Description:

I created Pokerbot for a brief assigned during my VFX Bachelors Degree. The brief was to make
an animated documentary based on an interview about anything we chose. I interviewed my dad; he’s been in data science for more than 20 years and is an excellent storyteller, so I knew he’d have a lot of fun stories that would make for a fun project to turn into animation. He’s also my biggest fan, so he was really keen to be part of my work.
He told me this story about when he was first getting into machine learning and made what he called a “poker-bot” to show off to the machine learning group at his workplace.
Poker AI is quite popular amongst programmers when it comes to showing off how good you are at coding, as poker is a really complex game that relies on things a computer can’t rely on, like body language, reading the room, and having a face. If you can use machine learning successfully to teach a computer how to figure out if someone is bluffing, that means you’re a good programmer. My dad’s poker-bot totally swept the competition and he completely captured the guest attendee’s attention for the entire time he was there, at the cost of not being allowed to return due to making everyone else look bad.
With this story in mind, the essence of my animated documentary was going to be the answer to the question: what if the poker-bot DID have a face?
Pokerbot tells the story of an unassuming poker-playing robot competing for the attention
of the guest spectator robot sitting in a dark corner, quietly observing the game. Through sheer poker tenacity, Pokerbot annihilates the competition and effortlessly captures the attention of the spectator, much to the jealous anger of the competing bots at the table.
Pokerbot is never allowed back at the machine learning group, but his superior poker skills will never be forgotten. Produced entirely in 3D, it encapsulates the atmosphere of the card room as we hear a story about how even though some people aren’t allowed at the table of experts, their skills will always speak for themselves, no matter what their status might be.
Pokerbot as both a short film and an experience means a lot to me, and it is a feeling like no other to have so many other people recognise it as being high quality. My dad has easily watched it over and over a hundred times, and is very proud of me for making something like it. It is the first film I’ve made that truly represents what I am capable of,
and at the time of writing this, is the pinnacle of my craft and passion for creative production. If other people can watch it and love it as much as I do, that’s all I can ask for.