And Now For Something Completely Machinima

Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, and Phil Rice

5.0 (3)
VISUAL ARTS
UPDATED WEEKLY

Machinima, real-time filmmaking, virtual production and VR. Four veteran machinimators share news, new films & filmmakers, and discuss the past, present and future of machinima.

2D AGO · BONUS

S5 E200 Finale E200 Part B Our Predictions for 2026

This week, we continue our discussion, reflecting on Season 5 and our predictions for 2026.... yep, sure is a lot going on in the world of #machinima! Do add your own thoughts into the comments (on our show notes). 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

38 min
SEP 25

S5 E200 Part A Our Year in Reflection 2025

In this first part of our 200th episode of Completely Machinima Podcast, Ricky highlights ⁨@NeuralViz⁩ AI-driven films as a significant advancement, while Phil praised the fast-paced, subtle social commentary. We discuss legal developments affecting AI use, such as Warner Brothers suing Midjourney. The success of Blender's "Flow" at the Oscars is noted, emphasizing the growing capabilities of open-source tools. The conversation also touches on the breadth of aesthetic approaches to machinima projects, the rise of big-budget projects like "Predator: Killer of Killers," and the evolving role of generative AI in storytelling. Tune into next week's part B to hear about our predictions for next year! Credits - Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer: Tracy Harwood Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

51 min
SEP 18

S5 E199 Unreal: Reflekt (Sept 2025)

This is our final film pick for Season 5, and it stimulates quite a discussion. The film is a concept test of tools and techniques, but the story and aesthetic is less inspiring. Check out our thoughts and do add your own comments below. 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

41 min
SEP 11

S5 E198 RDRD John Wick (Sept 2025)

This week's film selectiion is a technical masterpiece, made in RDR2. It is both an homage to the game and the film. John Wick's Red Dead Redemption is made by eli_handle_b.wav, and is worth every second of your time watching it! 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

16 min
SEP 4

S5 E197 Minecraft: Kid Flash (Sept 2025)

A DC inspired short made with love and artful skill, this week's pick is also an homage to the creative talent of a young creator now sadly passed. Despite us not necessarily being the target audience - due to certain demographic features - we really enjoyed reviewing this. Check out our comments and do add your own. 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

25 min
AUG 28

S5 E196 Draxtor's Dimensional Discoveries: Lynette Wallworth Interview (Aug 2025)

This week, we discuss a 2013 episode of @Draxtor's interviews series with artists filmed in Second Life series, this episode with Australian artist @lynettewallworth270. 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

19 min
AUG 21

S5 E195 genSlurp: We Vlogged Fall of the Empire (Aug 2025)

This is not genSLOP... or is it?! This week's discussion focusses on a recent genAI meme, vlogging from the Fall of the Empire as a Stormtrooper tourist. The series we take a look at is by Galactic Archives, which has garnered a phenomenal number of views in just a couple of weeks. Its quite different to The Glurons we discussed a couple of months back by NeuralViz, which remains a standout for us. There are some excellent learning points from the way this short / series has been created as a narrative arc though, despite the creative process and generative tools leaving something a little unsavoury in the reactor core. 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 ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice and SunoAI

33 min
AUG 14

S5 E194 For the Empire: Worst Jobs in Star Wars (Aug 2025)

We love AFK! This week's ep covers another of AFK's ambitious world building attempts to round out the Star Wars universe... and of course it works. What do you imagine the worst jobs to be for the most hapless Stormtroopers? These totally make sense to us! Check out our comments, our overview of AFK's background and other projects, and what we really think of this short. 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 ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice and SunoAI

27 min

5

out of 5

3 Ratings

Machinima, real-time filmmaking, virtual production and VR. Four veteran machinimators share news, new films & filmmakers, and discuss the past, present and future of machinima.

Creator

Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, and Phil Rice
Years Active

2021 - 2025
Episodes

244
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2022 And Now For Something Completely Machinima
Show Website

And Now For Something Completely Machinima