2023 - Completely Machinima

S4 E109 Teaching an AI: Backflip (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 28, 2023 Leave a reply

Backflip is a docu-style film, made over a period of three years where Nikita Diakur presents his progress using AI to teach a character to backflip. The character is the 3D scanned artist and the learning process applied is based on a technique he read in an academic paper. To say its chaos is an understatatement, and something anyone in research could probably have told him when attempting to replicate a finding in a publication (which of course is why LLMs using text alone will never be ‘intelligent’). It is also everything one would expect from a character rig with the physics of a double-jointed arachnid… but it sure is hugely entertaining to watch, and brilliantly edited together. Backflip is a must watch for anyone using AIs for animation, not least because it serves as a reminder of just how tough this all was pre-mid 2023!

We also begin the episode with some news updates: Half Life 2 @ 25 years, GTA6 trailer, Elden Ring DLCs and Baad Viibes (John MacInnes).

YouTube Version of This Episode

https://youtu.be/-iE2YKKQX9s

Show Notes & Links

Half Life 25th anniversay documentary and update –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ3HzvFEto&t

The GTA6 official advert –

John MacInnes talking about Baad Viibes at the Unreal Fest, October 2023 –

Backflip – film by Nikita Diakur, released 27 September 2023 –

S4 E108 Cyberpunk 2077 The Movie – Trailer (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 21, 2023 Leave a reply

This week, we review a trailer for a movie, although the full movie is now also available: Cyberpunk 2077, by Jack Hunt. In many ways this is an astonishing and timely feat, not least because the ultimate edition of the game released earlier this month too (5 December). We start by discussing The Witcher’s update, a piece of news that is highly relevant to the release of the film we review.

YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Film, by Jack Hunt, released 10 Sept 2023 –

The full movie here, released 17 Sept 2023 –

The Witcher 3 mod editor update story here.

Our review of Half Life Alyx movie and interview with Half Peeps

Anachronox, by Jake Hughes, is available on Internet Archive here

S4 E107 Epic Battles: Northern Wars | Oryctes (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 14, 2023 Leave a reply

This week’s film picks are of epic battle scenes: one made in Warhammer and the other Unreal Engine. There are similarities and contrasts between these two works, respectively created by a gamer, Game Thumb, and a CG production team, Glow Productions – and that also includes the opinions of the CM crew reviewing the works! What’s your view, please do add you comments on our YT review or ep blog post. The ep begins with an update on Ricky’s take on the SAG AFTRA deal for his Army of Darkness characterisations.

YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Northern Wars – Total War Warhammer 2 Cinematic Battle Machinima, by Gamethumb, and was released on 10 August 2019

video set to music by Danheim

Oryctes by Glow Productions, released 25 October 2023

S4 E106 The Sims 4: I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood (Dec 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes December 7, 2023 Leave a reply

We start this week’s episode with a discussion about Reallusion’s new facial mocap system, Accuface (which Phil and Damien have already invested in), move on to a brief contest update (being run by Pink Floyd no less), and then follow this up with our film review. If you liked the Saw series of films, then this is for you – its a particularly sadistic let’s play style machinima made in The Sims 4, called I Abducted My Entire Neighborhood in The Sims 4, by Lets Game It Out… and its also just Phil’s sense of humor too! We contrast our discussion with some older references to classic machinimas, which help us to make our point about just how talented this creator is.

YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Reallusion’s Accuface release here.

Film, by Lets Game It Out, released 18 January 2020

Comparison films discussed –

OBIT (by Phil Rice / zsOverman, released 2022, RDR2) –

The Snow Witch (by Britannica Dreams, released 2006, Sims 2) –

RVB (Rooster Teeth, episode 1 originally released in 2003) –

Phil’s out takes video from Male Restroom Etiquette (released 2006) –

S4 E105 Star Citizen: Life of a SC Stuntman – Machinima (Nov 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 30, 2023 Leave a reply

What’s it like to be an in-game stuntman? This week’s review is of a fun take, with a more serious undertone, on the NPC’s perspective of life in the background of a game for a very average player. The concept is hilarious, the execution needs a little work, but overall we loved this one by For Science and filmed in Star Citizen.

YouTube Version of this Episode