Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns (born 1973) is an independent filmmaker living in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. His best known contributions have been in machinima

Machinima

Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...

, although he has also worked with live-action. In April 2003, Burns, along with several of his friends, created the Internet machinima series Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles

Red vs. Blue

Red vs. Blue, often abbreviated as RvB, is a set of related comic science fiction video series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed through the Internet and on DVD...

. Filmed using the video games Halo

Halo: Combat Evolved

Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...

, Halo 2

Halo 2

Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...

, Halo 3

Halo 3

Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...

, and Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 console. Reach was released in North America, Australia, and Europe on September 14, 2010. The game takes place in the year 2552, where humanity is locked in a war with the...

, Red vs. Blue was acclaimed for its humor and originality, making Burns an Internet celebrity. Such visibility allowed him to create one of the few successful machinima film-houses in the industry, Rooster Teeth Productions

Rooster Teeth Productions

Rooster Teeth Productions is a production group from Austin, Texas that specializes in the creation of live action shorts, animated peices and machinima, or films created using real-time, interactive engines from computer and video games. The name Rooster Teeth is a euphemism for Cockbite, an...

. Burns attracted the attention of video game company Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...

, who asked him to create a promotional series using their new game, The Sims 2

The Sims 2

The Sims 2 is a strategic life simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to the best-selling computer game, The Sims, which debuted on February 4, 2000. It was first released on September 14, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. A port to Apple Mac OS X...

. The result was The Strangerhood

The Strangerhood

The Strangerhood is a comedy series created by Rooster Teeth Productions. The series is produced primarily by using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from computer and video games to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio. The animation is created using the computer game The...

. Burns also premiered P.A.N.I.C.S.

PANICS

PANICS or P.A.N.I.C.S., an acronym for People Acting Normal In Crazy-Ass Situations, is a comic science fiction mini-series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and released in 2005...

, a mini-series that utilizes the F.E.A.R. game engine. He has appeared at the Sundance

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 and The Sydney Film Festival

Sydney Film Festival

The Sydney Film Festival is an annual film festival held in the Australian city of Sydney and is held over 12 days in June. The competitive film festival draws international and local attention, with films being showcased in several venues across the city centre and includes features,...

.

Background

Burnie was born in the Rochester N.Y. area. Burns attended The University of Texas at Austin, in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Computer Languaging and Development Science. He went on to become the President of the tech support company teleNetwork Partners, and eventually broke out to form his independent company Rooster Teeth Productions

Rooster Teeth Productions

Rooster Teeth Productions is a production group from Austin, Texas that specializes in the creation of live action shorts, animated peices and machinima, or films created using real-time, interactive engines from computer and video games. The name Rooster Teeth is a euphemism for Cockbite, an...

. Burns currently resides in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 with his wife and two sons.

Career

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. The series completed its 100-episode run on June 28, 2007.
Burns regularly attends conventions featuring Red vs. Blue and has made several appearances on G4techTV

G4techTV

G4techTV was a cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The headquarters is based in Los Angeles...

. Some of the appearances he has made include: Comic Con San Diego, Armageddon, New York Comic Con, and starting in 2011 RTX. He also appeared on the Discovery Channel mini-series "Rise of the Video Game

Rise of the Video Game

"Rise of the Video Game" is a five part series on The Discovery Channel about the history of video games. The first episode aired in November of 2007. The series ran under the tile "I, VIDEOGAME" in Europe.-Episodes:Taken from...

" along with Gus Sorola. He also makes Frequent appearances on the "The Rooster Teeth Podcast" along with Geoff Ramsey

Geoff Ramsey

Geoff Lazer Ramsey, born Geoff Fink before taking his stepfather's surname, is a machinima producer and voice actor for Rooster Teeth Productions. Ramsey often posts under the handle geoff and is known for having numerous tattoos all over his body; his Red vs. Blue character, Grif, even promotes...

 and Gus Sorola.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role
1995	Porked	Actor
1997	The Schedule	Writer, Director, Producer
1999	The great man from the south	Writer
2003		(voice), (voice), (voice, episodes 11 and 12), Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound designer, Visual effects
2004		(voice), (voice), (voice), Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound designer, Visual Effects
2005	PANICS PANICS PANICS or P.A.N.I.C.S., an acronym for People Acting Normal In Crazy-Ass Situations, is a comic science fiction mini-series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and released in 2005...	Bravo 1 (voice), Alpha Team commander (voice), Producer
2005		(voice), (voice), (voice), The Red Zealot (voice), Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound designer
2006		(voice), (voice), (voice), Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound designer
2006	The Strangerhood Season One The Strangerhood The Strangerhood is a comedy series created by Rooster Teeth Productions. The series is produced primarily by using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from computer and video games to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio. The animation is created using the computer game The...	Griggs (voice), Tobar (voice), Tovar (voice), Writer, Director, Producer
2007		(voice), (voice), (voice), Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Designer
2007	Halo 3 Halo 3 Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...	UNSC Marine (Cameo appearance)
2008	Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction is a 2008 action-comedy machinima series produced by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed via the Rooster Teeth website. A sequel to Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, Red vs Blue: Reconstruction picks up where the Red vs. Blue: Recovery One miniseries left...	(voice) (voice) Writer, Co-Director, Producer
2009	Captain Dynamic	Writer, Producer
2009	Red vs. Blue: Recreation Red vs. Blue: Recreation Red vs. Blue: Recreation is a 2009 Halo 3 machinima series created by Rooster Teeth Productions, Set three days after Red vs. Blue: Relocated, the Red team are back plotting against the Blue team, which currently consists of only one person, Caboose. In the main story line, the series is considered...	, (voice), Writer
2009	Rooster Teeth Shorts - Season 1	Writer, producer, himself
2010	Red vs. Blue: Revelation Red vs. Blue: Revelation Red vs. Blue: Revelation is a Halo 3 action comedy machinima series created in 2010 by Rooster Teeth Productions, set after Red vs. Blue: Recreation. In the main story line, the series is considered the eighth season of Red vs. Blue. This series will mark the end of the Recollections trilogy,...	(voice), Writer, Co-Director
2010	Rooster Teeth Shorts - Season 2	Writer, Producer, Himself
2010	Immersion	Himself
2010-2011	Rooster Teeth Shorts - Season 3	Writer, Producer, Himself
2011	Red vs. Blue: Season 9 Red vs. Blue: Season 9 Red vs. Blue: Season 9 is a 2011 action comedy animated/machinima series, produced by Rooster Teeth Productions and loosely based in the Halo universe. The series premiered on June 14, 2011 as a continuation of Red vs. Blue: Revelation....	Writer, Co-Director, Producer, , (voice)
2011	O Brave New World	Himself
2012	Red vs. Blue: Season 10	Writer, Co-Director, Producer, , (voice)

External links