Newton for After Effects

Newton is an awesome plugin for After Effects that simulates 2D physics. As someone who has worked with 3D programs such as Cinema 4D where simulating physics is very smoothly built in and advance, this plugin is a great crossover. Instead of key-framing a ball bouncing for example and trying to make it look as real as possible, Newton allows you to tweak real world physics properties of your objects and simulate real physics. It is great for having things that react to gravity such as objects falling. You can set objects as static and all objects will collide with each other automatically, which is very handy. The plugin has tons of possibilities, which I look forward to exploring, and I have been using some on my third project.

The program is $250 but you can get a free trial and try it for yourself. Here is the website, and here is where you can download it. I highly recommend you check it out.

Machinima

     There is form of film making in which the entire film is made using game engines, and the characters within a game to create movies.  These films are called Machinima, a blend of machine and cinema.  People use all kinds of games to create the movies.  The first was the original Doom game, people would use the multiplayer characters to act within the game and record their stories.  Second Life is one of the most prevelent games engines to be used as a movie platform.  Within the game people create sets, organize actors, make costumes and film stories.  One of the first narrative stories created was Silver Bells and Golden Spurs, a short story based on a poem set in the Wild West.



Another well known Machinima production is the red vs. blue series that uses Halo characters as actors.
This is a unique and growing field, there is even an annual Machinima film festival held in New York.  Perhaps more and more production will be created this way as your crew and talent can be anywhere in the world but still meet on the digital set.