war Archives - Completely Machinima

S4 E135 Destruction & Hope: Day of Darkness II | The Wanderer (June 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes June 26, 2024 Leave a reply

In this episode, we analyse our picks’ cinematics, beginning with ‘Day of Darkness’ made in Eve Online by Dire Lauthris and completing with ‘The Wanderer’ made in the Source engine by Dominzki. We discuss the use of ambiguity, character development, and narrative qualities, as well as the advancement of video game cinematics and in-engine techniques. We also examine how the horror of war has been conveyed through the unique visuals and sound effects in both these films.

YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Day of Darkness II by Dire Lauthris, released 30 March 2009

Interesting film review here

Best EVE Online fan video listings here

The Wanderer [SFM Short Film] by Dominzki, released 8 March 2024

Interview with Dominzki in Mann Magazine here

By way of reference, check out our review of Leo Lucien Bay’s film Beast here, which we did in the very first episode of our podcast!

S4 E123 Fluxus: The Dog Days (Apr 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes April 3, 2024 Leave a reply

The Dog Days is an unusual machinima that combines the glitchiness of AI generated content composited with a Second Life avatar. Whilst not realtime, the performative aspect of this work is evident and we reflect on the fit of the current state of generative AI with the Fluxus art movement. We discuss what The Dog Days means, metaphorically and literally, and how we interpret this film concluding it is not a happy outcome for the focal character. The Dog Days evokes memories of a long-ago childhood spent with a much loved pet but the non-sense words and images are of something far more sinister, contextualized by the current general media coverage of wars in Eastern Europe, Middle East and elsewhere. We also discuss our interpretations of the fragility represented in the avatar, including the role of generative AI in becoming cyborg.

YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes and Links

The Dog Days by Fau Ferdinand and Elle Thorkveld, released 17 Feb 2024

Fau Ferdinand’s channel is here – https://vimeo.com/fauferdinand

Second Front arts movement here

Fau Ferdinand on Roles 4 Women here

About the Fluxus art movement here

S2 Ep 46: Film Review – Facing the Wolf

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes September 15, 2022 Leave a reply

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

Poem, Coverdale – https://www.artschoolmodpoet.com/facing-the-wolf-poems

A trilogy of poetic machinima –

Facing the Wolf: i, Douglas and Coverdale, released 16 July 2021

Facing the Wolf: ii, Douglas and Coverdale, released 16 July 2021

Facing the Wolf: iii, Douglas and Coverdale, released 16 July 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?

Useful lnks

Luis Bunuel’s An Andalusian Dog (1929)