Gamers can now create their own videos of games that run on the Source engine

Jun 29, 2012 22:21 GMT  ·  By

Besides unveiling the impressive Meet the Pyro short film yesterday, Valve also presented to fans the Source Filmmaker, a tool designed in house by the studio to help it create the best videos using games that run on its Source engine.

Valve impressed over the years not just with great games but also with amazing trailers for titles like Portal or Dota 2, as well as short films for Team Fortress 2, which all used its own Source engine.

Now, after the release of the Meet the Pyro short film, Valve has decided to launch its own tool – the Source Filmmaker – as a free download for anyone to try out and create their own videos.

"The SFM is a storytelling tool Valve developed inside the Source Engine to create all its animated short films, including those in the "Meet the Team" series of Team Fortress 2 shorts," Valve said. "The SFM condenses the production pipeline of an animation studio down onto a single gaming PC."

According to Valve designer Bay Raitt, the Source Filmmaker allows users to record gameplay footage and edit it in real time by modifying a variety of aspects, from lighting to facial animation or camera position.

"The goal of the SFM was to develop a story telling tool that allowed us to create computer animated movies more efficiently, and with greater creative freedom," he said. "Over the past five years, we've produced more than 50 animated shorts with the SFM. The Source Filmmaker will allow our community to create their own movies in Team Fortress 2 and in their own Source SDK-created mods."

The Source Filmmaker is currently in a closed beta stage but will be launched for everyone as a free download later this year via Steam.

For a look at the Source Filmmaker in action, check out the video below.