(Dell is holding a machinima contest, which we'll discuss shortly. They asked me to write a tutorial to help new machinimators get their start.)

Every day, I feature a video by some brave soul that dived in head first into the world of machinima. For those that aren't familiar with the term, it stands for machine and cinema. The literal definition is movies made in a 3D gaming platform. Using this basic guide, as well as the other tutorials and resources available to you, you'll be creating your first project in no time!

Here is what you'll need if you want to make a machinima for free:

• WeGame camera - A free capturing program
• GIMP - A free image editing program
• Audacity - A free audio editing program
• Windows Movie Maker/iMovie - Free video editing programs that should have come with your appropriate system

[Thanks for originally suggesting this, Bryan!]

Read on for optional and advanced tools, plus additional resources ...

WoW Insider has received a high number of reports of hacked accounts today. We have traced the Trojan to Trojan.Crypt.FKM.Gen. This Trojan has been known to steal World of Warcraft login information.

What we believe has happened, and please take this with the appropriate grain of salt, is that Fraps had a modified version of SpyLocked in it, which installed the Trojan.Crypt.FKM.Gen into Microsoft Net Meeting, which was then started silently when Windows rebooted. When the users logged into WoW, their passwords were key logged and twelve hours later several level 70 characters, including many bank alts, were deleted. It should be noted that it is possible that SpyLocked was installed into Fraps via a malicious email, however that is unlikely. We can also not verify where Fraps was downloaded, however it was almost assuredly downloaded from the official site.

This is evident in the logs of the virus scanner, which show both Fraps and Net Meeting as having viruses. Further, SpyLocked has been known to install further malicious programs on a computer. Finally, all of this has been confirmed via extensive interviews with the hacked subjects.

What can you do to prevent this from happening?

Two things:

1. Change your password, now!
2. When you're at home, run a complete virus scan. Do not sign in to WoW until you've done so.
   

We've alerted the makers of Fraps to the problem, and if appropriate, will post their reply.

Most of all it's important that you, our readers, stay safe. Take a minute to change your password now.

Update 11:21 p.m. April 30th: I've been in contact with Beepa, the makers of Fraps, and they assure me that the official downloads from fraps.com are perfectly fine.

Raid Rx is designed to encapsulate and cure the shock and horror that is 25-man raid healing. Ok, so it's mostly horror... Anyways, if you're a big fan of X-TREME Whack-A-Mole (or are being forced into it against your will) this is the column for you. Holyrizz, a Dwarf Holy Priest on Thrall, sent in this screenie of RoS. You know the best part? The tiny mage peeking out from under all of the raidframes. Click on it for a bigger version.

Doing the assignments is the glamorous and most visually apparent part of being a healing lead. Every boss fight you dish out tasks with a hefty side of sage advice like "If it's on the floor, stand in it no more." and my favorite "Ok, one more time with feeling." after some rather nasty wipage. The healers look to you for guidance and the ability to use each class to their fullest potential.

Well, in order to do that last part, you need to be serious about the real purpose of you position: setting the bar for performance expectations and helping every healer reach or exceed them. This isn't an easy task by any means, but it's definitely something that needs to be done to maintain the well-oiled machine that is your healer group.

In this series, I'm going over how to analyze your healing team, including various tools and techniques, plus how to relay that information back in a way that motivates a healer to change. Note that I didn't say it'll motivate them to like you and bake you cookies. If that's what you're going for, you need to switch to Guild Nice Person and save yourself the heartache.

Today I'm going to talk about my philosophy when it comes to analyzing classes you haven't played, plus what you need in place to perform a solid, thorough critique of you healers.

Ian Beckman, the creator of Azerothian Super Villians, and Drewbie "I've never met a cameo I didn't like", have teamed up to help WoW machinimators everywhere. How 2 Machinima is a new series that will explain the art of machinima in-depth. Episode 1 focuses on WoW Model Viewer, WoW Map Viewer, recording programs, chroma keying (greenscreening), and how to put your footage together to make the scene. I look forward to the second tutorial!

[Thanks, Ian!]

If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.

Previously on Moviewatch ...

Having been a full-time machinimator in Second Life for about 1.5 years now, I can definitely appreciate the plight of the WoW machinimator. They produce work that is easily 10 times the quality of what comes out of SL, yet have a hard time making any money off of it. However, it looks like Oxhorn has found a way.

Oxhorn has landed a gig with WeGame, a video sharing site with a twist. WeGame not only allows you to upload your machinima, it also provides you with a free desktop client for filming. If you can't afford to pay for Fraps or any of the other options, WeGame is your best bet.

Read on for more about Oxhorn's new job and WeGame ...

You've seen a crazy good PvP video that shows a top ranked player's latest moves or maybe a short clip of the latest epic mount and now you want to make a Warcraft film of your own. With two simple programs you can make a video in an hour or less. It's not going to be an epic story of love and war across the ages, but it can be anything in game you want to show your friends, guildmates or the world whether it's a guild event, a boss fight or an Arena battle.

In this article, I'm going to cover the very basics of Machinima (making movies using game footage.) By the end of this feature, you'll be able to record, edit and post a short video of your exploits in Azeroth. You can see a demonstration of how to make a Warcraft film by clicking on the short video tutorial above. Otherwise, read on for step-by-step instructions complete with screenshots and recommendations for advanced techniques.

handgun over on Livejournal asks "What, in your opinion, makes a good PvP video?"

He suggests showing World PvP only, kills when you're outnumbered, or building in a plotline. But what do you think? It seems like whenever we mention PvP videos here, someone mentions World of Roguecraft, and they've got pretty much everything. But then again, they've also got 41 minutes, and I'd say a good PvP video has to be shorter than that. Somethingawf's video is one of my favorites, but it's really a parody of PvP vids more than it really is one. I also like the classic Big Blue Dress, which shows some cool PvP moves, but couldn't really be considered a PvP video.

So if I made the perfect PvP vid, it would have to have a story, great music, lots of humor, be pretty short, and it would have to have my favorite feature of PvP videos-- the bragging, taunting, and the flashy crit kills. It's definitely an interesting genre-- what, in your opinion, makes a good PvP video?

I would've titled this "How to Kill Magtheridon," except there's not very much strategy that can be gleaned from this video. Still, it's an entertaining watch, and I love PvE vids. Unfortunately, there's no embedded version that I can find anywhere, which means if you do want to watch it, it'll be a 255 MB torrent or direct download. [Edit: YouTube version now in place; muchas gracias, Aphext] It alternates between MT and Paladin point of view, and it took me until halfway through the video to figure out what seemed so odd about the pally -- he's a Blood Elf! I know BC leveled the playing field gear-wise, but it still surprises me that a less-than-two-month-old character is doing bleeding-edge content, and winning at it. There's a raid warning towards the end of the video reading "Bravo first try" -- was this really Nihilum's first try on the boss? If so, bravo indeed! Also, I couldn't quite make out what the loot was, aside from one of the T4 chest tokens and some gold. Anyone have any guesses?

[thanks, Babbon]

Welcome once again to Ask WoW Insider, wherein every week we choose a question from you, dear readers, to publish and solicit the collective wisdom of your Warcraft-loving peers. Today's question comes to us from Dennis, who wants to know what tools people are using to make machinima or simply record their experience in game:

"Which programs are used to create lavish WoW videos such as WoW Mario or just to show a battle?"

There are multiple solutions to this problem across platforms, so can you recommend your favorite to Dennis?

Please send your burning questions to Ask WoW Insider at ask AT wowinsider DOT com, and we'll choose one each week to publish and be answered by your peers.

The folks over at Machinima.com have put together a great collection of Warcraft machinima videos & featured them in their very own channel over at their website. There are some really clever videos here, some of which you may have seen, but plenty which were new to me.

The Vengeance series, in particular, is a lot of fun, but all the movies are worth watching. Any particular favorites that you guys enjoyed?