RDR2

S4 E111 Machinima News + GTA5 Cinematic (Jan 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes January 11, 2024 Leave a reply

This week, we discuss the critical turn we witnessed in 2023 towards machinima among creative industries professionals. We highlight why it is high time there is a major rethink on the role of indie creatives and fan fiction in general. We also review a beautiful cinematic made in GTA5, and also reflect on some of the challenges with a particular camera technique.



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

European Film Awards, Best Short – Hardly Working, a machinima made in RDR2 by Austrian collective Total Refusal. Announcement of winner here and link to Milan Machinima Film Festival’s earlier presentation of their work here. Many congratulations to Total Refusal on this landmark achievement!

Back story notes links –

Sam Crane’s Stage award for his live production of Hamlet in GTA5

Tracy’s review of Oberhausen International Film Festival and links to our discussion –

and interview with the curators at Oberhausen –

Warhammer 40K partnering with Amazon for new shows and movies, with Amazon being given ‘exclusive rights to make content’ based on the Games Workshop brand. Announcement on the BBC news website here and the Games Workshop website here.

Lord of the Rings legal case between a fan book writer, their publisher vs Amazon and Tolkein’s estate – announcement on the BBC news website here and further details of the copyright infringement case here.

Cyberpunk Ultimate Edition Official Booklet – link here.

John MacInnes also recently released an overview of the legal issues, similarities and differences between realtime creative works and film production which you’ll find a very useful summary –

Damien’s film pick for this week –

Cinematic experience – GTA V Machinima by Syed, released 10 Nov 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) –

S3 E86 RDR2: The MODDED Wacky West (July 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes July 20, 2023 Leave a reply

This week’s review is of 12 minutes of the wackiest of Wacky Wests we could ever imagine! BedBananas has used a a whole host of mods, created by Weds_Garbageday, to devise this truly surrealist Red Dead American dream machinima. Seeing is believing – and its probably one of the best machinimas of all time!



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes and Links

Film, by BedBananas, released 10 June 2020 –

Mods creator, Glynn JKW – link to his Github page here and his Twitter here

Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr, available as a public domain movie here –

Link to critique of Dali and discussion of the meaning of his work here

Lainy Voom’s Push on Phil’s Machiniplex Remastered collection channel (Vimeo) here –

and Tracy’s discussion of surrealist machinima in the Journal of Visual Culture (2011) here

S3 E69 Film Review: Didn’t I – A Read Dead Machinima (Mar 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes March 16, 2023 Leave a reply

We always love a good RDR2 machinima, and this is one by a Sam Menell, released on 9 Feb 2023. We watched this several times, and Tracy didn’t spot the UFO in the opening shot!



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes and Links

Film, released 9 Feb 2023 –

Phil’s take on a no dialogue RDR2 film, released last year –

The Searchers, Duke Wayne shot –

S3 E51 Film Review: Paths of Misery by Federica Orlandini (Nov 2022)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes November 2, 2022 Leave a reply

Definitely not for kids, this week’s film is an horrific overview of the ‘true’ Wild West, courtesy of RDR2. The tale is told through the galloping lens of Dutch van der Linde’s character and Morricone’s classic composition, ‘The Ecstacy of Gold’… its The Good, The Bad and The Ugly but not as we know it!



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes & Links

Film released on 4 October 2022

Digitally remastered version of Ennio Moriccone’s ‘The Ecstacy of Gold’

Check out Federica’s other films on her Vimeo channel here.

Credits
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice
Produer/Editor: Ricky Grove
Music: House Loop by Sakebeats / CC 0 / Freesound.org66