I wanted to give it a go so I just went for it.
Are there any particular lessons you have learnt since you began voice acting?
Always send you're lines in on time.
When you are looking to get involved with more productions, what do you look for in a sims director or production? Not much really, I like to read the plot and if it seems awesome then I'll happily audition
What is your dream character to play? Cookie monster
Do you have a goal in relation to your voice acting? To be on fleeeeeeek
What do you enjoy most about voice acting? Hearing my voice afterwards
What was it like when you learned you had got 2nd place as SIFF's male VA last season? I thought it was awesome!
Is this and voice acting in sims productions something you would share with friends and family? If so, why? I would share it because It's really fun getting to do lines for someone and then later on watching them in a series or movie.
Some would be scared or embarrassed when talking about voice acting to friends and family. Did you ever encounter this? Why?
I probably would because it's a personal thing for me lol but if I do encounter it I just try to shrug it off.
Are there any criticisms - constructive or negative, that you have recieved that particularly struck home for you? Motivate you or upset you? Sometimes but not really, but there can always be room for improvement
Some say voice actors could better distribute their time to other productions than sims machinimas. Would you agree with this? Why? Yes and no. It depends on the voice actor and what their hobbies are. Mine are mainly Sims while for some it could be dubbing Anime or their f aveorite shows.
Any funny stories from your history as a VA? Not really no
Sims production you would reccomend to readers? (One that y ou aren't involved in).
Final Melody and This is War Is voice acting something you pursue outside of sims productions? Yes and No. I also want to be a actor.
If you had any advise for actors/ actresses looking to break into the Sims Voice Over scene? Where to look? What to do to prepare for roles?
Dont be afraid to go for it! Sometimes you'll land roles and sometimes you wont but never stop trying.
Are there any upcoming productions we can look forward to see you in? idk ~)))'>
Hi Twist. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Let's start at the beginning. What made you decide you wanted to make machinima and how long have you been making it? I guess I started making machinima simply because I’ve been interested in filmmaking since I was about 9. There’s always been something about characters that weren’t actually living people that excited me, though. I started out with a fascination for stop motion and animation, and Sims machinima was a fun type of animation that I had almost full control of, so I quickly became acclimated to it and have been making my little animated films ever since J
How did you find out about SIFF and what made you decide to enter it the first time? I had always been a big fan of Dice’s (ApocalypticDogFilms), and I loved the films that she was releasing for SIFF. I thought that participating in SIFF would be a really fun chance to see what others thought of my work, make friends, and bring light to my channel!
Where does your inspiration come from? I’m typically inspired by my own life and thoughts. The “what ifs” and “what’s nexts” that often pop into my imagination frame themselves around my life and transform them into something fantastical that I just find myself so attached to. Music plays a huge role in my films as well, because the mix of the cinematic sounds I listen to on the daily and my racing thoughts always produces a visual image that I find myself dying to create.
Speaking of inspiration, you are still making your series, Life's a Beach. Where does the inspiration and new ideas come from when working on a series where it doesn't get boring?
I am still making Life’s A Beach, yeah! And it’s getting crazy, my gawsh. My “new ideas” for that series, in particular, are never truly scripted, if you know what I mean. Life’s A Beach’s story is one that’s so open and versatile that I could throw in practically anything and it would still make sense and be fun, so long as it follows the basic premise. I find that shows that are more open to influence are typically the most successful and build the most drive with regards to interest of both viewers and creators.
Which do you find more challenging, a series or movie and why? Oddly enough, I’m gonna have to say movies are harder! Most people might say a series because you have to ‘keep coming up with more,’ but movies are harder for me because I have to stop coming up with things. There’s only so much you can do in a short amount of time, and you have to completely tell the story AND make it interesting in that time. Plus, knowing me, I’m sure it’s no surprise that I’m big on making audience-character connections, so it’s definitely harder for me to make a character interesting (to the point where you don’t forget them) in such a short amount of time.
What is your secret to coming up with original characters? It's something you have turned into an art form. Hehehehe, thanks so much! Characters really are the biggest part of what I do. I figure that without characters, there’s no real story, right? I guess my ‘secret’ here is just my mentality: you can have an amazing story with a thousand twists and turns, but that is nothing without a great character. Not only does the character have to be relatable to the majority of your audience, they also have to be whimsical, whether that be a tiny quirk, catchphrase, or just general appearance or personality. This isn’t always easy for people, because you really do have to know actual people in order to know your characters. If you surround yourself with only one type of person or get to know only one type of person, then all of your characters will have that same mentality-they end up being doppelgangers of each other. Personally, I put a little bit of myself into each of my characters, but I always imagine that the majority of their persona is built off of something that I find as an interesting quirk, mixed with the archetype personality of a person I’ve met or seen before.
You have worked with both Tali (OMG!ThatGirlisPsycho) and Dice (ApocalypticDogFilms) in various capacities. What is it like working with the two of them? Each of you have such different visions, how do you find that middle ground? Hah! Ahhhh the sisters. I love them both, in different ways I guess. ;) My first time working with Tali was voice acting for her film Tangled Wires. She’s a great director; she basically gave me artistic liberty on the character after giving specific input to her personality, and it was really easy to try and fit the mold. Dice does that too, in a way, but she more so decides which voice she likes best and then has her actors run with it. They both just use whatever I give them and make it work, I guess! Haha.
What is expected of you, and the others involved, when working on a collaboration? I guess it depends on the collab. When it comes to MEPs, I always want to be a part of it, but I sign on too quickly and completely forget about all my other priorities which, in return, ending up holding me back or off completely. I think that what’s expected most of anyone is meeting deadlines-I’ve had to call off an MEP before because people who signed on became unresponsive.
What kind of problems arise when doing a collaboration and how are they dealt with? Since I’ve discussed MEPs already, let’s talk about the one of a kind project I did with Dice: Afterlife! That collaboration was extreme, and we had SO MANY deadlines and had to make sure everything showed up in both of our games, scripting and filming and sending the clips back and forth for review and editing and music and splicing and AGH! It was just SO. MUCH. WORK. Honestly, if our connection wasn’t so close personally, we probably wouldn’t have been able to complete something so clean cut.
You recently did a panel at Anime Midwest. What can you tell us about that? (What was it about? How did you get involved? What did you take away from it? Those sorts of things?) AHHHHH! It was so cool!!! There were way more people at my panel than expected, and everyone stayed for the entire thing! I raffled off a Life’s A Beach shirt, bragged a little about you guys, gave away some free cookies, and taught everyone all about machinima! They all loved Life’s A Beach, and there were some simmers there and GAH. I got involved j ust because… I wanted to??? Honestly I just wanted to start out with a small con, because I felt I had more probability of getting a panel. It was just really great, and, sidenote, I got a giant pink hamster plushie named Ichigo that you can see in the vLog that I did about this con… (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CGCnWSVGsQ )
How do you go about finding and picking your voice actors? For a while I did casting calls, but nowadays I get way too many auditions, so I’ve started to just go through all of them, keeping in mind my favorites, and then I pick and choose! It’s not such a serious process aha, but FYI, I prefer VAs with good mic quality and enthusiasm!
What is your workflow like? How many projects do you work on at once and how long does it take you to complete something? Hehhhh, my workflow is the perfect mixture of overworking and procrastination! I’m a director/filmmaker in real life, so I’m always super busy with my crew and work, plus I’m also an editor for another company, plus I have school and, just recently, college apps and stuff, and-ugh, haha. And then there’s YouTube, of course, where my main priority is keeping up Life’s A Beach. Then I have the annual series 723, and my side series PRIDE that I do in my “free time”… and then, when I don’t quite have time to do those series, I have to keep something up on my channel to keep my family happy, so I occasionally make music videos or vlogs or let’s plays just to relax, have fun, and practice editing… J OH, and THEN THERE’S SIFF, for which I generally have an ENTIRELY OTHER PROJECT twice a year, and right now that just so happens to be a SPACE MOVIE which should be IMPOSSIBLE and then—ASFGAFJSHK all the video clubs and stuff at school and film festivals and OMG. Too much xD It takes me forever to do anything, but also no time at all!! Haha!
What is your favorite machinima of yours that you have done and why? Probably the space movie that I’m working on right now, Black Sun. I just love sci-fi, and I have an actual crew for the project and it’s just a really fun experience while I’m preparing for the professional animation world. Other than that, Afterlife, definitely, but of course Dice worked on that equally as much as I did, so I can’t take full responsibility. ;)
If you could give any advice to a new machinima maker, what would it be? YOUR EYES WILL ALWAYS BE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH. LISTEN TO YOUR STOMACH.
Lastly, what can we expect from your SIFF entry, Black Sun, this season? Ooooohhhh…. ;))) Heh, I’m keeping this project really secretive because I really want to “wow” everyone with the trailer, particularly my girlfriend… ;) But you can definitely expect something that you won’t expect, hahaha. I’m going to pull another cat out of the bag.
The Red Carpet, VIP film screenings, paparazzi capturing stars behind the scenes, and much much more‌ Each season we invite all SIFF fans to join in for this open challenge that can include pretty much any type of celebrity photography that your creative mind can come up with. We will provide you with prompts and inspirations, but the rest is up to you. Let’s see how you and your Sims celebrate THE one and only Sims Film Festival
Watch for the opening of the official Red Carpet photography challenge starting August 1st.
Rules & Info Packet Battle of the Bands Forum Thread
The first three submissions by SylentWhysper, Jorgha Haq and SimsBerrry
The two recent submissions by LilSapphire and Pcom1777
We have had two more new submissions to the official poster challenge for SIFF Season 12 - Fall 2015 We are still open to submissions and we look forward to having even more to vote on before we open the polls to the fans. Join us HERE with your poster submission by July 25th
The 100 themes is a no-deadline, neverending challenge with 100 prompts or ideas to inspire your photography. Join us and show off your best photos. Right- #73 Abandoned By TenderWolf
Join us with your photos HERE
Welcome to LadyEmillye who has just joined in with her first two photo submissions # 1 - Flowers # 2 - First Kiss (next page) #3 - Beautiful Eyes
First kiss - Lady Emillye Below - # 20 - fashion - by Sylent Whysper
THE Essential SIFF T-shirt Get your downloadable SIFF t-shirt click HERE
Above - # 95 JOKE By Jorgha Haq
Below - # 97 - DUPLICATE By Jorgha Haq
#10 SMILE By Jorgha Haq
Above - # 99 - FREE WILL By Jorgha Haq
Below - #71 - STOP By Jorgha Haq
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