And Now For Something Completely Machinima Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, and Phil Rice

A packed review this month, with some sad :( better :| and happy news :)
1:42 Demise of Rooster Teeth and yet RVB will outlive the corporate brand!  We reminisce about the early days of machinima and the influence Rooster Teeth had on the emerging creator community
26:30 Drax Files: World Makers comes to a close
33:37 Awards! Sam Crane’s continuing success with GTA5 Hamlet at SXSW and UE5’s use in War is Over, the Oscar winning animated short
39:00 AI updates: YouTube’s T&Cs – we discuss the notion of ‘realistic’ in the context of the guidelines – does the sound of a Wookie farting sound real to you… Phil really gets on a roll with this topic! Other AI updates include ConvAI, Hume, Runway and Stability AI’s 3D generator
1:09:00 Godzilla Minus One model release, celebrating the creator’s Oscar achievement – and a side discussion about rigging a cat in iClone
1:16:32 Blockbuster Inc release date announced!
1:19:00 Dune: Denis Villeneuve discusses the use of UE5 in the making of the film – not the typical machinima approach!
Credits -Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

The Dog Days is an unusual machinima that combines the glitchiness of AI generated content composited with a Second Life avatar. Whilst not realtime, the performative aspect of this work is evident and we reflect on the fit of the current state of generative AI with the Fluxus art movement. We discuss what The Dog Days means, metaphorically and literally, and how we interpret this film concluding it is not a happy outcome for the focal character. The Dog Days evokes memories of a long-ago childhood spent with a much loved pet but the non-sense words and images are of something far more sinister, contextualized by the current general media coverage of wars in Eastern Europe, Middle East and elsewhere. We also discuss our interpretations of the fragility represented in the avatar, including the role of generative AI in becoming cyborg.
0:20 Introduction to the film, created by Fau Ferdinand
6:00 Performance art context
7:23 Dog days… in other media
11:00 The significance of AI glitch in this film and generally in artwork
27:26 More about Fau Ferdinand and the Second Front movement
30:00 Fluxus and the role of chance
32:30 Interpreting the dreamscape
36:40 How we are becoming cyborg
39:30 The images plus me!
42:56 Performance art and female empowerment
Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

In this ep, we discuss two machinima films dealing with thematically similar issues, albeit presented with different treatments: Vigilante is made in GTA5 and tells the shocking story of how the lead character became cyberpunk.  The second is a futuristic yet somehow more traditional gender-based story made in UE5.  It is presented as a proof of concept for a proprietary tool made by its creator, who is none other than the VFX Oscar-winner Tim Webber in his directorial debut.
1:36 Vigilante discussion19:39 Flite discussion - its so good, how do we talk Phil out of quitting machinima filmmaking?!
Credits -Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week, we take a look at a spectacular particle show in a machinima that has been documented and edited by Tutsy NaVaRaThNA in Second Life.  The show is called Flowers of Evil and was created by Lalie Sorbet and Chrix as an interactive installation inspired by the most scandalous literary works of Charles Baudelaire, with the support of a Second Life Endowment for the Arts.  Tutsy's documentary is accompanied by an hypnotic composition by French club DJ and musician Sahale (from his Bouddha Bar XXI album), music that takes its inspiration also from the Flowers of Evil (or Fleurs du Mal). All round, this is a mesmerizing rendition that we could well imagine being enhanced with VR as a live experience... and that's not something you hear us state all that often.
1:29 Inspired by Baudeliare
5:18 Portrayals of the complexity of life
12:51 A voyeuristic cosmic orgy
15:37 Is VR a thing in Second Life?
18:00 Demoscene
24:44 Avant garde vs realism
26:00 Artistic happenings in the 1960s
Credits -Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineEditor/Producer: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week’s podcast episode is our curated news omnibus for this month.  We cover lots, and enjoy reflecting on the significance of the stories we highlight for the world of machinima and virtual production.  Links and show notes on our website, as usual – skip to our highlights about each item with our timestamps here –
 
1:23 Learn UE5 in less than 60 minutes – and yes, it seems you really can! Its an excellent tutorial
6:50 Valve getting tough with modders and what it means for machinima
10:23 New moviemaking toolsets: Blockbuster Inc and Replikant (UE5)
12:39 Steamboat Willie update – Minecraft and an UE5 ‘official trailer’
14:25 The origins of the Wilhelm Scream
16:54 SORA text to video and the implications for studios and creators – what is the language of movement?
23:40 ElevenLabs new SUNO model rap
24:05 Reflecting on Valve’s journey and the early days of Machinima.com
35:05 Just what is the kick back on Disney and Steamboat Willie all about? … platforms, content, IP and the community – Star Wars, Marvel, et al
52:25 Taylor Swift, AI misuse, the law, and the significant role of community in protecting a brand – the future of developing morals
1:10:50 Damien’s report on his iClone crowd sim test
 
btw, the international internet pipes failed and microwaves fried our apps during this recording session, video corrupted and monsters ran loose among us, so enjoy the voice data we’ve managed to resurrect and video clips we’ve added – we’ll be back next week in full glory!
 
#machinima #realtime #virtualproduction #Disney #VR #Reallusion #iclone #SteamboatWillie #valve #Halflife #Portal #TeamFortress #TaylorSwitft #AI #SORA #WilhelmScream #BlockbusterInc #Replikant #moviemaking #games #communities #UE5 #modding #podcast
 
Credits –
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

In all our years of involvement with machinima (and that's over 75 years between us), feature length has been something we've rarely found watchable... but with this week's pick, we were proven wrong, mostly! Emesis Blue, made in Source Filmmaker using the Team Fortress 2 characterisations by Fortress Films, is an incredibly well-made if very complex story that was crafted over many years.    
1:30 Overview of the plot, twists and the filmmaker8:33 Ambiguity vs over-complex?9:29 The merits of the long format for this film10:15 Its all in the knitting11:30 The first 20 minutes are exceptional12:38 The importance of episodes13:30 Its pulp17:40 Nolan's influence?25:30 Game lore didn't matter in appreciating the film29:29 Entertaining who? 30:39 An ending - never explain!35:24 Storytelling craft37:47 The Source engine39:59 Gladiatorial process: being critical and giving feedback41:46 Its a muddle in the middle... the title of Ricky's new autobiography
Credits -Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats