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machinima

American  
[muh-shee-nuh-muh] / məˈʃi nə mə /

noun

Cinematography, Digital Technology.

  1. the process of making real-time animated films by utilizing the 3D graphics technology of computer games.

  2. a film or films made in this way.

Etymology

Origin of machinima

First recorded in 2000–05; misspelled blend of machine and cinema

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Grand Theft Hamlet is not the first film to adopt the in-game visual style - known as machinima.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2024

There are lovely little gatherings here of people who yearn to emotionally connect over their favorite manga books and machinima and online cartoons.

From Slate • Jul. 16, 2012

But the film is a "machinima" animation and was entirely shot on an in-game engine as a means of promoting the Red Dead Redemption video game.

From The Guardian • May 28, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.