This weekend marked the second time that Smooth Few Films has been together in the 2 years since The Leet World started, and we had ourselves a good time. A hard, busy, working-like-burros time, but a good time nonetheless. Mr. Dangerous, Jace Ford himself, flew down from California to bring his expertise and his music to the new project and the finale. Our webmaster and co-writer JJ also drove in from Austin.

We used the holiday weekend to beat the new project like it stole something from us (ex: our lives), putting in four consecutive twelve hour work days. We also talked Final Fantasy 7, video game music, argued about making a cooler of beer look awesome, and ate lots of queso.

Signing deals means deadlines, and we are rushing like crazy to meet them. In all honesty, we probably shouldn’t be working on the TLW Finale at all to make sure that we hit these mystical lines of death, but we are doing so whenever we can spare an instant, just for you guys, since we think you’re cool. We’ve barely been able to make much progress on it in the last two weeks. That being said, the Finale should be out some time next week. Or at least, that’s what we’re gunning for. Feel free to woot.

If you’re curious about what our weekend looked like, hit the jump to see some pictarz of our SFF Reunion. Jace is the wild one that looks like an animal.
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That is us. We are hard working dudes when we are not being geeks. In fact, in the midst of devoting nearly all of our time to the new mystery project, we’ve managed to accidentally finish filming the TLW Finale. Go figure. Does that mean it’s coming out soon?

Soon-ish. We’ve still got lots of post-production stuff to do, not to mention Jace writing the music. But we’re getting closer. I’ll let you know when we’re about a week out. Believe me, nobody wants this thing out worse than us. But as I’ve said, the new project takes precedence, so we’re doing all that we can to make sure we can work on both of those without hurting the new one.

We’ve put an extensive bit of time into the finale so that it offers a satisfying conclusion and doesn’t leave you guys hanging. We’re happy with how it’s going to end. It wraps up the story pretty well, since there’s a chance we might not get to work on the movie for a long time, if at all.

In terms of the new project, Jace is actually flying down to help us with it next weekend, and even JJ, our kindly Web master and TLW co-writer is going to join. It’ll be the second time that all of Smooth Few Films has been together since TLW started, so that is worth a hell yeah or two, if you’re feeling wild. I really can’t wait to do some show and tell with you guys, and I apologize for all of the vague language. Just know that we’re working hard and we appreciate you dudes for hanging out with us.

Also, Batman: Arkham Asylum is awesome. That is important to know, too. Just saying.

Thanks for all of the congratulatory posts regarding our news from last week. I really wish I could tell you guys some more, but unfortunately, that cat has to remain in the bag for just a little while longer. All I can say is that this new project is already starting to eat up all of our time, and will continue to do so for months to come. Funny enough, we are managing to put one time sucker to rest in exchange for a shinier one.

It is impacting the series finale (and already affected Episode 13) in a few ways, mainly in that it’s taking longer to make. We’re getting pretty close to being done filming it completely, and as I said before, I’ll let you guys know when we’re about a week away from release.

In the meantime, check out some new screenshots. They contain images of machinima ownage and dudes shooting at other dudes.

Also, has anyone seen District 9? I’m planning on going this weekend and I keep hearing great things. I have a condition where I ache to see awesome sci-fi action, and the movie appears to be able to scratch my itch in a meaningful way.

Exciting news! Hold on to your butts.

Here’s what I can tell you: we just got a big deal to produce Smooth Few Films content. No, it is not TLW. I can’t tell you who we made the deal with or go into more details about it, but trust me when I say it was a pretty crazy moment for us when we found out they were interested.

This means the “band is staying together” essentially, and that all of us (including Daniel) are rearranging some plans so that we can invest ourselves into this project. As a bonus for you guys, it means lots more Smooth Few Films content after The Leet World is over, which wasn’t going to be the case before.

This is a huge opportunity that deserves all of our time. It’s the kind of thing that we’ve been working towards for the last two years. We’re kind of giving it all we’ve got. So it means there are probably going to be some more changes coming soon, and it is partially responsible for the extended time that Episode 14 is taking us.

We’ll give some more information when we can, but our hands are a little tied. Rest assured, you should stick around for all of this because it’s going to be badass.

Texas Summers are like living on some distant star. The boiling, the heat, the humidity (for us Houstonians, anyway)… it just wears a man down to his bones, or whatever other endoskeleton that is used to construct geeks like ourselves. In the midst of all of that, we’re still toiling away at the final episode of TLW, one scene at a time.

Some of you may have noticed that there’s been a bit of radio silence for the last few weeks. There are a few reasons for that. Part of it is that there has been some vacationing going on, and another is something that we hope to tell you about soon. Still another part is that Episode 14 is the Godzilla of episodes. It is obese. All others bow before it. That hyperbole simply means that it is big.

I’d say we’ve got about a third of it left to film, but it’s the hard third (that’s what she said), so take that with a grain of salt. When we’re nearing about a week from release, we’ll let you know. It’s not that time yet, good sirs.

Maybe these screenshots will tide you over, but probably not.

Feel free to speculate. Thanks for sticking around to see this thing through with us, dudes. You’re kind of awesome in that way.

Just wanted to stop in and give a quick update about the progress of Episode 13, part 1 of the series finale. It’s mostly in the can, with post production left in front of it. It should be out next week at some point. Don’t hold me to that, though. We all know how I hate magical binding contracts. Especially when it comes to picking release dates.

In other news, Daniel finally returns this weekend. He’s been living it up and having fun in other places (read: touching butts) while Nick and I slave away at Leet World. But don’t worry, we’re not bitter. Much. Regardless, we’ll be glad to have him back. There might be group hugs and/or beers to celebrate.

Besides all that, we’re already working on stuff for Episode 14, which is part 2 of the series finale and hugely massive. Anywho, here are some screenshots from Episode 13.

Enjoy. Also, if you haven’t been reading Anthony’s Phantasy Star game blogs over at GamerSushi, you are seriously missing out on some hilarious video game writing.

The cast reacts to Leeroy’s discoveries in different ways, putting them on opposing sides of a new conflict. Can they all band together when an enemy emerges from among them?

To see a higher res version of the episode, check out the TLW premiere page.

All comments go directly to moderation now, so they might not show up right away.

I know I’ve said it before, but the general rule around here is that the more busy we are, the quieter we tend to be. Coming up on the twelfth episode of Season 2 is no exception. With Daniel still out of town and gallivanting around movie sets like some cinema cowboy, we’re left scrambling to finish the season. But it’s a good kind of scramble. Like eggs.

It’s hard to believe there are just a couple more episodes left, but that’s the way we roll, I guess. Thanks to you dudes that have stuck it out so far for this absurd machinima. Anywho, here are some screenshots from the next episode.

That last one is a major tease, am I right?

While the cast reacts to the passing of a friend, they wait for Leeroy to tell them what he knows. Just where has he been, and what has he found out about the Producer’s schemes?

Visit the TLW premiere page to see a bigger version of the episode.

A huge thanks to all of you TLW-ites who watched and commented on Episode 10, Wake Me Up Before You Go. Some mighty wild things happened in that episode, things we’ve been planning for quite some time. We’ll hopefully get into that more in the next couple of days (once a few more of you have had a chance to watch it), and have some cool character discussions.

Daniel’s out of town right now, but Nick and I have been working diligently to keep the machine moving. Currently, we’re in the midst of several things such as faceposing, Hammer-ing and editing Episode 11. Also, I’m working on getting a final draft for Episode 12. It’s certainly both madness and Sparta, but I think it helps that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The next episode is interesting in that it’s kind of the “Council of Elrond” episode. Lots of information. Maybe you understand that nerdy reference, maybe you don’t. Either way, here are some screenshots.

Spooky, scary. In other news, I plan to get some outtakes done soon, but the last couple of episodes have been faceposer/Hammer heavy, and I figured you would all appreciate me helping get the episodes out faster rather than working on those. And yes, those things are mutually exclusive.