March 15, 2018 - SFM Team
The Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the movie-making tool built and used by us here at Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. Because the SFM uses the same assets as the game, anything that exists in the game can be used in the movie, and vice versa. Successfully installed Windows 7 on my iMac with Bootcamp. Windows is running off the hardware, no wrappers, parallels, etc. I installed Steam, TF2 and SFM and gave TF2 and SFM a run. Worked PERFECTLY! SFM screams for me now, no choppiness and no issues. Just google Bootcamp and check out the many tutorials out there detailing how to install Windows 7 or 8 on a Mac. The Source Filmmaker (SFM) is a video capture and editing application that works from within the Source engine. Developed by Valve, the tool was originally used to create movies for Day of Defeat: Source and Team Fortress 2. It was also used to create some trailers for Source Engine games. The software was released to the public in 2012.
While we're saddened that the end of the Seventh Annual Saxxy Awards is here, we're thrilled to be handing out the golden Saxxy statuettes for the winners! We're also incredibly excited to be extending an invitation to the overall winners to visit us at Valve headquarters.
Go see which of your favorite entries won!
March 14, 2018 - SFM Team
We're approaching the culmination of another Saxxy Awards filled with some really amazing Source Filmmaker videos! Today we're announcing the nominees for the Seventh Annual Saxxy Awards, and there are entries that had us laughing, crying, and shouting in surprise and excitement. So make some popcorn, grab a drink, and go watch the Seventh Annual Saxxy Award nominees!
Once you've watched the nominees, and rewatched your favorites, remember there are many more entries available that may still end up on your personal favorites list. And don't forget to come back tomorrow and find out which of your favorite nominees were chosen as winners!
We'd like to thank all of the entrants for their hard work and creative vision, and as ever, there are a few specific entries that didn't make the cut, but are exceptional nonetheless:
Honorable Mention
The Box Mann
Inside Surgery
Meet the Janitor
March 9, 2018 - SFM Team
It's our favorite time of year! That time when all the Saxxy Awards entries have been submitted, and we can watch videos all day long instead of working. More importantly, so can you! Upvote the ones you enjoy, downvote the ones you don't, and just as importantly, downvote the ones that have violated the Saxxy Awards contest rules. Specifically: no advertisements, YouTube annotations or cards allowed, any music and other assets must have links to their authors in the description, and entries should abide by the per-category duration limits. You have until 3PM PDT on Tuesday, March 13th to vote, so don't wait!
For those who have submitted entries to the Saxxy Awards, please make sure that your videos are marked public, tagged with the appropriate categories, are free of advertisements, cards or annotations, and that you've attributed the creators of any music or other assets you've used, and received permission for their use.
Nominees will be announced on Wednesday, March 14th, and winners on Thursday, March 15th. Until then - go vote!
March 1, 2018 - SFM Team
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December 5, 2017 - SFM Team
It's time to announce the Saxxy Awards for 2017, and we couldn't be more excited!
We can't wait to see what variety of amazing videos you create! Don't forget that all Valve universes are available for use, and SFM shorts that were submitted to the Dota Short Film Contest are also eligible for this year's Saxxy Awards. The submission deadline is March 8th, 2018, but as always, we'd like to remind you that you can upload non-final versions up to a week in advance of the final deadline, to guard against last-minute computer failures, internet outages, YouTube login problems, etc.
Check out the guidelines for details on the rules and deadlines, and get your entries ready!
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November 18, 2016 - SFM Team
While we're saddened that the end of the 2016 Saxxy Awards is here, we're thrilled to be handing out the golden Saxxy statuettes for the winners! We're still laughing at some of the short and comedy entries - probably more than is really healthy. We're also incredibly excited to be extending an invitation to the overall winners to visit us at Valve headquarters.
One of the unexpected pleasures of the Saxxy Awards for us is that by flying the overall winners to Seattle, we've often been bringing teams together for the first time. Many of the winning teams were spread across multiple countries, and for those teams, getting to meet each other in person on the Valve trip was a fantastic extra bonus.
But enough of our reminiscing - go see which of your favorite entries won!Continued...
November 17, 2016 - SFM Team
We're approaching the culmination of another year filled with some really amazing Source Filmmaker videos! Today we're announcing the nominees for the 2016 Saxxy Awards, and there are entries that had us laughing, crying, and shouting in surprise and excitement. So make some popcorn, grab a drink, and go watch the 2016 Saxxy Award nominees!
Once you've watched the nominees, and rewatched your favorites, remember that there are many more entries available that may still end up on your personal favorites list. And don't forget to come back tomorrow and find which of your favorites were chosen as winners!
Continued...
November 11, 2016 - SFM Team
It's our favorite time of year! That time when all the Saxxy Awards entries have been submitted, and we can watch videos all day long instead of working. More importantly, so can you! Upvote the ones you enjoy, downvote the ones you don't, and just as importantly, downvote the ones that have violated the Saxxy Awards contest rules. Specifically: no advertisements, YouTube annotations or cards allowed, any music and other assets must have links to their authors in the description, and entries should abide by the per-category duration limits. You have until 3PM PST on Wednesday, November 16th to vote, so don't wait!
For those who have submitted entries to the Saxxy Awards, please make sure that your videos are marked public, tagged with the appropriate categories, are free of advertisements, cards or annotations, and that you've attributed the creators of any music or other assets you've used, and received permission for their use.
Nominees will be announced on Thursday, November 17th, and winners on Friday, November 18th. Until then - go vote!
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November 4, 2016 - SFM Team
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August 9, 2016 - SFM Team
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November 18, 2015 - SFM Team
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November 17, 2015 - SFM Team
It's been an action-packed Saxxy Awards this year, full of twists and turns, laughs and surprises! We have shorts from well-known members of the community from whom we've seen great things in the past, and from newcomers who are submitting their very first Saxxy entry. All of the entrants are winners in our book, but there's only so much space on Saxxy Awards web page, so we need to narrow down the entries to the best of the best.
So go watch the nominees for the 2015 Saxxy Awards, and see the best that the community has to offer! We'll announce the winners tomorrow, so while you discuss and debate who you think they'll be, you can also check out the rest of the entrants here.
Continued...
November 11, 2015 - SFM Team
It's time once again, for you, the SFM community, to vote for your favorite entries to the Fifth Annual Saxxy Awards! Voting is open until 3PM PST on Monday, November 16th, so you have until then to watch and vote. Don't forget to down-vote those entries which have violated the rules for the Saxxy Awards: No advertisements allowed, any music and other assets must have links to their authors in the description, and entries should abide by the per-category duration limits.
For those of you who have submitted to the Saxxy Awards, please double-check your videos, and make sure that they have the appropriate category tags, are marked public, have no advertisements, cards or annotations, and that you've attributed the creators of any music or other assets you've used, and received permission for their use.
Nominees will be announced on Tuesday, November 17th, and winners on Wednesday, November 18th. But enough reading - go vote!
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November 4, 2015 - SFM Team
The submission window for The Fifth Annual Saxxy Awards is open! As we mentioned before, the submission process has changed, so upload your videos to YouTube and head over to your videos page on Steam Community and associate your videos with The 5th Annual Saxxy Awards. The final deadline is Wednesday, November 11th, 3:00PM PST, but as always, we strongly encourage you to submit early, to avoid last-minute network or computer problems preventing your submission from being entered into the contest, and to give you a chance to review your submission and make any last-minute changes.
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August 21, 2015 - SFM Team
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Filmmaking is one of the biggest creative industries to date. It’s grown dramatically over the past years and earns billions in revenue. There are millions of people who are employed in the industry and millions more who pursue it as a hobby. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that there are tons of filmmaking software out there, and it can get a little daunting deciding where to start. In this article, we’ll be touching on how to use Source Filmmaker, how to install it and some other tips and tricks.
What is Source Filmmaker?
Source Filmmaker allows users to record and edit motion from real-time game-play. In essence, SFM is a movie-making platform built and utilized by Valve Corporation. Mainly used to create short animated films within the Source Game engine.
It’s clear that computer animations have come a long way since the days of post-hand-drawn animation. The majority of animation starts from scratch. If you’re an independent animator looking for a starting point to build from a pre-existing template to expand on your creative vision, SFM is for you.
At its core, Source Filmmaker is a creative piece of software that lets you record, capture and animate in-game footage. This is the same method in which they make their animation movies. Due to the fact that Source Filmmaker utilizes the same elements as a Source engine game, the components in the game can be used in the movie and vice versa. By utilizing the modern gaming PC, SFM allows creators to work within the pre-existing template. Therefore they can create an entire movie by reusing components and events from the video game world within the platform. As a result, it also presents in context, what it feels from the point of view of the audience.
How Much Does Source FilmMaker Cost?
Valve’s Source Filmmaker is completely free! As long as you have a stable internet connection and a good enough computer, you’re all set. Keep in mind your computer will need to have the necessary specifications to run the software. SFM is available for download on Steam – a cloud-based gaming library that allows users to use any computer to play games. It also allows users to store a large collection of games without using too much memory. In order to access SFM, you’ll need a Steam Account and as mentioned before, a good internet connection. Unfortunately, SFM is currently not supported on Mac.
How to Use Source Filmmaker
You can think of Source Filmmaker as a master storyboard for a storyteller, where you can create a complete movie set on location within the video game space of Team Fortress. This platform is the ultimate virtual movie set consisting of light, camera, props and action. Included is an added and convenient feature of SFM is the ability to share or upload your movies to the web just as you would any normal movie file. The application also gives users access to a “work camera” that allows them to preview creation without affecting the scene cameras. Including this, there are three main user interfaces for creating films.
Another cool aspect of Source Filmmaker is the ability to get into the fundamentals of character rigging and keyframing. You will find numerous tools in the program for making automation as easy as possible. Capturing animation allows you to press the record button followed by running through an in-game draft using the WASD controls. Not the easiest process but this is something you can revisit and graduate to that level in time.
There is another tool that can automatically read WAV files and generate lip-sync animations for your character. Therefore you don’t have to reposition a single virtual cheek muscle. This is not the most accurate feature but this is still good enough and especially for a lower budget or free animation software program. Having experience in 3D animation definitely helps, but if you don’t, this definitely shouldn’t stop you from working your way around the program.
Effects
Source Filmmaker can also support a variety of cinematographic effects and techniques such as Tyndall effects and Motion blur. It also includes Dynamic Lighting and Depth Of Field. For the well-seasoned animators, it allows manual animation of facial features and bones, including allowing creators to design movements. It’s essential to remember that there’s much more to cinematography than just pretty effects. It’s an entire field in itself, and its probably to a good idea to read about it before you jump into the Source editor.
Source FilmMaker Workshop
If you are also looking for a community of artists and to learn more about SFM, there is a Source Filmmaker Workshop. This is a great workshop and space to share your models with other animators and filmmakers. Plus, you can even rate the work of others. You can also find more answers and solutions on creating Source FilmMaker models and sounds among countless other benefits.
Soundtracks & Adding Music to Your Project
Assuming you’ve created a cinematic masterpiece you’ll eventually need to add some sound or music to your project. If there’s a specific track or song you’d like to include, you need to ensure you go about it the correct way.
It’s important to understand that there are various ways to license music and it can be a tricky field to navigate if you’re inexperienced. We have some of the best people in the industry available to assist you with this, along with a huge variety of different tracks for you to pick from.
When working on soundtracks or just sound in general, it’s important to ensure you have the appropriate gear. A solid pair of headphones will make a huge difference to your project.
Extra Tips and Resources
They’re tons of resources available to help you in case you get stuck. Once you’ve finished reading this article, here are some other resources you can tap into:
If you’re after a detailed Source Filmmaker tutorial, you can check out some awesome in-depth ones on Valves’ video playlist.
There’s another great playlist by a YouTuber called Jimer Lins and you can check out his tips of the day The main component and one of the most asked questions in respect to animation in Steam Source Filmmaker and other animation communities is how and where to find models.
Source Filmmaker is relatively easy to navigate. If you find yourself struggling, a few video tutorials should definitely help further your understanding.
If you’re looking for a bit of information and don’t feel like watching a long meandering video, Valve’s got a pretty good wiki.
With filmmaking being such a lucrative career and popular hobby, it’s no surprise that there are boat-loads of information available to you to help you along on your filmmaking journey! Sometimes it can be hard to choose from such a large selection of resources, so we recommend taking the time to research before you buy your materials to ensure you’re getting the best materials available.
Source Filmmaker: Final Thoughts
After further exploration into SFM, it’s a fun application to use. The tools are quite powerful and easy to navigate. It also has a beautiful look to it. Its function meets form. There could be an issue. for serious creative types when it comes to creating within applications such as Maya or Blender because unlike Source Filmmaker, these other applications don’t need third-party hosting. But besides that one issue, SFM is an awesome piece of software that boasts loads of cool tools and it’s free! Therefore if you are an aspiring filmmaker or animator, Valve’s Source Filmmaker is the way to go. Just don’t forget to download via a free Steam account.
We all need to start somewhere and it seems like Source Filmmaker is the best path to take for those initial first steps. You can let your creativity run wild without committing to a subscription or payment.
It’s important to remember that all the great directors started somewhere. Perhaps before you begin playing around on SFM It’s worth having a read about what truly makes a great filmmaker. Who knows, this could be where your career in cinematography begins!
If you are interested in the crossover between music and film, check out our blog for more music licensing and filmmaking topics. With our concierge service, extensive music library and bespoke compositions, allow us to help you find music for your film.
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