Machinima as a professional film medium

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I want to talk about machinima being a professional film medium, or we could translate that as a "legitimate" film medium. What I mean is...the mainstream (not all, but most) don't take this form of film making seriously. In some respects I can understand why. What they see, as do many who are unfamiliar with machinima, tends to be mostly hobbyists taking footage of themselves playing games, or if there is a storyline it may be shallow scripting, or poorly shot footage and ill thought through dialog. It isn't everyone, but if you are familiar with machinima, you have likely seen what I'm talking about. So, what does it mean to be professionalized? Lets ask another question as we answer the first one...what is the difference between a feature film and something done on some guys home camera? Give that some thought and it may partially answer the first question. Now, back to the first question - lets look at it this way; if you were to spend $10,000,000 on producing a movie, would you want to hire a part-time worker that will work on your project when he/she gets a chance after work, or on the weekend? Probably not if you want something that has a chance at getting your 10 million back. Does that mean we have to search for the highest bidder and spend way more than we have to? Certainly not, and most certainly not for machinima. Here's the real question: Is it reasonable to work toward maturing machinima film making to where writers, voice actors, virtual set builders and animators, directors, etc., can earn a living off the art? Maybe it won't buy mansions, or million $ boats, but perhaps pay the bills and support a family. Would that qualify as professional? I do believe a workman is worth his hire, although there is nothing wrong with people working together on a project for free...but I'm talking on a whole here. Some people will argue that if someone asks for money for their work, then they are just being greedy. Helping and volunteering is a good thing, but if someone where to work 80 hours on your project so you can make money, then who is the selfish, self centered one? Collaboration and helping one another is good, but we should never take someones time for granted...that's time away from there families, friends, hobbies, etc. Professional film can take on many forms. The difference between pro and novice is the time and talent put into the project. This translates into smooth footage and engaging storyline. And that's what I'm talking about! There is SO much more that just can't fit here, so if you have some ideas on machinima, lets discuss it.