Podcast appearances and mentions of phil rice

In this episode of Now for Something Completely Machinima, the team revisits Ozymandias (1999) — one of the earliest and most controversial works of machinima, created by Hugh Hancock and Strange Company using the experimental LithTech Film Producer toolkit.What begins as a straightforward critique quickly turns into a deeper debate:

Starfield is one of the most cinematic games Bethesda's ever shipped… so why haven't we seen much machinima from it? Today we're looking at a mod that might finally crack that open: a fully built settlement with lore, characters, quests, and surprisingly strong voice acting, presented with a “lore trailer” that feels like a slice-of-life tour through a corporate-controlled mining town. We'll break down what it gets right, what it's missing as machinima, and why projects like this might be the new bridge between fandom and professional virtual production.Starfield has been sitting there looking cinematic… and creators have mostly not used it for machinima. In this ep, we dig into a standout exception by @team fire: an ambitious settlement + narrative mod (Arinya / Yeltsin Corp vibe) that ships with voice acting, lore, quests, factions, and “paid mod” ambitions - plus what that could mean for machinima, virtual production workflows, and the future of creator-made expansions.We dive into one of the most ambitious Starfield mod creations we've seen: a new settlement with lore, characters, quests, factions, and fully voiced performances. Why this works:·       It's a real Starfield creation with serious craft (environment dressing, lore framing, VO credits).·       It tees up a bigger convo: “mods as mini-studios,” machinima as a portfolio path (again), and whether Starfield can become a true machinima platform.·       It has stakes: paid creations, bugs/beta realities, Bethesda updates potentially reshaping the ecosystem.Timestamps -01:05 Damien's pick: the Starfield settlement mod + why it caught our eye 03:10 What the trailer shows: Arinya, prefab-built scale, and “lived-in” set dressing 05:25 Lore + story hooks: corporation control, unrest, factions, player choice 07:45 Machinima critique: why it works as a “lore trailer” (and what's missing) 10:05 Camera language: sweeping establishes vs character/coverage (tools or style?) 12:35 Voice acting & credits: why human performance changes the feel 15:10 Ambition vs reality: beta bugs, updates, and building a team 18:05 Paid mod potential: bridge between free mods and official-style expansions 21:10 Mods as career pipeline: machinima exodus parallels + mod-to-studio pathways 24:05 Starfield updates/DLC: risk of breaking mods vs reviving interest 26:35 What this could mean for Starfield as a machinima platform 28:40 Viewer question: have you played it / what Starfield machinima should we cover? Credits –Hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice and Suno AI

What happens when Tolkien's world, Enya's music, and cutting-edge virtual performance collide?In this episode, we explore a breathtaking Second Life film that reimagines “May It Be” as a haunting, hopeful journey through shadow and light. From gothic landscapes and cinematic lighting to an unexpectedly intimate motion-capture reveal, this episode showcases how virtual worlds can deliver not just spectacle, but genuine emotional resonance.If you love:·       Lord of the Rings and its timeless theme of hope against darkness·       Machinima and virtual cinematography at its most poetic·       Innovative uses of facial mocap and performance in online worlds·       Discovering undiscovered creative voices with serious talent…then you won't want to miss this. We dive into a strikingly beautiful piece of Second Life machinima: Anna Kurka's cinematic cover of Enya's “May It Be” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Tracy brings the pick, introducing Anna as a Belgium-based virtual performer who blends singing, storytelling, and atmospheric world-building into emotionally rich visual journeys.Set in the hauntingly gothic Second Life region “Infinite Darkness,” the film pairs slow, ethereal fly-throughs of ancient forests, ruins, mist, and light with a tender, intimate vocal performance. The hosts explore how the imagery echoes Tolkien's core themes of darkness and hope, fear and resilience, the liminal space between night and dawn, and how Anna's more human, grounded interpretation contrasts with Enya's otherworldly original.The discussion also turns technical, with a spoiler-friendly deep dive into the surprise ending: a remarkably convincing facial motion-capture performance inside Second Life, raising fascinating questions about virtual production, real-time mocap, and how far user-generated platforms have evolved.Along the way, the panel reflects on Tolkien's enduring emotional power, the courage it takes to reinterpret iconic music, and the often-hidden talent within virtual worlds that deserves a much wider audience.Timestamps –01:26 Overview of Anna Kirker's “May It Be” (Enya / Lord of the Rings cover), her background as a Second Life creator and singer, and the cinematic quality of her work. 06:31 Thematic and musical analysis10:41 Anna's background and artistic potential12:41 Connection to Tolkien's storytelling14:31 Personal Tolkien memories17:11 Spoiler alert and setup for the ending Credits –Hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice and Suno AI

This week, we review a supporter-recommended iClone fantasy machinima that surprised us with its polish: “Quest of a Key - Chapter One” by AuroraTrek. We're always saying we want more story-driven iClone machinima (and fewer tech-demo vibes)… and this one delivers on craft: strong shot selection, confident editing, excellent music cues, and character animation that's smoother than you'd expect.But then the conversation gets interesting.We dig into sound mastering and spatial audio, the difference between “dry” dialogue and believable room tone, how stylized realism can drift into “clay-face” territory, and what happens when a series leans hard into character introductions without giving the audience enough plot hooks to chase. Tracy goes deep on the structure across multiple chapters, and we talk about why view counts can drop when episodes feel like long-form animation sliced into shorts.We also get into pipeline talk: Daz characters into iClone, motion capture vs animation libraries, and the very real challenge of stepping from an established fan universe (Star Trek / Star Wars) into an original world where you don't get story shorthand for free.If you make machinima, virtual production, iClone films, or Unreal/CG shorts, this ep is packed with practical takeaways: pace, hooks, sound space, visual texture, and how to reveal character through action inside the plot.

We begin with a heartfelt tribute to the late Frank Fox — filmmaker, musician, and beloved member of the machinima community. From his classic MovieStorm film Morning Run Amok to his live music performances as “Frank Leonatra,” we reflect on his creativity, generosity, and the lasting impact he had on virtual filmmaking and the people who loved him. Then we dive deep into one of the most visually unique and emotionally powerful machinima ever made:

This week on And Now for Something Completely Machinima, snacks are flowing, pretzels are implied, and Tracy throws us a curveball of a film pick.

This week on the podcast, we're diving into a grab-bag of big creator news, starting with YouTube, and yes… the “slop” situation. Tracy kicks things off with what looks like YouTube's latest attempt to clean house: platform changes that claim to improve privacy and the viewing experience, but also mess with how videos behave when embedded on third-party sites. If you stream shows inside places like Second Life, that's a real headache, because some embeds and API-based workarounds are suddenly unreliable or broken. But the bigger story? YouTube appears to be cracking down on the explosion of low-effort, mass-generated content. The buzz is that Gemini is being used to evaluate whether videos look human-made, original, and honestly presented - plus there's talk of internal “trust scores” that creators can't actually see, but which may influence how channels are treated behind the scenes. Tracy even tests how an AI describes our channel, and it basically nails the vibe: a legit passion-project podcast with deep experience… while also very clearly not the unrelated, controversy-riddled “Machinima Inc” from back in the day. Phil jumps in to untangle the embed drama: it may not be “AI policy” so much as an ad-delivery and revenue control move because some embedded browsers can bypass ads, and Second Life gets caught in the crossfire. Workarounds exist (including the very ironic “embed it somewhere else first” method), and Vimeo comes up as an alternative… but with price hikes that feel more “premium platform” than creator-friendly. Locked-in subscriptions, anyone? Then it's off to the creative tools corner: Phil's been deep in Blender, and he's found some very machinima developments, like a third-person controller kit that basically turns Blender into a game-like character puppeteering environment. On top of that, there's a newly released Blender cloth-building and simulation tool that could become a budget-friendly alternative to pricey standards like Marvelous Designer - huge potential for indie creators who want great-looking outfits without a studio budget. From there, the conversation swings to Reallusion's latest move: Video Mocap, turning ordinary video footage into motion capture data, integrated straight into iClone's workflow. The group talks practical realities (camera framing, background contrast, space constraints, upper-body capture modes) and why this could be a game-changer for animators who don't have mocap suits lying around. We also touch on Unreal Engine's rapid evolution and its ever-improving animation tools—plus the eternal question: with tech this powerful, why aren't we seeing more great films made with it? Damien drops some rock-solid creator advice: don't try to learn new tools by making your magnum opus. Make a short “training film,” and if you switch platforms… remake it. Same story, new tech, better skills. Simple, smart, and honestly kind of brilliant. Finally, we hit a spicy AI update: major AI music platforms (Suno and Udio) have reportedly reached settlements with record labels, meaning they'll rework how training and licensing works going forward. That could reshape what “responsible” AI music use looks like in 2026 - and what it'll cost creators. And to wrap up on a lighter note, there's a shoutout to NeuralVIZ and a fun character-driven sci-fi project, The Adventures of Remo Green, as a reminder that experimentation can still be entertaining (and weirdly impressive). And that's the episode: YouTube changes, creator workarounds, new animation toys, and the future of AI tools, served with equal parts curiosity and chaos. Timestamps 03:10 – “Slop” crackdown: why YouTube is cleaning house + channels disappearing since mid-November 05:10 – The mystery “trust score”: internal channel metric creators can't see 12:40 – Phil's Blender deep dive: from pass-through tool to real production work 18:45 – Damien's Star Wars uniform struggle: accuracy vs what's actually available 22:55 – Realusion Video Mocap: turning video footage into usable motion capture inside iClone 27:05 – Upper-body-only mode: more practical capture for dialogue scenes 32:10 – Learning strategy: don't take a 30-hour course—learn by solving what blocks you 40:05 – AI music legal shakeup: Suno + Udio settlements with major labels (and what it changes) 44:35 – What about indie creators outside big catalogs? 46:40 – Why smaller AI music tools may get crushed (no cash for lawsuits) 51:55 – Looking ahead: what shifts in 2026 might bring Contact: talk@completelymachinima.com Show notes: Drop comments on socials — we love hearing what you're working on. Credits - Co-hosts: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Editor/Producer: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

In this episode of Completely Machinima, hosts Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Damien Valentine explore the stunning AI-powered operatic machinima “Arido Taurajo” — a groundbreaking short film created by Chantal Harvey (aka Mamachinima) in collaboration with digital artist James Morgan, AI composer Roboccini and soprano/AI researcher Maya Ackerman, among others.

In this episode of Completely Machinima, hosts Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, and Damien Valentine review two creative Star Citizen machinima commercials — Dumpers Depot and Big Benny's Grab Eats — both made for a Star Citizen video contest.They explore how these 45-second in-game ads show off community creativity, storytelling, and production skills. Tracy breaks down what made Dumpers Depot Commercial more sophisticated in design and sound, while Big Benny's... Grab Eat took home the win with its humor and clever use of Star Citizen lore.

We're beginning Season 6 with one of the best machinima-animated shorts we've ever seen (probably)!

How do you make virtual worlds sound real?

How do you make virtual worlds sound real?

This week, we continue our discussion, reflecting on Season 5 and our predictions for 2026.... yep, sure is a lot going on in the world of #machinima! Do add your own thoughts into the comments (on our show notes).1:01 Our predictions for 2026 1:10 Tracy's thoughts! 4:26 A quick interjection on the Minecraft short we reviewed 6:47 Damien's views and perspective on tools being used 7:38 Ricky's prediction on genAI and it's layering out and ethical approaches 10:27 Who is the world's smartest dumb person?! Phil tees up some fab analogies – who is going to keep golfing? 22:30 The joy of machinima! 27:31 Killing off the golden goose 28:17 Creators we look forward to seeing:  ⁨@Dominzki⁩ ⁨@thebizthebiz⁩ ⁨@biggstrek⁩ among others 30:00 Celebrating  ⁨@DarthAngelus⁩ achievements with Heir to the Empire – a ‘big' production project completed in machinima is a rare thing! 36:08 Ricky's final wishes for 2026:  ⁨@NeuralViz⁩ figures out how to bring Prag Snarbo back! 36:38 Exciting new CM episodes introduced – The Wonderful World of Sound by  ⁨@RickyGrove⁩ and  ⁨@zsOverman⁩ Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood Producer: Tracy Harwood Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

This is our final film pick for Season 5, and it stimulates quite a discussion. The film is a concept test of tools and techniques, but the story and aesthetic is less inspiring. Check out our thoughts and do add your own comments below. 1:47 Introduction to Reflekt by @derunique 4:00 Anachronistically broken 10:25 Gelling the story? 11:54 The aesthetic of Unreal 13:19 Who is the apocalyptic soldier Unreal tutor? 14:00 The attraction of Unreal – its all about the technology, and little about the story 15:02 Comparison to Project Zomboid movie (S5 ep 193) 15:40 Camera work in Unreal is uninspiring! 18:12 Prazinburke Ridge remains the outstanding Unreal film we've seen 18:22 Lighting is a standout, ambiguity and some suggestions 25:31 Speaking vs talking to self, and quality and use of the sound library 33:11 Surrealism and uncanny are some of the most creative ideas 37:35 Why is the Unreal creator community just not hit the high notes just yet 39:29 Final words Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer: Phil Rice Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI

A DC inspired short made with love and artful skill, this week's pick is also an homage to the creative talent of a young creator now sadly passed. Despite us not necessarily being the target audience - due to certain demographic features - we really enjoyed reviewing this. Check out our comments and do add your own. 1:32 Introduction to the film: form and creative technique – Smallville comedy vibe X superhero, and a shout out for collaborations everywhere 6:00 The challenge of being a Minecraft modder and making machinima possible – the Blockbuster mod and BBS mod 9:20 Player control: the visual fidelity is outstanding, the choreography is impressive, the editing, shot selection and sequencing and craft is admirable 12:37 Is it for us oldies? Maybe… target audience is key to this, identifying with the game aesthetic 17:20 Discussing early machinimas: Seal of Nahara and Devil's Covenant 19:28 Kid Flash comparison to the DC TV show – this is better! 22:58 In conclusion: “This film was clearly loved by its creators” Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine Producer: Ricky Grove Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

This week, we discuss a 2013 episode of @Draxtor's interviews series with artists filmed in Second Life series, this episode with Australian artist  @lynettewallworth270. 1:43 Get involved in the latest Star Citizen contest, links in Show Notes 3:26 Introduction to the pick 9:12 Phil describes early traditions of interview shows filmed in virtual worlds, such as Late Night with Toxie (filmed in Quake) and This Spartan Life (Halo) 12:44 Could this episode now be updated using AI? 13:33 Quality of audio is the most valuable part 15:49 GenZ viewing patterns are changing – how well does SL as an interview format reflect contemporary approaches? 17:53 The major obstacle to multi-tasking…! Credits - Speakes: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine Producer: Ricky Grove Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice & SonaAI

This week's pick is the complete contrast to the Happy Wheels gag-fest, Ep 191: the film is called They Were Once Here by Werlias and it has everything you would expect from a Project Zomboid machinima, plus some things you wouldn't. Its a dark and sad tale, beautifully told, and delivers a real emotional punch. It makes excellent use of Zach Beever's classic composition for the game, and harnesses a bunch of mods to achieve the outcome. Catch our review and reflections on this one. For those of you into zombie fests, we're sure you'll enjoy it.1:00 Intro to film11:11 Background to film, early zombie stories17:57 Emotional responses to the film, the role of music20:00 What's happened to Werlias?22:03 Alternative perspectives on the narrative25:25 How would Machinima [Inc] have reacted to this? Tragic talesCredits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice and SunoAI 

In days of yore, when Machinima ruled the digiwaves, they commissioned stuff like this week's pick... we have a rather more heated discussion than usual about the pros and cons of the choice and the commissioning strategy. Check out our thoughts and let us know what you think. Maybe you were caught up in this mess, we certainly hope not... or at least, we hope the lesson was well learned. Ricky tells it from his experience, as part of the Hollywood set - seen it all before. Enjoy the show! 1:28 Intro to Happy Wheels, evolution of a community9:40 Background to Happy Wheels, creators, producers and game21:07 ‘Well, I wasn't asking you whether you like them or not….' music vs death and cruelty23:53 ‘Make Money for Machinima [Inc]'36:50 Beyond a joke44:36 Minecrafty: a provocation!Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer/Editor: Phil Rice Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI

This brings back so many memories for us, the 1980s and 90s, Frank Drebin's utter incompetence and Leslie Neilsen's brilliance. Hat Loving Gamer has excelled himself with this interpretation, taking in a bunch of retro games - everything from PacMan to Mario and then adding in a bit of Halo and GTA for good measure. Our selection of this film also has absolutely nothing to do with the launch of NS2 or the announcement of a new NG movie... Enjoy the discussion.Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice & SunoAI

Our latest deep dive into machinima history, and this month we focus on Baron Soosdon, a Finnish creator whose work is legendary among us. The film pick, I'm So Sick, is an excellent example of the type of work he produced during his machinima career (circa 2006-2011) which, shockingly, never actually won an award - it was however runner up at Bitfilm Festival. The film is a WoW fan fiction and a cultural mashup of its era, including subtle references to some of the key happenings in niche entertainment at the time: release of Edge of Remorse by Jason Choi (machinima), Ergo Proxy's classic anime series, appearances by the WoW legendary band L70ETC, the BlackWingLair level play-throughs and Lacey Sturm's incredible primal scream and the Flyleaf music video, song of the same title. Enjoy the discussion.Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Phil Rice

This week's machinima is made in Skyrim, and whilst its a little older, it shows off beautifully the quality of the game, characters and lip sync capability.  The film, by Wanderersofthedas was released in 2015, and was made using lines drawn only from the game's NPCs.  It makes for an oddly familial campfire conversation, notwithstanding the numerous references to in game lore.  Do you and add your comments on our channels, as usual.0:31 Introduction by Damien, using NPCs in a single player game4:12 Schizophrenia!6:37 The role of the campfire, and familial dysfunctional conversations 8:05 Attention to detail, nah. Do you need acting to convey a story??? In the days of ElevenLabs, would this kind of thing ever be acceptable.  Would following a main character have enabled a story to be told?11:09 The narrative arc is missing, but its dysfunctionality is its central charm14:09 Discussing a creative strategy: choosing the lines for NPCs and the lip sync, identifying the modding toolsCredits -Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

In this week's episode, we discuss the month's news items we've found most interesting and relevant to making machinima, including more great projects to be inspired by, genAIs we've spotted, Steam's rip off, inZOI's challenge to Sims and the phenomenon known as the 'Minecraft Movie'.  Check out our discussion and do add comments on our YT or blog posts.1:18 Projects: a zombie film in GTA5, Trillo's Cuco, NeuralViz' Tigg Talk – an alternative perspective on tariffs3:33 The speed of a creative and production process – efficiencies and pivoting to topical content a la South Park!6:25 Anomidae's game explainer, Platinum WoW's documentary about early days of World of Warcraft, GTA6 mAIchinima9:00 GenAI updates: Sesame, ElevenLabs Actor Mode, Runway's gen 4, ChatGPT's image generator, Studio Ghibli's backlash, DSO physical generator, Recammaster tool, Phil's examples of how the tools can be used, volumetric capture, vtubing WarpTuber, Animes and Facerig, 26:28 Reallusion and Apple Arts Studio's Animation Shopee28:00 Steam's share of revenue and algorithmic bias29:41 Nintendo's Switch 231:09 Mocap studio at a comicon – who were they?32:45 John Robertson's show The Dark Room35:40 InZOI release – more photorealistic than the Sims, and an intriguing looking engine – what will happen to Sims now?45:30 The Minecraft movie – a renewed interest in machinima (or not!) and the Rocky Horror Picture ShowCredits -Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

One of the most extraordinary picks we've made, probably ever, on the show! This week, we review an emergent absurdist talk show, focussing on the life of the Glurons - a post-human race of critters set in a future world, but most creatively uses generative AI tools.  Its outstanding quality is, however, the writing.  Check out our review and pick up the links mentioned on our show notes blog post on the Completely Machinima website (link below).1:27 A first for a machinima show: Unanswered Oddities by Neural Viz, episode 7 is part of a creative AI series, a talking heads show about a future race of hoomankind called The Glurons – introducing the show8:50 The quality of the writing is outstanding, the workflow and creative pipeline discussed16:36 How were the characters appearing to be from the same race created using genAI?21:23 What the hell, Phil? Checkov!Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week we review a 'golden age' machinima, starring none other than Ricky Grove playing 'Bogart', and Ingrid Moon playing err, 'Ingrid', with Phil having created the score and Ricky having produced the sound design.  Its a short by German-American creator, Andre Pesch, called The Days After, made in GTA San Andreas. Its a story that pre-2020 probably we'd have all said, simply, yep that was great, without any real appreciation for what is actually being portrayed in this 2006 film. However, there's a sense in which this now brings back memories of lockdowns and isolation, and the fear of an unknown viral menace devastating our lives. It perfectly illustrates the narrow grip many had on reality, as Ricky observes in this "... war, crime, patriotism - you can name those things but you can never fix them." 0:44 Introduction – a nepotistic choice!7:05 Phil's role in the production, how to deal with copyrighted music8:53 Score design, a development process9:23 Anti-commercial storytelling10:54 Lest we forget – the quality of the writing is outstanding13:00 Embodying the storytelling process in the creative practice16:00 Using the game to develop a novel stylised aesthetic21:04 T40X virus and its resonance on humanity31:44 Ambiguity rocks – take a pause to watch the film HERE!32:14 Discussion: the ending vs an ending37:38 Science fiction's conceit39:41 Achievements40:28 A sequel?45:00 Andre Pesch, where is he now?Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini BeatsFilm link on the YouTube channel 

A once in a lifetime event in Elite Dangerous? Yup, that's what fascinated us all too.  This week we review a series of machinimas that approach the destruction of a Thargoid ship attacking planet Earth in different ways - a strange and unusual phenomenon in a game world that we reflect on, only possible in open world sims.  1:30 Elite Dangerous: an historic event – Thargoids heading for Earth3:30 The ship's problems, community action, the countdown and the consequences – a once in a lifetime event in the game5:30 Recording the event: a documentary; first person reflection; let's play9:12 Why only a one-time event? Phil looks forward to the montage12:00 The sense of camaraderie in the game vs the paparazzi 13:22 The concept is philosophically interesting but the filmic qualities are variable – context is everything17:53 Salvaging the remains?18:52 Open worlds are truly fascinating!21:06 A model for NASA?Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week's pick is nostalgic for a time before machinima... its a rare look back at the demoscene era that informed and influenced the evolution of machinima all those years ago.  The film selection is called We Are Demo, made in 2016 by Fairlight, Noice, Offence, and it was originally shared on X by the Commodore Computer Museum. Check out our review and thoughts, and do add your comments on our YouTube channel.Phil introduces the film We Are Demo, which was made in 2016 using technology from the 1980s and 1990sThe film is a tribute to the demoscene, and the Commodore 64Phil explains the demoscene and its requirement for both technical and artistic skills.We discuss the historical context of the demo scene and a few anecdotes from some early experiencesThe demoscene was a way for creators to self-promote and showcase their skills, often incorporating their team logos into the demosPhil examines the use of the SID chip, which limited music to three notes of polyphony, explaining how composers overcame some key limitationsWe Are Demo adheres to the musical limitations, using the SID chip to create the musicIs it all about nostalgia and creativity involved in creating music and visuals within these technical constraints?We discuss the visual and musical style of the film, and how it is faithful to the era of the demosceneWhat's the role of an emulator these days, a discussion inspired by the film.Ricky recalls the SIGGRAPH conferences and the demoscene meetings We reminisce about the unique community and artistic spirit of the demoscene, which is similar to the early days of machinima.What are your thoughts about this pick – add some comments in the discussion below about whether the demo scene is something only older generations will appreciate.Credits:Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien ValentineEditor/Producer: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

The Little Limpet is an Elite Dangerous animation by CMDR Nickweb85, released in July 2024. It has shades of Disney X David Attenborough X Busby Barkley. You could say it has something for everyone then... well, assuming you enjoy a good space opera/ballet (which of course we do).  Check out our comments -0:44 Intro to film, Elite Dangerous, Pixar-like, composited game footage using Blender4:17 Story, Tom Cook's music and anthropomorphic animations6:45 Experimental work, testing emotional representations7:59 Ep 1 vs Ep 2, a Busby Barkley space ballet10:16 Criticism: why split the episodes where they have been?13:37 The importance of machinima telling the stories about the side kick in an MMO16:19 Tom Cook's dedication to making music for ED machinimas, IP and music performance Credits -Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week's #machinima short is ridiculous, yep Ridiculous Ties - a meme response to Eltorro64Rus' review of favorite and least favorite words used by the Scientist in Half Life, created by Finzlow.  And did we say its ridiculous?!  We love the well-crafted humor in this, in-jokes with some of the best timing and inspired editing we've seen for quite some time. Although its strictly not machinima, it is definitely from a machinima stable, so it counts for us at least.  Our review -1:01 Intro to the film, models and the stylistic choices Finzlow has made, Marx Bros comedy 5:27 Old Man Murray8:06 What's the process for creating this?9:57 HL2 vs HL111:40 Subversion, remix and moxie14:34 Timing is everything17:17 What's the best line? “I never thought I would see a highly training professional, let alone create one”18:34 Italian slapstick: lazzi26:09 Ricky's complaint28:37 @ILLRobinson – what do you think about this film?!Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats   

Kicking off 2025 with a review of a classic and iconic #machinima by one of the pioneers of the movement, Paul Marino aka ILLRobinson. 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.1:14 Introduction to film and the Valve 20th anniversary edition of Source Filmmaker updates5:31 Back story to its release: the snub, the support from Valve, the successes and the features (Ottawa Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, MTV2 and Tony Shiff, et al)16:45 The genius of selecting a music video for making machinima! 18:05 Creating the head animation in Source, editing and scene selection23:00 Communicating and community in the early days26:30 Why the Gman and why a close-up?31:00 A watershed moment, a turning point, but the end/beginning of the next phase too35:00 An inspiration38:53 A big mistake41:54 How the games companies robbed the machinima community44:00 A question for PaulCredits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats 

Not an actual comparison but a review of two shorts: The Internet is for Porn by Evilhoof & Flayed, originally released way back in 2005 and The Marstons Celebrate Christmas, But Things Get Out of Hand, by Paradise385 released 22 Dec 2023.  Lots of lampoonery in both our reviews, but we especially hope you enjoy watching them. Happy Christmas from the crew here at Completely Machinima.1:45 The Internet is for Porn - porn, pawn or pwn?!26:35 The Marstons Celebrate Christmas - a flaw fest, perfect for a glass in hand viewing, right after Miracle on 34th39:50 Ricky's bonus update... HL2Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

A Source Filmmaker short by Dominzki, this is another of his well-crafted stories told in 3 parts, called Mission. This episode we focus on the third part Exodus and discuss its merits in detail. We conclude that if there was ever a machinima that should be made in a film studio, this would be it.  Check out our comments.1:17 Tracy's introduction to the film11:47 Complexity and dialogue13:51 Scifi and the clone, and the director's clever device of using a disrupted world to portray the ethical considerations of cloning15:31 Clay-like characters and the portrayal of emotion17:09 The soundtrack and its role18:53 Making this IRL, maybe Kim Kardashian could play the lead?19:23 The Mobius strip is the masterful component24:48 The art and craft is evident Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy HarwoodProducer/Editor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week, we review a machinima that has taken its inspiration and cue from the original movie Forbidden Planet, released in 1956. This is the animated and stylized sequel we've all been waiting for, set immediately after the events reported in the film.  It has been written and directed by Biggs Trek, aka Philip Browne, whose creative talent shines through in this.  1:19 Intro to the film 6:00 Takes us back to the original film, in a very good way! 14:52 A couple of quibbles? 19:53 Color grading 23:00 Clay face 27:00 Eye movementCredits Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

We have another packed news update ep this week, check out the show notes for links to our discussion points -1:14 iClone 8 update discussion, and Phil picks the discussion up again at 34:38 on broken grass6:30 Baldur's Gate 3 modding tools release discussion8:20 Starfield expansion pack discussion10:00 Documentary machinima: focus on TF210:45 Hollywood is broken: enter machinima? (Andreasson Horowitz seem to have had their eyes and ears closed for a few years!)12:27 Game Sprout's article about gameplay becoming performance 12:50 Denuvo's release of Unbotify and discussion25:00 YouTube app update discussion27:30 Nice projects to take a look at, genAI and Metropius, an example of a deiselpunk world-based story with numerous creative treatments – worth taking a look at for its interesting monetisation strategy32:00 Kane Pixel's Backrooms, more ‘found footage' fun!37:36 Sketchfab and Epic's Unreal Marketplace merge into FAB45:15 YouTube AI disclosure rules – how are we complicit in a new citizen science project? We extend the discussion reflecting on the algorithm detection processes and what impact this may have on AI generated music and AI cloned voices.1:06:50 Biggs Trek's Forbidden Planet: Children of Krell (which we review in our ep next week) magazine article1:07:47 Shameless plug: Phil and Damien's channel livestreams, respectively on Sunday and MondayCreditsSpeakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil Rice 

This week, we take a deep dive into a film from one of the original machinima creator studios, Dead on Cue. This comprised the duo Mike Holochwost and Brian Mayberry. The film, Fake Science, had a couple more iterations, including one that allowed it to be played in the game itself, which was Half Life.  It was released some 3 years before YouTube, and is another great example of how games could be used to produce artworks. Its wide recognition led to careers in games dev and production for both Mike and Brian, the former working on RoosterTeeth's RWBY series and the latter on cinematics for games like the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic and Defiance. Brian is still active in the games dev industry and is working on his first game, called Gone Camping.  Check out the discussion and memories we share.Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Damien ValentineMusic: Animo Domini Beats

In this ep, we reflect on the key trends in #machinima we've observed during Season 4 of the Completely Machinima podcast. We'd love to hear your thoughts on the year too, so do add comments below. During the past year, we have reviewed over 22 hours of content, and presented detailed analysis of over 50 films on this channel. As vets of the original community practices (that's pre YouTube and the M.com/Inc days), one of the great pleasures we take in this podcast is that we get to look at machinima and virtual production across the breadth of genres and engines, by creators from anywhere in the world, and reflect on where its come from, how its evolved and is developing. This year, we have seen amazing quality films made in popular games such as Half-Life, World of Warcraft, Elden Ring, Star Citizen, Warhammer 40K and Team Fortress 2; have had the pleasure of exploring work made in entirely new games, like BeamNG and Deep Rock Galactic; and others made using engines in their base form such as Unreal, iClone and Source. We've also started to see #genAIs become integrated into processes and works. What a year for creatives and creativity! Our main observation is that we have noted a resurgence of interest in machinima as a terms for the creative form, and we feel creators are at long last focussing on creative practices rather than their channel return. Of course its great when these things collide but it was never what machinima was about originally: it was the passion for great storytelling, using novel processes to achieve a desired outcome and to share that with a community of equally passionate others. Other observations are why we are not seeing as many traditional short stories as we used to...We hope you enjoy this ep as much as we have making it. Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Editor/Producer: Phil Rice Music: Animo Domini Beats

Over the past 28 years, Phil Rice has been building his broking business writing both residential and commercial loans and now he's coaching other brokers on how to do it. In this episode of Elite Broker, host Annie Kane catches up with the EZ Finance broker to find out: Why he thinks having an ACL is beneficial. Why he thinks clawbacks are illegal. Why he's launched a broker coaching business. And much more!

What is #machinima?! Good question these days, and this week we review a new video essay on tackling just that question... which is always interesting for us pioneers and vets to reflect on in this podcast. In the vid we review, Collin Aull introduces a few thoughts we've not really considered before, plus some comments we've discussed many times over the years, so its worth a listen as well as if you want to spot some of the older machinimas from those very early years in the narrative edit. 1:14 Ricky discusses his latest performance award success 8:49 Shout out for @Mr_Matt_Lee - some of the best build tuts around 11:22 Ricky introduces Collin Aull's video essay: The Game of Video 15:52 Damien's comments 17:27 Phil's comments 24:05 Tracy's comments our conclusions... the biggest problem today is finding good machinima (because we know it exists as evidenced in EVERY episode of this show)! Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood Producer/Editor: Phil Rice Music: Animo Domini Beats

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.1:24 HELP! Can anyone PLEEASSEEEE find us a WoW machinima to celebrate Blizzard's 20 years with this stunning game??? 2:50 Games releasing music albums - why is that? We discuss why we're expecting a lot more games to follow this trend 18:56 Implications of this for machinima creators 21:50 Dead games and consumer rights and why there is no real legal precident for the latest goings on, plus implications for machinima content 37:01 Generative AIs - again! And Vimeo is on the band wagon... 44:08 Luis Andrade's 'how to' is stunning 45:00 ... now available on UE marketplace 46:00 Another call out for new distribution channels for content creators 50:00 No Man's Sky updates 51:00 Microsoft Flight Sim... just wow, but what are the implications for brand owners' IP and haven't we seen something similar happen elsewhere? Question: are you simulating flying or what you see looking at the ground? 1:06:28 SAG AFTRA on strike, this time in support of game actors... but GTA6 isn't covered? Credits - Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood Producer: Damien Valentine Editor: Phil Rice Music: Animo Domini Beats

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.1:29 Ricky's introduction to the film, how it reminds him of avant-garde machinima and the work of Stan Brakhage – wishing we could go back in a time machine to show the early machinima community!7:11 The official music video uses anime and fantasy horror, vs the machinima video using GTA5 which results in a different type of horror representation13:00 Deathcore, production quality, edits, unleashed chaos – the energy is outstanding. To what extent are we desensitised to the gore in the film?19:56 Strong fit between visuals and the music. The creator's evident enjoyment in making the film shines through23:26 Reflecting on Manhunt – highly controversial in its day, hyper horrorCredits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

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.Credits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer: Ricky GroveEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week's film review is of [GTA5] 賽銭箱に身を投げる ロスサントス市警察, made by  @mzanku - its absurdist humor but also deeply disturbing, which hits us all in different ways around half way through watching the film. Following our discussions, we conclude the creator probably didn't intend for the work to be culturally appropriated as an interpretation of US police brutality, but that interpretation was nonetheless possible. In closing out the ep, Ricky discusses the new DLC for Elden Ring and the role cheese plays in enjoying it.Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer: Ricky Grove Editor: Phil Rice Music: Arps Solina

Welcome to our latest bonus episode.  We had the pleasure of catching up with Phil Rice aka zsOverman to talk exclusively about his latest machinima, called Being Moses.  If there's such as thing as a parody of a Let's Play, this film is it!   Check out Phil's comments and watch the film - links on our show notes web post.Credits -Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien ValentineProducer: Tracy HarwoodEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

A compelling and powerful story of one man's quest to remain sane on an isolated planet. This is a very effective story by Lens Nation, given its only 60 seconds long - its probably not just this one creator's worst nightmare in a game, but several of us. Check out our review and don't forget to give us some feedback on your thoughts too. 1:01 Ricky introduces the film and his critique of it, suggesing Lovecraftian tones to the story 6:17 Tracy comments on the sound design and why the lack of sound works so well 14:14 Phil feels the film is analagous to Moon and Sam Rockwell's portrayal of a character - the sense of isolation in games is a real testiment to the immersive that's possible 21:09 Damien reflects on those isolated NPCs - and reminds us about that classic line: 'its not that you're afraid of being alone int he dark, its that you're afraid of not being alone in th dark'! 22:38 The compelling role of ambiguity 25:30 Copyright and why NPCs are likely to have a bigger role in future machinima 26:15 Brief introduction to our new generative AI of Ricky, more in our next episode Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine Producer/Editor: Phil Rice Music: Animo Domini Beats

Not for the first time do we discuss the gorgeous cinematic qualities of GTA5, and this week we share a beaut by @Salva.Padilla. This one has a distinct vibe to it, but it is its general ambiguity that we especially love about the machinima. We each see something a little different in it! What do you see in it?Credits - Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats

This week we celebrate Star Wars with a fabulous short portraying the infamous AT-AT death walkers as 'nature-creatures' in their natural habitat - this is a beautifully observed work, made in Unreal Engine by Jeremy Cummins.  Cummins is an experienced character creator, now working for Tippett Studio, with an impressive list of credits including Ant-Man and the Wasp, Spider-Man and Avengers, among others.  We discuss the transition pros are making in the development of an Unreal pipeline and the impact this has on the creative machinima community.  0:44 Intro to the film3:18 About Jeremy Cummins4:33 Developing the pipeline5:36 PhantomFX takes over Tippett Studios, what are the implications?7:01 Migration – in the film, and metaphorically8:59 Stunning lighting effects9:18 Characterisation of AT-ATs – itchy and goofy!10:27 Sound effects inconsistent? Cows vs dino vs croc = buff… nah12:14 Who's got a sub to Galactic Geographic?13:50 Humour and the portrayal of death dealing machines15:00 The ambient sound needed a bit more work to achieve verisimilitude16:06 Check out Pie in the Sky too – and why it's a better film17:47 Tapping into a ‘magical movie moment' in time, anthropomorphism and our fascination with machines as animals in the Star Wars universe20:00 Communicating size with sound22:34 Length of the film24:00 Excitement: AT-ATs were only ever seen for such a short length of time in the original canon, so how cool to see them again!26:30 A perfect example of contemporary realtime cinemaCredits -Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy HarwoodProducer: Damien ValentineEditor: Phil RiceMusic: Animo Domini Beats