- »If You Tell Me When Your Birthday Is (Machinima Version)«,
- created by Stefan Panhans & Andrea Winkler
2020 CGI 4K video, colour/sound, 12:18 mins
Synopsis:
Stefan Panhans and Andrea Winkler’s »If You Tell Me When Your Birthday Is« (Machinima version) merges 3D scanning, CGI, avatars, and motion capture with dialogue reflecting AI-driven communication, all set in a vibrantly constructed virtual world. This absurdist mini-drama, divided into three segments, employs real-time graphics to navigate through surreal landscapes - from a BMX course cluttered with office chairs to an otherworldly forest filled with giant pills. The narrative follows two characters wandering fantastical settings, their dialogue laden with misinterpretations and emotional depth, driven by digital patterns and AI mimesis. These avatars, combining 3D models with the actors’ facial scans, move through a series of visually striking, absurd environments that blur the lines between the digital and the physical. Produced during a fellowship at the Academy of Theatre and Digitality in Dortmund, the film critically examines the intricacies of communication with artificial intelligences that saturate modern life. It intentionally highlights the digital-analog conflict and the charming flaws of integrating these realms, rejecting seamless integration for a portrayal filled with comedic and eerie inaccuracies. Through this, »If You Tell Me When Your Birthday Is« (Machinima version) not only entertains but also probes the complexities of our increasingly digital existence. (Matteo Bittanti)
Credits:
Written and directed by: Stefan Panhans & Andrea Winkler
Voices: Lisa Marie Janke, Uwe Schmieder
Avatar Heads: Lisa Marie Janke, Uwe Schmieder
3D-Scan Operator: Andrea Winkler, Friederike Wörner
Programming / Avataring: Nils Corte
Unity Operator - World Building, Visual Design, Animation: Max Schweder
Sounddesign: Nils Corte, Stefan Panhans, Andrea Winkler -
Kindly supported by the Academy for Theatre & Digitality, Dortmund
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Viewing Link and more information:
https://vimeo.com/432425569/6cc020cd38?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
