Episodes
-
In this ep, we reflect on the key trends in #machinima we've observed during Season 4 of the Completely Machinima podcast. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the year too, so do add comments below.
During the past year, we have reviewed over 22 hours of content, and presented detailed analysis of over 50 films on this channel. As vets of the original community practices (that's pre YouTube and the M.com/Inc days), one of the great pleasures we take in this podcast is that we get to look at machinima and virtual production across the breadth of genres and engines, by creators from anywhere in the world, and reflect on where its come from, how its evolved and is developing.
This year, we have seen amazing quality films made in popular games such as Half-Life, World of Warcraft, Elden Ring, Star Citizen, Warhammer 40K and Team Fortress 2; have had the pleasure of exploring work made in entirely new games, like BeamNG and Deep Rock Galactic; and others made using engines in their base form such as Unreal, iClone and Source. We've also started to see #genAIs become integrated into processes and works. What a year for creatives and creativity!
Our main observation is that we have noted a resurgence of interest in machinima as a terms for the creative form, and we feel creators are at long last focussing on creative practices rather than their channel return. Of course its great when these things collide but it was never what machinima was about originally: it was the passion for great storytelling, using novel processes to achieve a desired outcome and to share that with a community of equally passionate others. Other observations are why we are not seeing as many traditional short stories as we used to...
We hope you enjoy this ep as much as we have making it.
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week we review two films and again attempt to work with a rather impressive AI genie who covers things we just could not... The first film selected is a Deep Rock Galactic music video machinima called We All Lift Together, using the Futuna theme song Warframe, made by Szczebrzeszyniarz Brzeczyszczyczmosszyski (yep, that's why we needed a genie). The second is a stunning visualisation of Helsreach made in Warhammer 40K by Richard Boylan, using a brilliant reading of Aaron Dembski-Bowden's novel by Jonathan Keeble. Whilst the graphic style presented us with some challenges, which we discuss at length, the quality of this is outstanding.
2:15 We All Lift Together music video discussion
17:47 Helsreach adaptation, made in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, discussionCredits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, AI genie
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
Missing episodes?
-
In this ep, we discuss a film by Patrick Zeugirdor, which uses the game BeamNG to simulate realistic freeway crashes. The game features advanced physics and modding capabilities, allowing for detailed crash simulations. The film shows various crash scenarios, each with multiple camera perspectives, highlighting the game's recamming feature. We debate the film's educational value, its potential to encourage poor driving behavior, and its popularity due to morbid curiosity - a good combination? Suffice to say, it evokes some strong emotions from us! We also discuss the game's potential for use in narrative storytelling and its realistic portrayal of accidents.
2:33 Phil introduces the film
8:33 Ricky’s comments: crash test dummies; machinima as spectacle; is this educational?
14:13 Damien’s comments: it’s not a comedy! and limitations of the game
18:16 Tracy’s comments: from a nice driving vid to a compete horror story to has this just gone too far?
30:13 We discuss the pros and cons of the film and its effectsCredits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week is our monthly news ep. We discuss various developments in the machinima and virtual production community. Tracy mentions the Reallusions 2024 3D Character Contest, highlighting Stefan Dufour's entry. Phil and Tracy discuss the potential of AI in character creation. Damien reports on Activision shutting down a Call of Duty mod and the impact of AI on modding. We also cover the Dragon Age: The Veil Guard game, the Secret Level series on Amazon Prime, and the new game inZOI. Phil introduces Daz AI Studio, a generative AI platform for DAZ Studio, and reflects on the impact of AI on the music industry, sharing the story of composer Sasha transitioning to AI-generated music.
1:14 Reallusion’s 3D Character Creator contest
3:41 Skibidi Toilet being made into a move with Michael Bay? No way!
5:03 Sandbox, the spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod
8:42 Celebrating TF2 community – a great fan-made trailer promo
9:21 Activision shuts down a key CoD mod – not the best choice, and we discuss how the community is responding to this, free mods and review bombs
16:58 Gamescon notes… Dragon Age; Secret Level on Amazon Prime; Inzoy
22:34 DAZ Studio has a great AI tool in it
25:25 Filmmusic.io update – the real impact of generative AI?
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Rice
Producer/editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
What is #machinima?! Good question these days, and this week we review a new video essay on tackling just that question... which is always interesting for us pioneers and vets to reflect on in this podcast. In the vid we review, Collin Aull introduces a few thoughts we've not really considered before, plus some comments we've discussed many times over the years, so its worth a listen as well as if you want to spot some of the older machinimas from those very early years in the narrative edit.
1:14 Ricky discusses his latest performance award success
8:49 Shout out for @Mr_Matt_Lee - some of the best build tuts around
11:22 Ricky introduces Collin Aull's video essay: The Game of Video
15:52 Damien's comments
17:27 Phil's comments
24:05 Tracy's comments
our conclusions... the biggest problem today is finding good machinima (because we know it exists as evidenced in EVERY episode of this show)!Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week we take a look at another stunning Team Fortress 2 short called Assault on 2Fort by JP Stevens aka Lolripk, a recommendation made to us by Dominzki (whose own TF2 short we reviewed in E135). What a great choice this is: we loved this film, a classic RED vs BLU tale but with a layer of emotion that is as beautifully portrayed as it is unexpected in SFM. These characters have real depth to them and we note how that's been achieved, even though the focal character doesn't even speak. Did we mention the fight choreography too? We reflect on the game lore, the significance of the community in the creative process, and how this story is told from an unusal perspective. We also reflect on why machinima series almost never complete... but we certainly hope Lolripk doesn't follow the pattern!
1:44 Introduction to film, its qualities: great choreography and emotional depth to characters
11:26 Why this is an unusual red vs blue story
15:27 What is the lore in TF2?
19:00 Violence portrayed: why it bothered some of us more in this than in E140, and vice versa
24:28 Little details, and why they mattered in this
35:45 The Source creator community rocksCredits -
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood, Phil Rice
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
A Star Citizen extravaganza: this week, we discuss a brilliant re-creation of Erik Wernquist's epic short, Wanderers, released by one of its creators Mr Hasgaha. Whilst this is a faithful scene-by-scene depiction of the original, its actually so much more than that too. We comment once again on the incredible qualities of the game, and how the fact it is an open world reflects the original inspiration for Wernquist's film: the artwork of Chesley Bonestell, whose paintings were partly the reason that NASA exists today. The machinima also pays homage to Carl Sagan in the only way it can, to his words in the iconic book Pale Blue Dot. If you have only particles of space nerd in you, we think you'll absolutely love this week's film, certainly we all do.
2:21 Based on Eric Wernquist's original, We Were Wanderers - film vs game and why cinematic machinimas like this matter for conveying director intent
4:45 How to pay homage to Carl Sagan without actually using his voice? Check this film out!
15:55 Making machinima in Star Citizen, what are the challenges?Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week's selection is a stunning cinematic imaginary by Unknown Dino, focussing on the next version of Half Life (soon to be released... er, well, possibly in the next 10 years or so?). There is a lot of craft in this film, called HL: Overworld and made in Blender, which has taken its inspiration both from the HL Reddit community and the HL2 Artbook 'Raising The Bar'. We also talk about the positioning of the new world portrayed as being the next obvious logical step in the story arc for Half Life - HL1 being a portal through which aliens jump to Earth, HL2 being a kind of survival against the odds, Alyx being the prequel, and HL3 being the fight back taken to those hateful Combine... yeah, we wish!
1:19 Phil introduces the film and describes his impression of the vision of the HL3 world being articulated
9:40 Tracy talks about the inspiration for the film and the role of community but why even bother mentioning generative AI here?
17:55 Damien reflects on why there will never be HL3, which leads us into all sorts of speculative nonsense!Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
Another packed episode of news items we found for machinima creators everywhere. We take a look at some games news including several that have released music albums recently and discuss why we think that is. We go through some of the latest AI matters, including Vimeo's new AI content guidelines. We found one of the best Unreal master classes we ever seen, more like a work of art than a 'how to', but since its by the amazing Luis Andrade, we'd expect nothing less. We also found some partciularly juicy tidbits we think you'll enjoy.
1:24 HELP! Can anyone PLEEASSEEEE find us a WoW machinima to celebrate Blizzard's 20 years with this stunning game???
2:50 Games releasing music albums - why is that? We discuss why we're expecting a lot more games to follow this trend
18:56 Implications of this for machinima creators
21:50 Dead games and consumer rights and why there is no real legal precident for the latest goings on, plus implications for machinima content
37:01 Generative AIs - again! And Vimeo is on the band wagon...
44:08 Luis Andrade's 'how to' is stunning
45:00 ... now available on UE marketplace
46:00 Another call out for new distribution channels for content creators
50:00 No Man's Sky updates
51:00 Microsoft Flight Sim... just wow, but what are the implications for brand owners' IP and haven't we seen something similar happen elsewhere? Question: are you simulating flying or what you see looking at the ground?
1:06:28 SAG AFTRA on strike, this time in support of game actors... but GTA6 isn't covered?Credits -
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
Crazy, it is certainly that - and more. If you enjoy slasher horror, we think you'll love this - and its definitely not for U18s! The film is by Toaster and is a music video for Code Mistake, a deathcore metal spectacular by CORPSE and Bring Me the Horizon. We examine Toaster's GTA5 machinima, reflect on its anime qualities, and conclude its significantly better than the official music video: Ricky discusses it in the context of Stan Brakhage's Dog Star Man, but Phil, Tracy & Damien feel the inspiration is much closer to home.
1:29 Ricky’s introduction to the film, how it reminds him of avant-garde machinima and the work of Stan Brakhage – wishing we could go back in a time machine to show the early machinima community!
7:11 The official music video uses anime and fantasy horror, vs the machinima video using GTA5 which results in a different type of horror representation
13:00 Deathcore, production quality, edits, unleashed chaos – the energy is outstanding. To what extent are we desensitised to the gore in the film?
19:56 Strong fit between visuals and the music. The creator’s evident enjoyment in making the film shines through
23:26 Reflecting on Manhunt – highly controversial in its day, hyper horror
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week, we discussion two films: @neisannnn 'What a Wonderful World', a love letter to Star Citizen, where we focus on its surreal nature, use of backwards music, and ability to capture the game's vast universe. Our second film is 'Plumbob Princess' by @lReMi07l - one of the all time best machinimas we've seen in Sims 4. We discuss the visual quality and storytelling of machinima videos for The Sims 4 and Star Citizen, highlighting the creative use of animation, music, and language. Check out the films, with links on our website, info below. S
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week's film is a machinima that deals with pollution in the most overt way it can. Andy Hughes' Inner Migration juxtaposes Cyberpunk 2077 against some 'found footage' taken from early 40s/60s films and General Motors corporate 'forecast' of the future of technology. We discuss how machinima is an interesting way to explore social commentary and analyze the use of video games as a medium for artistic expression and engaging young people in social responsibility. We also reflect on the potential of media and science fiction to inspire change and address social ills. Our conversation concludes with insights on how viewers can make sense of complex films and draw inspiration from multiple perspectives.
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This month's news omnibus covers our usual breadth of topics - from Reallusion's Character Creator contest; to a 'how to create in SL', available only in SL; to Project Odyssey's contest for genAIers; to the winners of the second AIFF; to some fabulous projects such as @EpicSpaceman latest film, an Elden Ring band, Jennifer McKnew's Sydney and Socket project, and one dedicated to sharing with us the 'speed of animals'; to the fallout from the Prince Charles Cinema debate about showcasing an genAI film; launch of the Starfield Creation Kit; Homefield 3; and a must have tool for creating great quality 3D backbounds called Distopica. Its a must watch for anyone working in #machinima!
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week's film review is of [GTA5] 賽銭箱に身を投げる ロスサントス市警察, made by @mzanku - its absurdist humor but also deeply disturbing, which hits us all in different ways around half way through watching the film. Following our discussions, we conclude the creator probably didn't intend for the work to be culturally appropriated as an interpretation of US police brutality, but that interpretation was nonetheless possible. In closing out the ep, Ricky discusses the new DLC for Elden Ring and the role cheese plays in enjoying it.
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Arps Solina -
In this episode, we analyse our picks' cinematics, beginning with 'Day of Darkness' made in Eve Online by Dire Lauthris and completing with 'The Wanderer' made in the Source engine by Dominzki. We discuss the use of ambiguity, character development, and narrative qualities, as well as the advancement of video game cinematics and in-engine techniques. We also examine how the horror of war has been conveyed through the unique visuals and sound effects in both these films.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Featuring: Ricky AI aka RickyAI aka Skibidi Rick
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week, we discuss the art of machinima filmmaking, emphasizing the importance of craftsmanship, freshness, and humor in exceptional storytelling, as evidenced in 'Lonely Episode Two: The Package Thief' by TheBizTheBiz. We analyze the efficiency and density used in delivering witty lines and twists in what is essentially a modern retelling of the Lone Ranger, using mariachi music, masks, and character development, clever use of language and a well-executed comedic setup.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Featuring: RickAI aka AI Ricky, or Skibidi Rick
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
Welcome to our latest bonus episode. We had the pleasure of catching up with Phil Rice aka zsOverman to talk exclusively about his latest machinima, called Being Moses. If there's such as thing as a parody of a Let's Play, this film is it! Check out Phil's comments and watch the film - links on our show notes web post.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week we celebrate Nvidia's investment in machinima, discuss latest AIs and give you the heads up on some great projects we want to highlight - there are just too many for us to fully review everything we're seeing that we want to share with you these days! Do check them out, we'd love to hear your thoughts too - links and notes on our website.
2:47 Thank you Nvidia
7:48 Fab projects
15:39 Latest AI genies to get your teeth into
20:28 Movie-making games
44:43 A final comment from RickyAI: If there's a man in the house, you can damn well be sure there's a lot of condoms tooCredits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Introducing: RickyAI aka Skibidi Rick
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animno Domini Beats -
A compelling and powerful story of one man's quest to remain sane on an isolated planet. This is a very effective story by Lens Nation, given its only 60 seconds long - its probably not just this one creator's worst nightmare in a game, but several of us. Check out our review and don't forget to give us some feedback on your thoughts too.
1:01 Ricky introduces the film and his critique of it, suggesing Lovecraftian tones to the story
6:17 Tracy comments on the sound design and why the lack of sound works so well
14:14 Phil feels the film is analagous to Moon and Sam Rockwell's portrayal of a character - the sense of isolation in games is a real testiment to the immersive that's possible
21:09 Damien reflects on those isolated NPCs - and reminds us about that classic line: 'its not that you're afraid of being alone int he dark, its that you're afraid of not being alone in th dark'!
22:38 The compelling role of ambiguity
25:30 Copyright and why NPCs are likely to have a bigger role in future machinima
26:15 Brief introduction to our new generative AI of Ricky, more in our next episodeCredits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats -
This week, we review a pretender for a new Disney show called Forlorn, by @projectforlorn (aka Alex St Pierre). Well, it may well be at some point in the near future! Starting life as a tech demo, this short has an interesting back story and has evolved into something even more interesting. Check out our review and add your own thoughts!
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats - Show more
