2005 Machinama Award Winners!

The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences (AMAS), an organization that provides advocacy, education and community for Machinima (filmmaking using real-time 3D videogame technology/virtual reality), today announced the winners of the 2005 Machinima Awards (“The Mackies”), which were unveiled in an awards presentation during the Machinima Film Festival on November 11, 2005.

The winners:

• Best Picture
  Game On - Ethan Vogt/Furnace Media Group
• Best Direction
  Whiplash: The Movie - Jake Hughes
• Best Virtual Performance
  A Few Good G-Men - Randall Glass
• The IFC Award for Excellence in Machinima Screenwriting
  P.A.N.I.C.S. - Rooster Teeth Productions
• Best Visual Design
  person2184 - Friedrich Kirschner
• Best Technical Achievement
  person2184 - Friedrich Kirschner
• Best Sound
  Only the Strong Survive - Jason Choi/Riot Films
• Best Editing
  Strangerhood Studios - Rooster Teeth Productions
• Best Independent Machinima
  Red vs. Blue - Rooster Teeth Productions
• Best Commercial/Game Machinima
  Game: On - Ethan Vogt/Furnace Media Group
• Best Off the Shelf Machinima
  The Return - Terran Gregory & Ezra Ferguson
• Best Machinima Series:
  This Spartan Life - Chris Burke
• Academy Honorary Award
  David "crt" Wright - for developing KeyGrip for Quak

Diversity in Machinima production became the theme of the event as a wide range of productions were recognized during the awards presentation. ”The honoring of so many different Machinimas just speaks to its strength as a medium. Artists are exploring many different formats using Machinima, each with its own unique approach and execution,” said Paul Marino, Executive Director of the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences. “We’ve always promoted Machinima as a platform for creative expression, and this year’s awards is a testimony to that.”

The 2005 Machinima Film Festival, sponsored by NVIDIA and IFC, is an annual event held to showcase selected Machinima works produced over the past year. The 2005 Machinima Awards recognizes excellence in Machinima production and are announced at the start of the Machinima Film Festival. The award winners have been posted to the festival website (http://festival.machinima.org) – a DVD of the 2005 winners is also currently planned. The 2006 Machinima Awards will begin accepting submissions in May of 2006.