Everyone is talking about the advancements in technology and the evolution of the film industry. Blink for too long and you might miss the latest tools and modern filmmaking techniques!

Well, today, I happened to come across XtraNormal which allows you to make a film online without having to shoot anything! I was amazed to find that I could shoot my very own film in the comforts of my laptop while sitting on the couch in an old tee shirt and some sweats. Who would have thought we'd reached this level of filmmaking?

As I was experimenting with the site, I was thrilled to be able to create my own film without the hassles of casting actors, finding a set, or anything else involved in actual filmmaking for that matter. First, I had to choose the number of actors I wished to cast, then it got exciting... it was time to pick from dozens of animated characters to play the role. The cute 3-D animated animals versus the 3-D humans with various looks led to a five minute debate on which I should use (the human won). At a cost, you could obtain even more characters through their premium packages. Next, I chose my own set, wrote the dialogue, added sounds, manipulated the character actions, added camera angles, etc. Their "Text-to-Movie" feature makes it easy for anyone to publish a film. However, some problems I found with this new online filmmaking system are the many creative limitations and lack of room for other visual input, not to mention the small technical issues and delays of the website.

The characters are also very monotonous and stiff. Sure, you could choose to give the character an Australian accent or have them speak French, but it all sounds very generic. It doesn't offer the full satisfaction of being able to add spontaneity or produce the complete desired visual effect. However, the site seems to be constantly improving and updating their characters and filmmaking options.

So let me ask, is this the future of filmmaking?

Xtranormal was founded in 2006 by Richard Szalwinski and launched in 2008. It is a movie-making web platform headquartered in Montreal, where users with little or no animation experience can make and share films by utilizing simple tools such as dragging commands into script boxes. They promote their site with the "showing up with nothing, leaving with a movie" concept. Compared to their competitor sites such as Animasher and GoAnimate, Xtranormal is far more technologically and visually advanced, a product of their team of engineers and researchers.

Regarding the future of filmmaking, I doubt its ability to allow someone to create a feature film, yet view it as a good stepping stone towards understanding the basics of animation filmmaking. Students may find it useful and will probably leave learning a few basic tips about taking a creative idea and transforming it into a vision.