Destruction is coming.

Download/Play Wake Up Now, Uru (length 3m40s): MPEG-4 (preferred): Wake Up Now Uru MP4 (15MB) Legacy Windows Media Video: Wake Up Now Uru WMV (28MB) Legacy Mac/Quicktime Movie: Wake Up Now Uru MOV (38MB)

This music video is a machinima, with footage captured in video games and synchronized to I Need To Wake Up, a song by Melissa Etheridge from the soundtrack of the movie An Inconvenient Truth and Copyright © 2006 Universal Music. The video was assembled using Windows Movie Maker 2.1. Note: While most of this video is content from Uru, a few small scenes from Myst IV: Revelation and Myst V: End of Ages are included. Rights for content not from Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and Myst Online: Uru Live may belong to Ubisoft. Problems viewing this movie? Help is available. Like this video? More Uru videos here. See the Official video of I Need To Wake Up (YouTube). If you like this song, please support the original artist.

The Making of Wake Up Now, Uru

• I began this project during a small idle time while gearing up for The Great Tree's Prologue Documentary project (check it out). The start date was Sat Aug 19, 2006.
• The project was 98% complete around the end of August. Then I put the project on hold for several weeks because I needed footage of a Town Hall, and I had to wait for one.
• The original scene order was different and many transition shots were added later after inspiration from feedback by Vortmax.
• Each movie I've done, I've tried to add a new trick or two. It's pretty subtle in this one, but there is a new special effect. In four different places, you'll notice that the camera zooms in or zooms out *across* a fade transition between two video clips. WMM won't normally let you do that. Each of the transitions is a mini-movie, written out and then imported back into the main WMM project as a single sequence.
• As with my prior videos, video and still pictures were captured with FRAPS, and the video and song were assembled in Windows Movie Maker 2.1. I also used VirtualDub to improve the video quality.
• Opening scenes of Atrus' study in K'veer from Myst V: End of Ages.
• Tokotah Alley before the fall by Stephan Martiniere, www.martiniere.com
• Young Yeesha and Tomahna book from Myst IV: Revelation.
• Aged Yeesha from Myst V: End of Ages.
• Great Shaft elevator from Myst V: End of Ages.
• Sunny MYST Island from realMYST.
• Rainy MYST Island from Myst V: End of Ages.
• View of Ae'gura from afar from Myst V: End of Ages.
• All other scenes from Until Uru or Uru: Complete Chronicles.
• Here are the concept notes:
  • No people shown in first minute of video. The song speaks first for the Cavern. The Cavern is asleep. The Cavern is derelict.
  • Focus on Yeesha. The song also represents her. Yeesha's journey has not been easy. In some tasks she has failed. The grower is tired.
  • For the end, show scenes of growth and renewal.
• This is my last project in Windows Movie Maker. It has been a fun learning experience; now I am moving on to Adobe Premiere Pro. I thought about reassembling Wake Up Now in Premiere, but decided it would take too much time.