Author Archives: Eddy

Hobo Talk and Duke Nukem

dnfAlright, gents and ladies. Here’s Episode 7 of Web Zeroes, Marathon Men. In it, the dudes try to do a video game marathon for charity, and Ray meets a hobo with quite a story. Also, there is World of Warcraft.

We really like this episode, and hope you guys do, too. It takes place in me and my wife’s new home (our first!), so there’s a change of setting from the rest of the series. In addition, you should check out the Child’s Play charity, because they do awesome things for kids in hospitals by providing them video games. For real, look them up.

Much thanks to our friend Miles for his excellent performance in this episode, as well as Jace for once again making things rule with his music. Hit the jump to see the episode!
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Updates and the Undead

I know I haven’t been leaving too many updates lately. My time has been devoured by production and a dangerous horror known as Modern Warfare 2. On the production side, things have been rather nuts for us here at Smooth Few Films, but there’s not really a whole lot to talk about, which is kind of weird. We’re currently filming Episode 10 of Web Zeroes while getting ready for the release of Episode 7 tomorrow.

Speaking of Episode 7, we think it’s easily our best yet, and kicks things up a notch. You see, we filmed 6 episodes in just 4-5 weeks before the show even debuted and we saw any kind of feedback. We listened to lots of people, learned some things, and then started working on the back half of the season. I think the results will speak for themselves. We’re pretty excited to start releasing it. So excited, in fact, that we’re holding a screening of the episode later tonight (Tuesday, November 17) at the Pearl Bar here in Houston. If you’re in the area, swing by, say hi and have a drink. Or nine.

In other news, I’m going to be working on some TLW outtakes for Season 2, as well as a post that details the similarities of Leet World and some other popular media, including Dragonball Z and Star Wars. Yes, really. Not on purpose, mind you, that’s just the way these things go down sometimes. I’m not particularly proud of it.

And besides playing Dragon Age: Origins and Modern Warfare 2, that’s what my nerdy life consists of at the moment. If you want, you can check out my MW2 review over at GamerSushi. Still not decided on Left 4 Dead 2 yet, though I think I’ll pass. I believe I’ve had my fill of zombie hunting in real life. It’s my day job, you know.

Also, if you don’t follow us on Twitter, you might have missed this picture I posted the other day of us on set of Ep 10 of Web Zeroes. We were doing a video conference between LA and Houston with Jace, who snapped a picture at a rather inopportune time for me. At least it might give some of you lulz.

List-Makers

Check it out dudes. It’s Wednesday, so that means that Episode 6 of Web Zeroes, Digg Bait is here for your enjoyment. It was written by JJ, our kindly Web master, making it the 2nd episode he’s penned this season. More to come from him!

In this episode, Ray moves in with Alex after losing his job, and tries to take charge of the group by making top 10 lists with Nate. This episode really continues the ball rolling forward, and starts to move us toward some of the storyline that the original episodes hinted at with Ray and his unemployment. I think you guys will like where this is going.

As always, if you want to download it, hit up Revision 3. For now, just hit the jump to see the episode.
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The Lost TLW Factoids, Part 2

tlwpromo1A few weeks back, I posted a feature called The Lost TLW Factoids, which included bits and fragments of things that you guys never knew about your favorite Counter-Strike:Source machinima. We received lots of great feedback and some awesome questions. I didn’t quite get to some of those questions this time, but I do plan on it. I just thought these tidbits were a little juicier.

Here are some more lost TLW factoids.

  • The clusterf*** of Episode 12. A little known fact about Episode 12 of Season 1- it was re-written no less than 3 times during filming. One of the earliest concepts of the episode actually included Ahmad assuming leadership of the Terrorists, because let’s get real, why would he let Cortez stay as the leader? This presented some funny ideas (like him making Cortez do the chores introduced in Ep 2), but ultimately we decided that we needed to get to the Ochos Muertos, because we had taken too long to bring them to the forefront. The original draft also didn’t involve the Domination Man, but we eventually included him just because we thought it would be cool. Which lead to other problems…


  • The Domination Man’s Early Demise. Sometimes red herrings are cool. Other times they are not. Like when they distract you from the real plot and confuse the audience. While introducing the Domination Man to save Cortez in Episode 12, we ran into an unfortunate problem- most everyone that saw the episode thought that the Domination Man was in fact Mendoza. From a storytelling standpoint, this makes perfect sense. Leeroy is talking about Mendoza, Cortez’s brother, and then the very next scene, the Domination Man is heard while we see the logo of the Ocho Muertos, and then he saves Cortez. Suddenly, we were worried that Episode 13 wasn’t going to make any sense and that people were just going to assume for the rest of the season that DM and Mendoza were one in the same. So… we wrote a quick scene where Mendoza kills him. Boom, end of confusion.


  • Leeroy’s Death. This was one that I regretted cutting from the story badly, but we just couldn’t make it work without it being stupidly confusing. Instead of getting kicked off the show by the Producer, Leeroy was going to be killed after the second challenge of Season 2, in either a crazy awesome explosion of his lair, or a shootout with Cortez. The death would send Westheimer spiraling into depression, and Ellis on the run at a slightly earlier time than he eventually did in the series proper. The twist? Leeroy had merely faked his death and went to study the death room. Cortez was in on it, too. We decided it was easier just to have him kicked off, because we thought that a fake death would lessen the impact of Ahmad’s sacrifice when it happened. Also, before we had fully fleshed out Leeroy’s arc for Season 2, it was going to be the Domination Man that appeared half dead on the house’s doorstep, spilling the Producer and Player’s secrets. Ever wonder why we didn’t show him getting shot?


  • Darth Westy. When we did the initial brainstorming for the end of Season 2 and story for Season 3, we had 2-3 ideas that we toyed around with but ultimately scrapped. I’ll save the others for a later date, but one of them involved the house exploding with Westheimer trapped inside. The rest of the cast has fled, assuming him dead. Right before the credits roll, a half dead and burned Westy is found by the Producer, who kneels down and whispers, “Do not worry, Westheimer. We are going to fix you.” You can only guess who the main villain of Season 3 was going to be in that scenario.

Got any more questions that you’re curious about? Send them in, and let us know your thoughts on these new revelations. Also, we’ve got a new episode of Web Zeroes out tomorrow, so be sure to stop by.

On Dragons

dragonSince we like you guys, we thought we’d bring you a shiny new episode. This one has dragons in it. Well, sort of. Episode 5 of Web Zeroes, Dungeons and Date Night, sees Nate, Alex and Ray trying to play a game of D&D on the same night that Alex and Diane are supposed to have a romantic evening together. As you can imagine, these two things do not mix well. Also, JJ makes an appearance in this episode as Max.

Like I said last time, this is one of the two episodes we knocked out on that big weekend that Jace and JJ came for a visit, bestowing upon us their awesomeness. It was much appreciated. Also appreciated were the responses to the last episode.

Episodic shows always take a bit of time to get rolling, and this show is no different. We were like a machine on the production of Leet World, and it took us nearly half a season to get there. This is a different animal entirely, and we like the steps we’re making. Some day, she will be fully tamed. At least, we hope. She might just trample us under her burly hooves.

But before that happens, hit the jump and watch Episode 5 of Web Zeroes!
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The Great Chart Heist

flickchartRight on schedule, here’s Episode 4 of Web Zeroes, Flickcharted Territory. In this episode, Alex takes his lessons from Bobby King and attempts to gain leverage over Nate and Ray. This is one of the two episodes that we knocked out over Labor Day weekend with Jace and Jeff in town, the second being Episode 5. Personally, I think it’s perhaps the best yet. We’ll see if you agree.

Once again, thanks to all of you who watch, comment and spread the word about our goofy shows. Also, you should check out the subject of this episode’s central conflict, Flickchart. It kind of rules and we were all seriously addicted to it for several weeks over the summer. Sign up and support the dudes there.

To download the episode or see higher res versions, head over to Revision3, or subscribe to Web Zeroes on iTunes. If you’re having problems playing the video, update your flash, or go to YouTube.

Expect some more TLW content at some point next week. Hopefully it’ll be more outtakes, but we shall see. For now, hit the jump to see the new episode of Web Zeroes!
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Return of the Outtakes

mic-audioThis was my first semi-free weekend in ages. And what did I do? I spent some time putting together outtakes from Season 2 of TLW, Episodes 7 and 8. The lengths I go for you people!

It was interesting going back through these old audio files. One thing that we’ve never really done in outtakes is include bits where cast members have dropped spoilers as a joke. Now that the show is over, those boundaries are gone, so there are one or two of those sprinkled about. I’m also particularly fond of the Asher outtakes here, as well as Ben’s constant surprise when he reads jokes for the first time. He became a tad fixated on the idea of Cortez’s extra balls, but aren’t we all?

So, listen and partake in a couple of lulz. I know I did. Right click and save as to download. And as things typically go with goofing around, the language is more than likely NSFW.

http://www.smoothfewfilms.com/extras/tlw207208outtakes.mp3

In other news, Episode 4 of Web Zeroes is out on Wednesday. Probably my favorite episode so far.

Forum Fighters

Another week has passed, so that means a new episode of Web Zeroes has arrived. Episode 3, Snark-O-Matic, has the trio of Web wannabes trying to convert a snarky forum into a popular Internet blog. As is to be expected, the whole thing turns into crap. This episode was penned by JJ, our lovable Web master and the writer of other fine Smooth Few Films productions such as Season 2, Episode 10 of The Leet World.

Lots of thanks to all of you guys who have stuck around for Web Zeroes and all future projects. Seriously, we have feelings of less than threes for you animals. That is the opposite of “duns” or “h8s”. Do us a favor and help us out by spreading the word about this show as much as possible. It would make Nick happy. And as we all know, a happy yeti makes for a happy crew.

To download the episode or see higher res versions, head over to Revision3, or subscribe to Web Zeroes on iTunes. If you’re having problems playing the video, update your flash, or go to YouTube.

Expect some new TLW outtakes later this week, and Episode 4 of Web Zeroes at the same time next week, October 28th! For now, hit the jump to start watching.
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New and Noteworthy in the Machinima Scene

machinimaEven though we’re not making so much machinima anymore here at Smooth Few Films, it doesn’t deter my interest in it. I still like to scour and search for what’s new out there in the wide world of video game movie-making, just to see what other people are doing and what games they’re using.

Oddly enough, it doesn’t seem that any game has made as big of a splash for the machinima community as Halo 3 did back in 2007. It’s crazy to me that it’s just over 2 years later, and we’re still waiting on the next engine to come and revitalize amateur filmmakers to try out some of their own stuff. Uncharted 2 just dropped for the PS3, and it has some machinima tools hidden within its depths, if only you can make it past the incredible single player campaign (and trust me, it is quite incredible). I also hear that Dragon Age: Origins coming out next month will make use of some rather robust tools.

In terms of some of the new things I’m seeing out there that hold promise, a couple of things come to mind. Red Vs Blue Recreation once again sets the standard for awesomeness. SgtPadrino has some remarkable Call of Duty videos that he’s been scripting together, and they’re impressive as anything I’ve seen in recent months. Likewise, Mystfit continues to work away on some custom TF2 animations. Can’t wait to see what the results of those experiments are. Running Gun (creators of Spriggs) are steadily releasing a fully scripted Fallout 3 machinima called JudgeMental. And then there’s good old Darkspire Films, who just released the Candy Coated Wonder Road, a Halo 3 children’s show.

So what do you guys think the state of machinima is? What are some of your favorite machinimas out there right now?

Also, Web Zeroes Episode 3 hits tomorrow, and some new TLW outtakes should be up later this week- hope to see you back for both of those!

The Abominable Snow Beard

snow-yetiLook at that. This is a first for Smooth Few Films, probably. Two episodes of content, two weeks in a row. So this is what it feels like to be on time for something.

Anywho, the newest addition of Web Zeroes is now up for your enjoyment. In Episode 2, Ray convinces Nate to let him film a documentary about his day job, where he moonlights as a tech support specialist named the Tech Yeti. Yes, there are beards involved. Also, handsome brown men.

To download the episode or see higher res versions, head over to Revision3, or subscribe to Web Zeroes on iTunes. We’ve actually been featured there in the “new and noteworthy” section under the podcasts. Cool stuff.

Much thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to watch this episode and leave a comment. Hit the jump to start watching. Episode 3 will be out next week on October 21st!
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