FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Frank Dellario
The ILL Clan, Inc.
ph. 718-599-2591 illbixby@illclan.com
The ILL Clan's Machinima
short, Hardly Workin',
receives Best Experimental Short and Best of SHO awards
in Showtime Networks' Alternative Media Festival.
Animated short "filmed" within a computer game
is honored in Showtime's online festival.
New York (February 12, 2001) - Showtime Networks' Alternative Media
Festival (alt.SHO.com) announced it has
selected The ILL Clan's (www.illclan.com)
ground-breaking Machinima short, HARDLY WORKIN', as the winner of its Best of
SHO and Best Experimental Short Awards of 2000.
Showtime Networks honored The ILL
Clan in a presentation ceremony on February 8, 2001 at MTV Studios in New
York. The ceremony also honored the entire group of winners in its
alt.SHO.com Alternative Media Festival. The alt.SHO.com Festival is Showtime
Networks' initiative to bring out independent directors/producers and
showcase their work. Each of the festival's nine categories was judged on
three points of criteria: Innovative use of technology (40%); Design of
entry (30%); Creativity (30%).
"We've been actively involved
in the Machinima community for three years and in the year 2000, we finally
released the sequel to
APARTMENT
HUNTIN', HARDLY WORKIN'," said Paul Marino, The ILL Clan's Emmy
award-winning director of HARDLY
WORKIN'. "While it makes me proud to see that our work is getting
some attention, it's really the recognition of Machinima by a mainstream
media venue that makes it all worthwhile." HARDLY WORKIN', which had
been the group's free-time effort for the last two years, was released in
late-August 2000. "We had a lot of APARTMENT HUNTIN' fans looking for us
to hurry-up and finish HARDLY WORKIN'. What most didn't realize was how much
production we were putting in this Machinima piece - so that it would be above
and beyond what we had created in this past. Winning this award says someone
definitely took notice - notably a top tier cable TV network."
The ILL Clan has had a prominent
role in the continued growth of Machinima-made shorts. Machinima is a
relatively new approach to animation and filmmaking - using the technique of
"filming scenes" within the virtual environment of a realtime 3-D
game. HARDLY WORKIN' used all new characters and environments created by The
ILL Clan and was shot entirely within the PC game Quake II by id Software.
Using the multiplayer technology of Quake II, The ILL Clan members controlled
the films' characters and acted out the scenes together while another member acted
as the cameraperson, recording the scenes from his perspective. The scenes
were shot while The ILL Clan members listen to the improvised dialogue they
recorded prior to the filming. These selected takes were then edited together
with the dialogue, sound effects and music for the final piece.
With Machinima's origins based on
off-the-shelf PC games, these unique pieces of entertainment haven't slipped
past the game developers unnoticed. "We are always excited to see the
additional creative applications of our 3-D technology, and HARDLY WORKIN' is
an incredibly imaginative use of the Quake II technology," said Todd
Hollenshead, CEO,
id Software.
"We offer our sincerest congratulations to The ILL Clan on their Best
Experimental Short and Best of SHO awards."
Marino was quick to note that
Machinima pieces are still somewhat scarce in the festival circuit, but he
felt that will soon change. "Machinima is a very obvious solution to
creating shorts and features. Several Machinima groups have projects in
either the post-production stage or just on the verge of being released. I hope
HARDLY WORKIN's achievement at the alt.SHO.com Alternative Media Festival
stands as a mileage marker for Machinima productions to come."
"This is a great achievement,
both for the ILL Clan and for Machinima as a whole" says Hugh Hancock,
Chairman of Machinima pioneers Strange
Company and Editor-in-Chief of Machinima hub Machinima.com. Machinima has enormous
potential to open computer-generated film-making up to the low-budget
film-maker, and this award shows that the world of film and television is
starting to recognise that potential." "The ILL Clan have done a
fantastic job with HARDLY WORKIN'" says Hugh, "and I know there are
other projects in the works, both from them and others, that could be equally
as impressive. I expect this to be only the first in a long series of awards
for the ILL Clan and other Machinima filmmakers in the next few years.
Marino adds to this, saying that
the community played a big part in supporting The ILL Clan. "With the
support and recognition of id Software and Machinima.com, their assistance has
been invaluable since we started down this path. And by winning this award, I
hope it shows their belief in us was well worth the time and effort."
The ILL Clan
(Manu Smith, Frank Dellario, Matt Dominianni, Paul Jannicola, John Clavis and
Paul Marino) - is a NYC-based creative powerhouse that brings together
talents from animation, programming, music, writing, comedy improvisation,
recording and film production to produce revolutionary works of Machinima.
The ILL Clan is more than a bunch of guys playing at making movies - it is a
self-contained animation studio hell-bent on "reinventing the
reel".
About alt.SHO.com
alt.SHO.com,
presented by Showtime Networks Inc., is designed to be the premiere online
entertainment destination where artists and audiences come together to create
and enjoy the best in alternative media. Providing visitors with a highly
interactive and uniquely collaborative environment, alt.SHO.com blurs the
line between those who create and those who watch.
About SHO.com/SNI
SHO.com is the Internet website of Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI). SNI, which
is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television
networks SHOWTIME, THE MOVIE CHANNEL and FLIX, as well as the multiplex
channels SHOWTIME EXTREME and SHOWTIME BEYOND. SNI operates and manages the
premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL, which is owned by SNI, Robert
Redford and Universal Studios. SNI markets and distributes sports and
entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis
through SET (Showtime Event Television) Pay Per View. Additionally, the
advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME EXTREME is available in
Spain through a joint venture with Media Park.
New York (February 12, 2001)
