SFM

S4 E144 Assault on 2Fort (Aug 2024)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes August 28, 2024 Leave a reply

This week we take a look at another stunning Team Fortress 2 short called Assault on 2Fort by JP Stevens aka Lolripk, a recommendation made to us by Dominzki (whose own TF2 short we reviewed in E135). What a great choice this is: we loved this film, a classic RED vs BLU tale but with a layer of emotion that is as beautifully portrayed as it is unexpected in SFM. These characters have real depth to them and we note how that’s been achieved, even though the focal character doesn’t even speak. Did we mention the fight choreography too? We reflect on the game lore, the significance of the community in the creative process, and how this story is told from an unusal perspective. We also reflect on why machinima series almost never complete… but we certainly hope Lolripk doesn’t follow the pattern!



YouTube Version of This Episode

Show Notes & Links

Assault on 2Fort by Lolripk, released 9 July 2022 –

Trailer for part 2 –

About the TF2 game lore, wiki link here

Projects Update 1 (Apr 2023)

Tracy Harwood Blog April 17, 2023 Leave a reply

This week, we highlight more creative talent than we can ever hope to include in our weekly film review discussions.

Interloper Ep 4 LIVE

You may recall we reviewed the Interloper series a couple of months ago, convincing Phil that this was ‘for real’! Well, maybe it is, as in this episode, which was streamed live on 22 March in a very interesting approach to storytelling on a ‘grand scale’, Anomidae continues the saga. We certainly concur with comments on the video that suggest this transcends into the paranormal. I’m sure it will enthrall just as much as the first episodes did –

Hired Steel Ep 3

The Hired Steel team are producing some outstanding work, and this is another episode from the TMC team that we first reviewed back in July last year, released on 10 Feb. These guys are going from strength to strength and what’s really great viewing is the way that character empathy is built through the storytelling. Nice work, do check it out –

Little Nightmares Rap Song

JT Music (formerly JT Machinima) released a video to ‘Hungry for Another One’ in SFM, working with Harry101UK, released on 21 Jan. This is a real treat both aurally and visually. These guys are top of the pops for machinima music vids. Enjoy –

Death Train [S2FM]

A great short by Vladislav Zharkov released on 27 May last year, this is actually a scaled back version of a project for which the creator originally had a much bigger vision. Its a great concept and one we would definitely encourage the creator to continue to develop. In the meantime, he’s focussing on the music –

SL The Tragedy

Finally this week, we present a wild west story not from the world of Red Dead Redemption but from Second Life. In this film/music video set to Lady Gaga’s 911, Godiva SL has created a fun and fast-paced story, released on 24 Jan (its also the feature image for this blog post). Its well edited, the horse and hounds even gallop to the beat of the music, and takes you on a real journey –

S3 E70 Film Review: Mann Co: Employee Training Video (March 2023)

Tracy Harwood Podcast Episodes March 23, 2023 Leave a reply

This week’s film is a SFM Saxxy 2017 entry by Tipsy Duck called Mann Co: Employee Training Video. Lots of in-jokes and satire in the style of a PSA machinima. It has a fantastic voiceover by Keith Ferrell aka Mr Tush.



YouTube Version of this Episode

Show Notes and Links

Film, by Tipsy Duck, released 8 Mar 2018 –

Tipsy Duck’s YouTube Channel

Phil’s classic PSA style satire, which made it to the Guinness Book of Records back in the day –

Link to playlist for the Saxxy Awards –

The Consultant, starring Christoph Waltz –

based on a novel by Bentley Little – check out the book review here on Scream Magazine’s website