Burnie Burns

Burnie Burns
Burnie Burns' 2011 portrait
Born	Michael Justin Burns (1973-01-18) January 18, 1973 Rochester, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor, writer, film producer, film director
Years active	2003–present
Employer	Rooster Teeth
Spouse(s)	Jordan Burns (Divorced)
Children	2
Website
roosterteeth.com/burnie

Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns (born January 18, 1973) is an American independent filmmaker living in Austin, Texas. He is best known for his contributions in Machinima, a form of film-making that uses video game technology in its production,^[1] and also works with animation and live action.^[2] In April 2003, Burns, along with several friends and co-workers, created the Internet Machinima series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles. Filmed using the video game Halo, Red vs. Blue was acclaimed for its humor and originality, making Burns an Internet celebrity.^[3] His success allowed him to co-found the production company Rooster Teeth.^[4] After the immediate popularity of Red vs. Blue, Burns attracted the attention of video game company Electronic Arts, who asked him to create a promotional series using their upcoming game, The Sims 2. The result was The Strangerhood. Burns also premiered P.A.N.I.C.S., a mini-series that utilizes the F.E.A.R. game engine. As one of the innovators in the field of machinima, he has made guest appearances at the Penny Arcade Expo, San Diego Comic-Con International, Sundance and The Sydney Film Festival.^[3][5][6] For his work on Immersion (2010), a live action series that tests video game tropes in the real world, he has been nominated for an IAWTV award in the "Best Hosted Taped Web Series" category.^[7]

Background

Burns was born in the Rochester, New York area and grew up in Houston, Texas.^[8] His father was a Physics professor who worked on the Desertron Super Collider. He is one quarter French-Canadian.^[9] The nickname "Burnie" was given to him by an Alief Elsik High School senior to separate him from the many Michaels in his class. Burns' determination to pursue a medical career led him to become a member of HOSA. Half of his senior year consisted of clinical rotations at Southwest Memorial Hospital.^[9]

After high school, he attended The University of Texas at Austin,^[4] where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science.^[10] While there, Burns got his start in video production by volunteering at K29HW-D, Texas Student Television. During his time with TSTV, he founded Sneak Peek, the longest-running student television program in the world,^[11] in which he reviewed films and conducted interviews with guests such as Adam Sandler.^[12]

Burns went on to become the president of the tech support company teleNetwork Partners,^[13] and eventually broke out to form his independent company Rooster Teeth. He was married to Jordan Burns in August 2000 and divorced in December 2011. He currently resides in Austin, Texas and is an award-winning member of the International Academy of Web Television.^[14]

Career

In his final year of university, Burns was intent on making a movie. Joel Heyman and Matt Hullum, who were roommates at the time, agreed to help, with the former agreeing to star and the latter helping write, produce and direct. They shot The Schedule (1997) over a three-month period on 16mm film for $9,000.^[15] Burns became frustrated with the difficult distribution process and the film only screened in a few festivals. Soon after, the trio split ways. Heyman and Hullum went to Los Angeles, while Burns accepted a position at a local tech support company.

There, he met his co-workers and future Red vs. Blue collaborators Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola. In June 2002, Burns teamed up with his colleagues to create their first viral video, a Mac Gamer Switch parody.^[16]

"That moment is probably the single most important moment in the history of this company. Even more so than when we put the first video of Red vs. Blue online. That's when we developed a lot of the early strategies... that's why to this day we still have a website, we still have our own presence on there, which we think is an important part of what we do."^[17]

Burns attributes "two vectors that came together, the movie guys and the tech guys," as being a catalyst for their success. Their next project would be Red vs. Blue, which debuted April 1, 2003. After the first season of Red vs. Blue, Burns, voicing the character of Church, became a celebrity in the machinima community. As the director, writer, and lead actor of the series, he is the driving force behind the series. His series earned three awards at the 2003 Machinima Film Festival – Best Picture, Best Writing, and Best Independent Machinima Film – and was nominated for three others.^[18]

The series completed its original five season 100-episode run on June 28, 2007, collectively known as the Blood Gulch Chronicles. Subsequent seasons were retooled with The Recollection Trilogy for seasons 6-8 (Reconstruction, Recreation, and Revelation), and The Freelancer Saga for seasons 9 and 10. Since season eleven, which premiered on June 14, 2013, Burns handed directorial and head writing duties to Miles Luna.

Burns regularly attends conventions featuring Red vs. Blue and has made several appearances on G4techTV. Some of the appearances he has made include: Comic Con San Diego, Armageddon, New York Comic Con, SXSW and his own convention, RTX, which he co-founded in 2011. He also appeared on the Discovery Channel mini-series "Rise of the Video Game" along with Sorola. He also makes frequent appearances on the "The Rooster Teeth Podcast" along with Ramsey (formerly) and Sorola.

In popular culture

Burns is the owner of www.Burnie.com and has been approached by the city of Burnie, Tasmania to relinquish access to it. The incident was recounted first on the Rooster Teeth Podcast and later popularized in a Rooster Teeth Animated Adventure.^[19]

Burns has made an appearance in the webcomic by Penny Arcade.^[20]

Filmography

References

External links

• Burnie Burns at the Internet Movie Database