Chain-Link: 90-Minute Cyberpunk Film Shot Inside Grand Theft Auto 5
Steven Cottingham's Chain-Link is a 90-minute cyberpunk machinima filmed entirely within Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 5. Set in a near-future of total surveillance, two inmates attempt to escape an AI-run prison. The film is not live-action, traditional animation, or stop-motion, but a machinima—a movie made using video games or game development tools. Machinima is a diverse scene ranging from reinterpretations of game narratives to video art and video essays; Chain-Link belongs to the latter category, using the game as a springboard for its own story. Grand Theft Auto 5, one of the best-selling games ever with 170 million copies sold, is popular for machinima due to its flexibility and modding community. Chain-Link is streaming worldwide on VRAL, the online supplement to the Milan Machinima Festival, until December 1, 2022.
Key facts
- Chain-Link is a 90-minute cyberpunk film by Steven Cottingham.
- The film is set in a near-future of total surveillance where two inmates try to escape an AI-run prison.
- It is a machinima, filmed entirely inside Grand Theft Auto 5 by Rockstar Games.
- Grand Theft Auto 5 has sold 170 million copies.
- The film is available for streaming on VRAL until December 1, 2022.
- VRAL is an online supplement to the Milan Machinima Festival.
- Machinima can include reinterpretations of game narratives, video art, video essays, or original narratives.
- Chain-Link uses the game as a starting point to build its own narrative.
Entities
Artists
- Steven Cottingham
Institutions
- Rockstar Games
- VRAL
- Milan Machinima Festival
Locations
- Milan
- Italy