Cinemax documentary asks: Why Second Life?
By Eric Reuters
SECOND LIFE, May 14 (Reuters) - Does a Second Life avatar need a kitchen if it never eats, or a roof over its head if it never rains? If you can be anything and build anything, how does an avatar find happiness?
These questions are difficult for even seasoned Second Life veterans to answer, much less explain to someone who’s never been in a virtual world. But the new documentary film “Molotov Alva and His Search For His Creator: A Second Life Odyssey” seeks to tackle the issues of virtual identity head-on.
The film, airing on Cinemax on Thursday, is a series of ten machinima shorts filmed in Second Life. It is the work of Douglas Gayeton, who based the work around his own experiences as avatar Molotov Alva. Gayeton, who describes himself as a fifteen-year veteran of online communities who has also worked on MTV’s vLES and as chief creative officer at Millions of Us, called his avatar’s explorations “a Marco Polo story for our times.”
“My goal was to make something for the legions of people that have never logged into Second Life but were curious about what virtual worlds mean for society,” Gayeton said in a telephone interview.
While voice-overs were added in post-production (Second Life’s voice feature hadn’t been built at the time of filiming), Gayeton said none of the interactions were scripted, and all the avatars and locations used exist within Second Life.
The first six installments of the film will appear simultaneously on the air and in Second Life. Home viewers will be encouraged to see the remaining episodes on Cinemax.com, where a custom registration gateway will invite surfers to create a Second Life account that starts on Cinemax Island.
On the island, a series of kiosks will offer new avatars virtual props seen in the film and links to various locations mentioned. The Cinemax orientation was built by the Electric Sheep Company.
Filiming of “Molotov Alva” finished in January 2007, and the film reflects the pioneer days of Second Life before the large-scale entrance of real-world corporations, and then non-profits and educational institutions, into the virtual world. Gayeton ran early episodes on YouTube, where the shorts established a following, before the series was optioned to Cinemax’s parent company, HBO.
“We have this tradition of taking our viewers into uncharted territories,” said Sara Bernstein, director of HBO Documentary Films.
The film follows the Molotov Alva avatar learning about Second Life. Alva frets over his virtual appearance, tries to make friends, and visits Second Life subcultures such as furries and Goreans.
“I went to absolute lengths to let people know I wasn’t out to make fun of them,” Gayeton said. “I wanted to celebrate people finding themselves.”
Gayeton is already looking at additional worlds, and has begun work on having Molotov Alva explore places like Gaia Online. But he says Linden’s creation retains a sentimental attraction.
“Whatever comes from thirty years from now, Second Life will always be remembered as the foundation of virtual worlds,” he said.
