This week’s pick is a machinima run through of the female V character in Cyberpunk 2077, by Charles Liu, edited to a Johnny Cash classic, Hurt. Sound design in this is everything, and we especially like how the fade is used to emphasise the game footage vs the words of the song at different points in the film. Check out our views.
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
V – Never Stop Fighting – Cyberpunk 2077, released 8 Feb 2021, by Charles Liu
Kicking off 2025 with a review of a classic and iconic #machinima by one of the pioneers of the movement, Paul Marino aka ILLRobinson – and its 20 years almost to the day this was released! I’m Still Seeing Breen, made in HL2, holds a special place in our memories from those early years – not only was it a perfect ‘protest piece’ as the feature machinima demonstrating its potential for a 2005 Sundance Film Festival panel discussion (alongside RoosterTeeth’s RVB) but was further developed for MTV2’s Season 2 premiere of its Video Mods TV show later that same year. In this episode, we go over the back story, discuss how this was made and its impact on machinima in general.
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
I’m Still Seeing Breen, released 5 March 2005 by Paul Marino
480p broadcast version for MTV2 –
Steam link for HL2 upgrade including Source Filmmaker here
Background information also from the Pioneers in Machinima book, written by Tracy Harwood and Ben Grussi
Paul Marino’s book, published in 2004, available as a free download on the Internet Archive (log-in/account required) here
This week, we discuss two stunning music videos: Children of Pain by @VincereSylph with video created by @TomJantol and @tanyasubaBg; and Firefly by Esterica in Unreal Engine. Children of Pain is a perfect example of Tom’s ‘anymation’ approach whilst Firefly demonstrates just how far Unreal Engine has come as a creative toolset in one year alone!
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
Children of Pain (Official Single) by Vincere Sylph, released 6 April 2024
Tom Jantol’s video for WiL/William Mimnaugh called Lion’s Feet (in 2022) –
This week’s review is of a self-contained excerpt from a larger film, called Escape Game by @CrisUberman. This part of the film is the final chapter of the story, Danser Encore, voiced by @lionelmazari1990 with a song by @hksaltimbank. We delve into the inspiration for the themes in the film, which draws on the philosophy of Empedocles and Rosset, although we perhaps lower the tone a little with reference to Oscar Wilde!
YouTube Version of This Episode
Show Notes & Links
Excerpt of full film, Danser Encore by Cris Uberman –
Full film, released 28 Nov 2023, featuring Louis Fouche –
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