And Now For Something Completely Machinima
Machinima, real-time filmmaking, virtual production and VR. Four veteran machinimators share news, new films & filmmakers, and discuss the past, present and future of machinima.
Episodes
"Courage is not the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of it." Yep, never a truer few words than said in jest. This week, we discuss a cutscene extravanza of Arthur's life story in the game, apparently endorsed by Roger Clark himself. Its a story told in three acts, supported by some great musical choices, even if we don't completely agree on that. What we do agree on is that Charles Liu has done a superb job of select...
This brings back so many memories for us, the 1980s and 90s, Frank Drebin's utter incompetence and Leslie Neilsen's brilliance. Hat Loving Gamer has excelled himself with this interpretation, taking in a bunch of retro games - everything from PacMan to Mario and then adding in a bit of Halo and GTA for good measure. Our selection of this film also has absolutely nothing to do with the launch of NS2 or the announcement of a...
Projects, mods, demos, Mickey Mouse, not machinima and genAIs... all in the mix this week. We also talk about new tools, game news and Predator: Killer of Killers, the first full length BIG budget machinima. Check out the discussion, links on our show notes, and add comments as usual.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI
Our latest deep dive into machinima history, and this month we focus on Baron Soosdon, a Finnish creator whose work is legendary among us. The film pick, I'm So Sick, is an excellent example of the type of work he produced during his machinima career (circa 2006-2011) which, shockingly, never actually won an award - it was however runner up at Bitfilm Festival. The film is a WoW fan fiction and a cultural mashup of its era...
Yup, there's nothing to do in Starfield, except this kind of thing! Seriously, we love how this teases a potential mod by the creator, @StarfieldCinematics, and we reflect on the portrayal of the characters, the juxtaposition of the narrator voices and the pacing in what is essentially just a teaser. One thing we all agree on is just how stunning this game world is.
1:57 Analysis of Starfield machinima
8:12 Comments ...
Ever wondered what it might be like to experience GTA as an NPC - or an animal? Well check out our pick this week! An hilarious let's play by @PuttherUncut "I Pretended to be a RAT NPV in GTA RP and Trolled the ENTIRE SERVER | DonDada RP", released 5 June 2022. Shades of Robin Hood in the approach -
2:37 Putther Uncut's Rat NPC trolling...
5:10 Details of the rat's actions
8:24 Damien's reaction and analysis
11...
In this episode, we discuss an account of an historic battle, which is commemorated annually on the 17th of Ramadan across all Muslim countries: the Battle of Badr 624AD. The film has been created by the Bellum et Historia channel, released on 16 November 2024, and made in Total War Atilla and other games, using various mods. These are, however, a little hazy because the creator has chosen not to reveal the creative proces...
Our monthly roundup of all things we enjoy about this crazy world of machinima.
Key discussion items -
Machinima and virtual production updates
AI-generated content and tools
Video game trailers and announcements
Character creation software developments
AI music generation and legal considerations
Creative video game content creation techniques
0:01:21 - AFK Season Three Star Wars parody discussion ...
This week's machinima is made in Skyrim, and whilst its a little older, it shows off beautifully the quality of the game, characters and lip sync capability. The film, by Wanderersofthedas was released in 2015, and was made using lines drawn only from the game's NPCs. It makes for an oddly familial campfire conversation, notwithstanding the numerous references to in game lore. Do you and add your comments on our channel...
This week's ep focusses on the 2024 Crowbar Productions Machinima Mayhem contest winner: Fragile Harmony, made in Garry's Mod by Logan and released on 9 Sept 2024. Logan sent this in for us to take a look at, and we're sure glad he did. Yes there are a few things we could be critical about, but storytelling isn't one of them. Check out our review and leave your comments in the usual way.
1:14 Introduction by Phil, a clas...
This week we discuss a machinima form we've not really talked about before - anime. Whilst its one of Ricky's favourite creative forms, for the rest of us its a little out of our comfort zone! We take a look at two films, both made in Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV), Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Wheat Tea (released 2 Feb 2025) and Arcadion by Magitek Productions (released 1 Jan 2025). Check out our discussion and reviews, a...
In this week's episode, we discuss the month's news items we've found most interesting and relevant to making machinima, including more great projects to be inspired by, genAIs we've spotted, Steam's rip off, inZOI's challenge to Sims and the phenomenon known as the 'Minecraft Movie'. Check out our discussion and do add comments on our YT or blog posts.
1:18 Projects: a zombie film in GTA5, Trillo’s Cuco, NeuralViz’ Tigg ...
This week is another pick from the Archives, a short by Thuyen Nguyen aka @evaneon and @collectivenounfilmworksdev4297 . The film was released in 2007 - it is a love letter to games and gamers at a time when seemingly the whole world was filled with haters. Catch up with our comments and reflections and do add your own below.
1:13 About the Archive - How They Got Game, a Stanford University project
3:30 The Most Powerful P...
Alongside S5 E176 Red Faction Guerilla: Optimism Bias (Apr 2025), Tracy spoke to Andrew about his machinima series, his creative practice and the problems he encountered when attempting to distribute the work. They also discuss his upcoming works and aspirations for his future career. Check out the interview (also on YouTube).
Credits -
Speakers: Andrew Knight, Tracy Harwood
Editor: Phil Rice
A viewer nominated series, this week's ep is another great example of brilliant writing. Optimism Bias was directed by @AndrewGoodKnight and originally released in 2013 having been showcased at the Melbourne International Animation Festival @melbourneinternationalanim3991 - its Australian comedy, deeply rooted in game lore, at its very best. Tracy also grabbed an interview with Andrew which you can check out in our seaso...
It's lovely to hear a fellow machinima fan discuss their passion for the creative works that have inspired them. This week's ep is a documentary by one such person, Angelikatosh, who reminisces about the 'golden age' of classic World of Warcraft films. We highlight a few films from our own and possibly slightly older archives that she's not managed to cover too.
1:19 Introduction to this week’s pick – a documentary about t...
One of the most extraordinary picks we've made, probably ever, on the show! This week, we review an emergent absurdist talk show, focussing on the life of the Glurons - a post-human race of critters set in a future world, but most creatively uses generative AI tools. Its outstanding quality is, however, the writing. Check out our review and pick up the links mentioned on our show notes blog post on the Completely Machini...
This is our regular monthly news update on things relevant to the world of machinima.
1:19 Projects: Isoterica’s latest release, DisUtopia; Hamilton in Animal Crossing by GK Animations; EvilDrPorkChop’s No Man’s Sky cinematic
4:28 Phil’s Chuck Norris vs 50K Cavemen – a true scientific experiment
11:20 ElevenLabs vs a cast – choices and rationale
15:30 The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – shortlisted for the Oscars (sadly, didn’t wi...
This week we review a 'golden age' machinima, starring none other than Ricky Grove playing 'Bogart', and Ingrid Moon playing err, 'Ingrid', with Phil having created the score and Ricky having produced the sound design. Its a short by German-American creator, Andre Pesch, called The Days After, made in GTA San Andreas. Its a story that pre-2020 probably we'd have all said, simply, yep that was great, without any real appre...
A once in a lifetime event in Elite Dangerous? Yup, that's what fascinated us all too. This week we review a series of machinimas that approach the destruction of a Thargoid ship attacking planet Earth in different ways - a strange and unusual phenomenon in a game world that we reflect on, only possible in open world sims.
1:30 Elite Dangerous: an historic event – Thargoids heading for Earth
3:30 The ship’s problems, comm...
Popular Podcasts
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.