The Grid Review brings animated newscasts to Second Life
By Adam Reuters
SECOND LIFE, Dec 14 (Reuters) — Second Life received its own version of the nightly news this week with the launch of The Grid Review, a machinima news blog run by veteran directors moo Money (below) and Nylon Pinkney, which promises to run content ranging from “Peter Jennings to Jon Stewart.”
Initial stories include a spoof interview of “CopyBot” by Pinkney and user-submitted coverage of a “grey goo” attack. The blog, sponsored by public relations giant Edelman and virtual world designer the Electric Sheep Company, also features a segment on the Second Life Business Plan contest that was created by the two companies. (Full disclosure: Reuters is a client of Electric Sheep.)
More than 100 Second Life residents bear the “Edelman” surname. The company’s clients include Microsoft and General Motors. Money — in real life Sasha Rudie of Waco, Texas — said in a Second Life interview that she would cover other Edelman initiatives “if it involves the community and interests me, possibly, but I’d disclose. I’m also able to cover competitors’ projects too.”
Clips from “The Grid Review” are hosted on YouTube. Grid Review users are encouraged to submit machinima news clips of their own onto YouTube, where they will be reviewed by Money and Pinkney. The Edelman island also features a newsroom stage with preset camera angles that can be used by any machinima director.
The use of animated news anchors is taking place outside of Second Life as well, with the computer-generated “News at Seven” broadcast from Northwestern University, which automatically creates a newscast using text-to-speech software and virtual newsreaders.
Money was unconcerned about the “Uncanny Valley” effect, in which an nearly human-seeming robot or animated character provokes a strong negative reaction in viewers.
“I don’t picture it as being that big of an issue in Second Life as long as the skins we use aren’t too photorealistic,” Money said. “The program used to make our avatars speak isn’t advanced enough yet to move the entire body. Just the face. I always make sure to use the neutral face, actually, because the artificial emotions are pretty scary.”
