And Now For Something Completely Machinima

This week our film selection is an Elite Dangerous Odyssey 'Captain's Log' style machinima, heavily influenced by Douglas Adams and John Carpenter with shades of Gerry Anderson. The film is The Personal Odyssey 1 by Cmdr Fortytwo. We discuss the use of AI generated voices in this (its a 2021 film) and in particular how well its use can convey emotion - our debate is a deliberation on the choice to create a monotonic dialogue. Damien's overview of the Thargoids is a fascinating insight into the hidden game lore of Elite Dangerous.

1:14 Damien’s overview of the film and the Thargoids

4:00 Phil’s view of the film

9:10 Tracy’s take on the film

15:39 Ricky’s take on the film

20:18 Finding voice actors for free

22:19 In game sound and challenges with mixing

25:51 The role of reverb

26:48 Deals for Elite Dangerous and No Man’s Sky

28:53 Mods for Starfield already in use!

29:53 Phil’s predilection for certain mods

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Phil Rice
Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Anno Domini Beats

WOW! Our collective adjective for this World of Warcraft / Cyberpunk 2077 mashup. This is a stunningly edited urban observational film, set in a strange new world the like of which we have never seen before - a cacophany in a good way. Shades of Blade Runner, Robocop and Mad Max run through the film, with a soundscape and accompanying music that are a perfect fit. We also loved that @DurenMachinima has cited his inspiration, mentioning the late, great @Phixor2000 among others.

Credits –
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Phil Rice
Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Anno Domini Beats

Kicking off Season 4 of the podcast, we review a Monty Python inspired film, integrating one of their greatest films with Elden Ring – Holy Grail. The film has been made by The Escapist in collaboration with eli_handle_b.wav and is a brilliantly edited and composited mashup. It is also a very appropriate pick for this episode since Monty Python were the inspiration for this podcast in the first place, so we reflect in the show that we’ve now been working on this podcast longer than the original Star Trek series ran + another 20 years collaborating on top of that too!

We also discuss news items: the launch of Starfield; Nexus Mods; Unity’s faux pas with the community of creators; Ricky’s attempt to install an AMD 7800T graphics card; and, the Sims Animation and Machinima Convention.

00:15 Film review and discussion

11:00 Monty Python inspiration for the podcast!

14:50 Starfield and Nexus Mods

20:18 Unity’s ball dropping episode

28:58 Installing an AMD 7800T

33:16 Sims Machinima and Animation Convention 2023

Credits –

Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine

Producer: Phil Rice

Editor: Ricky Grove

Music: Anno Domini Beats

In this week's episode, we discuss the phenomenal Backrooms meme that has emerged ever since @kanepixels original film (and the much awaited Netflix version was announced). We review three examples of the works being created, variously using levels of the rapidly evolving game: Chaos in the Hub by @BackroomsMerchant is probably the most close to the original horror vibe; Endless Escalators by @ReturnToRender is an example of great comedic timing; and Crab Rave - Backrooms Edition by @Madlykeanu is just pure fun, and an example of a meme upon a meme. As Phil suggests, however, has it gone too far, a la Poltergeist and Alien, and what does this astonishing level of response to the original film mean for the success of the Netflex release? We have mixed views and yet geniusly, somehow, Ricky manages to invoke Kafka into the discussion!

5:18 Three creative backrooms-themed videos.
16:51 The backrooms phenomenon and its evolution.
24:11 Phil reflects on the evolution of the meme, from a mysterious and intriguing concept to a more concrete and less exciting reality.

Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Ricky Grove
Intro: Phil Rice
Music: Intro - Doctor Dreamchip/Outro - Arps Solina

This week Damien has picked two space exploration shorts for us to review: one is made in UE called Terra by @j.thomaswilson3543 and the other is an ED film called Into Black by @indigointoblack . The film sequencing of the craft in flight in Into Black shows the competence of the creator whereas the human element encapsulated by the robot in Terra is particularly engaging and adds a different dimension to the storytelling. We discuss the similarities and differences of these approaches to space operas in general, and also how it contrasts to the Pixar approach of building in cuteness and sentimentality. In the end, however, we agree (with the exception of Tracy's perspective) that these are great cinematic examples of machinima... but maybe you settle on Tracy's side of the discussion?

2:38 Damien's intro
4:56 Ricky's comments
6:52 Phil's comments
10:29 Tracy's comments
18:16 What do you think?!

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Damien Valentine
Intro: Phil Rice
Music: Intro - Doctor Dreamchip/Outro - Arps Solina

This week we discuss one of the best HL2 films from the 2009 era - Shelf Life by Pixel Eyes Productions. The film, which is in two episodes, won a heap of creator awards back in the day and has definitely stood the test of time for us. There are some fun sci-fi and weird tropes integrated into the story, which we discuss, as well as the very well done sound design and original music. We'd love to see these guys pick this project back up, although of course, none of the issues they faced back then will be a problem now - just a whole set of new ones to overcome!

3:30 Back story to Pixel Eyes Productions.
12:04 How the film has aged well.

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Intro: Phil Rice
Music: Intro - Doctor Dreamchip/Outro - Arps Solina

An homage and 'unofficial tribute' to the classic 90s TV series, this week's review discusses a film of a game demo created by Blue Rose Team for the PS1. The demo covers the intro and events surrounding Special Agent Cooper's arrival at Twin Peaks and his encounter with Laura Palmer and the Black Lodge. Steeped in the mythos of the virtual world that has been created, well, at least that applies to some of the CM crew more than other/s, we discuss how well it translates to contemporary times, the story portrayed and the issues that arise from this type of transformative work.

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Ricky Grove
Music: Intro/Doctor Dreamchip Outro/Arps Solina

A truly terrifying short for some, Horror is more like an absurd dream for others. The film is made by Yang Hyunjun, released 4 June 2023. Its creator showcases some incredible scene detail, especially at the beginning of the film, but thereafter, loses a little of the pathos and credibility in the storytelling.

Key points -
6:00 Tracy picks a horror film.
11:52 Situating yourself with the character, facial animation and narrative.
15:34 Men are the easiest people in the world to make fun of (according to Phil).
21:30 Paranoia and psychosis – what was the intent of the filmmaker?
26:44 Challenge of communicating cultural differences between East and West.

Credits -
Speakers: Tracy Harwood, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice
Producer: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Ricky Grove
Music: intro: Doctor Dreamchip, outro: Arps Solina, Otis McDonald

This week's review is of a No Man's Sky machinima called Origins, produced by Evil Dr.Porkchop. Its a beautiful cinematic travelogue showcasing the vast expansiveness that is No Man's Sky - a game in which you will almost never have the same experience twice. Of course, Ricky wanted more drama and story but Phil nails it, reflecting on what might be possible if you could use No Man Sky's environments with Eve Online's space battles and Star Citizen's avatars! Yeah... but that's not this film!

Key points -

7:38 Music by Confidential MX, Rebirth Overtone
16:29 A love letter to Star Trek

18:36 Question about No Man's Sky machinima making - can anyone help?

Credits -
Speakers: Tracy Harwood, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice
Producer: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Intro: Doctor Dreamchip & Outro: Arps Solina

This week we feature two films by Chinese artist collective studio, @Motzify Mohua. These two shorts, The Crown and Hunt, are made in Unreal Engine and show extraordinary qualities in very different ways: The Crown is a fairytale made originally for World Children's Day and illustrates traditional cultural references with gorgeous imagery; Hunt is a cyberpunk anti-hero teaser. Our main 'complaint' is that we need more detail from the artists!

3:23 Unreal Engine is one of the best tools for making machinima.

8:14 The crown and the sword.

12:03 The mystique of the film - a hybridised 2D/3D animation style

16:36 What struck Tracy about the first film.

19:55 Cthulhu, the ultimate evil.

27:53 What is style and why is it important?

31:58 Hidden politics.

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Intro: Doctor Dreamchip & Outro: Arps Solina