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 game

4:12 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 charm

14:09 Discussing a creative strategy: choosing the lines for NPCs and the lip sync, identifying the modding tools

Credits -
Speakers: Damien Valentine, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats

This week's ep focusses on the 2024 Crowbar Productions Machinima Mayhem contest winner: Fragile Harmony, made in Garry's Mod by Logan and released on 9 Sept 2024. Logan sent this in for us to take a look at, and we're sure glad he did. Yes there are a few things we could be critical about, but storytelling isn't one of them. Check out our review and leave your comments in the usual way.

1:14 Introduction by Phil, a classic Philip K Dick sci fi, storytelling and production values: deer in the headlights

9:16 Emotional reactions, lip sync and the aesthetic quality of machinima, the introduction of zombie behaviour

13:30 Pacing and its impact on first reactions to the film

19:40 The background to the film

22:30 Setting up the story – the monotony is critical

26:35 Editing and lip sync

27:09 Sound design is immersive contrasting with the monotony of the first part of the story

29:06 Confusion from the mundane, the change in pacing and tempo, the silence - what is the real horror story here?

33: 51 A few tips, our discussion: what we loved and what we miss in the editing

Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice

This week we discuss a machinima form we've not really talked about before - anime. Whilst its one of Ricky's favourite creative forms, for the rest of us its a little out of our comfort zone! We take a look at two films, both made in Final Fantasy 14 (FFXIV), Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Wheat Tea (released 2 Feb 2025) and Arcadion by Magitek Productions (released 1 Jan 2025). Check out our discussion and reviews, and do add your comments.

1:24 What is anime machinima?

3:44 Studio Ghibli: “An insult to life itself”

4:20 About FFXIV for machinima

7:14 Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

10:18 Arcadion

15:14 The untold story of anime and machinima

17:15 Origins of a humble person becoming a world saviour: LOTR

28:06 Convergence mod for Elden Ring (v 2.2)

Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Damien Valentine
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Animo Domini Beats