This week’s selection is a stunning cinematic imaginary by Unknown Dino, focussing on the next version of Half Life (soon to be released… er, well, possibly in the next 10 years or so?). There is a lot of craft in this film, called HL: Overworld and made in Blender, which has taken its inspiration both from the HL Reddit community and the HL2 Artbook ‘Raising The Bar’. We also talk about the positioning of the new world portrayed as being the next obvious logical step in the story arc for Half Life – HL1 being a portal through which aliens jump to Earth, HL2 being a kind of survival against the odds, Alyx being the prequel, and HL3 being the fight back taken to those hateful Combine… yeah, we wish!
YouTube Version of this Episode
Show Notes & Links
E142 Half Life: OVERWORLD by Unknown Dino, released 27 May 2024 –
Another packed episode of news items we found for machinima creators everywhere. We take a look at some games news including several that have released music albums recently and discuss why we think that is. We go through some of the latest AI matters, including Vimeo’s new AI content guidelines. We found one of the best Unreal master classes we ever seen, more like a work of art than a ‘how to’, but since its by the amazing Luis Andrade, we’d expect nothing less. We also found some partciularly juicy tidbits we think you’ll enjoy.
YouTube Version of This Episode
https://youtu.be/iQgqKU3O1eM
Show Notes & Links
Games, games, games…
PLEASE, if anyone has any great WoW machinima, share them with us!!! We are desperate to celebrate WoW achieving 20 years, but we just can’t find anything worth sharing…
Game destruction and consumer rights… what are the unintended consequences of Accursed Farms and others attempts to clear up this mess on machinima creators? See video discussion here –
Suno’s creator contest results, and the winner is… Maybe!
Congratulations to all 500 winners of Vol. 1 of the #SummerofSuno challenge, where we awarded a total of $100,000 from the $1 million prize pool we’ll be giving away this year!
Luis Andrade’s stunning ‘how to‘ video for the Firefly music video, a work of art as well as a tutorial –
Andy Davis released 5 sets of dynamic lenses now available on the Unreal Marketplace. No blueprints, only lens objects that apply to any CineCamera. When pulled from focusMin to INF, they distort dynamically. Sourced from VFX assets to work interactively within game engine, link here. This is an example of what they do, Vimeo link here
Tidbits
Lip sync tutorial for ComfUI –
Making the case for alternative content creator distribution channels, comments by Harmony Korine here
Video game actors are officially on strike (SAG AFTRA)… but those working on GTA6 are not permitted to, link here
Crazy, it is certainly that – and more. If you enjoy slasher horror, we think you’ll love this – and its definitely not for U18s! The film is by Toaster and is a music video for Code Mistake, a deathcore metal spectacular by CORPSE and Bring Me the Horizon. We examine Toaster’s GTA5 machinima, reflect on its anime qualities, and conclude its significantly better than the official music video: Ricky discusses it in the context of Stan Brakhage’s Dog Star Man, but Phil, Tracy & Damien feel the inspiration is much closer to home.
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
This is one of the craziest videos I have ever made in my life (gta5 machinima) by Toaster, released 5 July –
Official video directed and animated by Tristan Zammit, and released 8 July 2023 –
This week we cover two shorts, a love letter to Star Citizen and and an everyman’s fair-ytale of the life of a princess. First up, @neisannnn‘s ‘What a Wonderful World’, a love letter to Star Citizen, where we focus on its surreal nature, use of backwards music, and ability to capture the game’s vast universe. Our second film is ‘Plumbob Princess’ by @lReMi07l – one of the all time best machinimas we’ve seen in Sims 4. We discuss the visual quality and storytelling of machinima videos for The Sims 4 and Star Citizen, highlighting the creative use of animation, music, and language. Check out the films, info below.
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
Star Citizen – What a Wonderful World by neisannnn, released 16 April 2024
Official multiplayer trailer –
Official music cover trailer
Plumbob Princess | Sims 4 Machinima by Remi Marcelli, released 20 June 2019
This week’s film is a machinima that deals with pollution in the most overt way it can. Andy Hughes’ Inner Migration juxtaposes Cyberpunk 2077 against some ‘found footage’ taken from early 40s/60s films and General Motors corporate ‘forecast’ of the future of technology. We discuss how machinima is an interesting way to explore social commentary and analyze the use of video games as a medium for artistic expression and engaging young people in social responsibility. We also reflect on the potential of media and science fiction to inspire change and address social ills. Our conversation concludes with insights on how viewers can make sense of complex films and draw inspiration from multiple perspectives.
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
Inner Migration 720 by Andy Hughes, released 18 March 2024
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