The Two – Chapter Seven – A Narrated Machinima Story

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

I admit that I have struggled with this one. I blamed it on the fact I wasn’t as fast because I had stopped fasting..but that logic probably wasn’t very scientific. I had a problem with the music. It almost came, and then it wasn’t right. I struggled days on that. I shoot many clips around a rough outline of what the chapter will be, but if I don’t have the music right, I can’t put it all together. It’s just my odd way of doing things, music comes first and if it is hung up…so am I.  Anyway, all of a sudden it fell into place and I breathed a big sigh and upped the latest labor of love to YouTube. I want to give a little extra credit to a few people and sites I have omitted to mention in each Chapter but whose own creativity features in my videos. In this latest, I was given a file by my friend Emperor, of many clips created by Scott Draves and The Electric Sheep
and I used some of the original art designs in the making of my machinima. In the last few chapters, I have used MenuBar’s Contemplation Orb  for the dream-like psychedelic effects which can be found on his fun sim to visit,
WaterMoon Breeze.
Most of the sound effects, if not from my Garage Band are from “The Free Sound Project.”
I hope you enjoy this latest episode, and don’t look too closely at the badly aligned seams on the Kitely Set I had to build in Second Life to shoot The SL Karima there. The logistics were a bit beyond my expertise or capabilities, but as Karima herself says, it “was all done with mirrors and panels.” For those of you who haven’t had a chance to see all the other chapters that come before this one, I have made a new category here on the blog called “The Two” where you can find them all. The YouTube quality is very good, so please see it in full-screen, and hopefully good speakers to hear the music that gave me so much trouble, but in the end, seemed to fit. Enjoy!


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Eid Mubarak!! Happy Eid!

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

I decided to post a small invitation here to my readers who are in Second Life to come and visit me on my home sim and celebrate Eid which is a three-day holiday we observe and look forward to after a month of fasting in Ramadan.
In the spirit of sharing traditions I have done this here in SL for four Eids and give out this small explanation of what we are celebrating
After 30 days of fasting in the month of Ramadan,
we celebrate three days of Eid, which is a festive time, of food, family,  friends and joy.
In Jordan the tradition is to visit neighbors and relatives starting early on the first morning. The guests are welcomed with the small cup of traditional black  coffee with cardamom and a selection of chocolates.
This offering of coffee and chocolates is more symbolic than a full meal. Guests stay for a short  while and then go on to the  next houses.
There is music, even dancing and large lunches served in the mid afternoon.
Please Join me for some Turkish coffee and a chocolate. IM me and I will be happy to welcome you personally🙂
Taxi To My Eid Table
Ahlan wa sahlan (Welcome!)

"Ahlan wa sahlan"

Black Turkish Coffee with Cardamom & Assorted Chocolates

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“The Two” – Chapter Six – A Narrated Machinima Story

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

Well I guess I am not in total control of what my muse has in store for me. According to me, I was going to take a small break and just write some poetry and put away my video camera  for a little vacation from making these chapters, but it seems my muse has a stubborn mind of her own, and so I present to you Chapter Six of “The Two”
I am not really complaining, I am enjoying this process so much, and even though I am on a laptop and with no mouse, I still feel I can get the mood she wants across. I keep asking her (my muse) for some better tools, but as yet she is not obliging me in that…but there is hope. Anyway, I have uploaded this one in Full Quality, so crank  up the sound and see it in full-screen. As with all the others, I am a one-woman production team, and am doing the original music scores using Garage Band, loops and playing instruments on my keypad. Once again, this one features the painting of my RL friend Jan Betts, see last Chapter’s link and a bit more about it and the artist here: “The Two” – Chapter Five
For those who are interested in seeing the whole series (there are 6 episodes now) please see my category “The Two” for a list of them all. So here is what my muse had me doing for the last few days, and I hope you will all be entertained and Enjoy!


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“The Two” – Chapter Five

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

Once again happy to present the latest Chapter in my on-going machinima series entitled “The Two” I think this episode is quite different from the last, or the first ones for that matter. As the story progresses, the moods change, sometimes abruptly, and all changes with them; styles, music, and scenes.
I would like to point out two details of this latest offering: One is that this is the first time I have used another avatar with me, as I have been sort of a hand- held camera film crew of one (mostly by necessity). My SL sister Maria Vought makes her “acting debut” in this chapter, and the beautiful grounds that we ride over, and lounge upon, are all part of her very special and romantically peaceful sim,  “Natural Wilderness”  It is beautiful, and very popular, but you can always find secluded quiet spots to enjoy with a date or a friend.
The other feature is that I use the image of an RL artist, Jan Betts, who is my dear RL friend,  lives in my town in Costa Rica, and gave me permisison to use it, both for this movie and in my gallery in SL. The painting is entitled “Alien Chrysalis” and you can read more about it on Jan’s blog “The process of creating a painting” and  explore her beautiful gallery too at  JanBettsArt   Interestingly, the idea for this painting, was energized even more by Jan’s very deep relating to my stories “The Colored Dreams” She has been into “orbs” most of her life, but I think reading my series made her even “more passionate” about them. Anyway, I am very pleased to use it in the video, and I thank her for allowing me to. As are all the others, this machinima is filmed in both Second Life and Kitely – Virtual Worlds on Demand
For those of you who may not have seen the previous ones, as it is a series, I recommend  seeing them from the beginning, so they make a bit more sense. You can find them all in ascending order, the first on the bottom under the category “The Two.”  The YouTube is in high quality, so you can view it in full-screen if you like and hopefully…..Enjoy!
I am going to take a little breather after this one, and just wander around, and write some poetry for awhile, but this series continues until….The End.



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“The Two” – Chapter Four

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

I’m pleased to present Chapter Four in my serial- machinima- narrated story, “The Two” If you are coming upon this post or my blog for the first time, or just haven’t yet seen these, I have a new category to the right entitled “The Two” where you can easily find the urls for all of them in ascending order. This is sort of a video experiment for me in many ways. I am trying new things..everything is new..some might work better than others, but I do take it seriously, and try to present well-edited and thought out episodes. What I lack in tools and technology, I hope to make up by offering a different sort of machinima experience, a much more story telling approach, perhaps more verbal and musical and perhaps more abstract than most. This YouTube is in high quality, so feel free to put it in full-screen, turn up the volume and watch “The Two” – Chapter Four. Enjoy!

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Potencia de La Poesía ~ Power of Poetry

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

Potencía de La Poesía (Power of Poetry) by Isabel Hermano

Potencia de La Poesía

for Isabel Hermano, the artist, who painted this one as a gift for me

Recited to the music of David Darling,”Sweet River”

When just a little choice makes everything so different
we might not even notice… at the time,
a meeting, a glance , a smell that draws us to an open doorway,
all of a sudden the world shifts slightly on its brand new axis,
new roads push themselves up, out of the ground,
trails never walked upon, display their virgin paths for us to walk along.
We find we have flown miles and left the ruins behind,
and everything is new and opening into a sunrise.
We say hello. We cross a street. We leave a job behind.
We find a word and lose our minds on starry nights of sighs.
We embrace it all and weep just because the beauty or the sadness fills our eyes,
or maybe we  pick up the phone, to hear a heart-felt laugh, or a panicked  desperate cry
then… all is changed forever after.

We step inside a painting, and swoon on poetic swings
that fly us high beyond the moon,
or we just say “snap” in recognition that our brains are now aligned.  
We walk across the desert sands holding self-replenishing water in our hands,
and if we say yes to the offerings given where highways twist and bend,
or close our eyes, listening to that weakest voice,which actually knows
our history from the beginning to the end,
and grab hold of the chance presented, without  ever questioning why or when,
then… we open them again…and
Oh Surprise! We see we’ve  changed.
This is no arcane magic or hidden trickery from futuristic memories
that brings us subtle riches, and directions for our hearts to see.
The power of  words for change is heard and is felt in the answering “Yes,”
because each yes, is a treasure map that if we do follow and trust,
will lead us always, to where we are supposed to be.

Karima Hoisan
August 17, 2011
San Isidro, Costa Rica


*please see author’s comment below


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“The Two” – Chapter Three – A Narrated Machinima Story

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

 I am presenting chapter three of my serial-video storytelling tale “The Two” hot off the YouTube uploads. If you are following the story, I hope you will find this new one interesting and entertaining. This is an on-going learning experience for me personally, besides being lots of fun, and challenging. The more I get into it, and the more I see other machinimas of much better quality, I see I am limited a bit by bandwidth, tools, and even my machine. Thirza Ember on her blog, SL®ArtsParks, gave me a generous nod, including me in the list of people who are making machinimas in Second Life. I must say, I was totally humbled by some of them, especially the “The Bee Myth” by Celestial Elf, or Chantal Harvey’s “Dreams We Live.” You Can check out her article and some of the better -made machinimas here at SL® ArtsParks
I hope you will like this latest episode of mine, and feedback is welcome. The movie is in high quality so you can watch it in full-screen and hopefully…Enjoy!

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“The Two” – Chapter Two – Narrated Machinima Prose Series

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

I’m proud to offer you the second installment in my new series “The Two.”
As in Chapter One, I composed the music that plays behind my voice. I hope you enjoy this latest Garage Band original “Sound track” (all 5 minutes of it) and the movie (which is quite action packed this episode) “Shhh… Spoilers!” Better just push play on YouTube and see for yourselves.
This Chapter was once again filmed in;
Second Life and Kitely – Virtual Worlds on Demand.
I want to give a special thanks to Menubar Memorial for his “particle trickery” that allowed a certain alien apparition to appear in Second Life. The Video is in high resolution so play it full-screen if you are so inclined and hopefully….
Enjoy!!

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Before The Uncreation – The Movie!

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

In Second Life I think we are blessed with a greater number of happy coincidences, moments of serendipity, and just plain old good timing, that sets the wheels and gears turning towards lasting friendships, walks down the virtual aisles to partnerships, or marriages, and my personal favorite; mutual inspiration in the arts. I think I have shared on this blog, many paintings, that have inspired my poetry, and even  an entire sim that was the catalyst for a prolonged prose narrative.
In one of those happy coincidental moments we never plan, I met Emperor Nobilis after one of  my poetry readings, and a few minutes later we discovered we had something very much in common, the TV series “Dr. Who.” A few days later he took me for a ride on his TARDIS. Little did I know then, that one of my poems I had recited had struck a chord with him, and today, a few months later, I share the final product with you all. Emperor, also known as ” Salsaman 321″ made the video you will see and used the track I had recorded at one of my recitals to the music of Elvis Presley, “Love Me Tender” sung by Nicholas Cage. So I am pleased to present to you “Before The Uncreation” The Movie by Emperor Nobilis (Salsaman 321) inspired by my poem. I think he did an excellent job of capturing the feeling of the final reshuffling of the cosmos. Enjoy!

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“The Two” – Chapter One – Narrated Machinima Prose Series

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Karima Hoisan

I happily present my next project, what now follows on the footsteps and fond memories of “The Colored Dreams” graphic prose series. I really am sort of surprised this came into being so quickly, as I thought I would wander and amble without any literary direction for awhile, getting used to the let-down, of not having a next chapter keeping me up too late at night and whipping me on. Some creatures, and creations, just ask to be born, and the gestation period gets speeded -up with the baby pushing his own way out on his own time schedule. I have learned to never contradict my muse. If she bears down on me in her own direction, I just let myself be pushed. I went for many years, blocked and unable to write, so this lingers in my anxieties, as I think the fountain might be shut off at any minute, and there is no sane reason to wait..to write, or imagine and just create.
As I have mentioned before, the art form of Machinima is new to me. I lack many of the tools (like a mouse) that would help me make smoother filming etc. but I find this form so exciting, that I am pushing on into it now,on my laptop and keypad, knowing that the tools of the trade will soon follow, but they are not the most important thing; the joy of creating something new and learning, and having fun doing it is. I am composing my own off-beat scores on Garage Band, playing my keypad like a keyboard and actually getting used to it. I do play piano in RL( more or less), so the music end of it is really catching my interest. In the end, may it be enjoyable for you, my friends and readers. I leave you now to see “The Two” and hope you will be intrigued enough, to get caught up in this new series. It is uploaded in good resolution, so please enjoy it in full-screen. The plot as I wrote in YouTube is basically:
“… where Karima, living her life of luxury on LINC Island, has a vision, a haunting, by a solitary girl, on a far away world, that has somehow intersected her own in a flash of lightening, and a strident clap of thunder..for reasons to be revealed…
Filmed in Second Life and Kitely – Virtual Worlds on Demand



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