Wagner James Au / New World Notes

After a long wait, it's here! And exclusive to New World Notes: Presenting Episode 1, Season 3 of LANG, a noir comedy machinima series made entirely in Second Life, which I'm thrilled to premiere. (Watch above.)

If you haven't seen Season 1 and Season 2, however, binge-watch them here first, as the story is pretty complicated. Here's a very brief elevator pitch of Season 3 from lead LANG creator Zatch Ixchel:

"Without spoiling previous seasons – LANG is about two private investigators in a city that doesn’t want them. This season, in particular, is one about parenthood — fatherhood, specifically. Betrayal, lost love, and revenge are other themes we explore this time around."

There's a seriously cool shot around 9:20 that was more challenging to create then it might seem — here's how they did it (spoilers ahead):

"I guess the most complicated sequence would be the final scene," says Zatch, "when Arthur finally meets Captain Ron Burgess. Arthur is fixated on the door’s peephole from outside, waiting for the light to become obstructed. We built and shot two peepholes – one lit, and one dark. We crossfaded these shots in post to create the illusion we were going for. Filming anything in Second Life, even simple scenes, can be extremely complicated, as any SL filmmaker will tell you. It’s often harder than real life!"

True that. And don't forget to subscribe to Zatch on YouTube.