Animated war

Two DIY (do-it-yourself) film projects are examined from perspectives of resemosis (transformations in meaning-making) and the textual production practices of contemporary multimedia authorship. These practices are considered as evolving in a complex media ecology. The two films are currently in production: Gzim Rewind (Sweden, 2011) by Knutte Wester, and In-World War (USA, expected 2011) by DJ Bad Vegan.
These films have themes of war and include film scenes that are ‘machinima’ (real-time animation made in 3D graphic environments) within live action film scenes. Machinima harnesses the possibilities of re-appropriating digital software, game engines, and other tools available in digital media. The machinima film scenes demonstrate how war-related stories resemiotize, such as how meaning-making transforms from a story in a war game context to a film context. Thereby, machinima exemplifies how DIY multimedia storytellers explore new ways to tell and to ‘animate’ stories.
The article contains four parts: introduction to machinima and the notions of resemiosis and authorial practice, presentation of DIY filmmaking as a practice that intertwines with new networked economics, analysis of the two DIY film projects, and discussion of the implications. Issues include IP (intellectual property) and copyrights when re-appropriating digital assets from commercial media platforms.