Introducing Magellan's Productions

Within these pages, I propose to promote my own work as well as that of my subjects and clients, and relevant news concerning my network of contacts and friends.

My productive work is subdivided into roughly three areas:

1) Machinima productions on a range of topics
2) Mixed reality installations, involving both RL and SL components
3) Other initiatives, hard to classify

1) Machinima productions : My machinima productions may be grouped into two sections - (a) promotional videos for artists, and (b) videos that portray the special qualities of virtual worlds such as Second Life. These two sections are actually mutually supportive and form a conceptual whole. The Virtual Worlds videos, in some cases, are very popular - my Geography Overview clip has garnered more than 2000 views in the four months since it was posted on youTube, and they create what is called a "halo effect" for my more artistic productions. Since these clips were posted, viewership of my artistic videos has increased dramatically in a sustained way. I carried out a comparative study with view statistics for other promotional machinima clips for artists, and found that my clips garner about twice as many views as the machinima clips that are created by most artists themselves.

(a) Promotional videos : I produce a series of promotional clips for virtual artists, essentially, artists whose work interests me or that I find particularly original. I am, in general, more interested in art forms that are unique to virtual worlds than in art that is transfered to Second Life from so-called Real Life. However, I am open to developing promotional machinima clips for artists who approach me, at cost. That is, I will charge a modest hourly rate for my time so that I can recover at least some of the cost involved (which would normally include a contribution to overhead costs of the computer equipment and software required for these productions). I am also willing to spread the costs over time. I offer a tracking service to maintain information about viewing statistics to clients. At least one of the clips I have made so far has quadrupled sales for the artist concerned. The potential for improved revenues is therefore significant. All artists whose work I have promoted over the past six months have seen view rates in excess of 500 viewers.

(b) Virtual worlds videos : I also produce clips that explore diverse aspects of the unique experiences to be found in virtual worlds, especially Second Life. So far, I have explored Second Life Geography, Real Life to Second Life Crossings, Explanatory videos for Second Life, and Second Life installations. Several more machinima clips are currently under preparation.

2) Mixed reality installations involve the combination of Real World elements and Second Life elements to form combined installations. The first installation with this characteristic was the Leaves of Light / Enclume installation that was inaugurated in September 2007 (see article elsewhere). Two more mixed installations are currently under development, one a sound sculpture and the other a combination of folk music, fashion and folk dancing.

3) Other initiatives include the Embodied Research Group, a group of scientists studying embodiment in virtual worlds whose activities I coordinate, and the production of an online concert of classical lyrical music, currently under development.