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

This week's film is a SFM Saxxy 2017 entry from  @TipsyDucks called Mann Co: Employee Training Video. Lots of in-jokes and satire in the style of a PSA, with a fantastic voiceover by Keith Ferrell aka MrTush.
4:13 We don't pay you to think. We pay you to work. 7:07 Team Fortress 2 stylized graphics. 9:02 Phil’s sense of humour and satire. 10:31 Pushing the edge of appropriateness. 13:42 The value of safe comedy. 16:07 The difference between satire and tastelessness. 19:04 Christoph Waltz' The Consultant, based on Bentley Little novel.
Credits - Speakers:  @zsOverman @RickyGrove @DarthAngelus @tgharwood Producer: Phil Rice Editor: Damien Valentine Music: CreateStudio Pro Music Assets licensed. Nebular Focus by Dan Henig. Youtube audio collection

We always love a good RDR2 machinima, and this is one by a Sam Menell, released on 9 Feb 2023.  We watched this several times, and Tracy didn't spot the UFO in the opening shot!
2:03 Phil’s thoughts on the film. 3:36 The soundtrack and editing. 6:24 The searchers 8:05 The ending was such a surprise. 
Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer: Phil Rice Editor: Damien Valentine Music:  Nebular Focus by Dan Henig

This week, Ricky provokes us with a selection of shorts released on TikTok.  We discuss the usefulness of the platform for machinima and virtual production creators, as well as pass comment on the three films we take a look at, which unsurprisingly we variously struggle with. Phil's analogy to fish restaurants of different quality sums it up well for us all.
8:19 Fish restaurants11:51 Dumpsters for paperbacks analogy15:23 Terry Gilliam said...19:26 Phil's profound reflection on quality kit29:52 Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky)35:05 Does Twitter make you a better script writer?
Show notes and links here
Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer: Phil RiceEditor: Ricky GroveMusic: Nebular Focus by Dan Henig

End Music: Nebular Focus by Dan Henig

This week we review the winner of the 2022 Kitbash3D moving image challenge contest, based on their free Mission to Minerva asset pack.  The film is called Secret Moon by Orencloud, and what a visually stunning and ethereal representation of Minerva this is, with a clear trajectory between this piece and Orencloud's portfolio.  We discuss some of the ways in which the film works and works less well for us, and note that at least one of us missed the ending!
1:34 What was the challenge for? 4:42 The gloom of the world. 6:59 The power of content packs. 10:09 The ethereal quality. 11:24 Music and the voice. 13:17 The problem with music in film. 15:15 I would watch anything this director made in a heartbeat.
Show notes and links: https://completelymachinima.com/2023/02/23/s3-e66-film-review-secret-moon-by-orencloud-feb-2023/
Credits -Speakers: Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood, Ricky Grove, Phil RiceProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Damien ValentineMusic: Nebular Focus by Dan Henig

Ricky's pick for the month is Let's Play Nomad X by Kristian Andrews, uploaded to Vimeo on 11 Mar 2013. The film is a 'slice of life' comedy with intriguing mix of playing a 90s style space game, Nomad X, and reflecting on losing the love of your life - a perfect antidote for those Valentine's week shenanigans!
0:10 Let’s Play Nomad X by Kristian Andrews 3:59 Let’s play, let's play 6:27 The shared consciousness of video games 9:00 Inspired by Frontier Elite Dangerous 12:02 Nostalgia factor of video games 13:35 The Halle Project 16:05 The genius of the story 17:57 The importance of good storytelling
Show notes and links: www.completelymachinima.com/
Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer: Ricky Grove Editor: Damien Valentine Music: Nebular Focus by Dan Henig