Building a better world…(in SL)

After a chat with my professor, I thought a lot about building in Second Life. This involves math (which I do not chase after), and a comfort level with three-dimensions. While I can easily live in the 3-D world in Real Life (like drive a car, eat a hot dog, walk barefoot on the sand), I am more comfortable with the communications and design challenges offered by constructing a SL site.

But since that conversation, I have spent an inordinate amount of time in this virtual world, and the idea of building is not so frightening as it once was. As I travel around, researching sites, I marvel at the objects that talented builders conceive and create. In fact, considering that the entire SL metaverse is user-developed, this environment is nothing short of phenomenal.

I am getting quite good at editing objects, moving them, searching and managing my inventory. When I leave SL after spending several hours there, I sometimes feel disappointed in the world that exists outside of my computer screen. (listen to me, lock me up now!)

So, I am grateful to the professor in challenging me to further explore the building processes in SL. I am still a marketeer at heart; that is my passion. But I’m building a deep appreciation and interest in designing a better world, even if it is only in Second Life.

Production Notes – Part 2

Once again, technology rules…
A great vision will always remain ephemeral until committed to a permanent medium to share. Some say commitment is hard. I might agree after some of the bumps we encountered, but in the end, the process helped us to learn and to stay on our toes and ready to react quickly to meet a looming deadline.

Our storyboard had several rewrites. We lost a 4-minute file (did not capture). We had a few snags in the editing room. The macs were a little temperamental (despite the accolades of its loyal fanbase); our files were tremendous which made the computer freeze many, many times; and our time was limited (they were kicking us out at midnight). Just another day at the office…

…and smart people learn to rule technology
We found another avator who agreed to act in our machinima. She (dressed as a he) was superb! Our talented film editor found a way to cut and rez to reduce the file size, and the mac, well I still don’t like ‘em. The bottom line, we had a great team; we found ways to work around problems and turn them into solutions. And we produced a product of which we were very proud.

Ecoutee machinima

 

This is a :30 commercial produced in/for Second Life to promote Ecoutee, a new clothing store.

It was the first production by The Ecoutee Team.

Thank you, everyone!

Production Notes – Part 1

The Filming Process

Filming a scripted commercial in Second Life is not easy; it’s not exactly difficult; but it is definitely time-consuming and a bit frustrating.

First, we had to learn the SL camera controls. On the left side, up is down, down is up. On the right side, left is left and right is right. The middle control zooms as marked. Are you with me so far? Everything worked; we just had to know the camera angle for each scene and remember the somewhat screwy controls.

 

Okay, we mastered that. Now for the capturing device. For Windows, you can use Fraps, which should be renamed Craps since it would not work on three different pcs.

With foreword thinking by Ecoutee co-owner Monica (who also works in the QU Help Desk), we had an Apple laptop as a backup. After many, many attempts to get the school library computer to cooperate, we gave up and moved over to the dark side. SL was downloaded to the laptop and Snapz, video capturing for the Mac, was installed. Christine quickly mastered the controls and we were ready to roll. (Mind you, this process took about 1-1/2 hours.)

So, now it was time to film. Alan asked two actors to join our film-making. It turned out, the male avator was a talented student we knew from other classes, so there was a certain comfort level in having him there. The female was new, needed a little more direction, but she also worked out very well.

“Quiet on the set” took on a deeper meaning for us as the filmers. Everyone had to learn not to publicly IM. The text messages build up and remain on the screen for what seems like minutes, and can cause a lot of waiting until they fade away. So private IMing and phone calls to cast members helped the process along.

In summary, I would recommend that we know about making the machinima at the beginning of the course in order to give us time to master all the tools involved. The saving grace in all of this is that we have a very talented team – Judy, Andy, Christina, Alan and me (Colleen) – who are truly motivated to produce the best product and be professional in the process.

Walking out of the library at 12:40 am, we were greeted by a light rain. Christina & I both agreed, it could have been a monsoon and it wouldn’t have mattered. We were tired, like the rest of the team, but it sure felt good to see the finish line. Now all we have to do is cross it tonight in the editing lab.

CU on YouTube!

Ecoutee Machinima

Our Story

This is a collaboration of very talented people with great ideas. Our team is producing a :30 commercial for a new business in RL, Ecoutee. They produce great looking tee shirts that are made from organically grown materials that make them good for the environment.

We wanted to use our communications skills and experience to create a marketing project for a real business who also wanted to set up a Second Life store to introduce their brand of clothing to other avatars.. Our team leader, Alan Hoving suggested the idea to fellow classmate and Ecoutee partner,Christina Cagliotti-Diglio.

We wanted to produce a professional :30 spot to develop the brand name and direct visitors to the Ecoutee website to place an order. To this end, we set up a store with Ecoutee products and logos. When SL avatars visit, we will offer them a free ee-tee shirt they are free to share. The second part of this will be to place ads, and maybe salespeople, throughout SL to distribute tee shirts.

The idea is to keep the commercial simple. That means a simple story with a beginning, middle and end that shows a problem and – generic, poor looking clothes on 2 new avatars – a male, and female – and provides the solution: good-looking clothes from Ecoutee.

The story begins on Orientation Island where the 2 newbies try on different outfits. They then tour different places in SL searching for something better to wear. They discover Ecoutee, and each other (yes, it’s a fairy tale story) and look good living happily ever after. The commercial ends with the Ecoutte branding – name, logo and website address.

Team Members

Alan……….. team leader, talent scout

Andy………. builder

Christina….. builder, writer, music, designer, film/editor

Colleen……. writer, music, film/editor

Judy……….. writer, designer

The Process

As I said at the beginning, our team is comprised of very talented communications professionals. We all were given equal say in what talents we could contribute and the type of professional product we wanted to produce.

I must say we are lucky to have such a diverse group – some who like to build, some who design, some who manage, some who write…basically, there was a job for everyone.

The one problem that became apparent was the need to meet in real life, at least in the beginning, as a whole team. Communications, at times, were unclear because we were not all on the same page. But, because we are clever and considerate of each other, things got done…and done well I might add. To do this again, however, I think we would all agree that a comprehensive meeting to discuss all the details is imperative.

It’s Showtime!

We are still in production. We will be using the computer and editing labs tonight and tomorrow to complete the commercial. Alan has scouted two avatar actors who will meet us in Second Life this evening for filming. We are all looking forward to the premiere which will be probably be late Wednesday evening.

So sit back, and relax with some popcorn and adult beverage…and enjoy the show. Showtime will be posted soon.

The Ecoutee Team

 

To earn, or not to earn?…that is the question.

According to second life, the official guide, most people who enter this virtual world expect to make a little money, and some hope to make a lot. But, like in the real world, it requires the same amount of creativity, time and market savvy to succeed.  

How to invest….your time 

You can shake your booty, or a money tree (if you can find one); buy and sell land; develop avatar clothes and accessories; design homes, buildings; or search the SL Classifieds. But be prepared for the shocking exchange rate. Depending upon currency fluctuation, about $250-300 linden dollars is the equivalent of 1 U.S. dollar. At a rate of 240:1 (LD:US$), it would take 1,000 days, or 2.7 years, of non-stop dancing to bring home a weekly real-life, pre-tax paycheck of $500.

Of course this would give you 480,000 lindens which can buy a heck of a lot of stuff in SL, but the time it takes to earn by dancing in one place would prevent you from exploring all the interesting regions and people that inhabit this virtual creation. Not the best investment of time, which is why many residents prefer to buy linden dollars with real money – U.S. or euros – and just have some fun.

A Night to Remember

I joined SL last year, not because I wanted to, but because the course I was taking had to meet there a few times. I was a tentative visitor. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this virtual world, so I spent time there wandering around, usually never finding a lot of people. I explored different places, danced a little, and absolutely loved the flying. I was shy about starting up conversations. I still didn’t know why I was there, but I kept returning. I just wanted to observe. Well, all that changed last evening…

 

 

Some enchanted evening
Like the Rodgers & Hammerstein song, “You may see a stranger, Across a crowded room, And somehow you know, You know even then, That somewhere you’ll see her, Again and again…Who can explain it? Who can tell you why?…”

I can only guess why so many people flock to SL to spend hours and hours of leisure time. I can, however, tell you about what drives the people I met last night to return to a game of their own making.

One of my favorite places in SL is Beckman Island and Austen Hall – both Harvard University properties. I default to this sector because it was my first experience with SL after leaving the security of Help Island. On many subsequent returns, I usually find people here, although more seem to visit Beckman; so, that’s the site I set out to interview some SLers to find out “what is the attraction?” 

What I didn’t recognize until last evening was that Beckman (232, 211, 24) is a sandbox – a place to build and experiment. Although I had seen several creations (I recently got imprisoned in a circular cage), I never quite understood what was going on here.

As soon as I teleported here, I walked over to Saiasunshine and Jamesto introduce myself, and a very friendly conversation ensued. Here’s what I learned about them:

Sais (that’s what we called her) took a class which got her interested in SL. That was a year and a half ago. Since then she has several stores where she sells shoes, boots and cowboy hats for men & women. She has 24K (not sure if it’s RL of SL $) of inventory. In RL she is an executive who has to dress up, but inSL can wear her favorite western clothes. She builds motorcycles with her mate who doesn’t like to part with his classic Harleys. She does a lot of work in SL and told me that “the more you meet folks and learn to build, you will enjoy it more.”

James was very polite, but didn’t say too much. He was preoccupied with his boots and buying a cowboy hat. He did tell me that he visits SL every day. He also gave me the name of the ranch where I could get a demo stallion. (I was just loving this!)

Zick Zack Kungfu from Germany said he comes to SL often since he joined six months ago. He was there for scripting and modeling. I offered to give him the url of the cter SL tutorials I watched for class, but he told me “he needed more time, not help.” Okay, I thought, let’s move on.

Ravendrake Toshihiko said she was “tinkering”. She was building a katana (Japanese longsword) and sword belt. She already had one crafted but was “making an empty sheath on the belt for when I’ve got the sword drawn.” She was also“working on making sword attack gestures to script the katana,” but only had two days of scripting.

I asked her if she would sell it. Raven replied, “I wouldn’t mind selling it but I doubt anyone would buy. I’d probably give away copies if anyone wanted it.” She was really nice, but busy, so time to see if I could talk to other busy designers.

Cryptology Hax told me he was working on a “particle” system. Not sure what he was going for, but it made a lot of thick, black smoke that covered a wide area of the sandbox. I had to fly up to see anything. For a minute, I thought I couldn’t breathe. (The lines [SL - RL] are starting to blur for me.) He too, was busy but took a moment to tell me he “made the variables a little too thick. Particles = scripting were his last words to me.

I ran into Zick again. This time he wanted to talk. “There’s no chance to be a pro in SL,” he said. “That’s the fantastic fact here – a simple script language and a simple 3D builder. Everyone can DIY what he will do.”

Since he was being friendly, I asked if he wanted to help build a chair. He told me, “I can’t work together. It’s like cooking for me – the chef or nothing.” Since I like to eat, I thought we would have made a great team. Maybe next time.

The most interesting person I got to know was James. He returned, on his black stallion Prince, and we had a long conversation. (I couldn’t believe when I checked it later that it lasted 25 minutes!) He said “he comes back every day because it’s fun and addictive. He can do some things here that are fulfillment of lifelong dreams – like flying.”

He feels that “one can do lots of creative things here not possible in RL like dancing, exploring scenic places, meeting people who are deep into a new lifestyle here.”

When I told him that this is not real, he said that“dancing here is not meant to replace dancing in RL. Dancing is really a context for meeting people and talking while enjoying music and costumes. It is mostly a beautiful context for chatting with a wide variety of people from many countries.”

He concluded with “The conversations really occur; the truthfulness is never known.” Just like so many other things about SL, you’ll never know…but you can’t help coming back, again and again, to find out why. Happy SL travels, and thanks to everyone I met!

SL Depot

Just like in Home Depot in Real Life, it is a do-it-yourself world in Second Life. All the tools are here for you to use, you just have to have the patience to use them.

I had a great idea for a chair – an Adirondack chair. They’re one of my all-time favorite chairs to sit in, especially near the ocean. They’re wide and on a perfect deep angle for comfort. Flat angled boards put together like a fence…how hard could that be? I sketched out my design, checked the repeating basic shapes I would use, now all I have to do is make them and assemble it onscreen. It couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Valentine’s “Mod Adiron” Beach Chair

It took me several hours to “perfect” my chair. As it turned out, I have created a new version of this popular piece of furniture. I call it “Mod Adiron”. Similar shape, fewer pieces, modern twist on a classic design. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I didn’t mind the time. It was fun learning how to build in Second Life. I also was the highly creative Beckman Sandbox (232, 211, 24). Some of the creators are a little crazy over there. One was creating “black particles” and darkening his part of the world. Another was creating a sword to share or sell, and still one was using a pistol to shoot unsuspecting people, sending them hurtling across the field. Generally, nobody bothers you; some people chat; others, like me, try to focus on the task at hand. There’s lots of room for everybody here, so you can claim a part of the long, green grass for yourself.

Side view @ Beckman Sandbox

The hardest part was controlling the angle and rotation of the prims. It took me such a long time to get them where I wanted them to go. The movie from cter about how to build a chair was a clear, screen-driven tutorial that provided me with somewhere to start. Its directions said to view the object from all angles. (I think I wore out a pair of virtual sandals.) Everytime I thought I had aligned my pieces, I would walk around to find that they were what appeared to be feet, not even close to inches, apart. I kept at it, and in the process redesigned my chair as a modern version of this favorite classic creation.

View of chair back and some other creations in the sandbox

As a test to see how SL society acts in creating new objects, I asked several builders if they wanted to help me build a chair. Only one answered. He replied, “I can’t work together. It’s like cooking for me – the chef or nothing. ” Although this is scant research, it appears that creation is an individual process and one should always respect the creator.

Valentine in her first chair on the beach

The test of any idea you bring to reality is how does it make you feel? Sitting on the beach in a chair that took me hours to build makes me feel, well, pretty good. And the view from my new SL furniture is breathtaking. I’m home…in Second Live

How RL companies market in SL

Locations Visited in Second Life

Many Real Life (RL) companies are looking toward Second Life (SL) as a means to extend their markets, attract new customers and as always, improve the bottom line ($). It has become one of the hottest new places to market the image of their RL products and services. The 3-D virtual reality universe adds a new dimension to corporate strategic marketing plans that must incorporate new technologies used by their target audiences in the rapidly changing 21st century web-based lifestyle.

This is not to say that if you’re not in SL, you won’t succeed in RL. But rather, it is an opportunity to be among the first companies to establish a presence in a new web-based world that is growing quickly with over 2 million worlwide inhabitants. That’s a startling number that can’t be ignored. It’s not a game; it’s a user-created space where real people spend real time, communicate with other real people and spend real money.

It is believed by many of the larger companies that they can leverage their RL image in SL and increase the demand for their products and services. It is their intention to redirect SL inhabitants into their RL stores, showrooms, cinemas, schools, offices…the list goes on. Here are a few that I recently visited. 

Coldwell Banker’s Headquarter’s, SL

This is their corporate office on the mainland where they have bought a lot of land on which they have built a wide price range of homes and condos for sale or monthly rentals. The helicopters on the roof are for taking customers to view the different available properties. (Although I could sit in the chopper, it would not move. But I think this is wonderful idea to encourage people to buy/rent an already-made residence. I plan on returning to see how well this really works)

As you can see, it is a 3-story, glass building. The offices are spacious, have a good view of the water and have comfortable furniture that makes it inviting to visit. However, there were no real estate agents to speak to, not even a pre-recorded audio file. I don’t know their hours, but SLers visit 24-hours a day, and a company has to staff for this lifestyle. Otherwise, they become just another empty, and useless, building of which there are already many.

When I visit a store or company, I expect to be greeted by someone and have any of my questions answered. It makes my visit worthwhile, might want me to return, and tell others – which is what good marketing accomplishes.

 

 Coldwell Banker’s SL properties to buy or rent

They had about 6 different price ranges of properties to choose from. This is excellent marketing that mimics their RL business – starter homes to mid-level houses to the high-end premium properties. Something for everyone, now and as they can afford to move on up. If you’re happy with your SL property, you might transfer this good experience into doing business with Coldwell Banker to buy/sell your real home.

I really think this strategy could work, but if a company is going to build a presence in SL, then there should always be someone to speak with, or a prominent contact area where you can leave a message and someone will respond. Just like in RL, people will get service from another company who is more eager to serve its customers.

 

Mercedes Corporate w/test track

This was really, really interesting. The showroom had beautiful cars, some of which you could sit it. Although like Coldwell Banker there were no salesmen visible, there was a screen by an (empty) reception area which if you touched it, redirected you to their website. The web link is good, but I would prefer to stay in SL and receive the information designed specifically for this environment. This could be video, downloaded brochure. I feel that SL is its own place and the entire experience should stay here. (If I’m smart enough to find Mercedes in SL, I can find their website on my own.)

Besides the showroom, the star of the site was a working test track where you could choose from a white or black new “C” class car and take it out for a spin. There were others there (a popular destination, it seemed) so I had to wait just a little bit for my test car to rebuild. Once inside, the interior was well drawn and mimicked some of the racing car games I’ve played. It was fun to drive, even though I hit the guard rail more than I hit the straightaway. It made me want to visit a dealer and sit in a real car. So, I would say Mercedes did it right, in spite of having no people to speak with.

 

Mercedes test drive (that’s me!)

 Meeting one of the new robot designs at the Transformer’s  site

While shopping for my virtual Mercedes, I was invited by Liam Kanno/Sector 7 (a place I had visited) to be a guest at the Transformer’s Competition. What a great way to “build” a brand! A panel of five experienced judges sat at a table in front where they questioned contestants about the robots they had designed. TThere was also plenty of chairs for the audience to sit. It was laid out so well, much attention to detail. I really felt like this was real, and serious

The contest works well for both sides – the site designers (judges) get to see new ideas, and the robot designers get to be judged by the experts. The people who design robots are probably a very small segment of the population, and even a smaller % of the movie going population, but they are loyal (look at how many years Star Trekkies have existed) to the brand and will be there waiting in anticipation of the next release.

The Transformer site is very popular, and the reason is they know their audience. That’s the most important thing to know no matter what world you are designing in.

Real pleasure from traveling in a virtual world

Peace in Paradise: Who cares if it’s real?

Traveling in Second Life is like no other trip you’ve ever been on. You won’t need luggage. You can change your clothes, and your entire body shape if you like, at any time. You make friends wherever you go. In fact you can all travel together if it pleases everyone. Time is totally irrelevant. Where your journey takes you can be day, night or anytime in between, and you can stay at your favorite place for as long as want.

For me, the most fascinating thing is….that you can fly! Oh, it is glorious to soar up above the trees, the mountains, the oceans! I’ve always dreamed of flying, and now I can…if only in SL.

With no demands of a physical body, in this make-believe world where everything seems so real, your travels to new places are virtually endless. One of my most recent travels brought me to a beautiful island in the seas. Sad to say, I don’t remember its name, but it was so tranquil that I think about if every once in a while as a peaceful place to visit in my mind.

When I think of my visit there, it makes me smile. The island has a very lovely, small waterfall with a wooden dock in front of it so you can go and just stand in front of it and listen to the cascading water. The tropical plants are lush with many hues of green. Their rich darkness is the perfect balance for the soft, beige sand that I imagine to be the perfect temperature to the touch – not too warm, not too cold – just right to walk on. It was fun just meandering down to the ocean, walking in the water and sitting in the small waves that lapped up on the shore.

Wait, there’s more. In the middle of the beach, there is a hot air balloon. I took a ride all around the beautiful island. Just slow and easy – very, very peaceful. Another great part of this adventure, was riding on the seas in a small sailboat. The view was spectacular as the skies changed from one magnificent color to another. What was really visually stimulating was that I could regulate my view like the director of a film. I could have the camera go all around me so that I could see my surroundings from every angle. What a blast that was! I had so much fun I forgot I was by myself, or perhaps I should say I really enjoyed being me in such peaceful place.