, which we use in the following tutorial to show you how to get started on your first film, is different. Unlike most Machinima hosts, it offers a stage you can alter to your heart's content. You can also customise the bodies and dress of your actors. A range of content packs is available for even more options.

Moviestorm is sold on a subscription basis at £4.99 per month; alternatively, you can buy the lifetime version for £149. A time-limited free trial is available from .

Download the Moviestorm installer from . This helper app will download the remaining content for you - which totals hundreds of megabytes, so ensure you have a swift and dependable web connection and enough hard-disk space. Register a username and password, then log in.

Launch Moviestorm and choose 'New Movie'. You can choose a template, follow a brief tutorial or customise a prepared movie. We've selected the blank Moviestorm template. This creates a simple set with no bundled actors or activities. Click the tick at the bottom of the screen to load the template.