What is machinima?- Machinima is the use of a game engine (like PC, xbox360, wii, ect.) to make a cinematic effect or a movie experience.
Whats the key to making a good machinima?-Keep the movie effect going (no camra giggling, or shooting randomly) so the people wathching think there at a theater and not watching video game footage, And what ever you do, don't put a camcorder or webcam in front of your TV it looks really bad and nobody will take you or your machinima seriously(if you need more info look at Digitalph33r's guide to making Machinima on youtube or in the video link in the navigation box)
Is there any way to not spend money to make a machinima?-NO. You can rush perfection right? So if you whant to have a good machinima you have to make a sacrifice. Another saying is "with great victory comes great sacrifice".
Why is there mostly Halo3 machinima-Halo3 was pretty much begging to be a machinima engine. It has feachers such as theater and forge to create sets and play footage. Also the one of the first machinima producers,Rooster Teeth, used Halo:CE.
Is Gameplay a form of machinima?- Yes.Gameplay is another form of machinima only instead of a cinematic effect it gives the viewer an insight on how a game is played (hence "gameplay") these videos are often viewed as a means to see how a game is played before it is purchased.
