Murder Drones Explained

Genre:
  • Post-apocalyptic
  • Horror comedy[1]
  • Romance
  • Drama
Creator:Liam Vickers
Showrunner:Liam Vickers
Director:Liam Vickers
Composer:AJ DiSpirito
Country:Australia
Language:English
Num Episodes:8
Executive Producer:Kevin Lerdwichagul
Luke Lerdwichagul
Producer:Kevin Lerdwichagul
Editor:
  • Luke Lerdwichagul
  • Abhignya Cavale
Runtime:17–26 minutes
Company:Glitch Productions
Budget:Upwards of $300,000
Network:YouTube

Murder Drones is an Australian independent-animated web series created, written, and directed by Liam Vickers and produced by Glitch Productions.[2]

The pilot episode premiered on the YouTube channel GLITCH on October 29, 2021. It was picked up for a full 8-episode season, beginning on November 18, 2022. The series has been praised by viewers for its animation, voice acting, music, action scenes, writing, characters, worldbuilding, and its blend of horror and comedy elements. Additionally, the series was nominated for a Webby Award in the category of Best Animated Video. The series ended on August 23, 2024, with the release of the eighth episode.[3]

Synopsis

The series occurs in 3071 on Copper 9, an Earth analog owned by the megacorporation JC Jenson. Worker Drones, autonomous robots designed to serve humans, inhabit the planet and mine it for natural resources.[4] Eventually, the planet suffers a catastrophic core collapse brought on by the corporation's employees, wiping out all biological life on the planet, including humans.[5] As a result, the planet becomes a frozen wasteland, and only the Worker Drones remain. One day, three violent killing machines known as Disassembly Drones—nicknamed "Murder Drones"—invade Copper 9 to exterminate the remaining Worker Drones. The Worker Drones live in constant fear of the Murder Drones and hide behind a series of blast doors, in an attempt to protect themselves.[6]

The protagonist of the series is Uzi Doorman, an angsty teenage Worker Drone who plans to defeat the murderous drones and save her kind. In the process, she forms an unlikely partnership with two of the Murder Drones—N, a male drone with a friendly and curious disposition toward Worker Drones; and V, a sadist who is purposely elusive about her history with N—and works with them to uncover the truth about their origins and purpose in the planet's harsh environment.[7]

Cast

Production

Liam Vickers had previously achieved online attention for his 2D animated series CliffSide and Internecion Cube, both currently unfinished.[9] He first pitched Murder Drones to Glitch Productions with some early concept art and story, before becoming the series' writer and director.[10]

Murder Drones is animated on Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine.[11] Including the pilot, the series lasted 8 episodes. It pushes into darker territory while making it more photorealistic than previous shows on Glitch. This series (alongside Meta Runner) also marks to many fans a departure from the Machinima style often associated with Glitch, as its co-founder Luke Lerdwichagul is well-known for his Super Mario parodies on the channel SMG4.

On August 6, 2021, Liam released the full version of "Disassembly Required", the song that plays in the teaser.[12] The video description reveals the character seen in the teaser to be "V", one of the titular Murder Drones. By the time the series was announced, it had been worked on for one year until February 18, 2022, when Glitch Productions announced that the full series was in development now at the studio and would be released later in 2022.[13] [14] The show ended with the eighth and final episode released on August 23, 2024.[15]

Episodes

Every episode is directed by Liam Vickers.

Reception

Lauren Rouse of Gizmodo Australia praised the character designs and visuals. In 2023 and 2024, the series earned a nomination for a Webby Award in the category of Best Animated Video and won it in the same category in the 2024 edition.[16]

Awards and nominations

|-! rowspan="2" scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2023| Webby Award| Animation (Series & Channels) Video| Murder Drones| | [17] |-| One Voice Awards UK 2023| Animation - Best Character Performance - Female| Elsie Lovelock - "Uzi - Murder Drones"| rowspan="2" | [18] |-! scope="row" style="text-align:center;" | 2024| Webby Award| Animation (Series & Channels) Video| Murder Drones | [19] |}

See also

References

Primary sources

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rouse . Lauren . 25 October 2021 . This Aussie Animation Studio Has Made a New Horror Comedy About Murder Drones . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230228003248/https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2021/10/murder-drones-animated-series-glitch/ . 28 February 2023 . 27 February 2023 . . en-AU.
  2. Web site: The trippiest gamer on YouTube reveals the one line he'll never cross . Steven . Asarch . 27 February 2023 . . 26 January 2022 . en-US . February 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204161231/https://www.inverse.com/gaming/smg4-luke-lerdwichagul-interview . live .
  3. MURDER DRONES - Episode 8: Absolute End . 2024-08-23 . GLITCH . 2024-08-24 . YouTube.
  4. Web site: Tilley . Ava . 15 September 2023 . Murder Drones was an indie series that was worth the watch . 15 September 2023 . The Central Trend . en.
  5. MURDER DRONES - Episode 4: Cabin Fever . 2024-03-31 . . en.
  6. Web site: Schmidt . Ben . 4 November 2021 . Review: Murder Drones "Pilot" . 7 August 2023 . Bubbleblabber . en-US.
  7. Web site: 16 June 2023 . Murder Drones: How This Post-Apocalyptic Series Revolutionized YouTube . Cento . Salvatore . 7 August 2023 . . en-US.
  8. Web site: 16 June 2023 . Murder Drones: How This Post-Apocalyptic Series Revolutionized YouTube . Cento . Salvatore . 7 August 2023 . . en-US.
  9. Web site: Liam Vickers Animation - YouTube . 2023-10-18 . YouTube.
  10. 1517656901957591040. glitch_prod. During the show's inception When @LiamVAnimation first pitched Murder Drones to us this was the oriiiiginal concept art for Murder and Worker Drones. The idea was to give the worker drones no mouths for quicker animation but that was changed for style. 2023-10-18.
  11. 30 November 2021. Murder Drones. Glitch Productions. (YouTube playlist. See episodes 1-8 credits.)
  12. Web site: Vickers . Liam . August 6, 2021 . Murder Drones - OST - Disassembly Required . 8 January 2024 . YouTube.
  13. Web site: Murder Drones . 2023-02-27 . Glitch Productions . en . 2023-02-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230228003245/https://www.glitchprod.com/murder-drones . live .
  14. Web site: Glitch Productions Reveals Murder Drones Complete With New Teaser. John. Schwarz. Bubbleblabber. 9 October 2021. 11 September 2023. en-US.
  15. MURDER DRONES - Episode 8: Absolute End . 2024-08-23 . GLITCH . 2024-08-24 . YouTube.
  16. Web site: 2023 Webby Awards Video Winners . 2023-09-08 . The Webby Awards . en.
  17. Web site: 2023 Webby Awards Video Winners. 2023-09-08. The Webby Awards. en.
  18. Web site: The One Voice Awards 2023 UK Winners Are. 2024-05-01. One Voice Conference. en.
  19. Web site: 2024 Webby Awards Video Winners. 2023-09-08 . The Webby Awards . en.

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