Red Dead Redemption Short Film by John Hillcoat

      As a promotional peice of advertising for their new game Red Dead Redemption, Rockstar employed director John Hillcoat, (probably best known for his western The proposition, and also films like The road and Lawless) to make a Machinima film for their upcoming game. Hillcoat made a half hour 'prequel' short film of Red Dead, using a combination of in game graphics and the cinematic to create his Machinima film. Different clothes on the main character Marston in various scenes make it seem more film like and less game like, as you don’t see him change, it merely happens from scene to scene. It also uses film shots such as establishing shots at the start of each scene. the films also uses scenes and fights edited into different locations for story purposes, such as a gun fight in Fort Mercer, leading to the basement (which is actually located in the old mansion.) This use of editing shows planning and a good use of locations for film making purposes.

The idea to use Machinima as promotional material I feel was an excellent one, allowing the audience to quickly get a taste of the game, though it dose use spoilers that may be funner to experience in game.Over all, as a piece of machinima I think this is an excellent example. The only issue I have with the film, is one seemingly random scene with woman who is lost in the desert, saying that she has faith in the lord to do incredible things. This may be to display strange characters, or set up for Red dead redemption: Undead nightmare, but as a scene in this film it feels unnecessary.

The film can be veiwed via this link: - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZUUVV2rjoc