In this episode of And Now for Something Completely Machinima, the team dives deep into the chilling Blender short I Made a Self-Aware Robot by the enigmatic creator Lights Are Off.

Tracy brings the film to the table, praising its haunting realism, uncanny robot design, and smart use of found-footage aesthetics. What begins as a seemingly grounded “scientist vlog” quickly spirals into a modern Frankenstein story—raising powerful questions about consciousness, ethics, and the dangers of unchecked technological ambition.

Damien highlights how the home-built lab setting makes the horror feel disturbingly close to reality, while Phil marvels at the stunning Blender craftsmanship—from hyper-realistic lighting to meticulous set dressing and believable mechanical detail. The group also unpacks the film’s clever use of cameras, surveillance, and direct eye contact to unsettle the viewer.

While everyone agrees the short is visually brilliant and deeply atmospheric, Ricky and Phil note that the story follows familiar sci-fi tropes—leaving them wishing for a bigger twist. Still, with millions of views and a sequel already out, it’s clear this series has struck a nerve with audiences.

Packed with insights on machinima, virtual filmmaking, sound design, horror storytelling, and the ethics of AI and robotics, this episode is a must-watch for creators, filmmakers, and sci-fi fans alike.

Timestamps -

01:36 — Tracy introduces I Made a Self-Aware Robot

03:00 — Plot & Elba explained

06:00 — Frankenstein & ethical themes

09:30 — Sound, camera, and realism

11:43 — Damien on the creepy home lab

14:30 — Creepiest moments (CCTV & eye contact)

16:37 — Phil’s take: story vs. craft

21:00 — Blender breakdown (lighting & detail)

27:21 — Ricky’s reactions & critiques

33:40 — Fourth-wall camera moments

35:06 — Real 1970s robot “The Sensor”

35:14 — Wrap-up & links

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

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:

👉 Is Ozymandias a “bad film”… or a groundbreaking prototype that helped shape virtual filmmaking?

Ricky challenges the film’s pacing, visuals, and sound, arguing that by today’s standards it feels unfinished and awkward. But Tracy and Phil place the work in its historical context — revealing it as a crucial pivot point where machinima shifted from gameplay recording to intentional, cinematic storytelling inside game engines.

The panel explores:

• How Ozymandias tested the first true machinima production tools
• Why moving sand and free-camera shots were revolutionary at the time
• How this experiment foreshadowed today’s virtual production (Unreal, Source Filmmaker, The Mandalorian, etc.)
• Why the film mattered more as a technical and artistic manifesto than as a polished short film
• Hugh Hancock’s legacy, ambition, and influence on the machinima movement

Along the way, the hosts reminisce about the wild early days of machinima — executable films, hacked tools, screen-recording cameras, and the struggle to share video before YouTube even existed.

Whether you’re a machinima veteran or a newcomer, this episode is a fascinating look at how a rough, experimental short helped open the door to modern virtual filmmaking.

🎬 Watch, debate, and decide for yourself: brilliant milestone… or broken relic?

Time stamps -
01:00 Ricky introduces today’s pick: Ozymandias
02:10 Why the film mattered to early machinima
03:00 Ricky’s harsh rewatch critique
05:56 Damien: likely a LithTech test film
07:57 Ricky pushes back on “test video” idea
09:11 The infamous (hilarious) Archive.org comment
10:19 Tracy reframes Ozymandias as a historic pivot point
15:00 Early virtual filmmaking & camera tools explained
20:07 Pre-YouTube reality and why Film Producer failed commercially
24:36 Phil’s memories of Machinima.com’s homepage
26:30 Phil corrects the record: Strange Company built Film Producer
31:00 Why the “moving sand” was revolutionary in 1999
36:42 Original release was a standalone executable (not video)
38:09 Early capture glitches and screen-recording methods
41:05 Ricky: films “live in time” + call for context on Archive.org
43:03 How long did this take to make?
44:35 Festival nomination (Best Technical Achievement, 2003)
46:10 Tool credits — “Alpha 0.5”
47:00 Skyrim machinima tools & Unreal “Outside the Blocks”
48:20 Show wrap-up + listener email invite

Credits -
Co-hosts: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI

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 Harwood

Producer/Editor: Phil Rice

Music: Phil Rice and Suno AI