Newsletter #5 - Machine Games, The Brutalist & Merch
Welcome back to the monthly Machine Studio newsletter. It’s Sam Boneham tapping away at the board here. Let’s get stuck into what’s been happening in the blessed month of January.
Machine Games and Merch
Stick with Machine
We got out into the city this month to have a little break from the desk zone. There’ll be some content dropping soon to show you what we got up to. Let's just say that Machine Studio was set loose in an arcade and chaos ensued. Nothing better than unplugging for an hour to restart, refresh and rip into some air hockey.
Hugh designed and ordered stickers for the studio this month, come through whenever you like to pick yours up! I’m excited to start slapping them on all sorts of spots around Surry Hills. More Machine merch is on the way too, so keep your eyes peeled.
It’s been just over six months since we launched Machine Studio. As a full-service production company, we have created a diverse range of content for businesses, agencies and publishers. It has been such a pleasure getting stuck into working with new clients as well as the established relationships that we have built. All of this can’t be done without our awesome internal team of creators supported by our external creatives who contribute to delivering the ideas that our clients brief us on. We’ll be releasing a highlight reel on instagram next week that features some of the best moments from our first six months so you can take a look at what we’ve been up to!
Poster by David Lance Goines
Company Profile: Rivendell Bikes
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Rivendell Bikes based out of Walnut Creek, CA (near San Francisco) but they are easily one of my favourite companies. Founded by Grant Peterson in 1994 one of his mottos is to ‘buy comfortable bikes for the long term and ride slow’. I’m yet to buy a bike from Rivendell because I’m still riding a second-hand Apollo road bike I bought in 2012. The bike could do with a tune-up and a couple of part replacements but other than that it gets the job done. When it is finally time to upgrade you’ll be certain to find me riding down Devonshire Street on a Rivendell bike.
“Our mission is to make things that wouldn't be made if we weren't here, to offer an alternative to racing-centric bikes and parts, and to espouse a different approach to riding.” - Grant Peterson.
Here’s a video collaboration between saddle makers Brooks England and Rivendell from last year. I recently used this video as a reference for a potential upcoming project. They are a company that I love to stay up to date with. Not only do they make incredible products but Grant is also a thought leader across a raft of various topics. He even suggested my current glasses frames the Pentax F9800’s in a newsletter - perfect for people who treat their glasses with reckless abandon (me). Thanks Grant!
The Brutalist and AI
Adrien Brody & Alessandro Nivola in The Brutalist. Pic courtesy Lol Crawley, © Universal
I was lucky enough to see a 70mm screening of Brady Corbet’s soon-to-be Oscar-nominated ‘The Brutalist’ at the Ritz Cinema in Randwick earlier this month. Not only was the screening sold out but the audience also had the rare experience of an intermission, due to the length of the film spanning three and a half hours. I loved the movie and won’t write a review but will make a few comments on a current AI controversy that has reared up - Corbet is facing scrutiny over his use of AI speech enhancement in post-production. The main characters, played by Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones, are Hungarians living in the United States post-WWII. The film editor Dávid Jancsó was quoted in this article explaining that scenes in which Brody and Jones speak Hungarian were enhanced using a tool called Respeecher.
Writer-Director Brady Corbet on set. Pic: Marius Captare
My two cents: as video producers, we use AI to enhance our creativity and elevate our visual communication, where necessary. AI now allows us to solve creative problems that we simply couldn’t solve previously. It’s up to creatives and technicians to determine how much we allow this new technology to impact the work. Whether or not transparency around AI use needs to be explored is a topic up for exploration and debate in this new era. In the case of The Brutalist, the movie was made for $10 million. An incredible feat for such an ambitious project. It’s important to look at this supposed ‘controversy’ through the lens of the budget. The intentions of all the artists and technicians involved in creating this masterpiece is another example of how the use of AI can elevate a project when used with good grace and with the permission of the creators involved. If you are keen to see The Brutalist do yourself a favour and head out to the cinema. You won’t be disappointed and the intermission gives you the chance to stretch those legs.
You’ve still got time
Imagine you graduated high school today with all your current knowledge—what would be your first move tomorrow?
I had a meeting with a recent high school graduate. He is about to start the undergrad course at AFTRS and has the whole world in front of him. The conversation got me thinking about the mindset around how much time you have available to learn new things. Upon reflection, there’s no reason why we can’t apply the beginner's or ‘fresh start’ mindset to a new skill (Insert list of unfulfilled NY resolutions). So, what would you do if you put yourself in the mind frame of a recent high school graduate? I’m not sure what to do with this thought yet, but it’s refreshing to talk with people who are just starting out in order to remind me that there is always room to learn and grow.
See ya!
Sam Boneham