overcast #023
This week I had the pleasure and privilege to speak with members of Lit Fuse Films, the dream team behind a host of award-winning and critically acclaimed films such as Combine Nation, War of the Servers, and The Ballad of Black Mesa. The globe-spanning conversation included: Zachariah Scott, Michael K. Clements, and Brian / Oskar. We discuss several of their diverse films, their collaborative process and technical approach, and what keeps them motivated and productive.
Lit Fuse is a rarity in the machinima world - alongside the likes of Ill Clan, Strange Company, Myndflame - a large team busting at the seams with talent, and they’re making machinima in what some would say is one of the most technically challenging of all platforms: Valve’s Source Engine. And they’re making it look easy.
Thank you for listening! Lit Fuse and I would love to hear your feedback, so please bring it on!
This Week’s Hot List (URLs from the show’s content):
- Lit Fuse Films home page
- Mighty Crane Films + PHW Films = Lit Fuse Films (merger)
- Some of the Members of Lit Fuse Films (full list is here):
- Zachariah Scott (Writer, Director)
- Robert Stoneman (Director, Audio Engineering, Voiceover)
- Michael K. Clements (Public Relations, Webmaster)
- Brian / Oskar - (Voiceover, After Effects)
- Felipe Dobreira (Graphic Designer)
- Lars Erik (Composer)
- Ben (Visual FX)
- Selected Filmography:
- Big Duck’s Harpsichord Miscellany
- Batman 2 (Working Title: The Dark Knight)
- Software Tools on Credits for Combine Nation Episode 2: Boujou 4 and Cinema4D
- Time Lapse Video: 3D Motion Tracking in Combine Nation Episode 2
- Time Lapse Video: Scanner Euthanasia Technique in Combine Nation Episode 2
- Tough Reviews for Combine Nation Episode 1 on Kotaku
- Valve examples of what can be done in Team Fortress 2:
- Donut Bars
- SteamMovies.com bought by Valve
- Brief Glimpse of Valve Tool: The Integrated Filmmaker - Explanation: all characters in this video were recorded by one person, one at a time.
Comment by Ricky Grove — November 13, 2007 at 12:40 am
Great, great show, Phil. I’m so happy that you decided to profile Lit Fuse. I’ve seen several of their films and have visited the site, but your overcast presentation here is so informative and, well, real; I feel like I’ve spent an hour hanging out with these misfits! There are so many good things about this show, I don’t know where to begin. First, I think this kind of profile of a company is something you should do more of. Hell, we should do something like this at Machiniplex as well. Second, the blend of off the cuff dialogue and excellent links help make the level of interest in the show very high. While listening to the comments on the 3d motion tracking I paused and went over to watch the footage. All of the links are so great (I might even order the Donut Bar).
I was very pleased to hear the guys talk about some of the tech for their films and also some of their working methods. I registered at their site and noticed some nifty tutorials on demo smoother there (why didn’t I do this months ago?). I agree whole heartedly that their work seems to get better and better. Reading some of the crit at Kotaku, I found I didn’t completely agree with the idea that their writing wasn’t up to par, but I really like how they took the crit and turned it into a goal to work on their writing/stories. This part of machinima is certainly one of the weakest for everyone, in my opinion.
Too bad their Sony gig couldn’t go through. I found the talk of Valve having a big plan for machinima in the pipeline intriquing. I tend to agree. Perhaps this explains their big silence on machinima. The Filmmaker tool accidentally included on TF2 demo certainly points in that direction.
Again, not only was this a very entertaining show, but I think allowing Lit Fuse members to define themselves and share their ideas with the community is a very, very good thing. It’s like having the atmosphere at the machinima festival where you
meet all of these people who’s films you know well. Lit Fuse is going to be one of our best machinima teams. I think their best work is ahead of them.
Comment by Suhnder — November 14, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Another vote for the great show! I’m still a little shellshocked at Lit Fuse’s awesomeness - they just came out of nowhere and tore things up. Glad to have heard their voices and some history behind them. Keep up the awesomeness!
Comment by Zachariah — November 15, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Yeah good times. I’m really surprised at how long that turned out. Thanks for giving us the chance to speak with you and thanks for running such a great show. We’re not really public speakers, so the casual straightforward way we did this was a lot of fun and refreshingly easy. good times. the donut bar hotlink is great.
Comment by Canuck — November 17, 2007 at 12:59 pm
Finally had a chance to listen to the the podcast. Definitely my favorite. A great interview both informative and humorous. Hope to hear more like this one.
Thanks Phil for a great show and thanks to Lit Fuse, I love your movies, keep up the fantastic work.