Source Filmmaker is a powerful tool that works with the Source engine to create a flexible, modifiable 3D recording that can be exported as a movie or as a still image. The 3D recording you create in SFM can contain recorded gameplay, objects, cameras, lights, particles, animations, effects, and sounds—and the motion information for how each element changes over time.

With Source Filmmaker, you can essentially film "on location" in your favorite Team Fortress 2 map whether it's one that Valve released or one that you modded yourself. You can use SFM's large library of maps, models, animations, objects, sounds, and effects, or you can import your own from the Steam Workshop. Because you're working with a virtual world, and your recording stores all the 3D motion data about every element, you can modify any aspect of the recording at any time, which makes it easy to make the kinds of last-minute changes that would be extremely expensive in a live-action studio.

The Source Filmmaker Workshop is bigger than ever with over 16.000 items to download! So now, even if you aren't a professional when it comes to 3D modeling, you can still make animated shorts with the graph or motion editor. Valve has also released many "content packs" for Source Filmmaker that allow users to utilize assets from other Source games easier.

Source Filmmaker is the movie-making tool built and used by Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. By using the hardware rendering of a modern PC gaming machine, SFM allows storytellers to work in a "what you see is what you get" environment so that they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience.

There is a caveat, though: despite the deceptively simple-looking UI, Source Filmmaker is a very powerful and complex tool without a lot of safeguards. Think of it like a tractor: it doesn't have handrails or a lot of padding like you might find in a normal app or game. We recommend that you watch the video tutorials first and then read the documentation to familiarize yourself with the tool as much as possible before you dive in.

Source Filmmaker is a powerful tool that works with the Source engine to create a flexible, modifiable 3D recording that can be exported as a movie or as a still image. The 3D recording you create in SFM can contain recorded gameplay, objects, cameras, lights, particles, animations, effects, and sounds—and the motion information for how each element changes over time. With Source Filmmaker, you can essentially film "on location" in your favorite Team Fortress 2 map whether it's one that Valve released or one that you modded yourself. You can use SFM's large library of maps, models, animations, objects, sounds, and effects, or you can import your own from the Steam Workshop. Because you're working with a virtual world, and your recording stores all the 3D motion data about every element, you can modify any aspect of the recording at any time, which makes it easy to make the kinds of last-minute changes that would be extremely expensive in a live-action studio. The Source Filmmaker Workshop is bigger than ever with over 16.000 items to download! So now, even if you aren't a professional when it comes to 3D modeling, you can still make animated shorts with the graph or motion editor. Valve has also released many "content packs" for Source Filmmaker that allow users to utilize assets from other Source games easier. Source Filmmaker is the movie-making tool built and used by Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. By using the hardware rendering of a modern PC gaming machine, SFM allows storytellers to work in a "what you see is what you get" environment so that they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience. There is a caveat, though: despite the deceptively simple-looking UI, Source Filmmaker is a very powerful and complex tool without a lot of safeguards. Think of it like a tractor: it doesn't have handrails or a lot of padding like you might find in a normal app or game. We recommend that you watch the video tutorials first and then read the documentation to familiarize yourself with the tool as much as possible before you dive in.