This week, Damien has picked a very interesting Eastern-made alien tale. Its been beautifully shot and rendered using Omniverse, and inspired him to try some of the techniques shown. Ricky is a little more critical of the nostalgic trope. Tracy reflects on the journey of the storytelling, and the nature of what it is to be human that is the heart of the story. Phil brings Solaris into the discussion, as only Phil can. Overall, we reflect on the different styles of animation used and how influential they were. And, finally, how on earth did the producer achieve that tendril effect?!
In this episode, we review Tracy’s pick for the month: ‘The Eye: Calanthek’ by Aaron Sims, made in Unreal Engine 5 using Metahuman tech, as an early exemplar of the capabilities of the engine (released 2021).
YouTube Version of this Episode
Show Notes and Links
We discuss the eyes, the monster, the surprise and camera shots.
Time stamps
1:06 Tracy introduces ‘The Eye: Calanthek‘ by Aaron Sims, released 4 November 2021
5:56 What makes it so realistic? The eyes!
11:02 Things that break the storytelling
15:02 Does knowing the craft of filmmaking restrict creative approaches to filmmaking?
In this episode, we focus our discussion on Facing the Wolf, a series of films by Iain Douglas and Mark Coverdale, submitted to the Milan Machinima Film Festival 2022. The film presents a series of provocative ideas which provoke Ricky, Phil, Tracy and Damien to have a deep discussion on the role of information, ambiguity and audience investment. What are your thoughts on the film series?
YouTube Version of this Episode
Show Notes and Links
Facing the Wolf, by Iain Douglas and Mark Coverdale, released 2021
1:35 Interview with Matteo Bittanti, Milan Machinima Film Festival
5:00 Ricky poses an interesting question: is machinima an animation style or a form of art that ideas can dominate, as opposed to feelings?
27:56 Discussion: for idea films, do you have to have more information than the film provides to appreciate the work? What is the role of ambiguity in filmmaking? How much time should audience invest in understanding a film?
In this episode, Ricky, Tracy, Phil and Damien review some of the best short movies we’ve seen made using machinima and virtual production techniques yet! Not all are hot off the press, but certainly films like The Lord Inquisitor – Prologue allude to why Unreal Engine has become such a key tool for creators today, as beautifully exemplified in extraordinary films we review this week, The Cloud Racer and Prazinburk Ridge. Person2184, made in Unreal Tournament 2004, was an altogether different approach to experiencing real-time content – originally intended to be experienced in-game and is an early example of the promise of what VR may yet become in future.
YouTube Version of this Episode
Show Notes and Links
0:10 Ricky introduces our new episode format – feedback welcome on the plans!
0:59 The Cloud Racer by Impossible Objects (UE5), released 15 August 2022 and Short of the Week, curated review by Jason Sondhi, released 10 August 2022
The Cloud Racer
21:16 The Lord Inquisitor – Prologue, by Warpgazer Animations (released 28 August 2016). See also this promotional video released in 2013, when it had already been in production for 2 years!
The Lord Inquisitor – Prologue
39:15 Person2184 (UT2004 machinima), by Friedrich Kirschner released 4 April 2008 (and the version we’re linking to uploaded by mdvhimself on 17 August 2022) and hear more about The Journey in our Unreal history episode by Ben Grussi, recently released. Addendum: Friedrich has confirmed the work was released in 2005 and premiered at the Machinima Film Festival that year.
person2184
This image is from the Machinima Europe Festival 2007, showing Friedrich Kirschner front left (striped jumper) among other machinima luminaries including Hugh Hancock (mid back), Paul Marino (right front), Alex Chan (next to Friedrich) and Tracy (centre front).
Friedrich Kirschner at Machinima Festival Europe 2007
In this episode, Ricky, Tracy, Phil and Damien review latest machinima and virtual production news items: contest updates, amazing new music videos made using Unreal Engine 5, how to turn MidJourney creations into 3D objects ready for animation, bringing in3D avatars from your phone into Reallusion’s Character Creator 4, Dreamwork’s Moonray becoming open source, Nvidia Omniverse 2022.1 update, Adobe Premiere Pro’s filmmakers guide, Lynchland in Second Life and more!
YouTube Version of this Episode
Show Notes and Links
0:27 Nvidia Omniverse Machinima Contest #madeinmachinima results, entries showreel, announcement of winners at SIGGRAPH and links to winners (via 80.lv) Simon Lavit and runners up Nicklas Lotz and Ted Saguindel
2:54 Tracy’s interview with John MacInnes on his latest Unreal Challenge contest: Mood Scene – the contest begins 1 Sept
9:36 Trailer for an upcoming fan film by Unreal Cinema, made in Unreal Engine 5: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Kotor: Episode 1 – The Spire, premiered 5 August 2022
Kotor: Episode 1 – The Spire
11:31 Dreamworks announces that its Moonray platform will become open source
16:22 19-20 September, remember the Nvidia GTC event is always worth following!
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