The Adventures of Bill & John
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Bill & John is a series of machinima
videos produced using the Lock On: Modern Air Combat
fighter simulation game.
The series has earned a number of awards and nominations, most notably Episode 2 The Danger Attacks at Dawn which won four awards at the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences
' 2006 Machinima Festival, including the award for Best Picture.
The episodes are short comedic
films featuring two United States Air Force
pilots called Bill and John. Despite the fact that Bill and John appear to fly in the U.S. Air Force, almost all dialog in the films is in French
.
The videos parody
a number of popular motion pictures, in particular Top Gun
and various Stanley Kubrick
films such as Dr. Strangelove, The Shining
, and 2001: A Space Odyssey
.
There are also a few similarities to the French language comic book series Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure by Jean-Michel Charlier
. For example, Episode 1 bears an almost identical title to the Tanguy et Laverdure adventure Danger dans le Ciel published in 1963.
This episode was originally created for a video contest hosted by the Check-Six Web site, a contest which Danger in the Sky won. In addition it received 4 Nominations at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival.
Danger in the Sky introduces Bill and John who pilot F-15 Eagle
aircraft. In a sequence reminiscent of the film Dr. Strangelove they perform an aerial refueling
from a KC-10 Extender
piloted by their colleague Major Tom.
At the end of the episode, John reveals that he is from the town of Plougastel
in Brittany
.
This episode is a teaser trailer
for Episode 2, however it features neither Bill nor John. Instead the episode focuses on Major Tom, and is used for character and plot development.
The Danger Attacks at Dawn won awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Independent Machinima and received five other nominations at the 2006 Machinima Film Festival.
The episode starts with Bill and John about to embark on their first training flights after they were grounded due to Bill's antics in episode 1. They must now fly A-10 Thunderbolt II
aircraft, a fact which John finds extremely disagreeable.
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
videos produced using the Lock On: Modern Air Combat
Lock On: Modern Air Combat
Lock On: Modern Air Combat or LOMAC, known in Russia as Lock On, is a modern combat flight simulation developed by Eagle Dynamics and published by Ubisoft in Europe and 1C Company in Russia; it is considered as a survey simulator by its creators. It contains 8 flyable aircraft and over 40...
fighter simulation game.
The series has earned a number of awards and nominations, most notably Episode 2 The Danger Attacks at Dawn which won four awards at the Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences
Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences
This is a list of film festivals dedicated to machinima, the use of real-time 3-D engines in filmmaking. The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences regularly holds such festivals, and recognizes exemplary machinima works through awards nicknamed the Mackies.-Machinima Expo:The is an annual...
' 2006 Machinima Festival, including the award for Best Picture.
The episodes are short comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
films featuring two United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
pilots called Bill and John. Despite the fact that Bill and John appear to fly in the U.S. Air Force, almost all dialog in the films is in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
The videos parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
a number of popular motion pictures, in particular Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
and various Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
films such as Dr. Strangelove, The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
, and 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
.
There are also a few similarities to the French language comic book series Les Aventures de Tanguy et Laverdure by Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.-Biography:...
. For example, Episode 1 bears an almost identical title to the Tanguy et Laverdure adventure Danger dans le Ciel published in 1963.
Episode 1: Danger in the Sky
- Original title: Danger dedans le Ciel
- Running time: 4' 57"
This episode was originally created for a video contest hosted by the Check-Six Web site, a contest which Danger in the Sky won. In addition it received 4 Nominations at the 2005 Machinima Film Festival.
Danger in the Sky introduces Bill and John who pilot F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
aircraft. In a sequence reminiscent of the film Dr. Strangelove they perform an aerial refueling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
from a KC-10 Extender
KC-10 Extender
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the military adaptation of the three-engined DC-10 airliner for the United States Air Force . The KC-10 incorporates military-specific equipment for its primary roles of transport and aerial refueling. It was developed to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker...
piloted by their colleague Major Tom.
At the end of the episode, John reveals that he is from the town of Plougastel
Plougastel-Daoulas
Plougastel-Daoulas is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plougastel-Daoulas are called in French Plougastels.-Breton language:...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Episode 1: Teaser Episode 2
- Running time: 1' 30"
This episode is a teaser trailer
Teaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
for Episode 2, however it features neither Bill nor John. Instead the episode focuses on Major Tom, and is used for character and plot development.
Episode 2: The Danger Attacks at Dawn
- Running time: 12' 25"
The Danger Attacks at Dawn won awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Independent Machinima and received five other nominations at the 2006 Machinima Film Festival.
The episode starts with Bill and John about to embark on their first training flights after they were grounded due to Bill's antics in episode 1. They must now fly A-10 Thunderbolt II
A-10 Thunderbolt II
The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
aircraft, a fact which John finds extremely disagreeable.