SL Video: "The Drax Files Made in SL - Episode 1: Caledonia Skytower"

 

 

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From Draxtor Despres on Aug 24, his first episode of the new Drax Files, interviews Caledonia Skytower, known for her work at the Seanchai Library, but also other places, "There you go folks, I admit it: I have been snoring under a mesh rock for a long time, so it took me some 17+ years to tackle the creative energy emanating from one Caledonia Skytower and wrap it all up in this first episode of the new documentary series. Of course I only scratched the surface of her prolific SL adventures, and so I give you her story through my lens, in 12 minutes, based on many hours of conversations and research. ... Oh and on a personal note: thrilled to be back in the documentary saddle, albeit at a slower pace. Feels good!"

 

SL Documentary: "Made in Second Life: The Movie"

 

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From Draxtor Despress, which premiered at June 23 at Noon SL time at the SL20B Aboretumn stage, 'Made in SL: The Movie' is a special long-form documentary to celebrate the occasion of Second Life's 20th anniversary. Filmmaker and Linden Lab contractor @Draxtor Despres initially planned to produce a 10-minute short film, stringing together birthday wishes from as many Residents and Lindens as possible within that length. After an initial casting call, 17 Second Life Residents came forward, along with founder Philip Rosedale, as well as QA Engineer Mazidox Linden. Mr. Despres spent 3 months reviewing some 2 TB of personal archival material, searched the web for rare SL footage, and shot brand new footage around the grid. After the first round of interviews, the 10-minute short ballooned to 120 minutes on paper and eventually became a 47-minute film, a very personal love letter to a world that fosters community and creativity like no other. Among many past Second Life Residents visible in historical footage and b-roll, the narrative of the film is based on interviews with the following people: Amber Lyndhurst, Anjelikka, Arietu Kyor,i Ben Dunn, Bollycoco Dallas, Chantal Harvey, Chuu Hikari Akamine, Feorie Frimon, Katheryn Llewellyn, Marianne McCan,n Mazidox Linden, Michely Blogger Moon Adamant Mystic Flower Pearl Hyacinth Peasant Tater Philip Linden/Rosedale Streex Foxtrot Made in SL logo and poster art by Marianne McCann Enjoy a tribute to your world and to YOUR imagination. Can you spot Peter Gabriel, William Gibson, and Ben and Jerry’s Island?"

SL Video: "Second Life 2021 Review - Everything About The Social Metaverse That You Need to Know"

 

From Luca the Guide on August 11, "A mini documentary styled overview of Second Life, from inside Second Life. Its cultures, people, economy, features, outlook, history, social fabric and so on . 

"'Is it worth getting into SL in 2021? 

"Second Life is an open world 3D social virtual world, the precursor of the virtual reality or VR platforms we see today. But is it really on its way out of the Metaverse game as some believe? Or does it hold the keys to realizing the Metaverse as it is envisioned by many futurists and sci-fi authors? This short film seeks to answer those questions. 

:Everything about its history, social fabric, cultures, technology, economy, virtual land system and what the Metaverse truly means is explored in this short Second Life documentary." 

Hat tip: Nydia Tungsten
 

EOTB: "Casting Call For A New Second Life Documentary"

Last Friday July 17 on the Linden blog, there was an announcement for a "casting call" for a documentary on Second Life. It will be directed by Olivia De Camps, and produced by Tom Sid. 

Every day, all around the world, millions of people log onto virtual worlds such as Second Life. Through a series of individual stories, this documentary aims to explore the core of basic human interaction. For many individuals, virtual worlds not only serve as escapism, but also morph into an expansion of their real life— where genuine friendships are formed, economy thrives, and often romance is built upon a virtual image that is frequently transferred to the real world. Users have the ability to immerse in the world they have always dreamed of living in, exploring their gender, racial, or sexual identity and creating strong bonds with people they might never get a chance to meet off screen. As we have been stuck at home without a possibility to physically meet, the idea of a digital world has become even more attractive.

De Camps is described as "a Dominican-American film student in her Senior year at New York University Tisch School of The Arts." Sidi is a television and commercial producer.

Through interviews (all filmed digitally due to COVID) and re-enactments on SL, we are searching for stories to tell from an experiential, non-judgmental and visually-driven way. Tell us your story! How has SL been a world for you in quarantine? Has it helped you find your identity? Did you form a special relationship on the platform If you're an artist, do you come here to share your works (design clothes, host virtual raves, digital photography)? We are looking for people who would like to share their SL experiences with us during or before quarantine. You can choose to remain anonymous if you wish.

De Camps and Sidi can be reached at oliviadecamps@gmail.com or t@boraxcfm.com .

To read the blog post, Click Here.

Man of the Year Runner-Up: Draxtor Despress

Much like the Newser's Persons of the Year, the Second Life Birthday Group Volunteers, the runner-up is known for his accomplishments in previous years as well as this one. Draxtor Despress (Bernhard Drax in real life) Originally known for his "Flufee" videos made with Pooky Amsterdam, in 2013 he started a new series of informative videos about Second Life, "The Drax Files." This was followed in 2013 with "The Drax Files Radio Hour." Last year, he did some Sansar preview videos to help promote Linden Lab's next generation world.



This year, Draxtor produced a documentary film, "Our Digital Selves: My Avatar Is Me." The movie, "tells the story of 13 global citizens and their avatars as they transcend their various disabilities through artistic expression and making a home for themselves in the VR Metaverse." The video has been viewed almost 50,000 times, and no doubt has changed some minds on what Second Life, and other virtual worlds, are all about.

So for his work past and present, Draxtor Despress make's the Newser's Runner-Up for Man of the Year of 2018.

Other noteable people included Luskwood for still being a noted community after fifteen years, the former residents of the closed InWorldz Grid, the Relay for Life volunteers, and of course the Lindens for keeping Second Life up and running for fifteen years.

Bixyl Shuftan
Editor, SL Newser

SL Video: "Our Digital Selves: My Avatar Is Me"

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From Draxtor Despress on May 17, "'Our Digital Selves: My Avatar is me!' tells the story of 13 global citizens and their avatars as they transcend their various disabilities through artistic expression and making a home for themselves in the VR Metaverse. The film follows researchers Tom Boellstorff and Donna Davis as they facilitate deep connections between real human beings in virtuality by giving away digital land to build anything the participants of this project can dream up. As Boellstorff and Davis finish up their 3-year study made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation [entitled 'Virtual Worlds, Disability and New Cultures of the Embodied Self'], the film provides a window into a world of seemingly unlimited possibilities for borderless human interaction, irrespective of physical location and or ability. 'Our Digital Selves' weaves together physical and virtual cinematography as the protagonists’ backstories are re-enacted via Machinima. The film will is available for free on YouTube and as a download for qualifying institutions at http://ourdigitalselves.com/documentary "

 Contact Drax at draxtor.com for more information

* * * *

Virtual Ability would publish three interviews of people in the video. Alice Krueger would interview Tom Boellstorff and  Donna Davis. Gentle Heron would talk to iSkye Silverweb and Slatan Dryke in her interview article. 

Announcement: Burners Without Borders Movie Night: "Our Digital Selves"

Burners Without Borders  SL 1st  RFL event (this year) woot!

Showing new, full-feature documentary about Second Life by filmaker, Draxtor Despres.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 22 7pm SLT and again on 29th at 5pm SLT

WHERE: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Escapades/92/17/23

We are excited to see this film together with you in SL!!

One day we will celebrate the Cure, until then we Relay! United, Together!!

Video: "BBC News Whatever happened to Second Life "

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From June 2013, the BBC looks at Second Life ten years after it's founding, "Ten years ago, a social media website was launched which some corporations thought would change the face of business forever. It was called Second Life - a virtual world where users could live, meet, go shopping or make music and art. Multi-nationals like IBM rushed to be part of it and countries even opened embassies there. But what has become of Second Life?" The BBC concluded once the novelty wore off, many of the people the businesses were trying to appeal to moved on, and so did the businesses. But for some people, like the musicians featured, Second Life is still important for what they do.

SL Video: "Seth Regan / Mankind Tracer - Behind The Second Life Music"

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From Mankind Tracer / Seth Regan on July 2012, produced by Kaya Angel,  "Following 20 years of professional touring as lead singer and guitarist for both original bands and cover bands, Seth Regan has been performing live music in Second Life, as Mankind Tracer, since November 2006. In this video, taken from some of his live unplugged acoustic Second Life performances, Seth also shares some of his insights on Second Life and the SL music scene."

Website: http://www.sethregan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sethreganmusic
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sethreganmusic

SL Video - "Second Life Documentary Machinima - On the Grid"

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"Second Life is often regarded by non-users as little more than a 3D platform for cyber sex. In this episode of SubPixel we wanted to see how much more there was to Second Life, or if in fact it was just a way for people to get down online.

This documentary is a cross-section of a complex world of computer generated avatars. An examination of the creativity, love, sex, money and everything in between, that makes up Second Life.

[This is an slightly amended, HD, version of a doc originally released in 2009.]"