Introducing the Source Filmmaker & Tutorials

Every now and then you come across a product that completely redefines the way things work and the Source Filmmaker is exactly one such tool.


The Source Filmmaker is a movie-making program used by Valve to create cinematics for games directly on the Source Engine. The SFM is the tool behind the lovely videos that you see for Team Fortress 2 and also the Dota 2 International trailer from last year.

Introducing the Source Filmmaker 

The Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the movie-making tool built and used by us here at Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. Because the SFM uses the same assets as the game, anything that exists in the game can be used in the movie, and vice versa. By utilizing the hardware rendering power of a modern gaming PC, the SFM allows storytellers to work in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment so they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience.