Free Greetingstorm iPad Moviestorm App

Happy Christmas from Moviestorm!

Enjoy an early Christmas present from Moviestorm with our free Greetingstorm app!

A fun way to create an animated video greetings card for your friends and family.

Get it from your App Store

Choose between a warm indoor scene with Christmas tree, presents and a blazing fire, or a snowy outdoor scene with friendly snowmen.

Both scenes include a screen that you can use to show photos of your family, holidays, school events or anything else that you want to illustrate your greeting with.

 

Looking for inspiration?

 

If you are looking for inspiration, check out the Pet Power Rankings by Nahton Studios on YouTube

Happy Christmas from the Moviestorm team!

2013 Harb40 Passion Competition winners announced

Moviestorm are pleased to announce the winners for the film animation 2013 Harb40 Passion Competition.

The competition urged contestants to make a film set to a specific theme of passion. There were some restrictions on content, but films could be made using any animation program, video game or live action technique.

Two films submitted using Moviestorm made it into the winners list and the top five.

The winning films receive software prizes and the creators were interviewed on The Movies On Air Radio show.

The competition has received other sponsorship from Sony and Reallusion.

Creator of the competition, Craig Harbison said:

"Animation programmes like Moviestorm, The Sims and iClone are taking over in the competition.

"One of the nice things about the prizes like Moviestorm is the winner is given a choice of a free user license or to receive credits to purchase more gaming assets and enhance their animation video skills."

Craig (Harb40) began experimenting with animation back in 2005 after playing a game called 'The Movies'. After following a website called The Movies Underground, he was introduced to other games animation tools such as Moviestorm. Today, Moviestorm is now one of his primary animation programmes. 

Winners List

Here is the official winners list:

1st Place
Biggstrek -- Haunter of the Dark -- made with iClone

2nd Place
Josephkw -- Pickman's Model -- made with MS

3rd Place
D.L. Watson -- Dichotomy -- Live action film

4th Place
Mystery Egypt -- Friends -- made with MS

5th Place
Nahton -- Your Brains -- made with The Movies

The winners were announced during the Machinima Expo on November 17th.

A list of all films submitted can be found here.

Craig Harbison added: "We also added a short story category this year. The top story was submitted by Richard Poshard, aka RPO.

"Along with some professional writing software he will receive a one year subscription to a Moviestorm themed bundle or 5000 Moviestorm points (if he is already subscribed) to either turn his work into a short video or help to illustrate the story or any other work he has done."

Sony Creative Software, HitFilm and Reallusion along with Moviestorm were the sponsors again this year for the video category and Scrivener, Reallusion and Moviestorm sponsored the short story category.

A list of all 4 stories submitted can be found here.

Further links

To find out more about the competition, visit http://www.harb40passioncompetition.com/ 
Visit the competition Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/211515672195252/.
You can also follow the competition on Twitter @Harb40PassComp

Stars and Storm 2013 winners announced

The Movies FR in association with Moviestorm are proud to present the results of the Stars and Storm 2013 competition.

 Alutt, admin of The Movies FR, said: "All in all, every entry was very atmospheric and very interesting to watch. 

"We wish a big congratulations to all the participants and thank them for taking part - we hope they had fun creating the videos and everyone really enjoyed taking part.


"For a better understanding of how we determined the final results and also our podium, we present two charts, one for the technical aspects and one for the script aspects, and also a compilation of the jurors comments for each movie."

Jury for videos: Poulet Noir + Vincent C. + Walvince + Alutt

TECHNICAL MARK (/20)
(=Direction + Editing + Soundtrack + Scenery + Costumes)
1) Contribution n°4: Melopee - The French Kiss >>> 15
2) Contribution n°1: Kibishipaul - Endurance >>> 14,25
3) Contribution n°5: DoublePrimePictures - Yearning >>> 13,25
4) Contribution n°3: Mysterysgames - Rescue from the Past >>> 12,875
5) Contribution n°2: 65radius - Un Amour Difficile >>> 12

STORY MARK (/20)
(=Script + Dialogues + Characters + Originality +Theme)
1) Contribution n°1: Kibishipaul - Endurance >>> 14
2) Contribution n°3: Mysterysgames - Rescue from the Past >>> 13,875
3) Contribution n°2: 65radius - Un Amour Difficile >>> 12,5
4) Contribution n°5: DoublePrimePictures - Yearning >>> 11,875
5) Contribution n°4: Melopee - The French Kiss >>> 10,875


FINAL RESULTS (/20) (=average marks based on the 2 previous ones)

1) Contribution n°1: kibishipaul - Endurance >>> 14,125

FEEDBACK COMMENTS: An interesting and well described "historical event", even if there are a lot of subtitles (partly a little hard to follow/read). Scenery are outstanding (except for unrealistic water) with a real sense of place. A lot of atmosphere but there's a lack of ambient music and sounds; however the ones used are appropriate. Some chosen or created animations are a little clumsy (for instance men dragging the sledge), but on a whole there are really original aspects too (soccer ball game, sledge, etc.). Direction, even if not "perfect" sometimes, is at a very good level. An interesting machinima on several accounts!

2) Contribution n°3: mysterysgames - Rescue from the Past >>> 13,375

FEEDBACK COMMENTS: The story and the message about following your dreams is nice, with a sympathetic character, although the end sounds a bit like a demo. Scenery are various and well done (at the exception of a few textures choices and some sets which looks a bit Spartan). Some costumes are a little bland, although the contrast between the old and young hero was very well done. Nice direction and camerawork, despite maybe a lack of tempo and a few clumsy camera shots. The work on expressiveness (faces, gestures) is vey well done. Very nice music too.

3) Contribution n°4: Melopee - The French Kiss >>> 12,9375

FEEDBACK COMMENTS: Technically, the movie is superb. Lighting, sets, camerawork are all delightful, and the black and white works wonderfully. But the movie lacks tempo a little. There is a lot of atmosphere, the romantic and mysterious music matches well. Characters' gestures are sometimes a bit caricatured and it may be confusing at times as to who was saying what. Nice scenery and costumes. Unfortunately there is very little story, dialogues are minimalists and the end is quite banal.

4) Contribution n°5: DoublePrimePictures- Yearning >>> 12,5625

FEEDBACK COMMENTS: A melancholic and poetic movie, with well written dialogues. The opening sequence is superb and raised expectations for the rest of the movie, which is unfortunately not at the same level. Direction and editing (including special effects) are well done, but lacks of coherence. The music is well chosen and used. Scenery and costumes are quite OK, but sets are sometimes minimalists and lightning is not always effective. Maybe some kind of old movie filter over black and white could have increased the ambiance. The work on expressiveness (especially faces) is handsome. Ambiance and tempo are also quite good. The story is simple but well written, presenting a central character with true inner beauty. Unfortunately the 'Old times' theme of the contest is not obvious.

5) Contribution n°2: 65radius - Un Amour Difficile >>> 12,25

FEEDBACK COMMENTS: A simple and special but cute and offbeat story! Thanks for the French subtitles (but be aware with automatic translators: results are very random!). The (chosen) cheap music is quite funny. There are very good soundtrack ideas, but the sound editing is a little clumsy, although sound match perfectly with action, just like in an old silent movie. Direction is quite OK; tempo+ movie editing are good. Scenery is nicely constructed; sets and costumes give a bizarre and interesting atmosphere.

*1^st prize: kibishipaul
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusifs French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a £25 gift voucher on Moddingstorm by Chris Ollis: http://www.moddingstorm.co.uk/getmods.shtml

*2^nd prize: Mysterysgames
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusifs French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a $30 gift voucher on Mods and More by Squirrelygirl: http://www.modsnmore.net/moviestorm/

*3^rd prize: Melopee
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusifs French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a $15 gift voucher on Mods and More by Squirrelygirl: http://www.modsnmore.net/moviestorm/

PLUS *4^th and 5^th prizes: DoublePrimePictures and 65radius
1) 500MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusifs French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601

The 'Stars and Storm 2013' Movies FR competition now launched

A new machinima competition called 'The Stars and Storm 2013' has now been launched by The Movies FR (the French speaking community for The Movies, Moviestorm and Muvizu).

Alutt, admin of The Movies FR, said:

"After the first edition of Stars and Storm in 2010 which had great success, the French-speaking Moviestorm community felt it was about time to launch a new edition of this international contest.

"The Old Times theme condition came to us as we were looking for a concept that could gather various genre or subject of movies.

"In addition, we wanted to erase the language barrier, so the no dialogues idea emerged as a second condition."

The registration period for the competition runs from July 21st to September 30th, and the winners will be published in the results on October 15th.

Alutt added:

"The Movies FR has been a strong supporter of Moviestorm since 2008 and this contest is an occasion to encourage all users, including new ones, to create movies.

"It's also the occasion to acknowledge and encourage the great contribution of some very talented modders such as our partners Shirley Martin (Squirrelygirl) and Chris Ollis. It will also be a good occasion to enjoy new movies from all over the world and spend some good time creating or watching them."

More details about the competition can be found on the following forum here

Competition conditions:

The general conditions to enter the competition will be:
- free subject or genre but in adequation with a general theme : "Old Times"
- maximum one movie per director
- the movie must not have been published on the internet before 2013 - to enter the competition, directors must post a presentation of the film and a link towards the film on the special Stars and Storm topic on TMFR (so they will have to create a free account if they don't have one yet)

Prizes:
1^st prize:
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusifs French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a £25 gift voucher on Moddingstorm by Chris Ollis: http://www.moddingstorm.co.uk/getmods.shtml

2^nd prize:
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusive French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a $30 gift voucher on Mods and More by Squirrelygirl: http://www.modsnmore.net/moviestorm/

3^rd prize:
1) 3000 MS points on content packs from Moviestorm: http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/hub/content_packs?cat=0
2) The all 6 exclusive French mods on TMFR made by Cinecitta: http://www.themovies.fr/viewtopic.php?t=6601
3) a $15 gift voucher on Mods and More by Squirrelygirl: http://www.modsnmore.net/moviestorm/


Further links

The Movies FR website: http://www.themovies.fr
Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/themoviesfr
More competition information: http://bit.ly/1b40OvE

"GRAND PALMARÈS 2012" (2012 Palms of the Year) Movies FR Moviestorm Winners Announced

Moviestorm are pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Palms of the Year awards via The Movies FR, (the French speaking community for The Movies, Moviestorm and Muvizu). 

Alutt, The Movies FR community admin, had this to say of the awards: 

"Once again, website THE MOVIES FR organised its annual celebration "Le Grand Palmarès 2012" (2012 Palms of the year). The winners of our seasonal contests of the year 2012, in each 10 categories (best scenery and costumes, direction, editing, soundtrack, script, character, dialogues, voice performance, movie and special prize of the public), were in competition for the Palms."

"After the winners were announced, they were rewarded with prizes (exclusive MODS for The Movies and Moviestorm, DVD's, theatre tickets, board games and, thanks to our partner Moviestorm, some MS points and a perpetual license.”

Winners of the awards are listed below:

Best Movie and Best Direction: Laviv42 with "La Colline a des Yeux 3" (using The Movies software) is awarded 12 000 MSP. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=laviv42

Best Scenery and Costumes: Michael Mayers with "From Hell" (using The Movies software) wins 1000MSP and donates these to Vincent C.  http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=VincentC

Best Editing: Frederis with "No Man's Land I : la Première Fois" (The Movies software) is also awarded 1000 MSP. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=frederis

Best Soundtrack, Best Voice Performance and Special Public Prize goes to user Wabby with "Libre Arbitre" (using Moviestorm software) who wins 3000 MSP. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=wabby

Best Script and Best Character: Gilga with " Dernière Ligne" (The Movies software) and is awarded 2000 MSP. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=gilga

Best Dialogue: Code52 with "Huit petits Gags" (The Movies software) and is awarded 1000 MSP. http://www.moviestorm.co.uk/community/?u=code52

Further links

The Results Video Show is available here (in French only but directed with Moviestorm): http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2vwA5OT4KQVD63Skfl#.UVLeBlc6fxw

The Movies FR website: http://www.themovies.fr

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/themoviesfr

Winner of Moviestorm BETT 2013 Future Products Survey Announced

Moviestorm are delighted to announce the winners of the BETT 2013 Future Products survey. All entrants were given a Moviestorm Education Annual licence, and the Department of Art & Design at the University of Minnesota Duluth were the winners of the prize draw, and recipients of annual Multiple Concurrent licences for the university, worth $3000! Thank you to all of you that submitted feedback to the survey.

We asked educators to tell us how to shape our future products to ensure that they deliver the ideal video creations tools to support teaching and learning across the curriculum.

Assistant Professor Joellyn Rock had this to say of the win:

"We are super excited to have Moviestorm available for creative projects on our campus. We have a growing Digital Art area within the Department of Art & Design at the University of Minnesota Duluth."

"As a digital art professor, I am always looking for ways to expand our student access to emerging technologies. I am also part of a team who are developing a new motion capture / video production VizLab studio on our campus."

"I am particularly interested in how emerging media is shaping the ways that stories can be told. My interest in machinima, avatars, and game engines led me to Moviestorm as a tool for creating digital narratives. I am especially excited by it’s cinematic tools, allowing the user to think like a filmmaker."

“I plan to use Moviestorm with students in several classes I teach. Students will create characters and interactive scenarios for digital narrative assignments. They may use the Moviestorm tools for previsualization on filmmaking projects. Some may generate animated sequences to remix with live action video. Others may explore customizing avatars and backgrounds for use in game prototyping. Students in our new Media Arts Club on campus may experiment with creative uses of Moviestorm in their collaborative projects in the Multimedia Hub."

“A few years ago, I created the Digital Art Workshop for Youth as a way for local middle-school students to be mentored by college students in our Digital Methods in Art Education class. Perhaps this year they will also have the chance to collaborate on animating characters using Moviestorm in our lab."

“The students and faculty at University of Minnesota Duluth thank you for making Moviestorm a new tool available for our use in diverse areas of creative project collaboration."

Joellyn's University of Minnesota Duluth links

Digital Filmmaking: Visual Narratives
http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrock2/viznar_spring.html

Interactive Media > B L O G
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/jrock2/art3018/

Digital Art Workshop for Youth
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/jrock2/workshop09/

Moviestorm Education 2013 Updates

We are delighted to announce the release of the Moviestorm Education 2013 updates. You can download Unlimited or Junior builds, for Mac or PC by clicking on the following links:

Moviestorm Unlimited (PC) - http://cloud.moviestorm.co.uk/download-1.5/Moviestorm_Windows_Education_Unlimited_1.5.4.exe

Moviestorm Junior (PC) - http://cloud.moviestorm.co.uk/download-1.5/Moviestorm_Windows_Education_Junior_1.5.4.exe

Moviestorm Unlimited (Mac) - http://cloud.moviestorm.co.uk//download-1.5/Moviestorm_Mac_Education_Unlimited_1.5.4.dmg

Moviestorm Junior (Mac) - http://cloud.moviestorm.co.uk/download-1.5/Moviestorm_Mac_Education_Junior_1.5.4.dmg

If you have a current Moviestorm Education license, please feel free to download the new updates and benefit from the enhanced performance, new functionality and additional content. 

There are installation guidelines here - http://support.moviestorm.co.uk/kb/technical/updating-moviestorm-education-versions

IMPORTANT MODDING NOTE - When installing, please be attentive to the user's mods which reside in the Addons folder.

If you have any questions or issues, please contact support.team@moviestorm.co.uk