Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns (born 1973) is an independent filmmaker living in Texas. His most notable contributions have been in machinima, 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. Filmed using the video games Halo, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach. Red vs. Blue was quickly acclaimed for its humor and originality, eventually elevating Burns to the status of an Internet celebrity. Such visibility allowed him to create one of the few successful machinima film-houses in the industry, Rooster Teeth Productions. Burns even attracted the attention of video game giant Electronic Arts, who asked him to create a promotional series using their new game, The Sims 2. The result, The Strangerhood, has received mixed reviews. Burns also premiered P.A.N.I.C.S., a mini-series that utilizes the F.E.A.R. game engine. He has appeared at several film festivals, including Sundance and The Sydney Film Festival. He currently lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and two sons.

Filmography

• 2024Red vs. Blue: Restoration — Epsilon (voice), Writer
• RWBY: Fairy Tales — Taiyang Xiao Long (voice)
• Transformers: War for Cybertron: Kingdom — Executive Producer
• Transformers: War for Cybertron: Earthrise — Executive Producer
• Transformers: War for Cybertron: Siege — Executive Producer
• 2019A Heist with Markiplier — Executive Producer
• Arizona Circle — Executive Producer
• gen:LOCK — Executive Producer
• 2018Becoming Jessica Nigri — Executive Producer
• 2018Blood Fest — Executive Producer
• 2018Common Ground — Executive Producer
• GORQ's Quest
• Nomad of Nowhere — Executive Producer
• 2018The Next Kill — Jim Convasos
• 2018Why We’re Here: 15 Years of Rooster Teeth — Self, Executive Producer
• Burnie Vlog — Self, Drone Operator, Editor, Camera Operator
• 2017Haus of Pain — Executive Producer
• 2017Lazer Team 2 — Hagan, Screenplay, Producer
• Sex Swing — Executive Producer
• The Eleven Little Roosters — Burnardo Burnadicci
• 2017The Tattooist — Himself, Executive Producer
• 2017Unconventional — Himself, Executive Producer
• 2016Connected — Himself, Executive Producer
• Crunch Time — Enhanced Interrogator
• Fan Service — Executive Producer
• 2016Lazer Team — Hagan, Screenplay, Story, Producer
• 2016Slash — Mr. Snow
• 2016The Meme Machine — Himself, Executive Producer
• 2016The World's Greatest Head Massage: An ASMR Journey — Himself, Executive Producer
• 2015Hit — Officer Harris, Executive Producer
• 2015Let's Play Live: The Documentary — Executive Producer
• RT Docs — Himself, Self, Executive Producer, Creator
• 2015Reunited — Newscaster 1
• 2015Rooster Teeth Shorts - Volumes 4 & 5 — Writer, Executive Producer
• 2015The Best of Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures 2 — Himself, Executive Producer
• On the Spot — Self, Executive Producer
• 2014Remaking the Legend: Halo 2 Anniversary
• Ten Little Roosters — Burnie
• X-Ray and Vav — Executive Producer
• iBlade — Knight, Producer
• RWBY — Detective #1 (voice), Taiyang Xiao Long (voice)
• 2013Rooster Teeth: Best of Rooster Teeth Shorts — Writer
• 2013Secret Santa — Clumsy Skiing Goon 1
• 2013The Best of Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures — Himself, Producer
• 2012Minecraft: The Story of Mojang — Executive Producer
• 2012The Best Red vs. Blue. Ever. Of All Time — Church / Lopez (voice), Writer
• 2012Trocadero: When We're Together — Executive Producer
• RT Life — Self, Drone Operator, Camera Operator, Editor
• Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures — Self (Voice), Self / Self (voice) / Joel Heyman (voice), Himself, Burnie-san (voice), Executive Producer
• 2011Rooster Teeth Shorts: Volume Three — Burnie, Producer, Writer
• Immersion — Host, Producer, Creator
• 2010Rooster Teeth Shorts: Volume Two — Burnie, Writer
• RT Shorts — Hagan, Self
• 2009Rooster Teeth Shorts: Volume 1 — Burnie
• Code Monkeys — Blue Guard (voice)
• PANICS — Bravo 1
• 2003Red Vs Blue Blood Gulch Chronicles I — Writer, Director
• Red vs. Blue — Pvt. Leonard Church / Lopez the Heavy / Epsilon, Director, Writer, Creator
• 1997The Schedule — Writer, Director
• Rooster Teeth Podcast

Appearances as themselves (4)

• 2016Why Him? — Self
• Million Dollars, But... — Self
• @midnight with Chris Hardwick — Self
• 2011O Brave New World — Self