What does a hero truly fear? (Dota 2 Short Film Contest 2017 - 1st place winner)

We've heard about what heroes need... but what do they fear?
Breakdown & behind the scenes video: • Breakdown & behind the...
Thanks for your support, everyone! This is my third win in a row. A hat trick! And of course, I couldn't have done it without the help of these lovely people:
--- FULL CREDITS
▶ Shaylyn "Chemical Alia" Hamm
▶ / chemicalalia
▶ www.shaylynhamm.com
3D character art (naked Axe, young Invoker)
Classroom props (refresher orb, floor planks, desk)
Video thumbnail paint-over
▶ Alexandra Kern
▶ / zandraartt
▶ / zandraart
Classroom educational posters
2D environment backgrounds (reused from "King of Pain" video)
▶ Maxime Lebled (c'est moi)
▶ / maxlebled
▶ www.maximelebled.com/
Animation, rigging & engine setup of custom assets, editing/post
All Source Filmmaker work
▶ Matt Williams
▶ / haveluckgoodfun
▶ www.haveluckgoodfun.com
Original soundtrack, additional sound effects
--- AND ALSO
Special thanks to:
▶ Stephanie "Anuxinamoon" Everett
whose 3D wall sculpts for the "King of Pain" video were reused here
▶ Ricky van den Waardenburg
for MaxScripts that helped automate rigging workflow
▶ Erick "EDJE" Wright
for additional motion capture performance
--- RESOURCE CREDITS
▶ Paper Parchment Rustling by duckduckpony (CC-BY)
freesound.org/people/duckduckp...
Higher-quality mirror on Vimeo: vimeo.com/391785609
#Dota #SFM #TI7 #Animation

[@MaxLebled]

Thank you for the 3 million views ❤ EDIT: since everyone's talking about it in the comments and messaging me about it... Shaylyn (among other things, she modeled the naked Axe and the young Invoker) and I had nothing to do with the Persona that was released for TI9. Maybe we inspired the Dota team? We don't know! Either way, we really like their take on a younger Invoker! Though I don't think they're really comparable; ours was intended to be kindergarten age (4/5 years), and I didn't want it to stand out too much from the other chibi-style Courier models that stand in as other heroes in the nightmare. Meanwhile, the Persona looks to be 10 to 13 years old? The intent and context is very different!

[@bachnguyenhuy7784]

Guess I'm first, Congrat.

[@ChefGPTOfficial]

Congrats man great video, do u work with valve rn ?? What is ur thoughts on the invoker persona and naked axe on dota now ??

[@kawaiimortimer1028]

Idea for unleashed axe and invoker persona definitely from this video

[@narutouzumaki7602]

@@ChefGPTOfficial yea he is

[@nathantargaryenlauw7216]

Good job man. Gg

[@OxyParadox]

Axe naked imo√ Invoker 4 y.o persona√ Next patch Pudge can hook roshan

[@SilVer-hu2ps]

WR kid, next I think

[@miel287]

Next mk can ride treant protector

[@youngmarcy3xtimes950]

Rofl

[@dwynesouribio3993]

Maybe that baby ursa on the side might be next

[@MaxLebled]

That's Bearzky, the first courier I've ever worked on! He's already in the game, since late 2014! dota2.gamepedia.com/Bearzky You can see the demo video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnSsp5ueeK-ebtE

[@Borja103]

0:09 It's funny because you can actually know that Axe is on a nightmare. It's on his status !

[@hookist1]

Borja Saavedra Ramirez its called hidden foreshadowing

[@Sukole]

Uhh nice detail!

[@chalidaulia9933]

Wow, I didn't realize that. What a detail.

[@Vandy--]

damn sherlock

[@FedeRama]

but blink is not on cooldown

[@Gabrielbarsch]

you predicted the invoker persona !!!

[@Fr4Ju]

Lmao valve stole it

[@rovy3916]

The new invoker persona is not looks good but i wish all skills have new animation

[@akimdeadly6247]

and pudge toy too! 0:06

[@slamberousable]

@@akimdeadly6247 and axe naked set

[@whiteraven416]

@@akimdeadly6247 Nah thats just pudge courer set

[@Brathize]

Now i can guess you work for valve right? they just stole your naked axe and young invoker.. you have to be working for them.

[@hichew1021]

Valve can just steal it not like he could sue valve

[@corvo2696]

@@hichew1021 actually he can under theft of creative design without credit or monetary compensation. Unless of course there was a clause that covered valve's bases when he submitted it to the TI short film contest

[@Vandy--]

@@farpilton3125 or perhaps valve bought the copyright's design

[@strang7739]

@@corvo2696 I mean he used their content to make most of this, so it would be kinda stupid for him to go attack them lol

[@tantapinem5482]

Yes he is. Btw ur comment on tv too 😂 check this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/j16xZJeBmbh6aMk

[@QuestionableObject]

I want 1:28 to be the actual sound he makes when he gets hooked. Or tossed. Or forcestaffed. Or basically anything that sends him flying.

[@BambaMeme]

best sound

[@AztecLeprechaun]

That's a voice line for getting a blink dagger; hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/a/a5/Bane_blink_03.mp3

[@ShingenPizza]

holy shit, i'm not playing Bane that much (49 matches), but i often bought Blink, and i don't recall ever hearing that

[@ivvo7002]

1% chance XD

[@kirillmarine5157]

IVVO I think it was completely removed. In 2012-2013 I could hear it half of the time.

[@midormeepo]

i just got mindfucked oh wait i just got mindfucked again

[@0uryuken260]

mid or meepo first reply

[@NotJuanDanny]

mid or meepo * claps hands * now go back to your own channel.

[@Pramsstage69]

daddy, go make a dank memes again please fo'sho

[@rayh2233]

U only get mindfucked twice ? Thats a rookie number

[@NekoMG2]

That what you call Mindfuception

[@jdombi1764]

This video predicted unleahed axe and invoker persona. OMG

[@Naghmara]

If by predicted you mean Valve stole it, then yeah sure.

[@wisnu1114]

@@Naghmara or he get job form Valve?

[@TheFowo]

@@wisnu1114 I mean, this is one of the most popular community created Dota videos of all time and max put an amazing effort with the hero models. Can't be surprised valve wanted to honour him and his work by adding these models into the game, won't be surprised if they contacted him about it too

[@MaxLebled]

The naked Axe and 4-year-old Invoker in this animated short were modeled by Shaylyn Hamm (Chemical Alia), not me. I'm an animator primarily, and while I do many other things in the general realm of game development, I am definitely not a character artist or modeler. While I did rig these characters, it is Shaylyn who you should credit first and foremost; these models wouldn't exist without her!

[@RadzzMcLaren]

And gaben keep smile cuz this set and ceeeeeeeeeeeeb! Chatweel

[@zhiyuanzhou2719]

They are nightmares within Bane's nightmare. Bane was using nightmare to pudge but got reflected, and so Bane was in his own nightmare. His nightmare was getting silenced by skywrath when using nightmare to other heroes.

[@MaxLebled]

That's it!

[@zhiyuanzhou2719]

Congratulations on winning it the 3rd time! You're the best!

[@HPLGamerz]

Get that man a medal..!!

[@SaltmarshCutworms]

he's going to fucking win again

[@syedamirnabil6233]

trouserlegend roast me

[@nicoherlim6100]

Ghost Minecrafter Kid

[@AzimsLives]

trouserlegend Valve hire this guy

[@JohnLee256]

nah Bro i think the juggernaut film from wonderlast will win

[@vila990]

The Masked Warrior is better

[@jimmosio]

I just noticed the Nightmare debuff at 0:08. Simply put, a nice touch.

[@mun2968]

jimmosio detail movie is detail

[@mirezkayt]

That axe's blink should've been put on cooldown lel

[@yifanli4743]

jimmosio I

[@inderaatmaw.9157]

Mire that's was a dream. so axe never blink on first place

[@zheenbekakimzhanov8969]

But there is no cooldown for the blink he just used

[@Mick0Mania]

Not gonna lie, Axe has some nice muscly buns. Erotic jokes aside, fitting all of those stories into 1:30 seconds without it feeling too fast paced is masterful. Most other entries that tried to tell a story was so badly paced...

[@tomlee7572]

Me After watching axe naked: open browser, type in - dota 2 axe nude

[@fuwarashi4305]

Have you ever wondered what kind of nightmares he can give you *NOPE*

[@TovarishRopgik]

WE HAVE A WINNER!

[@Hawko133]

It felt a lot longer than 90 seconds

[@vila990]

The Masked Warrior is better

[@enriquepalomino8554]

Vila33 link pls?

[@xGunner1]

naw, masked warrior is best

[@vila990]

steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1087194411

[@MaxLebled]

Hey folks. Thanks again so much for the huge outpouring and love and support for my film!! (Note: this used to be the "please vote on steam here" comment, but it still showed up at the top even after I pinned a new one, so I just edited this one instead.) (P.S. subscribe!)

[@shid1995]

awsome dude!! the best i have seen so far

[@crissal3443]

u win this year for sure

[@bugmaster05]

MaxOfS2D (Maxime Lebled) When you say Vote, do you mean to give it a Like? Or we have to do actually click a vote button?

[@MaxLebled]

Yep, thumbs up on Steam is how you vote!

[@HotBaconStrips]

HAHAHAHA THIS IS THE BEST SHORT FILM EVER!

[@wongsaraf]

OG, 4 times Major Max, 3 times SFM contest winner.

[@mamaamaor]

"I'm sensing a pattern here."

[@mnzkotaro6837]

Xd

[@ryotanada]

Already broken guys, his ti8 entry is pretty neat though

[@yangzixiang6605]

little carl is adorable!!

[@nevermore-4244]

yang zixiang its Kael

[@darksign8153]

+rizki dwitama Kael'thas is his name in wc3, Kael his name in DotA and Carl is his name in DotA2

[@mrpanikos1330]

actually because the dota forum(or something i dont remember the name) made a mistake on one of their blogs and wrote karl instead of kael they kept the name Karl for invoker....search on youtube history of invoker,you will find the whole story

[@raulrojasm]

ADORABLE MY PENNIS BITCH!

[@ericnawamusic]

@@nevermore-4244 thats Warcraft3 breh

[@XC11301991]

Always the best from Max. Will definitely upvote on steam.

[@pk1pk2pk1]

Lovely flow of animation and attention to detail, from audio to visual transition this really does shine as one of your best yet. Will continue to support you!

[@Dazen101]

I'm so glad to see Valve is going to use your Invoker model!

[@azazel1785]

Plus they make immortal of naked axe

[@azazel1785]

Which is in this vid too

[@hichew1021]

Even if not working with valve. Valve could just do the same not like the one who made the film can sue valve?

[@hichew1021]

I doubt they would sue valve even if they do how to win against a big company need face up reality it won’t work

[@susserylesussers5477]

I just happen to watch every video you made. DON'T STOP DOING ANIMATIONS PLS

[@williamreely4431]

0:32 Okay but can we talk about how ADORABLE the other Baby Heroes are?

[@polotovanya4853]

LoL

[@hongsethya4932]

0:32 young Ursa look so cute xD

[@hOlyhexOr]

EPIC! :)

[@GALAXIS99]

hOlyhexOr holyhexor is here!!

[@banshulr]

Calary has arrived

[@noxaeterna7555]

DOG

[@uhWilliam]

and the fact the young invoker became persona is even more epicXD

[@farisnazri9873]

This is probably the best and most realistic to the hero's abilities... the others that i've seen is not as well-thought as this one. WELL DONE!

[@mihau4141]

Rarely so do I comment on videos, but this one is truly a masterpiece, short yet very well prepared and it is produced in a perfect quality! Well done dude! And keep it up! I hope you will be victorious!

[@bonchan4404]

Young invoker anyone ? TI9 ? Well played sir !!@ 😍😍😍

[@zulryan1056]

Bon Chan axe naked .. and gaben stole it naked axe immortal

[@maximusmax2901]

Congrats on your amazing short film.you are the winner for this year!

[@amenkaya4718]

0:33 the couriers in the background are such a nice Touch.

[@cobratate1823]

this is so beautifully made, nice to see Dota get some love from animators.

[@MrDreaf]

this is so amazing! best short video so far

[@Freedom1044]

This is actually really good, had a lot of fun watching it. Thank you uploader hope u win it!

[@NichHustler]

W - Wards A - Always R - Reward D - Determined S - Supports Nice poster in the classroom.

[@RoboMuskVsLizardZuckerberg]

so there Wards in side Wards :v

[@lcdream4213]

What the fuck is that even supposed to mean -Crystal maiden

[@Neurotripsicks]

I have completed the All Hero Challenge 3 times now and whenever Invoker comes up, I take a week vacation from work.

[@SajjadAli-do8rs]

3 years in a row ... CONGRATS !! and as always great quality contents!

[@G0ingM3rry]

This is the best so far. Nice work!

[@TemplarBlonic]

The attention to detail, even on that *last* bit where both Lotus Orb and Linken's Sphere are used, is incredible. You've got my vote. EDIT: Erick Wright just released a fantastic video. That's a definite second place winner.

[@12MYCRYL17]

Axe Immortal Set + Invoker Persona

[@lowchuinxiong8506]

Nice idea transfer rite

[@pressedv3017]

That Immortal Set looks like a qualified Arcana to me (Voice change and attack animations)

[@knightgsv]

Great video man! The best i've seen this year for sure! I wish you best of luck!

[@danishharraz1562]

This is actually really good ! Good job and all the best mate!

[@kasteenkain2363]

Voted! And OMG, it's amazing! I really hope you'll win

[@gomiko8979]

Kasteen Kain he won last time. and the time before that. tf, he will win all the time.

[@tenpachii7340]

0:19 Axe Unleashed 0:39 Invoker Persona

[@ElkiLG]

Très cool! Très bon boulot sur l'animation, les petites expressions, tout ça. Bravo!

[@alberts6588]

Amazing man! Good luck with the contest!

[@clawdius_]

EZ WIN, SEE YOU AT "WINNER OF INTERNATIONAL 2017 SHORT FILM CONTEST"

[@brunoalonsocardenaslopez8137]

I started to study DOTA 2´s lore thanks to DOTA: Dragon´s Blood and I can tell you that you made an incredible animation. Thanks for this video. I hope we can see more of you in the future.

[@Phaphako]

i hope u win!!! high quality content with superb editing skill! goodluck

[@AshrfAdnan]

Congrats for winning the first place! Keep doing animations like this! Cheers

[@EldestOrion]

Fucking christ the quality of this is astounding. Ive always thought that Dota models being ugly sometimes resulted in typically ugly SFM, but damn... you somehow made EVERYTHING look good. Also that Pudge nightmare destroyed my sides.

[@lucifersam01]

Impressive as usual !

[@zakbdz]

Absolutely amazing. Congrats you deserved it. See you for ti8

[@somebody4504]

i can watch this over and over again

[@Godlvex]

This deserves to win

[@FOLLOWTHEDREAm]

Axe + Baby Invoker are hereeeeeeeeeeee !! TI 9

[@kk-xp2fj]

best one so far. good job

[@mattfernandez2998]

this one is in the bag!!!! hoping for you to win

[@einz]

May i said that it is the most awesome video that i ever seen?

[@qazseloco22]

0:20 they predicted axe's inmortal set OMEGALUL

[@RadzzMcLaren]

And young voker

[@excelsiusprime]

Insanely high quality work

[@lemuelconde]

Wow!! I just watched this because I thought it was new.. And about Young Invoker that just came out recently in Dota 2! Mind blowing! Good job!

[@alonelysheep675]

Seems like you're going to win again

[@paxcalibur288]

Everyone's talking about invoker persona and axe, Meanwhile in 0:09 there is Iron Talon R.I.P

[@chado.9585]

You're the winner man! Congratulations! 😁

[@hangman9001]

Great video! Very Creative and well done. Will upvote for sure 👍

[@forcemind1483]

wow, 10/10 thx for engl subs, it helps peoples from other countries

[@charliexu5139]

Nice drawings. Young invoker is so cute! Carl!

[@scarletnight5126]

One of my most fav animation!

[@danny90099]

Love the idea and animation . Hope you win

[@kenbarroga2933]

Foreshadowing of invoker persona and axeless axe

[@Dota2Pro]

2020?

[@MaxLebled]

No, 2017.

[@explosiveskull5870]

No, 2021

[@JohnPaulBuce]

2021

[@DesignEntity]

Holy crap that was so good. Well done! I hope you win!

[@alpersagin3182]

Amazing work!

[@frostbite7633]

0:32 UD looks so adorable!

[@derpdankstrom]

4-year-old Invoker looks awesome. Can it be the next Lockvase / Carafe courier?

[@MultiSanzo]

This is absolutely amazing.

[@Ezaddify]

Great work, good luck bro

[@Gabrielbarsch]

let me Guess, you gonna win again

[@yawyame]

dude did u watch every single short film contest vids?

[@Gabrielbarsch]

Yes

[@vila990]

The Masked Warrior is winning for sure

[@efrainratul3240]

You are everywhere m8

[@DarchrowTheEnigma]

what the... Last time was bleach, now it was you. What is happening to the world o.O

[@chadonlegran]

0:33 left wall : KEEP CALM AND CARRY LOL!

[@dallonavery1482]

Brilliant, just brilliant. You have my respect!

[@noobbll]

This is so good and original!!!!

[@ninzuinl]

a long awaited invoker persona!!!

[@Xaqetr]

I have never seen cutest thing that DOTA SCHOOL OMG I LOVE IT

[@lloyd5882]

Even Doomling and OD cour here too! Daaaamn this Valve tho. Nice work by the way Max

[@123evilwolf]

Truly a work of art, Keep up the good work.

[@ciupanezubogdanel]

The real nightmare in axe's sequence was him having iron talon, and us wanting that item back in the game :(

[@ayickztv841]

Next mini invoker courier ...

[@bobograndman]

This comment did not age well

[@fakrarrxd6536]

Yep it did not

[@rovy3916]

Now real mini invoker skin

[@RadzzMcLaren]

And naked axe skin

[@socksucker9308]

this is the most beautiful grafic of dota2 animation Good job man

[@siripin5115]

God you make a great one!! I'll vote for you!! Keep up the good work

[@Kaapalkeens]

axe "arcana" is out lol

[@ahmadfarhan1046]

This persona 🥰

[@CelestialSofa]

Grats on the win, well deserved.

[@vazak11]

Incredibly well made!

[@MrKenzo456]

This is my first time watching your videos and god its so goood

[@MaxLebled]

thank you!! your comment means a lot to me! i'm very glad :D

[@MisisipiLiveDota]

Крышеснос) Походу это победитель)

[@PedroRagazzi]

Congratulations on the first place! :D

[@foxhunter3666]

you sir have some really great talent !

[@balod_vader8317]

Leaf me alone... Lmao

[@generictoast7678]

balod _Vader out, NOW

[@gnouveli]

haha

[@villa7624]

balod _Vader Treant just made the best pun

[@machicommentsection]

Because he's a PUNo

[@Inzar-Animations]

So this is where the new skins coming from! Kid unvo , nude axe

[@kevorkkrikorian4221]

Epic dude!! Well done! I hope you win! Voted!

[@nicolalifen9523]

it's amazing. great story and realization!