Originally believed to be created in Source Filmmaker, this cinematic piece was actually made in Garry’s Mod, challenging assumptions about tools, quality, and creativity in the machinima community.

We explore how Hostiles achieves cinematic tension through lighting, sound design, camera work, and animation, while also discussing its deeper impact on perspective, narrative, and audience expectations.

🔥 If you're into machinima, game filmmaking, or virtual cinematography, this episode is packed with insights you don’t want to miss.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Intro: “Now for something completely machinima”
01:00 – Episode setup & introduction to Hostiles
01:29 – What Hostiles is (Half-Life short + listener recommendation)
02:00 – Cinematic quality: pacing, lighting, and camera language
03:30 – Surprise reveal: made in Garry’s Mod (not Source Filmmaker)
04:30 – Tool stigma & perception in machinima communities
05:30 – Tutorials & giving back to the community
06:30 – Narrative breakdown: tension, atmosphere, and storytelling
08:00 – Sound design & editing analysis
09:05 – Damien’s reaction: “How was this made?”
10:30 – Animation realism & visual quality discussion
12:17 – Garry’s Mod vs Source Filmmaker (technical comparison)
14:00 – Why labeling matters: audience & discoverability strategy
16:30 – Cinematic perspective & emotional immersion
18:00 – The reveal (spoiler-free discussion)
19:30 – Reframing Half-Life soldiers: from enemies to humans
22:00 – Comparing to other machinima interpretations
24:00 – Themes of empathy, perspective, and storytelling
25:30 – Final thoughts & critique (sound design note)

🎧 What We Cover

• Machinima storytelling techniques
• Garry’s Mod vs Source Filmmaker workflows
• Cinematic lighting, animation, and camera movement
• Sound design and tension building
• Narrative perspective in the Half-Life universe
• Community learning through tutorials and sharing

🔔 Subscribe for More

Stay tuned for weekly discussions on:

• Machinima & virtual production
• Game engines as filmmaking tools
• Animation, storytelling, and creative tech

#machinima, #HalfLife, #GarrysMod, #SourceFilmmaker, #virtualproduction, #gamefilmmaking, #animation, #cinematicstorytelling, #SFM, #GMod, #HalfLifemachinima, #indieanimation, #filmanalysis, #sounddesign, #gameenginefilmmaking

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

Damien Valentine brings in “Farseer,” a Starfield mod trailer that feels bigger than a simple showcase — part trailer, part cinematic, part environmental story. Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Ricky Grove unpack what works, what doesn’t, and why Starfield’s modding ecosystem could be a huge opportunity for the future of machinima filmmaking.

The discussion covers Starfield mods, cinematic camera tools, game storytelling, sci-fi horror vibes, Bethesda worldbuilding, and whether Starfield has the ingredients to inspire a new wave of narrative-driven machinima. The panel also compares Starfield to Fallout, Half-Life, Mass Effect, No Man’s Sky, Elite Dangerous, and more.

If you're into machinima, Starfield, game mods, virtual production, cinematic gameplay, or storytelling in games, this episode is for you.

Chapters -
00:00 Intro
01:00 Damien introduces the Starfield pick
01:36 Why this mod trailer stands out
05:01 Phil starts playing Starfield
07:35 Why Starfield is perfect for mods and machinima
09:41 Gameplay footage and cinematic potential
11:02 The trailer’s biggest storytelling weakness
13:58 Why story stakes matter
15:53 Fallout, Half-Life, and narrative motivation
18:10 Starfield’s worldbuilding vs. its story
20:41 Trailer, film, or something in between?
24:05 Tracy on sci-fi atmosphere and cosmic horror
28:50 Why the battle section feels disconnected
31:59 Environmental storytelling as the main character
34:10 What Starfield’s machinima tools can do
36:17 Why camera control is the missing piece
40:32 Damien’s own Starfield roleplay experience
41:17 Phil on the game’s better side quests
44:53 Final thoughts on Starfield’s machinima future

Keywords-
 Starfield machinima, Starfield mod, Starfield mods, machinima podcast, virtual production, Bethesda, sci-fi storytelling, gameplay cinematics, mod trailer, game cinematography, Starfield trailer, machinima filmmaking, environmental storytelling, game narrative, cinematic gaming

Hashtags -
#Starfield #Machinima #GameMods #VirtualProduction #Bethesda #SciFi #Gameplay #Cinematics #NarrativeDesign #Podcast

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

⏱ Chapters -
0:00 Intro
1:01 Welcome & episode overview
2:01 What is the demoscene? (Nine introduction)
8:16 Why Nine is so significant
13:15 How it broke demoscene conventions
17:27 Visual style, pacing & minimalist design
22:30 Art vs technical performance debate
26:03 Demoscene vs machinima
28:49 Story, themes & viewer reactions
33:16 Running the original demo (executable experience)
35:00 Real-time vs rendered controversy
40:05 Origins of the demoscene
43:33 Experimental machinima comparisons
47:20 How Nine was created (technical insights)
52:05 Music, storytelling & standout moments
57:19 Final thoughts

In this episode -

• Why Nine is a landmark demoscene production
• The difference between machinima and demos
• The tension between technical mastery and artistic expression
• Real-time graphics as digital filmmaking
• Why this 2003 work still feels modern

#Machinima #Demoscene #RealtimeAnimation #VirtualProduction #DigitalArt #ExperimentalFilm #AnimationPodcast #RealtimeGraphics #DigitalFilmmaking

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

In this episode of Now For Something Completely Machinima, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Damien Valentine unpack a bizarre, brilliant, and surprisingly cinematic machinima created in Final Fantasy XIV that channels the mood of Dune, social media culture, and fan-driven storytelling.

From desert sandworms to a surprise Harkonnen rap battle, this piece blends machinima, AI-assisted music, fan cinema, and musical narrative into something that feels less like gameplay and more like a cinematic essay.

🔍 What we explore in this episode:

• How machinima is evolving through virtual production & MMO worlds
• The creative workaround of NDA restrictions through in-game storytelling
• AI tools in content creation (music, editing, lip sync & workflow)
• Social media satire: rap battles vs Instagram warfare
• Fan cinema vs traditional gameplay videos
• Mood-driven storytelling & algorithm-era audience engagement
• Why this style feels fresh — and maybe a little alien — to longtime creators

Is this the future of machinima… or the algorithm shaping a new visual language?

02:01 Damien’s pick explained: NDA workaround & MMO recreation
03:30 Final Fantasy XIV standing in for Dune Awakening
05:02 First impressions & unusual storytelling style
06:45 Confusion, reactions & the surprise rap moment
07:23 Tracy’s analysis: creator background & AI-assisted music
09:00 A cinematic essay vs traditional gaming content
10:30 Mood, music & musical narrative structure
12:05 Editing rhythm & fan cinema aesthetics
13:37 Is this a new style shaped by the algorithm?
14:48 Lip sync, AI tools & production techniques
16:58 Audience reaction: “I don’t understand… but I’m laughing”
17:48 Discoverability, hashtags & YouTube algorithm behavior
18:55 Release timing & Dune Awakening context
19:18 Dream request: a Harkonnen rap anthem
20:00 Final thoughts & audience feedback invitation

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

The discussion unpacks the film’s themes of replaceability, dehumanization, and institutional machinery, where bodies are interchangeable and suffering becomes routine. Drawing on cultural memory, surrealist art traditions, and early industrial warfare imagery, the episode examines how the film communicates trauma and systemic violence without explicit politics or historical specificity.

Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Damien Valentine also highlight the production craft behind the film — from its stylized rendering and stop-motion-like animation feel to its exceptional voice performances and unsettling sound design. The hosts reflect on the emotional weight of the work, its historical echoes, and why its bleak, surreal horror feels both timeless and urgently relevant.

A challenging but powerful viewing experience, Ersatz stands out as an important piece of animated storytelling that pushes machinima and virtual filmmaking into deeply thought-provoking territory.

01:15 What Ersatz is and who made it
03:00 Visual style: Blender Eevee & concept-art look
05:00 Story setup & WWI-inspired world
07:30 Surreal horror atmosphere & symbolism
10:00 Themes: replaceability, identity & dehumanization
14:00 Artistic influences & cultural memory of war
18:30 Animation craft & handcrafted aesthetic
21:45 Voice acting & sound design
24:30 Emotional impact & why it’s unsettling
27:45 Endless war & the soldier’s perspective
30:30 Why it’s difficult — and important — to watch
33:30 Historical echoes & WWI parallels
39:00 Interpretation: systems, humanity & meaning
41:15 Final thoughts & significance
 
Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

We start with a quick birthday nod to id Software’s 35th anniversary—a foundational influence on game culture and the machinima scene—before diving into the headline debate: the Disney + OpenAI partnership. Tracy breaks down why Disney choosing licensing over litigation is a major signal for how entertainment giants may handle AI training and generation going forward—raising questions around copyright, compensation, and control. The team explores the ripple effects for fan creators: what stays “safe-ish,” what gets riskier when monetization enters the picture, and why platform policy enforcement (YouTube, TikTok, Steam Workshop) may tighten even before the law catches up.

From there, the conversation shifts to practical creator tech: new tools for posing and animation reference, the evolving state of video mocap (including clever ways to capture motion from existing footage), and the emerging frontier of text-to-motion generation. Finally, Phil highlights a standout release for creators: Hytale, a Minecraft-style sandbox game with built-in machinima tools (scriptable cameras, keyframe animation, and more) that could open up huge possibilities for in-engine filmmaking. Damien also points to Surviving Mars as another surprisingly useful source of cinematic footage thanks to its photo mode and camera controls.

The episode closes with two community spotlights: a playlist celebrating machinima creator Frank Fox, and a recommendation for the latest Biggs Trek chapter in the Forbidden Planet series.

01:43 id Software 35th anniversary (Doom/Quake legacy)
02:47 Disney x OpenAI partnership — what’s actually significant
04:10 Copyright, fair use, and why licensing changes the game
06:40 What this could mean for machinima + fan creators
09:10 Platform enforcement & creator program “box” concerns
12:49 Safer inspiration vs risky “Disney-like” framing
14:03 Damien’s take: Disney+ fan AI videos & controlled distribution
16:10 Why Disney might pull the plug (fans outperforming “official”)
19:23 Phil: “productizing” AI output + deal fragility
21:39 Is this basically a legal settlement?
24:41 Detection tech: audio is advanced, video is harder (for now)
28:34 AI backlash trend & audience revulsion
30:20 Case study: “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” AI controversy
32:12 Star Trek Voyager game: fans reject AI voices
33:05 Aronofsky AI series + public reaction
36:54 Phil’s line: AI as satire, not “real” storytelling
38:05 Portrait Studio Pro (HAELE 3D) — posing + FBX export potential
40:38 Line of Action (drawing reference resource)
41:27 Motion capture options: suits vs video mocap
43:34 Freedom’s tutorial: mocap motion from a video game clip
46:19 Damien’s real-world test: video mocap limits & workarounds
48:59 Text-to-motion is here: Cartwheel “Swing” (watchlist)
52:10 Hytale early access — built-in machinima tools (huge)
58:24 Surviving Mars as a cinematics tool (photo mode + recording)
1:01:21 Frank Fox tribute playlist + Forbidden Planet Ep. 2 shout-out

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood, Ricky Grove
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

Tracy brings the film to the table, praising its haunting realism, uncanny robot design, and smart use of found-footage aesthetics. What begins as a seemingly grounded “scientist vlog” quickly spirals into a modern Frankenstein story—raising powerful questions about consciousness, ethics, and the dangers of unchecked technological ambition.

Damien highlights how the home-built lab setting makes the horror feel disturbingly close to reality, while Phil marvels at the stunning Blender craftsmanship—from hyper-realistic lighting to meticulous set dressing and believable mechanical detail. The group also unpacks the film’s clever use of cameras, surveillance, and direct eye contact to unsettle the viewer.

While everyone agrees the short is visually brilliant and deeply atmospheric, Ricky and Phil note that the story follows familiar sci-fi tropes—leaving them wishing for a bigger twist. Still, with millions of views and a sequel already out, it’s clear this series has struck a nerve with audiences.

Packed with insights on machinima, virtual filmmaking, sound design, horror storytelling, and the ethics of AI and robotics, this episode is a must-watch for creators, filmmakers, and sci-fi fans alike.

Timestamps -

01:36 — Tracy introduces I Made a Self-Aware Robot

03:00 — Plot & Elba explained

06:00 — Frankenstein & ethical themes

09:30 — Sound, camera, and realism

11:43 — Damien on the creepy home lab

14:30 — Creepiest moments (CCTV & eye contact)

16:37 — Phil’s take: story vs. craft

21:00 — Blender breakdown (lighting & detail)

27:21 — Ricky’s reactions & critiques

33:40 — Fourth-wall camera moments

35:06 — Real 1970s robot “The Sensor”

35:14 — Wrap-up & links

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

What begins as a straightforward critique quickly turns into a deeper debate:

👉 Is Ozymandias a “bad film”… or a groundbreaking prototype that helped shape virtual filmmaking?

Ricky challenges the film’s pacing, visuals, and sound, arguing that by today’s standards it feels unfinished and awkward. But Tracy and Phil place the work in its historical context — revealing it as a crucial pivot point where machinima shifted from gameplay recording to intentional, cinematic storytelling inside game engines.

The panel explores:

• How Ozymandias tested the first true machinima production tools
• Why moving sand and free-camera shots were revolutionary at the time
• How this experiment foreshadowed today’s virtual production (Unreal, Source Filmmaker, The Mandalorian, etc.)
• Why the film mattered more as a technical and artistic manifesto than as a polished short film
• Hugh Hancock’s legacy, ambition, and influence on the machinima movement

Along the way, the hosts reminisce about the wild early days of machinima — executable films, hacked tools, screen-recording cameras, and the struggle to share video before YouTube even existed.

Whether you’re a machinima veteran or a newcomer, this episode is a fascinating look at how a rough, experimental short helped open the door to modern virtual filmmaking.

🎬 Watch, debate, and decide for yourself: brilliant milestone… or broken relic?

Time stamps -
01:00 Ricky introduces today’s pick: Ozymandias
02:10 Why the film mattered to early machinima
03:00 Ricky’s harsh rewatch critique
05:56 Damien: likely a LithTech test film
07:57 Ricky pushes back on “test video” idea
09:11 The infamous (hilarious) Archive.org comment
10:19 Tracy reframes Ozymandias as a historic pivot point
15:00 Early virtual filmmaking & camera tools explained
20:07 Pre-YouTube reality and why Film Producer failed commercially
24:36 Phil’s memories of Machinima.com’s homepage
26:30 Phil corrects the record: Strange Company built Film Producer
31:00 Why the “moving sand” was revolutionary in 1999
36:42 Original release was a standalone executable (not video)
38:09 Early capture glitches and screen-recording methods
41:05 Ricky: films “live in time” + call for context on Archive.org
43:03 How long did this take to make?
44:35 Festival nomination (Best Technical Achievement, 2003)
46:10 Tool credits — “Alpha 0.5”
47:00 Skyrim machinima tools & Unreal “Outside the Blocks”
48:20 Show wrap-up + listener email invite

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

Starfield has been sitting there looking cinematic… and creators have mostly not used it for machinima. In this ep, we dig into a standout exception by @team fire: an ambitious settlement + narrative mod (Arinya / Yeltsin Corp vibe) that ships with voice acting, lore, quests, factions, and “paid mod” ambitions - plus what that could mean for machinima, virtual production workflows, and the future of creator-made expansions.

We dive into one of the most ambitious Starfield mod creations we’ve seen: a new settlement with lore, characters, quests, factions, and fully voiced performances. 

Why this works:

·       It’s a real Starfield creation with serious craft (environment dressing, lore framing, VO credits).

·       It tees up a bigger convo: “mods as mini-studios,” machinima as a portfolio path (again), and whether Starfield can become a true machinima platform.

·       It has stakes: paid creations, bugs/beta realities, Bethesda updates potentially reshaping the ecosystem.

Timestamps -

01:05 Damien’s pick: the Starfield settlement mod + why it caught our eye
 03:10 What the trailer shows: Arinya, prefab-built scale, and “lived-in” set dressing
 05:25 Lore + story hooks: corporation control, unrest, factions, player choice
 07:45 Machinima critique: why it works as a “lore trailer” (and what’s missing)
 10:05 Camera language: sweeping establishes vs character/coverage (tools or style?)
 12:35 Voice acting & credits: why human performance changes the feel
 15:10 Ambition vs reality: beta bugs, updates, and building a team
 18:05 Paid mod potential: bridge between free mods and official-style expansions
 21:10 Mods as career pipeline: machinima exodus parallels + mod-to-studio pathways
 24:05 Starfield updates/DLC: risk of breaking mods vs reviving interest
 26:35 What this could mean for Starfield as a machinima platform
 28:40 Viewer question: have you played it / what Starfield machinima should we cover?

Credits –

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

Producer/Editor: Phil Rice

Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

In this episode, we explore a breathtaking Second Life film that reimagines “May It Be” as a haunting, hopeful journey through shadow and light. From gothic landscapes and cinematic lighting to an unexpectedly intimate motion-capture reveal, this episode showcases how virtual worlds can deliver not just spectacle, but genuine emotional resonance.

If you love:

·       Lord of the Rings and its timeless theme of hope against darkness

·       Machinima and virtual cinematography at its most poetic

·       Innovative uses of facial mocap and performance in online worlds

·       Discovering undiscovered creative voices with serious talent

…then you won’t want to miss this. 

We dive into a strikingly beautiful piece of Second Life machinima: Anna Kurka’s cinematic cover of Enya’s “May It Be” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Tracy brings the pick, introducing Anna as a Belgium-based virtual performer who blends singing, storytelling, and atmospheric world-building into emotionally rich visual journeys.

Set in the hauntingly gothic Second Life region “Infinite Darkness,” the film pairs slow, ethereal fly-throughs of ancient forests, ruins, mist, and light with a tender, intimate vocal performance. The hosts explore how the imagery echoes Tolkien’s core themes of darkness and hope, fear and resilience, the liminal space between night and dawn, and how Anna’s more human, grounded interpretation contrasts with Enya’s otherworldly original.

The discussion also turns technical, with a spoiler-friendly deep dive into the surprise ending: a remarkably convincing facial motion-capture performance inside Second Life, raising fascinating questions about virtual production, real-time mocap, and how far user-generated platforms have evolved.

Along the way, the panel reflects on Tolkien’s enduring emotional power, the courage it takes to reinterpret iconic music, and the often-hidden talent within virtual worlds that deserves a much wider audience.

Timestamps –

01:26 Overview of Anna Kirker’s “May It Be” (Enya / Lord of the Rings cover), her background as a Second Life creator and singer, and the cinematic quality of her work. 

06:31 Thematic and musical analysis

10:41 Anna’s background and artistic potential

12:41 Connection to Tolkien’s storytelling

14:31 Personal Tolkien memories

17:11 Spoiler alert and setup for the ending

Credits –

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

Producer/Editor: Phil Rice

Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

But then the conversation gets interesting.

We dig into sound mastering and spatial audio, the difference between “dry” dialogue and believable room tone, how stylized realism can drift into “clay-face” territory, and what happens when a series leans hard into character introductions without giving the audience enough plot hooks to chase. Tracy goes deep on the structure across multiple chapters, and we talk about why view counts can drop when episodes feel like long-form animation sliced into shorts.

We also get into pipeline talk: Daz characters into iClone, motion capture vs animation libraries, and the very real challenge of stepping from an established fan universe (Star Trek / Star Wars) into an original world where you don’t get story shorthand for free.

If you make machinima, virtual production, iClone films, or Unreal/CG shorts, this ep is packed with practical takeaways: pace, hooks, sound space, visual texture, and how to reveal character through action inside the plot.

👇 Join the discussion: did you watch all the chapters, and do you feel the “quest” kicks in soon enough?

Timestamps

00:00 Cold open – we found story-driven iClone
 01:00 Intro + this week’s pick (supporter recommendation)
 03:00 First impressions: craft, animation, voice acting, direction
 06:45 Sound nerd corner: mastering, stereo placement, reverb/space
 08:45 Visual style: realism vs stylized realism, texture “clay-face” notes
 10:00 Pipeline talk: motion capture, Daz → iClone, avoiding clipping
 14:19 Series structure: shorts vs long-form, pacing, “padding” vs plot
 33:46 Views vs hooks: what the audience drop-off might signal
 42:27 Fan universe vs original IP: why discovery is harder without shorthand
 46:26 Creator lesson: reveal character through story action
 50:00 Wrap + audience question

Credits –

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

Producer: Ricky Grove

Editor: Phil Rice

Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

Then we dive deep into one of the most visually unique and emotionally powerful machinima ever made:

🎥 “Among Fables and Men” (2007) by Tobias “Dopefish” Lundmark.

Created in World of Warcraft using an experimental motion-comic style, this five-minute film is a masterclass in:

·       Visual storytelling without dialogue

·       Music-driven narrative

·       Surreal atmosphere and symbolic design

·       Why bold artistic style can outlive “realistic” graphics

We explore its production history, its Japanese folklore and graphic-novel influences, its innovative camera and compositing techniques, and why it still feels fresh nearly 20 years later.

If you love:
✨ Machinima history 

🎮 Game-based filmmaking

🎼 Cinematic sound design
 🎨 Experimental visual style
 📽️ Virtual production as true art

…this episode is for you.

In the history of machinima, Among Fables and Men stands out as a quiet but profound turning point, not because it pushed technical realism, but because it expanded the very idea of what machinima could be. At a time when most creators were striving to replicate the look and grammar of live-action cinema - dialogue, shot-reverse-shot editing, lip-sync, and narrative realism - Tobias “Dopefish” Lundmark chose a radically different path. He treated the game engine not as a virtual film set, but as raw visual material, closer to animation cels, comic panels, and theatrical tableaux than to conventional cinematography.

The film’s motion-comic style, its use of cut-out figures moving through layered 3D space, its panel-like framing, and its subtle depth illusions created a hybrid language that sat somewhere between graphic novels, animation, and experimental cinema. By refusing to anchor the story in spoken dialogue or narration, Lundmark allowed music, rhythm, and sound design to become the primary storytelling forces. Meaning emerges through atmosphere and emotional progression rather than through explicit plot mechanics, placing the work in the tradition of visual music and art film rather than scripted drama.

This stylization also gave the film a timeless quality. While many machinima from the mid-2000s now appear dated as game engines evolved, Among Fables and Men still feels fresh because it is not trying to simulate reality. Its abstraction frees it from technological obsolescence and instead roots it in artistic intention. The world of Warcraft becomes a symbolic landscape rather than a literal one, a dreamspace shaped by folklore, surrealism, and the logic of music rather than by gameplay.

Lundmark’s innovation lies in this shift of perspective. He did not ask how to make a game look more like a movie; he asked what kinds of cinema could only exist inside a game engine. By combining modded camera tools, compositing, and graphic design principles, he constructed a personal visual grammar that was neither traditional animation nor traditional machinima. The intense, constraint-driven production process, created in a matter of days, without final voice performances, pushed the film toward suggestion, mood, and symbolic imagery, turning limitation into aesthetic identity.

In doing so, Tobias Lundmark helped demonstrate that machinima could be more than recorded performance or digital theater. It could be poetic, abstract, musically structured, and formally experimental. Among Fables and Men showed that virtual worlds could host not only stories, but also atmosphere, metaphor, and visual philosophy, opening the door for machinima to be understood not just as a technique, but as a legitimate and distinctive cinematic art form.

🕒 Jump to key moments with our chapter timestamps
 💬 Join the discussion in the comments

Timestamps –

12:00 Visual Style & Motion Comic Technique

15:00 Cultural Analysis, including Japanese folklore (Nuricabe, Alice in Wonderland parallels), Graphic novel and Flash animation influences, Sound design as narrative driver, the role of experimental machinima in digital art history, the Warcraft camera tools that made the film possible

23:00 Production Challenges & Artistic Choices

27:30 Anime, Visual Economy & Stylization

31:30 Timelessness vs. Realism in Machinima

35:30 Reflections & Creative Inspiration

Credits –

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

Producer: Ricky Grove

Editor: Phil Rice

Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

We dive into “Demoram” by Livviathen, a lightning-fast, 90-second burst of animated chaos made in Team Fortress 2 and Garry’s Mod—and somehow packed with more storytelling, personality, and punch than films ten times its length.

At first glance, it looks like old-school machinima. But look again, and you’ll spot razor-sharp animation choices, perfectly timed sound design, and a wild, Warner Bros.–style cartoon energy that feels both nostalgic and fresh. A furious Scottish cyclops ram, a doomed Scout, explosive slapstick violence, and blink-and-you-miss-it details all collide in a miniature masterpiece.

We talk about:

• Why less than half the action is actually shown—and why that makes it brilliant
• How sound design carries the story as much as the visuals
• The genius of using gaps, cuts, and implication instead of over-animating
• Why Livviathen’s claim of “not being an animator” absolutely does not convince us
• And how this short channels Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, and Ren & Stimpy… inside Source Filmmaker

Plus, we explore Livviathen’s behind-the-scenes channel, her creature work (including the unsettlingly awesome Spantis), and why her workflow proves that instinct and timing matter just as much as polish.

Short, silly, ferocious, and shockingly smart—Demoram is proof that machinima can still surprise us.

👉 Watch along, then tell us: what do YOU call someone who animates like this if not an animator?

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

In this episode of Completely Machinima, Phil, Tracy, and Damien dive into one of gaming’s most legendary “what ifs.” We explore a fan-made Half-Life mod that does the unthinkable: it turns the game’s infamous impossible ending—the one where you’re meant to die horribly—into a brutal but beatable continuation of the story.

Instead of accepting your fate at the hands of the mysterious G-Man, this mod asks: what if you survived? The result is a fascinating piece of fan fiction-meets-game design, complete with eerie “backrooms” vibes, authentic Half-Life visuals, and a surprising amount of new gameplay—made nearly 20 years after the original game launched.

Along the way, we talk about:

• Why Half-Life’s world still inspires creators decades later
• The passion (not profit!) behind modding communities
• How mods act as hidden résumés for future game developers
• Steam, new hardware rumors, and the eternal hope for Half-Life 3
• Plus a bonus machinima pick featuring Ryan Gosling awkwardly—but brilliantly—dropped into Half-Life 2 😄

Whether you’re a hardcore Half-Life fan, a modding nerd, or just love stories about creative communities keeping worlds alive long past their expiration date, this episode is all about the joy of saying: “What if we didn’t stop there?”

👉 Let us know what you think on our socials—tell us which game ending you wish someone would rewrite.

Credits -
Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

Host Damien Valentine kicks things off by revealing he actually voices Q in the film (recorded years ago!), before the panel digs into why this project is such a standout. Created in iClone and rendered in Unreal Engine, Endgame delivers a Bond look and feel that’s grounded, stylish, and refreshingly not sci-fi flashy—London actually looks like London, and the tone leans classic rather than futuristic.

🎶 From its full-length Bond-style title sequence and original theme song to slick action choreography, witty humor, and loving nods to Bond lore (Spectre, Q, M, Cold War vibes, and yes—the car), we agree: this is a heartfelt homage made with serious craft. There’s also a touching dedication to Ken White, honoring the machinima community that helped shape projects like this.

Of course, no good Bond briefing is complete without critique 👀
We debate storytelling clarity, episodic structure, sound mixing, facial animation quirks, and whether Part One leaves us with enough of a cliffhanger to fully ignite anticipation for what comes next.

🎤 Along the way, we talk:

• What makes a Bond feel like Bond (without copying the originals)
• Machinima’s evolution as a filmmaking medium
• Unreal Engine vs iClone (and why skill matters more than tools)
• Why this project is a major proof-of-concept for solo creators

💡 Bottom line: Endgame – Part One is ambitious, polished, and packed with love for both James Bond and machinima—and it sparks a lively, thoughtful discussion you won’t want to miss.

👉 Grab your martini, hit play, and join us for one of our most energetic episodes yet... starting 2026 with a BANG!

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

What if the most boring video game ever made was actually a goldmine for creativity?

This episode kicks off with Ricky’s unconventional pick: Desert Bus, a notorious 1990s “anti-game” by Penn & Teller where you drive a bus from Tucson to Las Vegas… in real time… for eight hours… and earn one point. That’s it. No explosions. No shortcuts. No pause button. Just desert, drift, and existential dread.

But instead of dismissing it as pointless, we flip the script. What if boredom is the point? What if empty, quiet, repetitive spaces are actually perfect canvases for machinima storytelling?

From comedy-driven conversations and Tarantino-style dialogue, to slice-of-life sci-fi journeys, existential bus rides, lonely astronauts, AI companions with zero empathy, and even an eight-hour “Are we there yet?” gag, the group explores how creativity thrives when spectacle disappears.

Along the way, they we into:

• Why originality matters more than flashy assets
• How boredom fuels imagination
• Using obscure, “weird,” or abandoned games as storytelling tools
• Desert Bus’s surprising cult following and charity legacy (yes, millions raised!)
• Why machinima has always been about writing, ideas, and voice more than graphics

The big takeaway?

 🎨 Creativity isn’t about having more tools — it’s about seeing possibilities where others see nothing.

If you’ve ever wondered how to turn the dullest game, the quietest moment, or the emptiest road into a compelling story, this episode is for you.

Buckle up. It’s a long ride… and that’s where the good ideas start.

And, for good measure: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

Tracy kicks things off with what looks like YouTube’s latest attempt to clean house: platform changes that claim to improve privacy and the viewing experience, but also mess with how videos behave when embedded on third-party sites. If you stream shows inside places like Second Life, that’s a real headache, because some embeds and API-based workarounds are suddenly unreliable or broken. 

But the bigger story? YouTube appears to be cracking down on the explosion of low-effort, mass-generated content. The buzz is that Gemini is being used to evaluate whether videos look human-made, original, and honestly presented - plus there’s talk of internal “trust scores” that creators can’t actually see, but which may influence how channels are treated behind the scenes. Tracy even tests how an AI describes our channel, and it basically nails the vibe: a legit passion-project podcast with deep experience… while also very clearly not the unrelated, controversy-riddled “Machinima Inc” from back in the day. 

Phil jumps in to untangle the embed drama: it may not be “AI policy” so much as an ad-delivery and revenue control move because some embedded browsers can bypass ads, and Second Life gets caught in the crossfire. Workarounds exist (including the very ironic “embed it somewhere else first” method), and Vimeo comes up as an alternative… but with price hikes that feel more “premium platform” than creator-friendly. Locked-in subscriptions, anyone? 

Then it’s off to the creative tools corner: Phil’s been deep in Blender, and he’s found some very machinima developments, like a third-person controller kit that basically turns Blender into a game-like character puppeteering environment. On top of that, there’s a newly released Blender cloth-building and simulation tool that could become a budget-friendly alternative to pricey standards like Marvelous Designer - huge potential for indie creators who want great-looking outfits without a studio budget. 

From there, the conversation swings to Reallusion’s latest move: Video Mocap, turning ordinary video footage into motion capture data, integrated straight into iClone’s workflow. The group talks practical realities (camera framing, background contrast, space constraints, upper-body capture modes) and why this could be a game-changer for animators who don’t have mocap suits lying around. 

We also touch on Unreal Engine’s rapid evolution and its ever-improving animation tools—plus the eternal question: with tech this powerful, why aren’t we seeing more great films made with it? 

Damien drops some rock-solid creator advice: don’t try to learn new tools by making your magnum opus. Make a short “training film,” and if you switch platforms… remake it. Same story, new tech, better skills. Simple, smart, and honestly kind of brilliant. 

Finally, we hit a spicy AI update: major AI music platforms (Suno and Udio) have reportedly reached settlements with record labels, meaning they’ll rework how training and licensing works going forward. That could reshape what “responsible” AI music use looks like in 2026 - and what it’ll cost creators. And to wrap up on a lighter note, there’s a shoutout to NeuralVIZ and a fun character-driven sci-fi project, The Adventures of Remo Green, as a reminder that experimentation can still be entertaining (and weirdly impressive). 

And that’s the episode: YouTube changes, creator workarounds, new animation toys, and the future of AI tools, served with equal parts curiosity and chaos. 

Timestamps 
03:10 – “Slop” crackdown: why YouTube is cleaning house + channels disappearing since mid-November 
05:10 – The mystery “trust score”: internal channel metric creators can’t see 
12:40 – Phil’s Blender deep dive: from pass-through tool to real production work 
18:45 – Damien’s Star Wars uniform struggle: accuracy vs what’s actually available 
22:55 – Realusion Video Mocap: turning video footage into usable motion capture inside iClone 
27:05 – Upper-body-only mode: more practical capture for dialogue scenes 
32:10 – Learning strategy: don’t take a 30-hour course—learn by solving what blocks you 
40:05 – AI music legal shakeup: Suno + Udio settlements with major labels (and what it changes) 
44:35 – What about indie creators outside big catalogs? 
46:40 – Why smaller AI music tools may get crushed (no cash for lawsuits) 
51:55 – Looking ahead: what shifts in 2026 might bring 

Contact: talk@completelymachinima.com 
Show notes: Drop comments on socials — we love hearing what you’re working on. 

Credits - Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Editor/Producer: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

Credits -
Host: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Phil Rice
Producer: Phil Rice (introduction); Lit Fuse Productions (content)
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI (introduction); Lit Fuse Productions (content)

💬 We talk about how the series charts Rare’s rise from a small UK outfit in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to a powerhouse behind classics like Donkey Kong Country, GoldenEye 007, and later Sea of Thieves – highlighting their pioneering use of pre-rendered 3D graphics and their influence on console FPS games. Ricky explains why, despite his misgivings about machinima.com, this more serious, low-flash, history-focused series stands out as a true passion project by writer/director Nicholas Werner, packed with fascinating early game footage. 

Tracy brings in her deep-dive research: the meme origins of the title, the messy archival trail across YouTube, Rooster Teeth and the Internet Archive, the handover of the series, and why such valuable historical content never hit the popularity Machinima.com wanted. Together, we explore the cultural importance of the show, Rare’s place in UK games history, and why All Your History is now a kind of hidden treasure for anyone interested in game development and machinima’s legacy — all while Phil is, of course, busy “moving to Mars.”

Credits 
Hosts: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

🎮 About the Film:
Set in the World of Warcraft universe, Arido Taurajo tells the story of Dahlia, a female warrior torn between family life and adventure. The film combines AI-generated music with human performance, blending digital game visuals and classical opera in a visually rich and emotionally resonant experience.

💡 Discussion Highlights:

• The role of AI in creative filmmaking and music generation.
• How Roboccini, trained on Puccini operas, composed the film’s aria.
• Chantal Harvey’s filmmaking process inside World of Warcraft.
• Insights into AI ethics, creative authorship, and collaboration.
• The film’s connection to the EU COST Action Grassroots of Digital Europe (GRADE) project, celebrating women and minorities in creative technology.

✨ Whether you’re into AI art, machinima, digital filmmaking, or World of Warcraft, this episode dives deep into the fusion of technology, music, and storytelling.

Credits -

🎙️ Hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
🎵 Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

#Machinima #CompletelyMachinima #AIArt #ArtificialIntelligence #AIMusic #WorldofWarcraft #ChantalHarvey #MayaAckerman #DigitalArt #FanFilm #VirtualProduction #AIOpera #CreativeAI #MachinimaPodcast #AridoTaurajo

They explore how these 45-second in-game ads show off community creativity, storytelling, and production skills. Tracy breaks down what made Dumpers Depot Commercial more sophisticated in design and sound, while Big Benny’s... Grab Eat took home the win with its humor and clever use of Star Citizen lore.

💬 In This Episode:

• Star Citizen machinima film analysis: Dumpers Depot vs Big Benny’s Grab Eat
• How short-form machinima builds game lore and community engagement
• The potential for fan contests to uncover new creative talent
• Ideas for a future Completely Machinima short film contest

🎮 Whether you’re a Star Citizen fan, machinima creator, or just love game-based filmmaking, this episode dives into how fan films bring virtual worlds to life.

#StarCitizen #Machinima #CompletelyMachinima #FanFilm #GameFilm #DumpersDepot #BigBennys #StarCitizenMachinima #GameContest #ShortFilm #Podcast

Credits -
Hosts: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

🎥 Back to the Future UNHINGED, Machinima Film Made in Blender 

In this episode of The Completely Machinima Podcast, hosts Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, and Tracy Harwood review “Back to the Future Unhinged”, a viral machinima short film by Landon’s Animation Wheelhouse, created entirely in Blender 3D.

This chaotic, hilarious reimagining of Doc Brown and Marty’s adventures has racked up 700,000+ views and showcases incredible 3D animation, storytelling, and sound design. It’s packed with visual gags, cinematic camera work, and even a Doom scream!

🎬 What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• The brilliance behind Back to the Future Unhinged and why it feels both planned and chaotic
• How Landon built the film’s world entirely in Blender (not a video game engine!)
• The hosts’ breakdown of the film’s humor, detail, and love for the original trilogy
• Landon’s backstory as a young animator with huge potential in film and game design
• The film’s connection to the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future
• Why even Dr. Helen Sharman, the UK’s first astronaut, reacted to the film!

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & Suno AI

In episode 5 of our Maker Series, Ricky Grove explores the often-overlooked power of footstep sound design — and how something as simple as a single step can define mood, build tension, and reveal character. 

👣 What You’ll Learn: 
How footstep sounds convey location, emotion, and suspense in film. 
Why footsteps in the Spanish horror series 30 Coins masterfully foreshadow violence. 
The challenges of using video game sound libraries for cinematic sound design. 
Practical tips on recording and manipulating ambient sounds for realism. 
How to find free, high-quality sounds using Creative Commons resources like freesound.org 

🎧 Ricky breaks down how to use sound not just as background, but as storytelling — helping filmmakers, sound designers, and creators elevate their craft through the language of footsteps. 

#SoundDesign #Filmmaking #MakerSeries #RickyGrove #FilmSound #FoleyArt #AudioDesign #HorrorFilm #CinematicSound #CreativeCommons #FreeSound #30Coins #Suspense #IndieFilm #FilmTips #machinima 

About Ricky Grove 
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. 

After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER. In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. 

His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast. 

The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima. 

Credits - 
Speaker / Producer / Sound Editor: Ricky Grove 
Visuals & Music: Phil Rice 

This Halloween, step into the dark side of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sounds — where we explore the terrifying art of monster sound design! 🧟‍♂️

What do monsters really sound like? From the primal screeches that haunted early humans to the eerie, unearthly noises that send chills down modern audiences’ spines — this episode reveals how sound designers craft the perfect scare.

Discover:
 🔊 Why you should hear the monster before you see it
🦴 How altered animal and environmental sounds create fear
🧬 The science of sound that taps into our instinctive fight-or-flight response
🎥 Classic monster sound examples from “Them!”, Godzilla, Predator, The Exorcist, and more

Whether you’re a filmmaker, sound designer, or just a Halloween horror fan, this episode will make you listen to fear in a whole new way.

💀 Subscribe, turn up the volume, and enter the world where sound becomes terror.

Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using ambient sound to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.

About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.

In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.

The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.

🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.

Credits

• Speaker / Producer / Sound Editor: Ricky Grove
• Visuals, Monsters & Music: Phil Rice

#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #MonsterSounds #HorrorMovies #IndieFilm #VoiceActing 

🎃 A pre-Halloween special exploring the dark side of sound. 

At its core, music is a game of intervals — the spaces between notes that define every melody, every emotion. Even without musical training, we instinctively recognize the cheerful sound of a major chord or the melancholy of a minor. But some intervals go far beyond sad or happy… some are unnerving, unsettling, even evil. 

In this pre-Halloween edition of Phil’s Music Notes, we dive into the tritone, the infamous “Devil’s Interval.” Once banned by tradition and feared for its dissonance, this interval has haunted music for centuries — from John Williams’ shark-infested tension in Jaws, to John Carpenter’s chilling Halloween theme, to the thunder of Holst’s Mars, the chaos of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, and the heavy riffs of Black Sabbath and Metallica. 🎸 

But there’s more to this sinister sound — it’s also at the heart of jazz harmony. Those lush, complex 7th chords you hear? They’re built on the same mysterious tritone. The very interval once deemed forbidden became the key to modern expression. In this episode, we’ll explore how this interval transformed from symbol of darkness to a cornerstone of musical color — and how you can use it to bring new life (or afterlife 👀) to your own compositions. For a full list of playlist Phil refers to, go to our Show Notes here: https://completelymachinima.com/maker-series-e2-phils-music-notes-horror-intervals/ 

🎧 About Phil Rice aka @zsOverman 

Phil Rice is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, and storyteller whose creative work bridges the worlds of music, technology, and narrative art. With a background spanning rock, jazz, and digital media, Phil brings a uniquely analytical yet deeply emotional perspective to music theory and composition. His Maker Series: Phil’s Music Notes explores the building blocks of sound and how they shape the way we feel, think, and create — from timeless harmonic traditions to modern experimental sounds. Phil’s original music has appeared in independent films, multimedia projects, and his own albums, including Mad Hominem, where his song “Walking Papers” features a deliberate use of the tritone explored in this episode. 

Through his work, Phil continues to celebrate the craftsmanship and curiosity at the heart of making music. 

🧠 Listen. Learn. Create. Subscribe for more reviews, tips and hints 🔔 Don’t miss the next deep dive into the world where sound meets story.

For a full list of works referenced in this episode, go to our show notes web page.

Credits -
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice 

#Makerseries #PhilsMusicNotes #HalloweenSpecial #MusicTheory #Tritone #DevilsInterval #HorrorMusic #JazzHarmony #FilmScore #Composing #MusicEducation #PhilRice

In this episode of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound, Ricky Grove reveals the secrets of sound frequency—the subtle audio magic that transforms machinima and 3D game-engine films into unforgettable experiences. Perfect for filmmakers, animators, and sound lovers alike.

🎬 Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound –  Ambient Sound in Machinima

Discover how sound transforms storytelling in filmmaking, with a deep dive into frequency—the subtle audio that sets mood, builds atmosphere, and immerses your audience. This episode focuses on machinima—films created using 3D game engines and virtual worlds—making it a must-watch for filmmakers, sound designers, game creators, and animation enthusiasts.

Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using sound frequency to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.

About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.

In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.

The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.

🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.

Credits

• Speaker / Producer / Sound Editor: Ricky Grove
• Visuals & Music: Phil Rice

#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #AmbientSound #VirtualWorlds #IndieFilm #VoiceActing

In this episode of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound, Ricky Grove reveals the secrets of ambient sound—the subtle audio magic that transforms machinima and 3D game-engine films into unforgettable experiences. Perfect for filmmakers, animators, and sound lovers alike.

🎬 Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound – Episode: Ambient Sound in Machinima

Discover how sound transforms storytelling in filmmaking, with a deep dive into ambient sound—the subtle audio that sets mood, builds atmosphere, and immerses your audience. This episode focuses on machinima—films created using 3D game engines and virtual worlds—making it a must-watch for filmmakers, sound designers, game creators, and animation enthusiasts.

Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using ambient sound to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.

About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.

In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.

The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.

🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.

Credits

• Speaker / Producer / Sound Editor: Ricky Grove
• Visuals & Music: Phil Rice

#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #AmbientSound #VirtualWorlds #IndieFilm #VoiceActing

1:01 Our predictions for 2026
1:10 Tracy’s thoughts!
4:26 A quick interjection on the Minecraft short we reviewed
6:47 Damien’s views and perspective on tools being used
7:38 Ricky’s prediction on genAI and it’s layering out and ethical approaches
10:27 Who is the world’s smartest dumb person?! Phil tees up some fab analogies – who is going to keep golfing?
22:30 The joy of machinima!
27:31 Killing off the golden goose
28:17 Creators we look forward to seeing:  ⁨@Dominzki⁩ ⁨@thebizthebiz⁩ ⁨@biggstrek⁩ among others
30:00 Celebrating  ⁨@DarthAngelus⁩ achievements with Heir to the Empire – a ‘big’ production project completed in machinima is a rare thing!
36:08 Ricky’s final wishes for 2026:  ⁨@NeuralViz⁩ figures out how to bring Prag Snarbo back!
36:38 Exciting new CM episodes introduced – The Wonderful World of Sound by  ⁨@RickyGrove⁩ and  ⁨@zsOverman⁩

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood 
Producer: Tracy Harwood 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine 
Producer: Tracy Harwood 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

1:47 Introduction to Reflekt by @derunique
4:00 Anachronistically broken 
10:25 Gelling the story? 
11:54 The aesthetic of Unreal 
13:19 Who is the apocalyptic soldier Unreal tutor? 
14:00 The attraction of Unreal – its all about the technology, and little about the story 
15:02 Comparison to Project Zomboid movie (S5 ep 193) 
15:40 Camera work in Unreal is uninspiring! 
18:12 Prazinburke Ridge remains the outstanding Unreal film we’ve seen 
18:22 Lighting is a standout, ambiguity and some suggestions 
25:31 Speaking vs talking to self, and quality and use of the sound library 
33:11 Surrealism and uncanny are some of the most creative ideas 
37:35 Why is the Unreal creator community just not hit the high notes just yet 
39:29 Final words 

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine 
Producer: Phil Rice 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

1:49 Introduction to film, editing quality, compositing and matching RDR2 to John Wick – technically outstanding!

4:11 How?!!! Skill level is well above average

7:00 This is not just cut scenes

9:13 A tribute to both the game and the film

9:47 There are no scripted behaviour mods for RDR2 – the camera in the game all has to be positioned through play for this kind of machinima to be achieved – an editor is a missed opportunity for the game

13:00 Discussing the tools used

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice 
Producer: Ricky Grove 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

1:32 Introduction to the film: form and creative technique – Smallville comedy vibe X superhero, and a shout out for collaborations everywhere 
6:00 The challenge of being a Minecraft modder and making machinima possible – the Blockbuster mod and BBS mod 
9:20 Player control: the visual fidelity is outstanding, the choreography is impressive, the editing, shot selection and sequencing and craft is admirable 
12:37 Is it for us oldies? Maybe… target audience is key to this, identifying with the game aesthetic 
17:20 Discussing early machinimas: Seal of Nahara and Devil’s Covenant 
19:28 Kid Flash comparison to the DC TV show – this is better! 
22:58 In conclusion: “This film was clearly loved by its creators” 

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine 
Producer: Ricky Grove 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

1:43 Get involved in the latest Star Citizen contest, links in Show Notes 
3:26 Introduction to the pick 
9:12 Phil describes early traditions of interview shows filmed in virtual worlds, such as Late Night with Toxie (filmed in Quake) and This Spartan Life (Halo) 
12:44 Could this episode now be updated using AI? 
13:33 Quality of audio is the most valuable part 15:49 GenZ viewing patterns are changing – how well does SL as an interview format reflect contemporary approaches? 
17:53 The major obstacle to multi-tasking…! 

Credits - 
Speakes: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine 
Producer: Ricky Grove 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice & SonaAI

1:35 Intro to film and the meme

4:15 Reminiscent of the Space 1999 aesthetic

10:24 Slop or Slap? Beyond speed, what’s the real benefit of using genAI tools for this kind of narrative approach?

21:55 Tools, tricks, NeuralViz and thoughts

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

1:39 Intro to film

3:14 Humor and world building

6:12 The most clever way to integrate sponsorship?

10:26 Memories of advertising…. Err maybe

12:47 Background to the series and Peter Haynes as a creator

18:23 What are the most useless jobs you can think of? In jokes and fun references

21:41 Tech tests and pee takes

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

1:00 Intro to film

11:11 Background to film, early zombie stories

17:57 Emotional responses to the film, the role of music

20:00 What’s happened to Werlias?

22:03 Alternative perspectives on the narrative

25:25 How would Machinima [Inc] have reacted to this? Tragic tales

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI 

1:39 Tribute to Tutsy

3:45 Projects 

5:50 Conversations

7:40 genAI, Anthropic case discussion, implications for creative practice from the machinima perspective, killing YouTube

26:44 Tools and techniques

27:75 Martin Bells’ new tutorial series for Unreal Engine

28:00 Jaws and the power of silence!

31:00 Games updates: Dune discussion

45:49 Another definition for machinima: Fortnite

47:22 Character Creator 5 and iClone 9?

52:26 Cyberpunk 2077 updates

58:10 Getting the call up to produce a show for a big studio… but changing you mind!

1:02:23 More genAI news – Hollywood vs MidJourney

1:03:10 Fender 8 Track software release

1:04:47 mod NaturalVision for GTA5 discussion

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

1:28 Intro to Happy Wheels, evolution of a community

9:40 Background to Happy Wheels, creators, producers and game

21:07 ‘Well, I wasn’t asking you whether you like them or not….’ music vs death and cruelty

23:53 ‘Make Money for Machinima [Inc]’

36:50 Beyond a joke

44:36 Minecrafty: a provocation!

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

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

1:57 Analysis of Starfield machinima 
8:12 Comments on the trailer's content and style 
12:29 Technical and narrative observations 
25:31 Audience engagement and future prospects 

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Animo Domini Beats

2:37 Putther Uncut's Rat NPC trolling... 
5:10 Details of the rat's actions 
8:24 Damien's reaction and analysis 
11:53 Phil's perspective and technical insights 

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Animo Domini Beats

0:40 Introduction by Phil
8:22 Damien's evaluation of the tools
16:33 Tracy's observations on the tools used and creative processes, the role of games in understanding historic events

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

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  ⁨@EpicallyCasual⁩
0:04:36 - GTA VI trailer speculation  ⁨@RockstarGames⁩ ⁨@RickyGrove⁩
0:11:33 - Character Creator 5 announcement  ⁨@reallusion⁩
0:22:10 - Star Wars video game with machinima potential  ⁨@EAStarWars⁩
0:34:24 - Phil's AI music generation experiment with Suno  ⁨@SunoAi7⁩
0:43:56 - Minecraft speedrunner Dream's April Fool's joke  ⁨@dreamxd7779⁩
0:47:05 - Closing remarks

Show notes & links: https://completelymachinima.com/s5-e182-machinima-news-omnibus-may-2025/

Credits - Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine  ⁨@DarthAngelus⁩
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice  ⁨@zsOverman⁩
Music: Animo Domini Beats/Suno/Phil Rice

0:31 Introduction by Damien, using NPCs in a single player game

4:12 Schizophrenia!

6:37 The role of the campfire, and familial dysfunctional conversations 

8:05 Attention to detail, nah. Do you need acting to convey a story??? In the days of ElevenLabs, would this kind of thing ever be acceptable.  Would following a main character have enabled a story to be told?

11:09 The narrative arc is missing, but its dysfunctionality is its central charm

14:09 Discussing a creative strategy: choosing the lines for NPCs and the lip sync, identifying the modding tools

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

1:14 Introduction by Phil, a classic Philip K Dick sci fi, storytelling and production values: deer in the headlights

9:16 Emotional reactions, lip sync and the aesthetic quality of machinima, the introduction of zombie behaviour

13:30 Pacing and its impact on first reactions to the film

19:40 The background to the film

22:30 Setting up the story – the monotony is critical

26:35 Editing and lip sync

27:09 Sound design is immersive contrasting with the monotony of the first part of the story

29:06 Confusion from the mundane, the change in pacing and tempo, the silence - what is the real horror story here?

33: 51 A few tips, our discussion: what we loved and what we miss in the editing

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice

1:24 What is anime machinima?

3:44 Studio Ghibli: “An insult to life itself”

4:20 About FFXIV for machinima

7:14 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 

10:18 Arcadion

15:14 The untold story of anime and machinima

17:15 Origins of a humble person becoming a world saviour: LOTR

28:06 Convergence mod for Elden Ring (v 2.2)

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

1:18 Projects: a zombie film in GTA5, Trillo’s Cuco, NeuralViz’ Tigg Talk – an alternative perspective on tariffs

3:33 The speed of a creative and production process – efficiencies and pivoting to topical content a la South Park!

6:25 Anomidae’s game explainer, Platinum WoW’s documentary about early days of World of Warcraft, GTA6 mAIchinima

9:00 GenAI updates: Sesame, ElevenLabs Actor Mode, Runway’s gen 4, ChatGPT’s image generator, Studio Ghibli’s backlash, DSO physical generator, Recammaster tool, Phil’s examples of how the tools can be used, volumetric capture, vtubing WarpTuber, Animes and Facerig, 

26:28 Reallusion and Apple Arts Studio’s Animation Shopee

28:00 Steam’s share of revenue and algorithmic bias

29:41 Nintendo’s Switch 2

31:09 Mocap studio at a comicon – who were they?

32:45 John Robertson’s show The Dark Room

35:40 InZOI release – more photorealistic than the Sims, and an intriguing looking engine – what will happen to Sims now?

45:30 The Minecraft movie – a renewed interest in machinima (or not!) and the Rocky Horror Picture Show

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

1:13 About the Archive - How They Got Game, a Stanford University project

3:30 The Most Powerful Person in the World by Thuyen Nguyen

7:17 I am omnipotent!

9:12 The historical context – and the ‘hot coffee mod’

12:50 Games are just not that bad

13:20 An Unfair War, impacts and influences and the role of machinima

21:30 Why do a ‘personal essay’ style of machinima?

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

Credits -
Speakers: Andrew Knight, Tracy Harwood
Editor: Phil Rice

1:17 Introduction to the film and its original inspiration – not surprisingly RoosterTeeth’s #RVB

9:35 Everything is funnier in an Australia accent!

10:15 Puppeteering vs keyframe

11:15 Phil’s broken record: writing is outstanding!

12:50 A masterful scene

13:50 Editing the frame – the skill required is evident

15:00 The biggest shock is the view count

15:35 The difference between imitation and inspiration

17:22 Xcom games are more enjoyable than you think!

18:50 Distribution problems - Nordic Games Developer dropped the ball

22:38 Next steps, lessons learned and our reflections on the process of promoting good work

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:19 Introduction to this week’s pick – a documentary about the ‘golden age’ of WOW machinima

4:55 What Ben’s tome says!

8:00 Why has WOW machinima dried up?

10:07 What the hell is Activision playing at with this community? Reminiscing about some of the earliest greats in WOW

15:54 MMOPRG vs mods vs community

24:40 Check out the Machiniplex remastered archive of WOW machinimas

26:16 Looking forward to the next ep by Angelikatosh!

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:27 A first for a machinima show: Unanswered Oddities by Neural Viz, episode 7 is part of a creative AI series, a talking heads show about a future race of hoomankind called The Glurons – introducing the show

8:50 The quality of the writing is outstanding, the workflow and creative pipeline discussed

16:36 How were the characters appearing to be from the same race created using genAI?

21:23 What the hell, Phil? Checkov!

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

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 win) >>> but Flow, made in Blender did WIN!!! Congratulations to the creative team

20:00 John Gaeta’s Escape.ai platform

21:30 At All Costs, car chase physics sim/game

22:51 Second Life’s AI character design launched

23:08 Project Odyssey season 2 award winners

25:30 UK’s Govt consultation on genAIs and copyright processes

28:27 BBC Radiophonic sound effects released – subscription vs licensing

37:00 Valve releases source code for mod tools

36:45 Dune Awakening release date announced – worms and thumpers and all!

39:20 Tetris, a game release inspired movie – on Apple

41:37 Liberty City being ported by GTA5 – a fab mod of GTA4

47:06 John Martin, Reallusion, AI generated characters usiung Kling AI

54:15 Nvidia Omniverse launcher – implications for creators

 
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

0:44 Introduction – a nepotistic choice!

7:05 Phil’s role in the production, how to deal with copyrighted music

8:53 Score design, a development process

9:23 Anti-commercial storytelling

10:54 Lest we forget – the quality of the writing is outstanding

13:00 Embodying the storytelling process in the creative practice

16:00 Using the game to develop a novel stylised aesthetic

21:04 T40X virus and its resonance on humanity

31:44 Ambiguity rocks – take a pause to watch the film HERE!

32:14 Discussion: the ending vs an ending

37:38 Science fiction’s conceit

39:41 Achievements

40:28 A sequel?

45:00 Andre Pesch, where is he now?

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

Film link on the YouTube channel

1:30 Elite Dangerous: an historic event – Thargoids heading for Earth

3:30 The ship’s problems, community action, the countdown and the consequences – a once in a lifetime event in the game

5:30 Recording the event: a documentary; first person reflection; let’s play

9:12 Why only a one-time event? Phil looks forward to the montage

12:00 The sense of camaraderie in the game vs the paparazzi 

13:22 The concept is philosophically interesting but the filmic qualities are variable – context is everything

17:53 Salvaging the remains?

18:52 Open worlds are truly fascinating!

21:06 A model for NASA?

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

0:45 Tracy is the first woman on Mars!!!

2:38 RunwayML’s third annual film festival – call for submissions now open

4:20 Second Life evolves [again]

7:00 Bloomsbury’s video series: Richard Williams’ Animation Series

7:30 Projects: Gladiator II

10:00 The Freeman Chronicles – a Half Life real life film!

11:30 For Phil: a Tom Cook Elite Dangerous; for Damien: a Mandalorian cinematic made in Unreal; for Ricky, a Godot 4.3 cinematic

12:40 The US AI art copyright ruling – what do you think?

21:22 50 series release of NVIDIA’s graphics cards

23:19 An HL3 teaser?

24:10 Hollywood Animal – The Movies as a business

26:05 The TMU Tribute Show to Ken White

26:55 Astartes 2, Warhammer official film

28:40 Sims 1 and 2 re-released

31:33 Rooster Teeth is back?!

32:55 Tracy asks Damien about his Heir to the Empire hit fan series and what comes next

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

0:39 Introduction to the film; shock and awe: Hugh’s bravado, character, energy and enthusiasm shines through
3:09 Foundations of Machinima.com, the Strange Company, the ILL Clan and others – the first peak of machinima
6:54 Stuart Brown’s YouTube channel
7:50 Minority report: “This may be the future of filmmaking” (2003)!
8:14 Positioning machinima as previs, preproduction, and the role of remote directing
10:40 Technical challenges to filmmaking back in 2003
13:58 What happened next to Machinima.com
15:35 Fond memories
19:32 Boom and bust: the poison of the profit motive?
22:40 The hard ask of the  @roosterteethanimation #rvb model
23:41 Money as a means to an end
25:52 The team and the decisions
27:29 Frank Dellario’s humour!  @ILLClan @frankdellario7401
29:05 Remembering Peter Rasmussen 

Show notes & links: includes Tracy's notes and an interview with Hugh - see links below 

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Animo Domini Beats

• Phil introduces the film We Are Demo, which was made in 2016 using technology from the 1980s and 1990s
• The film is a tribute to the demoscene, and the Commodore 64
• Phil explains the demoscene and its requirement for both technical and artistic skills.
• We discuss the historical context of the demo scene and a few anecdotes from some early experiences
• The demoscene was a way for creators to self-promote and showcase their skills, often incorporating their team logos into the demos
• Phil examines the use of the SID chip, which limited music to three notes of polyphony, explaining how composers overcame some key limitations
• We Are Demo adheres to the musical limitations, using the SID chip to create the music
• Is it all about nostalgia and creativity involved in creating music and visuals within these technical constraints?
• We discuss the visual and musical style of the film, and how it is faithful to the era of the demoscene
• What’s the role of an emulator these days, a discussion inspired by the film.
• Ricky recalls the SIGGRAPH conferences and the demoscene meetings 
• We reminisce about the unique community and artistic spirit of the demoscene, which is similar to the early days of machinima.
• What are your thoughts about this pick – add some comments in the discussion below about whether the demo scene is something only older generations will appreciate.

Credits:
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:14 Intro to film, music video, a perfect complement to I’m Still Seeing Breen (S5 E163)?

3:37 Music storytelling vs film storytelling – interplay and aesthetic choice

6:10 Phil’s perspective: over saturation?

10:15 Masterful editing

16:06 Sets the scene for Cyberpunk 2, let’s hope they address the narrow narrative arc of potential offshoot stories possible in the world for machinimators to hone their skills on?

22:05 Relationships with NPCs in game matter

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

0:44 Intro to film, Elite Dangerous, Pixar-like, composited game footage using Blender

4:17 Story, Tom Cook’s music and anthropomorphic animations

6:45 Experimental work, testing emotional representations

7:59 Ep 1 vs Ep 2, a Busby Barkley space ballet

10:16 Criticism: why split the episodes where they have been?

13:37 The importance of machinima telling the stories about the side kick in an MMO

16:19 Tom Cook’s dedication to making music for ED machinimas, IP and music performance 

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

1:01 Intro to the film, models and the stylistic choices Finzlow has made, Marx Bros comedy 

5:27 Old Man Murray

8:06 What’s the process for creating this?

9:57 HL2 vs HL1

11:40 Subversion, remix and moxie

14:34 Timing is everything

17:17 What’s the best line? “I never thought I would see a highly training professional, let alone create one”

18:34 Italian slapstick: lazzi

26:09 Ricky’s complaint

28:37 @ILLRobinson – what do you think about this film?!

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

1:15 SORA-not SORA

6:51 Runway’s Act One

7:39 Face Depth Frame Mancer

9:00 Riot Games dishing the riot act

11:06 Fortnite’s achievements

12:53 Why was Andy Serkis not playing the horse?

14:00 JT Music’s Halo tribute

14:42 Bullet Time Agent

17:14 Reallusion’s iClone update

18:51 After Astartes: this is what happened to Syama Pedersen

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

1:14 Introduction to film and the Valve 20th anniversary edition of Source Filmmaker updates
5:31 Back story to its release: the snub, the support from Valve, the successes and the features (Ottawa Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, MTV2 and Tony Shiff, et al)
16:45 The genius of selecting a music video for making machinima! 
18:05 Creating the head animation in Source, editing and scene selection
23:00 Communicating and community in the early days
26:30 Why the Gman and why a close-up?
31:00 A watershed moment, a turning point, but the end/beginning of the next phase too
35:00 An inspiration
38:53 A big mistake
41:54 How the games companies robbed the machinima community
44:00 A question for Paul

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

1:04 Introduction to the film, the game and the rules of storytelling

8:16 Inspired by Alien

10:36 The tools and the craft in storytelling, at times reminiscent of RVB

15:15 Voice acting and AI, and a little disappointment

16:53 Finding a way to be a creative long-term

18:28 Realtime vs 3D animation – the benefit of thinking like a machinimator

19:35 Anachronisms… 

21:50 Sound advice?

24:26 Mocap and Damien’s approach to filmmaking

27:32 A demo reel strategy and drawing from the experiences of the early days in machinima

 
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:45 The Internet is for Porn - porn, pawn or pwn?!
26:35 The Marstons Celebrate Christmas - a flaw fest, perfect for a glass in hand viewing, right after Miracle on 34th
39:50 Ricky's bonus update... HL2

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

1:35 Pioneers in Machinima, published by Vernon Press, is becoming part of the genAI ecosystem + a plea to keep us up to date 
13:05 AI filmmaking studio launched aka #mAIchinima 
14:29 Silent Hill Remake 2 mod by Praydog 
15:30 Philip Rosedale back at Second Life, yay! 
21:25 Remarkable Life of Ibelin – a remarkable story 
22:50 20 years of WoW, orchestral extravaganza 
26:18 Steam Launcher update w/ machinima tools 
29:30 Dragon Age Veilguard release 
31:30 Half Life 2 20th anniversary RTX remix 
37:40 The corollary of the unfinished game… 
44:24 Mr Musk’s Diablo 4 record 

Credits - 
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine 
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:17 Tracy's introduction to the film
11:47 Complexity and dialogue
13:51 Scifi and the clone, and the director's clever device of using a disrupted world to portray the ethical considerations of cloning
15:31 Clay-like characters and the portrayal of emotion
17:09 The soundtrack and its role
18:53 Making this IRL, maybe Kim Kardashian could play the lead?
19:23 The Mobius strip is the masterful component
24:48 The art and craft is evident 

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

1:12 Introducing the film and the creator

6:50 The music choice

7:50 The shots, life and death

14:50 This film is an inspiration

16:29 A story driven music video

17:25 Editing is weak

 
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:15 The Western vibe

4:00 The tropes, the story and the cinematography

5:15 Mid shots vs close-ups

7:25 The sentiment portrayed

11:22 The beginning, middle and end!

13:06 Music and foley

13:30 Steam trains: down memory lane for Tracy

16:02 An outstanding shot – tell us more @avidredeadenjoyer!

21:40 Mixing with Chopin maybe not the best choice?

24:50 The second best space sim ever made…

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Animo Domini Beats

1:29 BBC Sound Archive

2:30 Auto painter AI for Blender

2:56 Google image/film search AI

5:00 Tribute to David Graham

6:05 Mouse: PI For Hire!

7:05 Azeroth politicised? Surely not!

10:13 Pigeon Bringer of Doom and Destroyer of Humanity, by Solofilms

10:50 The Flower that Never Dies, by NewGates Entertainment

11:21 Terminator and Cyberpunk 2077, by eli_handle_b.wav 

12:27 Warhammer, JT Music 

13:03 Ian Hubert’s Dynamo Dream Part 2 is finally out 

14:13 Star Citizen Con updates SC1.0

18:31 Squadron 42 gameplay reveal update

23:09 Hubnet machinima, Overclock and EE Studios

26:15 Luminaria still open!

27:00 GTA Hamlet documentary, Sam Crane

28:40 Reallusion 3D character contest results – stunning work!

31:30 Movies Tycoon out of early access

Credits -
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Animo Domini Beats

2:00 Ricky's intro
8:25 Benevolence vs malificence? A moral tale for bots! 
13:46 How to achieve personality in machines? This is an example reminiscent from the early days of machinima and the work of Peter Rasmussen 
16:21 Cultural references in this film were not film-based but engineering based - is this a reflection of contemporary times and the emergent use of 3D animation tools? 
18:45 A clever use of missing information to set the scene 

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood (Phil Rice MIA) 
Producer/Editor: Damien Valentine 
Music: Animo Domini Beats

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

1:19 Intro to the film 
6:00 Takes us back to the original film, in a very good way! 
14:52 A couple of quibbles? 
19:53 Color grading 
23:00 Clay face 
27:00 Eye movement

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

Credits -
Speaker/Producer/Editor: Damien Valentine
Music: Animo Domini Beats

6:30 Baldur’s Gate 3 modding tools release discussion

8:20 Starfield expansion pack discussion

10:00 Documentary machinima: focus on TF2

10:45 Hollywood is broken: enter machinima? (Andreasson Horowitz seem to have had their eyes and ears closed for a few years!)

12:27 Game Sprout’s article about gameplay becoming performance 

12:50 Denuvo’s release of Unbotify and discussion

25:00 YouTube app update discussion

27:30 Nice projects to take a look at, genAI and Metropius, an example of a deiselpunk world-based story with numerous creative treatments – worth taking a look at for its interesting monetisation strategy

32:00 Kane Pixel’s Backrooms, more ‘found footage’ fun!

37:36 Sketchfab and Epic’s Unreal Marketplace merge into FAB

45:15 YouTube AI disclosure rules – how are we complicit in a new citizen science project? We extend the discussion reflecting on the algorithm detection processes and what impact this may have on AI generated music and AI cloned voices.

1:06:50 Biggs Trek’s Forbidden Planet: Children of Krell (which we review in our ep next week) magazine article

1:07:47 Shameless plug: Phil and Damien’s channel livestreams, respectively on Sunday and Monday

Credits
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice 

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

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

2:15 We All Lift Together music video discussion 
17:47 Helsreach adaptation, made in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, discussion 

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, AI genie 
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

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 effects 

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

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

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

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 rocks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

Credits - 
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine 
Producer: Ricky Grove 
Editor: Phil Rice 
Music: Arps Solina

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Featuring: Ricky AI aka RickyAI aka Skibidi Rick
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Featuring: RickAI aka AI Ricky, or Skibidi Rick
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

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

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 too

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Introducing: RickyAI aka Skibidi Rick
Editor/Producer: Phil Rice
Music: Animno Domini Beats