Trend: A Second Life Odyssey

With “A Second Life Odyssey” HBO acquired an animated documentary entirely produced and filmed within Second Life.

Trend Description:
The quest of the Matrix has arrived in Second Life. Molotov Alva, one of the many many million avatars in Second Life, has started the search for his creator. On his journey through the virtual community, which attracted more than 9 million registered users since it’s launch in September 2003, Molotov finds, views and tries the various social interactions possible in the virtual world of Second Life. Avatars can make friends, date, marry and divorce, they can buy things, go shopping, have drinks and do business with all other users from around the globe. Recently Second Life also had to fight some criticism by Wired magazine, which claimed that Second Life is empty. Many users posted and blogged to state the opposite, for example Story Geek, UCR or Second Life Insider. And now there is Molotov Alva. Even if he might not be able to find his creator, he at least might prove once and for all, that Second Life is a great place to live.

Second Life on CScoutPlease read also our other postings about Second Life “Marketing in a Metaverse”, “CScout brings the AvaStar into Second Life”, “Deutsche Bank works with CScout for Second Life project” and also our interview Hiu Xu, the founder of HiPiHi, the Chinese answer to Second Life

A Second Life Odyssey
Molotov’s Dispatches in Search of the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey is an animated 35-minute documentary about one Second Life Avatar navigating the social circles within the virtual world. The whole movie was filmed and produced entirely within Second Life. According to the Hollywood Reporter HBO has acquired “A Second Life Odyssey” and will air it sometime next year. So far there are just some clippings available online, but fans might get their hands on more material. (Let us if you have already run across Molotov Alva!) A Second Life Odyssey is a new milestone for Linden Labs, the creators of Second Life. So far many companies, including traditional entertainment brands, have integrated Second Life into their own interactive marketing program. 9 million registered users have so far travelled into the virtual world, but Molotov Alva is the first Second Life resident who is about to do the opposite, and travel from the virtual world into real life!
Molotov’s creator, and “Odyssey” director Douglas Gayeton has already some experience with the merge of virtual reality and real life. He has co-written and co-directed an interactive CD-Rom movie based on William Gibson’s cyberpunk short Johnny Mnemonic for Sony Imagesoft.

Play the Video on YouTube

But now Alva Molotov is posting videos too!

Trend Impact:
According to New World Notes
there are rumors that HBO intends to submit “The Odyseey of Molotov” to this year’s race for Best Animated Short. If the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science will really consider the Second Life story, it might set a whole different agenda for animated shorts. Since “Second Life Odyssey” was created in an already existing virtual environment, it did not really need the set up of traditional animation films (for example to actually draw and animate the characters). Will the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science have to create a new category for virtual reality animations?

Second Life

Thanks to New World Notes

Thanks to the Hollywood Reporter

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