🎬 Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound – Footsteps
In episode 5 of our Maker Series, Ricky Grove explores the often-overlooked power of footstep sound design — and how something as simple as a single step can define mood, build tension, and reveal character.
👣 What You’ll Learn:
How footstep sounds convey location, emotion, and suspense in film.
Why footsteps in the Spanish horror series 30 Coins masterfully foreshadow violence.
The challenges of using video game sound libraries for cinematic sound design.
Practical tips on recording and manipulating ambient sounds for realism.
How to find free, high-quality sounds using Creative Commons resources like freesound.org
🎧 Ricky breaks down how to use sound not just as background, but as storytelling — helping filmmakers, sound designers, and creators elevate their craft through the language of footsteps.
#SoundDesign #Filmmaking #MakerSeries #RickyGrove #FilmSound #FoleyArt #AudioDesign #HorrorFilm #CinematicSound #CreativeCommons #FreeSound #30Coins #Suspense #IndieFilm #FilmTips #machinima
About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production.
After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER. In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi.
His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.
The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.
Credits -
Speaker / Producer / Sound Editor: Ricky Grove
Visuals & Music: Phil Rice
🎃 Halloween Special | Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sounds: MONSTERS! 👹
This Halloween, step into the dark side of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sounds — where we explore the terrifying art of monster sound design! 🧟♂️
What do monsters really sound like? From the primal screeches that haunted early humans to the eerie, unearthly noises that send chills down modern audiences’ spines — this episode reveals how sound designers craft the perfect scare.
Discover:
🔊 Why you should hear the monster before you see it
🦴 How altered animal and environmental sounds create fear
🧬 The science of sound that taps into our instinctive fight-or-flight response
🎥 Classic monster sound examples from “Them!”, Godzilla, Predator, The Exorcist, and more
Whether you’re a filmmaker, sound designer, or just a Halloween horror fan, this episode will make you listen to fear in a whole new way.
💀 Subscribe, turn up the volume, and enter the world where sound becomes terror.
Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using ambient sound to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.
About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.
In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.
The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.
🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.
Credits
#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #MonsterSounds #HorrorMovies #IndieFilm #VoiceActing
🕯️ Maker Series: Phil’s Music Notes – [Horror] Intervals 👻
🎃 A pre-Halloween special exploring the dark side of sound.
At its core, music is a game of intervals — the spaces between notes that define every melody, every emotion. Even without musical training, we instinctively recognize the cheerful sound of a major chord or the melancholy of a minor. But some intervals go far beyond sad or happy… some are unnerving, unsettling, even evil.
In this pre-Halloween edition of Phil’s Music Notes, we dive into the tritone, the infamous “Devil’s Interval.” Once banned by tradition and feared for its dissonance, this interval has haunted music for centuries — from John Williams’ shark-infested tension in Jaws, to John Carpenter’s chilling Halloween theme, to the thunder of Holst’s Mars, the chaos of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, and the heavy riffs of Black Sabbath and Metallica. 🎸
But there’s more to this sinister sound — it’s also at the heart of jazz harmony. Those lush, complex 7th chords you hear? They’re built on the same mysterious tritone. The very interval once deemed forbidden became the key to modern expression. In this episode, we’ll explore how this interval transformed from symbol of darkness to a cornerstone of musical color — and how you can use it to bring new life (or afterlife 👀) to your own compositions. For a full list of playlist Phil refers to, go to our Show Notes here: https://completelymachinima.com/maker-series-e2-phils-music-notes-horror-intervals/
🎧 About Phil Rice aka @zsOverman
Phil Rice is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, and storyteller whose creative work bridges the worlds of music, technology, and narrative art. With a background spanning rock, jazz, and digital media, Phil brings a uniquely analytical yet deeply emotional perspective to music theory and composition. His Maker Series: Phil’s Music Notes explores the building blocks of sound and how they shape the way we feel, think, and create — from timeless harmonic traditions to modern experimental sounds. Phil’s original music has appeared in independent films, multimedia projects, and his own albums, including Mad Hominem, where his song “Walking Papers” features a deliberate use of the tritone explored in this episode.
Through his work, Phil continues to celebrate the craftsmanship and curiosity at the heart of making music.
🧠 Listen. Learn. Create. Subscribe for more reviews, tips and hints 🔔 Don’t miss the next deep dive into the world where sound meets story.
For a full list of works referenced in this episode, go to our show notes web page.
Credits -
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice
#Makerseries #PhilsMusicNotes #HalloweenSpecial #MusicTheory #Tritone #DevilsInterval #HorrorMusic #JazzHarmony #FilmScore #Composing #MusicEducation #PhilRice
How do you make virtual worlds sound real? 🎧
In this episode of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound, Ricky Grove reveals the secrets of sound frequency—the subtle audio magic that transforms machinima and 3D game-engine films into unforgettable experiences. Perfect for filmmakers, animators, and sound lovers alike.
🎬 Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound – Ambient Sound in Machinima
Discover how sound transforms storytelling in filmmaking, with a deep dive into frequency—the subtle audio that sets mood, builds atmosphere, and immerses your audience. This episode focuses on machinima—films created using 3D game engines and virtual worlds—making it a must-watch for filmmakers, sound designers, game creators, and animation enthusiasts.
Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using sound frequency to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.
About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.
In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.
The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.
🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.
Credits
#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #AmbientSound #VirtualWorlds #IndieFilm #VoiceActing
How do you make virtual worlds sound real? 🎧
In this episode of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound, Ricky Grove reveals the secrets of ambient sound—the subtle audio magic that transforms machinima and 3D game-engine films into unforgettable experiences. Perfect for filmmakers, animators, and sound lovers alike.
🎬 Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound – Episode: Ambient Sound in Machinima
Discover how sound transforms storytelling in filmmaking, with a deep dive into ambient sound—the subtle audio that sets mood, builds atmosphere, and immerses your audience. This episode focuses on machinima—films created using 3D game engines and virtual worlds—making it a must-watch for filmmakers, sound designers, game creators, and animation enthusiasts.
Ricky Grove shares his expert insights on using ambient sound to bring machinima to life, offering practical tips and creative ideas you can apply to your own projects. Whether you’re crafting your first indie animation or refining your cinematic game scenes, you’ll be inspired and better equipped to design unforgettable soundscapes.
About Ricky Grove
Ricky Grove is an award-winning actor, director, voice artist, and sound designer with decades of experience in stage, film, and virtual production. After earning his BFA in Directing from Arizona State University and a Master’s in Acting from the Yale School of Drama, Ricky built a rich career in theatre and television, appearing in works such as Army of Darkness and ER.
In the late 1990s, he became a pioneer in the machinima community, collaborating with trailblazers like Hugh Hancock, Phil Rice, and Jason Choi. His contributions as a voice director, actor, and sound designer have shaped many award-winning early machinima films. He’s hosted festivals, championed the art form, and continues to share his passion as co-host of the Completely Machinima Podcast.
The first episodes of Ricky’s Wonderful World of Sound were originally created for the early-2000s machinima podcast The Overcast. This updated series expands his original teachings, offering timeless advice for creating powerful sound in machinima.
🎧 Tip: For the best experience, close your eyes and immerse yourself in Ricky’s words.
Credits
#Machinima #SoundDesign #Filmmaking #3DAnimation #GameEngines #AmbientSound #VirtualWorlds #IndieFilm #VoiceActing
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
In this first part of our 200th episode of Completely Machinima Podcast, Ricky highlights @NeuralViz AI-driven films as a significant advancement, while Phil praised the fast-paced, subtle social commentary. We discuss legal developments affecting AI use, such as Warner Brothers suing Midjourney. The success of Blender's "Flow" at the Oscars is noted, emphasizing the growing capabilities of open-source tools. The conversation also touches on the breadth of aesthetic approaches to machinima projects, the rise of big-budget projects like "Predator: Killer of Killers," and the evolving role of generative AI in storytelling. Tune into next week's part B to hear about our predictions for next year!
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Ricky Grove, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer: Tracy Harwood
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and 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
This week's film selectiion is a technical masterpiece, made in RDR2. It is both an homage to the game and the film. John Wick's Red Dead Redemption is made by eli_handle_b.wav, and is worth every second of your time watching it!
1:49 Introduction to film, editing quality, compositing and matching RDR2 to John Wick – technically outstanding!
4:11 How?!!! Skill level is well above average
7:00 This is not just cut scenes
9:13 A tribute to both the game and the film
9:47 There are no scripted behaviour mods for RDR2 – the camera in the game all has to be positioned through play for this kind of machinima to be achieved – an editor is a missed opportunity for the game
13:00 Discussing the tools used
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Damien Valentine, Phil Rice
Producer: Ricky Grove
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 is not genSLOP... or is it?! This week's discussion focusses on a recent genAI meme, vlogging from the Fall of the Empire as a Stormtrooper tourist. The series we take a look at is by Galactic Archives, which has garnered a phenomenal number of views in just a couple of weeks. Its quite different to The Glurons we discussed a couple of months back by NeuralViz, which remains a standout for us. There are some excellent learning points from the way this short / series has been created as a narrative arc though, despite the creative process and generative tools leaving something a little unsavoury in the reactor core.
1:35 Intro to film and the meme
4:15 Reminiscent of the Space 1999 aesthetic
10:24 Slop or Slap? Beyond speed, what’s the real benefit of using genAI tools for this kind of narrative approach?
21:55 Tools, tricks, NeuralViz and thoughts
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI
We love AFK! This week's ep covers another of AFK's ambitious world building attempts to round out the Star Wars universe... and of course it works. What do you imagine the worst jobs to be for the most hapless Stormtroopers? These totally make sense to us! Check out our comments, our overview of AFK's background and other projects, and what we really think of this short.
1:39 Intro to film
3:14 Humor and world building
6:12 The most clever way to integrate sponsorship?
10:26 Memories of advertising…. Err maybe
12:47 Background to the series and Peter Haynes as a creator
18:23 What are the most useless jobs you can think of? In jokes and fun references
21:41 Tech tests and pee takes
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI
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 film
11:11 Background to film, early zombie stories
17:57 Emotional responses to the film, the role of music
20:00 What’s happened to Werlias?
22:03 Alternative perspectives on the narrative
25:25 How would Machinima [Inc] have reacted to this? Tragic tales
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI
This week, we cover a lot of things this month, as usual, but start with a tribute to a machinima pioneer who has sadly crossed the bridge into an unknown world - Tutsy NAvArAthnA. We then go through some more fascinating projects that we want to share, more about genAI and machinima, a bunch of new tools and techniques, some wise words from some great artists, latest games and relevant updates. All links on our show notes link below.
1:39 Tribute to Tutsy
3:45 Projects
5:50 Conversations
7:40 genAI, Anthropic case discussion, implications for creative practice from the machinima perspective, killing YouTube
26:44 Tools and techniques
27:75 Martin Bells’ new tutorial series for Unreal Engine
28:00 Jaws and the power of silence!
31:00 Games updates: Dune discussion
45:49 Another definition for machinima: Fortnite
47:22 Character Creator 5 and iClone 9?
52:26 Cyberpunk 2077 updates
58:10 Getting the call up to produce a show for a big studio… but changing you mind!
1:02:23 More genAI news – Hollywood vs MidJourney
1:03:10 Fender 8 Track software release
1:04:47 mod NaturalVision for GTA5 discussion
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & 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 community
9:40 Background to Happy Wheels, creators, producers and game
21:07 ‘Well, I wasn’t asking you whether you like them or not….’ music vs death and cruelty
23:53 ‘Make Money for Machinima [Inc]’
36:50 Beyond a joke
44:36 Minecrafty: a provocation!
Credits -
Speakers: Ricky Grove, Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI
To think this film's creator knew nothing about animation prior to making this short is absolutely astonishing. Of course, as we discuss, many crossed this path as a consequence of the pandemic, but there are few gems we've found like this. The film, Rally, draws heavily on Santiago Menghini's experience as a live action director and producer. What's fascinating, in our analysis, is our evaluation of ambiguity and how its clever use makes up for the animation and limitations. Watch the movie, check out our comments and add your own.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice and SunoAI
"Courage is not the absence of fear, it is acting in spite of it." Yep, never a truer few words than said in jest. This week, we discuss a cutscene extravanza of Arthur's life story in the game, apparently endorsed by Roger Clark himself. Its a story told in three acts, supported by some great musical choices, even if we don't completely agree on that. What we do agree on is that Charles Liu has done a superb job of selecting just the right shots to portray the character. Check out our review, watch the film and do add your own thoughts.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Tracy Harwood, Damien Valentine
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & 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 Harwood
Producer: Ricky Grove
Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI
Projects, mods, demos, Mickey Mouse, not machinima and genAIs... all in the mix this week. We also talk about new tools, game news and Predator: Killer of Killers, the first full length BIG budget machinima. Check out the discussion, links on our show notes, and add comments as usual.
Credits -
Speakers: Phil Rice, Damien Valentine, Tracy Harwood
Producer/Editor: Phil Rice
Music: Phil Rice & SunoAI