Source Filmmaker

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The **Source Filmmaker** (abbreviated as **SFM**) is a video capture and editing application that works from inside the Source game engine. The tool, created by Valve Corporation, was used to create over 50 animated shorts for its Source games, including *Team Fortress 2*, the *Left 4 Dead* series, and *Half-Life 2*. On June 27, 2012, Valve released a free open beta version of the SFM to the gaming community via its Steamservice.

## Overview

Unlike most movie-making tools, which only create a small part of a movie, the Source Filmmaker merges all animation and effect workflows onto a single PC. With SFM, one can create movies and posters by using assets and events from the video game world, providing creators with a "'what you see is what you get' environment".

SFM gives the user a "Work Camera" that enables them to see what they are doing without messing up the scene cameras. It also uses three main user interfaces for making films with:

* The **Clip Editor** is used for recording, editing and arranging shots, which can contain recorded gameplay and user-placed assets. The Clip Editor also allows the user to place and arrange sound files and video filters.
* The **Motion Editor** is used for motion adjustments over time, such as seamlessly grafting two animations together. Motion presets (e.g. jittering, smoothing) can also be applied onto selected motion paths.
* The **Graph Editor** is used for editing motion through creating keyframes; this is extremely useful in pose-to-pose animation.

## Production and updates

### Pre-release

SFM was developed internally at Valve from as early as 2005, forked from the Source engine's in-game demo playback tool and used to make *Day of Defeat: Source* trailers with experimental effects that could not be achieved in real-time.[18] The tool's full potential was finally realized with the release of *The Orange Box*, particularly with the *Meet the Team* featurettes for *Team Fortress 2*. This version of SFM, which ran using Source's in-game tools framework, was inadvertently leaked during the public beta of *TF2* in September 2007 and in use by 2010.[19] Since then, the entire interface was re-implemented using Qt 4, and given its own engine branch for further development.

Before the SFM's official release to the public, *Team Fortress 2* carried a simplified version of the tool called the Replay Editor; it is limited to capturing the actual events occurring over the course of a player's life with no ability to modify actions, repeat segments, nor apply special effects beyond those already used in-game. However, arbitrary camera angles are possible, like tracking the actions of other players in action at the time. Replay incorporates the ability to upload completed videos to YouTube.

### Beta versions

On June 27, 2012, the same day as the final *Meet the Team* video, "Meet the Pyro", was released, the Source Filmmaker became available on a limited-basis through the Steam network. It has been in open beta for Windows as of July 11, 2012.

On April 1, 2013, Valve announced that the Steam Workshop now includes a section for Source Filmmaker assets.

## External Links

* Official site
* Steam Store page