Second Bodies (2009)

Toronto film maker Sandra Danilovic's 2009 documentary Second Bodies can be watched on Vimeo.

This is one of the first feature-length documentaries about people who spend a lot of time in virtual worlds, and it is also a pioneering example of the artistic genre machinima.

Machinima is the creation of original videos using the rendering engines of video games as the "movie studio" - guerilla film makers have started "filming" original dramas and comedies within virtual worlds intended to be played as games. Perhaps the best known example is Red vs Blue, an existential black comedy sci-fi parody created within the world of the first-person shooter game Halo: Combat Evolved.

The downbeat mood of Danilovic's documentary may be hard to stay with at times, but her artistic "camera work" within the web-based world of Second Life (now already retro!) is pretty impressive. She creates a hybrid live-action/machima documentary that reflects well the half-physical, half-virtual lives of her subjects.

As you are watching, consider how and why the three different subjects are drawn to Second Life. What is the attraction for each of them? Do you think some uses of the virtual world are "healthier" than others? Reflect.

Reminder: the documentary deals with sensitive topics, including suicidal thoughts, feelings of isolation, and depression.

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