Designing Worlds looks back to … the dieselpunk magnificence of Seraph City!

Seraph City, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Join Designing Worlds at 2pmSLT Monday 7th December for this week’s show from the archives which goes right back to March 2014, when we we paid a final visit to the beautiful dieselpunk region of Seraph City.

#DW224 The Dieselpunk World of Seraph City – March 3rd 2014 from Saffia Widdershins on Vimeo. You can watch it on this blog, and you can also see the show on the Designing Worlds Vimeo Archive channel at: https://vimeo.com/382965949. And you can join the special Watch Party (at 2pm SLT, Monday 7th December) in our studio on Garden of Dreams.

Seraph City, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

We tour some of the beautiful builds in the city – and also talk about how episodes of The Blackened Mirror were filmed there – and were the basis of some popular games during the first season of the show.

Seraph City, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Sadly, a few days after we filmed here, the owner announced his intention of converting the sim into a private region. Already the name has been changed and many of the iconic buildings have gone (including the Hawkesmoor Apartment buildings which we visit). Obviously, we had no idea that this was going to happen when we filmed the show – and nor did the Estate Manager, Edward Pearse, who was our escort.

Seraph City, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

At the time, we thought long and hard about broadcasting this, but decided to go ahead, even though the show was more an elegy to Seraph City than an invitation to become part of a community. Of course, six years later, we have a lot of elegies in our Archives!

Seraph City, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

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Designing Worlds looks at Rescene and its role in The Blackened Mirror – now on the web!

The latest episode of Designing Worlds – where we find out all about an amazing Second Life tool called Rescene (developed by Logan Bauer of  Arctic Greenhouse) – is now on the web.

Logan originally developed ReScene as a result of a hunt game he created, but then he realised that it could be used for tours and games, and, perhaps above all, for film-making. We certainly agreed – Rescene played a crucial part in staging The Blackened Mirror.

Rescene at Arctic Greenhouse, photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

We’ll talk to Logan about how Rescene works, and then we look at Rescene in work, with the aid of Terra Volitant who was Rescene Director for The Blackened Mirror. There are samples of different projects – including a test run of a mermaid ballet that is a work in progress.

And there’s a very special treat for all Blackened Mirror fans as we preview a Director’s commentary of Episode 1 of Season 2, explaining how we made the show.

Interrogation in Season 2 Episode 1 of The Blackened Mirror

 

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Designing Worlds explores an amazing tool for machinima – Rescene!

Rescene at Arctic Greenhouse, photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

Join us today, Monday 17th November at 2pm SLT on the Designing Worlds studio in Garden of Dreams as we visit Arctic Greenhouse (home of some really stunning plants) to meet its owner, Logan Bauer, and find out all about an amazing Second Life tool he has developed called Rescene.

Logan originally developed Rescene as a result of a hunt game he created, but then he realised that it could be used for tours and games, and, perhaps above all, for film-making. We certainly agreed – Rescene played a crucial part in staging The Blackened Mirror.

Season 2 Episode 1 of The Blackened Mirror

We’ll be talking to Logan about how Rescene works, and then we’ll be looking at Rescene in work, with the aid of Terra Volitant who was Rescene Director for The Blackened Mirror. There’ll be samples of different projects – including a test run of a mermaid ballet that is a work in progress.

And there’s a very special treat for all Blackened Mirror fans as we preview a Director’s commentary of Episode 1 of Season 2, explaining how we made the show.

Interrogation in Season 2 Episode 1 of The Blackened Mirror

Join us today – it’s going to be a terrific show!

Or – if you can’t attend in person – tune in to the web at 2pm SLT on Monday for a showing on SLartist or on Treet – or catch it later in the week on our shows page on the Treet.tv web site at http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds, on the SLArtist.com channel,  the Aview TV Designing Worlds channel – or on the Designing Worlds blog.

Arctic Greenhouse, photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

 

 

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Get all spooky with Designing Worlds – on Innsmouth!

View of Innsmouth, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Join us today, Monday 27th October at 2pm SLT Designing Worlds studio in Garden of Dreams for our Halloween special – a trip to one of the moodiest and most sinister regions on the grid — the town of Innsmouth. And Europeans – remember that now the clocks have gone back, that’s an hour earlier than usual!

Innsmouth is a fascinating region – based on the horror stories of HP Lovecraft (whom many call the most influential horror writer of the 20th century), it has plenty of mysterious and hidden places to explore – all in the tradition of Lovecraft’s mysterious New England coastal towns. It was also, of course, an important location in Season 1 of The Blackened Mirror (as we shall learn).

View of Innsmouth, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

But more recently, Innsmouth has been in danger of being lost. A campaign has begin to save this wonderful region by its supporters, led by Arik Metzger., who – together with Terra Volitant – joins us on the show.

Find out more about this campaign, the stories of HP Lovecraft and Innsmouth itself in tonight’s Halloween special show – don’t miss it!

View of Innsmouth, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Or – if you can’t attend in person – tune in to the web at 2pm SLT on Monday for a showing on SLartist or on Treet – or catch it later in the week on our shows page on the Treet.tv web site at http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds, on the SLArtist.com channel,  the Aview TV Designing Worlds channel – or on the Designing Worlds blog.

View of Innsmouth, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

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Designing Worlds explores the amazing Dreamscenes

The Atelier – the neewst of Kayle Matzerath’s Dreamscenes, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Join us today, Monday 17th March at 2pm at the Designing Worlds at our studio in Garden of Dreams for a special viewing party of today’s Designing Worlds show as we explore the beautiful Dreamscenes created by Kayle Matzerath.

The Asian Loft – another Dreamscene created by Kayle Matzerath, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Kayle has been creating his amazing Dreamscenes – a portable and expandable system of stunningly designed skyboxes – and landscapes for a number of years, and we have featured some of these as settings for shows – a Thanksgiving Dinner featured the Piano Bar and Dining Room, and the gorgeous library was used in The Blackened Mirror.

The Fest Theatre – another Dreamscene created by Kayle Matzerath, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

We also look at Kayle’s stunning work for Fantasy Faire.

His ability to move with the times and incorporate new ideas and developments in the platform has led to his latest creation (which I wrote about earlier in the year) the Atelier. And there’s a special surprise to be glimpsed through the windows here for all steampunk fans!

The Atelier – the newest Dreamscene created by Kayle Matzerath, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Join us at 2pm as Kayle talks about his work and shows us some of his amazing creations. It’s a show you won’t want to miss!

The Roman Baths – another Dreamscene created by Kayle Matzerath, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

Or – if you can’t attend in person – tune in to the web at 2pm SLT on Monday for a showing on Aview TV or on Treet – or catch it later in the week on our shows page on the Treet.tv web site at http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds – or on the Designing Worlds blog – our very own version of the iPlayer!

The Winter Cabin in the Woods – another Dreamscene created by Kayle Matzerath, photographed by Wildstar Beaumont

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Something spooky comes your way in the Halloween edition of Designing Worlds!

Our special edition of Designing Worlds for Halloween is now on the web!

In this show, we visit P4NDOR4 Quintessa’s beautiful sim of Pandemonium. P4NDOR4 has a unique design eye and colour palette as she creates her mysterious and evocative creations – ranging from buildings to pacels builds to some strunning sim builds – and we explore many of them on the show. And P4NDOR4 discusses some of the ideas and processes that lie behind her creations.

P4NDOR4’s latest build at Pandemonium – photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

And there is a very special treat for fans of The Blackened Mirror. P4NDOR4 has created some of the environments used in The Blackened Mirror – and we have two clips from the upcoming season to share with you – for the very first time!

A sneak preview of The Blackened Mirror

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Have a spooky Halloween with Designing Worlds at Pandemonium – with special previews of The Blackened Mirror!

Pandemonium entry point – photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

Join us at 2pm SLT today, Monday 28th October, for Designing Worlds at our studio in Garden of Dreams, for a special spooky edition for Halloween when we visit P4NDOR4 Quintessa’s beautiful sim of Pandemonium.

P4NDOR4 has a unique design eye and colour palette as she creates her mysterious and evocative creations – ranging from buildings to pacels builds to some strunning sim builds – and we explore many of them on the show.  And P4NDOR4 discusses some of the ideas and processes that lie behind her creations.

P4NDOR4’s latest build at Pandemonium – photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

And there is a very special treat for fans of The Blackened Mirror. P4NDOR4 has created some of the environments used in The Blackened Mirror – and we have two clips from the upcoming season to share with you – for the very first time!

It all makes for a stunning show about a very exciting show – so do come and watch it at 2pm!

Or – if you can’t attend in person – tune in at 2pm SLT on Monday for the live show on http://treet.tv/live – or catch it later in the week on our shows page on the Treet.tv web site at http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds – our very own version of the iPlayer!

Strange creatures at Pandemonium – photograph by Wildstar Beaumont

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Celebrate Thanksgiving (and The Blackened Mirror!) with Designing Worlds!

You can now see Designing Worlds’ celebration on Thanksgiving (and The Blackened Mirror) on the web!

Good friends, fun projects, and food as Elrik and Saffia meet with Aisling Sinclair (Designing Worlds producer) and Zander Greene to discuss machinima and what is involved in creating the popular treet tv series, The Blackened Mirror. And, of course, we all enjoy a gorgeous meal (courtesy of Pamela Galli’s La Galleria designs) on Aisling’s deck.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Second Life

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Celebrate Thanksgiving with Designing Worlds

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Second Life

Join us at 2pm SLT today, Monday 19th November, for the new episode of Designing Worlds at our studio in Garden of Dreams. This week our friends in the United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving, so we decided to have our annual Thanksgiving meal on the show – which gives us a chance to sit round the table for a discussion. Elrik and Saffia meet with Aisling Sinclair (the show’s producer) and Zander Greene to discuss machinima and what is involved in creating the popular treet tv series, The Blackened Mirror.  And, of course, we all enjoy a gorgeous meal (courtesy of Pamela Galli’s La Galleria designs) on Aisling’s deck.

From The Blackened Mirror

It’s a lovely setting – and a fascinating discussion about how far the boundaries of machinima can be stretched – and there are a few behind the scenes stories too! So do come and join us at 2pm!

Or – if you can’t attend in person – tune in at 2pm SLT on Monday for the live show on http://treet.tv/live – where you can now chat with other audience members and even some of the participants during the show – or catch it later in the week on our shows page on the Treet.tv web site at http://treet.tv/shows/designingworlds – our very own version of the iPlayer!

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Second Life

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