A Sad Sad Song

It's amazing what one finds during a Google search. I was doing a search on the Scout from Team Fortress 2. Lets get this out in the open. I think he's pretty cute. Square jaws just aren't for me but a narrow face is just perfect. Anyway...

So I was looking for some pictures when I stumbled upon LitFuseFilms. It's a machinima site. For those who aren't in the know. Machinima are movies created using video game content. A popular series is Red vs Blue which was created using Halo 2.

Another game that is popular machinima making tool is The Sims 2. I even dabbled in it a bit back in my high school days. Of course mine are ultra low quality and very amature video editing. I might remake this particular film with better quality and better editing. If that's done I'll be sure to post it up on here.

Once on LitFuseFilms' site I came across this one film called Jil's Song written and directed by Zachariah Scott. I have seen my fare share of machinimas but I am by no means an expert. Still, I have to say that this film was simply beautiful. This has to be the best machinima I have ever seen and probably one of the best short films I've seen in general.

Jil's Song is about about a middle aged man in therapy describing his relationship with his lover/wife. He compares love to a song beautiful when it heard but missed when its gone. A haunting piano melody plays in the background as the main character gives his narration. The cinematography is like nothing I've seen before in a machinima. The character models are realistic and the facial expressions are subtle and almost believable. The lip syncing is done very well but I felt a bit distracted by the lower lip strangely stretching at some moments. The voice acting is just terrific. The monologue has enchanting rhythm and flows from the character's lips.

This short film brings up an important discussion. You often see characters in movies, books, and games living happily ever after. If you've read my previous article on Our Passage you would know that I don't have a rosy picture on love. Being a child of divorce I have seen first hand that love does fade. From personal experience I know how desperate one can feel when you find that your feelings are no longer returned. I can truly empathy with the man in this film. Love is such a beautiful tragic song.