Shot on Location—in Azeroth

World of Warcraft is home to 9 million adventurers—and one film crew. A team of New York-based programmers, filmmakers and geeks has been shooting a feature-length movie entirely within the online game, a uniquely difficult location shoot. “The crew doesn't usually start running off after their mortal enemy and shooting fireballs when you're filming in Times Square,” said the producer.

Gamer-generated videos, or “machinima,” have been gracing YouTube with increasing frequency, the Washington Post says, but few so ambitious as the 2-hour MMOvie being released online this spring. It’s shot like a real movie: actors log in, take their marks, and perform for the recording software. But there are some differences. PAs, for example, don’t fetch coffee—they kill monsters wandering into the shot.