If you’ve ever seen clips of Halo avatars discussing how they are stuck in a canyon with the enemy camp, or watched the South Park episode where the main characters play World of Warcraft, then you’ve experienced a genre of film called “machinima.” The term "machinima" (machine + cinema) generally refers to animated filmmaking within a real-time virtual 3-D environment. To accomplish this, a "machinimator" (machinima + animator) pieces together video game footage to create an independent production that is distinct from the video game itself. Essentially, the machinimator is a digital puppet master who utilizes the environment, design, and characters of a video game to create a separate story. Machinimators normally record their productions in real time using a capture card (hardware) or video capture program (software). Additionally, many video games now provide an in-game video capture ability, which allows users to easily record their own game footage.