Don't worry, we're still plugging away at the Workshop. But we also think it's really exciting to experiment with putting up large content packs as DLC.

Incidentally, Day of Defeat was also the first game to get a trailer made in the SFM:

"Prelude to Victory" has a special place in our hearts because it was made with an early prototype of the SFM that only had game recording, clip editing and camera manipulation. There was no animation system, no posing, no set dressing, and no lighting. Everything you see in that video is us recording ourselves running around in the game, then later adding motion blur, depth of field and some film grain and color correction. Having a constrained set of tools with which to make a trailer meant we had to get creative with our process. It also taught us a lot about the process of telling stories using game assets.

We wanted to create the feel of squads of soldiers running, fighting and ambushing each other, and our first attempts to recreate this for the trailer involved simply getting a dozen folks connected to a server and recording them running, fighting and ambushing each other. Easier said than done, as it turned out. The first challenge we encountered with this approach is that it's surprisingly hard to get an in-game actor to walk a set path and shoot a designated target correctly each take, let alone trying to get a dozen people to do it simultaneously.

The second challenge (and this seems obvious in retrospect) is that when you get a dozen people together in a first person shooter, they tend to... well... shoot each other. On countless occasions while trying to get everybody in the right place hitting their marks, someone would inevitably shoot someone else, triggering a firestorm of bullets and rockets as everything promptly descended into chaos.

Learning from our mistakes, our next attempt involved recording a single person running down a street. Then we recorded that person again, this time following the first recorded player. And recorded a third following the first two recorded players, and again, and again. We found that recordings of players following their previous actions generated a surprisingly natural crowd behavior, and as opposed to the free-for-all of a dozen actors shooting each other at once, it was very easy to create.

We found that in general, recording multiple takes was useful - not just for larger, more ambitious scenes, but also as a way to find better camera angles. Since all of our animation was getting recorded, everything was rendered in real-time, which meant that it was easy to fly cameras around and discover better framing shots than we'd originally blocked out. The best example of this is in the shot where the German machine-gunner is sniped, and his helmet rolls onto the floor. Having recorded the gameplay first, and being able to fly the camera around afterwards, allowed us to find the right angle to see the helmet roll right up into the camera, which placed the viewer more in the scene than the higher-angle shot we'd started with (our first of many happy accidents with Source's physics engine).

Day of Defeat will always have a fond place in our hearts. It was the first time we'd ever tried telling any kind of story with the SFM, and while it looks kind of primitive compared to later efforts, a lot of it was us discovering the full potential of the SFM tool for the first time. Now that all the assets from Day of Defeat have been added as optional DLC, we hope you'll make some interesting discoveries of your own.

This doesn't just give us something to play on endless loop for the next few months, though--it helps showcase how talented some of the voice actors are in the SFM community, and hopefully gets filmmakers thinking about what more they could do with great acting, especially in the voice of the characters they're using. So...

Actors: upload some teasers!

Filmmakers: Start making requests!

Models and sounds will be the first asset types the SFM Workshop supports. We chose models because model sharing has been one of the most-requested features to date, and we wanted to ensure that the filmmaking community has a single destination for all models compatible with the SFM. Similarly, we chose sounds because the SFM community has made it clear that including dialog would allow filmmakers even greater flexibility in their storytelling. Also, the SFM team can assure you that the first time we hear a solid impression of Dr. Kleiner singing Baby Got Back, we at Valve will all collectively lose it.

So go see what's in the workshop! We've put up info on the wiki to walk you through it. Also, be sure to check out the discussion forum, where you might find like-minded collaborators eager to help create the models and sounds for your opus!

Granted, we've mostly been busy watching your videos. But we've been up to other stuff too. The two most noticeable changes are that the UI should be snappier all around, and the animationset editor now has a bunch of new scene management functionality. (Check out the release notes for details.)

We've also added a third tutorial to the Pose To Pose Animation Tutorial series, and starter sessions for all three. (All tutorial sessions are located in tf_movies\elements\sessions\tutorials.) Part 3 delves into the Graph Editor - the animator's secret weapon. By examining the subtle intricacies of a decapitated robot head in flight, this leisurely tutorial is designed to acquaint the discerning animator with tools helpful for fine tuning motion. So jump right in! This tutorial requires no previous experience.

Lastly, we've updated our video policy to clarify that you can receive ad revenue on videos using our assets. Check out the full details here.

Alright. Back to watching videos.

Half-Life 2 and Portal have both been nominated for Game of the Decade! You can vote here, then tune in at 9pm EST tonight to see the winner announced on Spike TV's Video Game Awards.

And make sure to check out the Video Game Awards pre-show tonight at 8pm EST, where we'll be unveiling the winner of the Best Overall category from the 2012 Saxxy Awards!

The Second Annual Saxxy Awards start in just 10 minutes! And to celebrate, everybody who participated in voting is getting a free Saxxy Clapper Badge!

Don't forget to watch the Spike Video Game Awards pre-show December 7th, where we'll announce the winner of the "Best Overall" category live!

Lastly, due to getting fewer submissions than we'd hoped for the "Best Original Universe" category, we didn't think it was fair to the other finalists to showcase it at the awards site, since they had to battle through stiffer competition to make it this far. But congratulations all the same to TheMike, Black_Stormy, Crazyb2000, Gamerman12, Oggnog, =|NLR|= Narry Gewman and Anton on their winning short "Elements". Your Saxxy's on the way, guys!

In just under a month, we'll start accepting entries for shorts made with the Source Filmmaker, Valve's filmmaking tool. You'll be able to submit in five different categories (Best Action, Best Drama, Best Comedy, Best Original Universe and now Best Replay) with the hope of taking home a Saxxy at the star-studded Second Annual Saxxy Awards. So if you've got an SFM opus in you, crack those knuckles and get creating — November 1st'll be here in no time.

Also, a couple of quick changes for entrants:

We've Added a Replay Category

The Source Filmmaker is the perfect resource for creators looking to dramatize the TF2 mercenaries' off-hours — but after we announced the Saxxy rules, we realized we'd under-represented some of the great dramatic, comedic or just plain violently entertaining moments in-game. So we've added a new category to celebrate all the creators out there who'd rather make their movie magic on the battlefield.

You Can Use Non-SFM Tools for Post-Production

Because the SFM didn't ship with a few post-production features, like titling and transitions, we've decided to let people use other effects and editing tools for this year's contest.

Remember, though, that nothing makes us happier than people using and giving feedback on the SFM. We want this tool to keep getting better and better, and to do that, we'll need creative folks like you pushing the SFM in new directions.