I want to create a short video of a player character talking into the camera with my voice so I can send it to my daughter who lives 3500 miles away.

How would one go about doing this....Software-wise.

I've heard of "machinima" but would the CK be able to do that... where the player (me) would be in front of the camera and say a few words then run off to kill some bandits?

Thanks!

Well, you could create an actor that looks like your character and script a dialog scene followed by him going to patrol an area with bandits while having the whole thing recorded in first person. Most of that is covered in the various tutorial sections of www.creationkit.com