No Sleep Until Thursday

Oklahoma Ward
May 20
9 min read

"What the creature didn’t tear apart, the edit will."

TRYHARD COMPANY: The CHRONICLES of TANK - Limited Series

"TANK doesn’t sleep — and neither do we. Week by week, we’re bleeding through the cut… and loving it."

Behind-the-scenes updates, production news, and indie filmmaking insights from TRYHARD COMPANY.

🕹️ TRYHARD PROTOCOL

Project Status Overview

The initial testing on Episode One’s Command Center breakdown went exactly how we hoped — it surfaced what worked and revealed where we could dial things in both mechanically and visually. Based on that, we’re making key refinements across the board and now turning our focus to the full rollout: all six episodes will go live this Thursday, May 22 - each packed with real-time progress tracking for every VFX, edit, mix, and final delivery step. The countdown to completion is no longer theoretical — it's mapped, measured, and moving.

>>> Enter TRYHARD Command Center <<<

📑 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Victory Report: Crawl or Die

🏆 CRAWL or DIE Spotlight

CRAWL or DIE – Legacy Spotlight

“The tunnel never ends — it only narrows.”

Before TRYHARD COMPANY, there was CRAWL or DIE — a relentless indie beast that clawed its way out of the U.S. underground and erupted into a cult phenomenon overseas, especially in Japan.

💥 This week, we’re spotlighting vintage fan art from the early days of the film — gritty, handmade tributes from the trenches of indie fandom. 💥

Click to enlarge. Soak in the grime. The legacy. The love.

TANK wasn’t just a survivor in CRAWL or DIE — she became a symbol. A silhouette of desperation, rage, and raw survival.

In TRYHARD COMPANY, her legend evolves. The war gets bigger, the world gets meaner — but at its core, it’s still her story. One soldier. One mission. One endless tunnel.

🎬 Haven’t seen the original? Rent or stream CRAWL or DIE now — and prepare for TANK’s return in TRYHARD COMPANY: The Series.

🎬 Rent / Buy / Stream the Original CRAWL or DIE

RENT | BUY | STREAM

⚔️ Battle for Survival: TRYHARD COMPANY Update

This Thursday, the war room opens wide.All six episodes of TRYHARD COMPANY will go live inside the Command Center — with every edit, mix, VFX, and sound design element charted in real-time.

But this isn’t just a progress tracker — it’s a window into the fight.

At the bottom of each episode’s breakdown, fans will now find a growing archive of personal notes:

✏️ What’s been tough.

🎧 Behind-the-scenes audio.

🩸 Raw sketches and early concepts.

📸 Unseen production photos.

It’s a rare glimpse into the trenches of indie filmmaking, episode by episode — and it’s made to be shared.

Watch the series take shape. Share the journey. And step inside the war.

🔻 Tap below to enter the Command Center and witness the war as it unfolds.🔻

>>> Enter TRYHARD Command Center <<<

Mission Briefing: Eyes Only

3 THINGS I THINK I THINK...

#1 I think… building six interactive pages at once might be the dumbest smart idea I’ve had.

Could I have just made static progress bars? Sure. Quicker. Easier. Cleaner.

But this isn’t about clean — it’s about living inside the chaos.

Each episode page is its own living thing — tracking FX, edits, sound, and more. I’m learning how to scale the structure while keeping it from collapsing under its own weight. It's like editing the series itself — too many moving parts, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Every checkbox. Every VFX label. Every note. It all adds up to something no social feed can offer.

👉 Peek inside EPISODE 1’s Command Center page — the framework’s being pressure-tested.

#2 I think… sharing my process might be the best form of therapy I didn’t know I needed.

At the bottom of each episode’s page, I’m dropping personal notes — what’s hard about that episode, what I’m fixing, what’s breaking me and what’s keeping me in it. No polish. No “director speak.” Just truth.

Sometimes it’s audio. Sometimes it’s a scribbled sketch from the edit bay. Sometimes it’s just a typed-out rant at 2AM.

But it’s real.And the more I share, the more connected this whole project feels.

🧠 The Command Center isn’t just tracking progress — it’s opening the door.

🎥 #3 I think… Episode 3 might be my emotional breaking point.

There’s a sequence in that episode I’ve dreaded editing since day one. It’s heavy. It’s personal. It hits a nerve I usually avoid.

But I didn’t avoid it this time.

And now I’m staring it down every afternoon in the edit bay, trying to carve meaning out of it without flinching.

It’s the kind of scene that doesn’t need monsters. It is the monster.

🩸 Once that episode page is live — you’ll know exactly which moment I’m talking about.

Until then — keep watching. The deeper we go, the darker it gets.

🎥 Now — watch the teaser trailer below. Just a taste of the tone. A flicker of what’s coming. The full war’s about to unfold — but this is where it starts.

🔻 Trailer below — your first mission briefing begins here.🔻

TRYHARD COMPANY: The CHRONICLES of TANK - Limited Series, official teaser trailer

TRYHARD COMPANY: The CHRONICLES of TANK - Limited Series - OKLAHOMA WARD: DIRECTOR

Code Red: Filmmaking - Directors's Thoughts

Step into the mind of the director as we explore the creative process behind TRYHARD COMPANY, with personal reflections, insights, and inspirations.

🎬 Let’s cut to the truth...

No deep dive this week — I’m living it.

Editing all day. Coding all night. Finalizing episodes, testing HTML, wiring up the entire Command Center — it's nonstop.

But this part? This is the war before the premiere.

So instead of a long entry — here are two stories that have fueled me this week:

🎥 Story 1: Shane Carruth – Primer

One man. One movie. He wrote it. Directed it. Acted in it. Composed the score.Took two years just to edit because he taught himself Final Cut Pro from scratch.

Film festivals said it was too confusing.Then Sundance gave it the Grand Jury Prize.

Now?

It’s considered one of the smartest sci-fi films ever made.

🎥 Story 2: Robert Rodriguez – El Mariachi

Shot on film. Bartered medical experiments to fund it. No permits. No crew. Just hustle.

He edited it at night, dubbed it himself, learned everything as he went.

Columbia Pictures picked it up. It launched his entire career.

🔥 So yeah — it’s exhausting right now. But I’m not alone in the trenches.This is how indie stories are forged.

Back to the grind.See you Thursday — when it all goes live.

🎥 Reconnaissance: Hidden Masterpieces – Cult Films

🎬 Featured Film: Logan’s Run (1976)

Directed by Michael Anderson | Starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan

❤️ WHY I LOVE: Logan’s Run

🍿 Grab some hot popcorn — here’s where it hit me.

Logan's Run came out before I was old enough to go to theaters — but I had heard about it. I used to devour every issue of Starburst, Fangoria, and every sci-fi/horror magazine I could get my hands on. That’s how I learned about Logan’s Run — and about Michael York, one of my all-time favorite actors. Still is. Not many people talk about him today, but I think he's fantastic.

Farrah Fawcett was in it too — a small part, but unforgettable. I think this might’ve even been one of her first films.

There was a theater I used to go to every weekend. I got to know the owner, and one day he told me they were doing a reissue of Logan’s Run. “Have you seen it?” he asked. I hadn’t. “You have to.”

So I grabbed a bag of popcorn — sticky floors, leftover smell from a kids’ movie matinee — I was in a bad mood and got there late (which to this day, is something I never do; I always get there in time for previews or I leave and come back). But everything about that night should’ve made this a bust…

And then the movie started.

It blew me away.

It transported me. I was hooked. The world. The action. The tone. It was sexy but not gratuitous. The story was fascinating. The effects — for their time — were mind-blowing. Sure, now you might watch and say, “That’s a cardboard box, not a rock,” but none of that mattered. Because the story pulled me in.

Michael York’s performance was incredible.

It's a classic. It holds its place. It hasn't been forgotten — and every time I talk to a true cinephile, Logan’s Run comes up.

If you haven’t seen it — you have to. And if you ever get the chance to see it in a theater? Don’t miss it.

I love Logan’s Run.

📜 Summary

In a domed, post-apocalyptic city ruled by a computer, citizens live in leisure — until they turn 30, when they are “renewed”… or executed. Logan 5 is a “Sandman” who enforces this system, until he’s forced to run. What follows is a stylized, psychedelic chase through a dying utopia, filled with collapsing ideologies, synthetic pleasures, and existential dread.

🧩 Two Interesting Facts

The film’s budget was a then-massive $9 million — and it was MGM’s last big sci-fi push before Star Wars changed the game a year later.
The interiors of the domed city were filmed in real Texas malls, giving the sterile dystopia a disturbingly grounded familiarity.

🎭 Actor Spotlight – Michael York

As Logan 5, York blends duty and doubt in a way that anchors the surreal world around him. His slow unraveling mirrors the film’s deeper themes — identity, rebellion, and confronting the lie we’re raised inside.

🎬 Iconic Scene

Logan and Jessica escape the domed city and encounter the outside world — a ruined Washington D.C., overrun by nature. It’s a rare moment of silence and awe in a film full of flashing lights and fatal rituals. The scene’s slow pace and earthy decay hit harder than any action sequence.

🗞️ What the Critics Say

“Gloriously weird and often overlooked.” “A relic of ‘70s sci-fi excess — and brilliance.” “Visually unforgettable, conceptually unnerving.”

📺 Surveillance: Hidden Treasures - Underrated Series

🎬 Featured Series: The Wild Wild West (1965–1969)

Created by Michael Garrison | Starring Robert Conrad & Ross Martin

☕ Pick up your coffee cups...

❤️ WHY I LOVE: The Wild Wild West

Robert Conrad — what a man’s man.

He was the kind of actor who ate up the screen. He could play the villain, the hero, the vulnerable guy, or the comic relief — and he could make fun of himself, which to me is the mark of a great actor. Handsome, rugged, and able to deliver lines that didn’t feel like lines — that’s a rare talent.

Ross Martin was the perfect partner.

He never crossed into camp — at least not in a way that killed the tone. He danced that line between clever and over-the-top, but always kept it grounded. His character had depth. A lot of it. You cared about him.

And of course — this show blurred all the lines. Western? Spy thriller? Sci-fi gadget romp? It had it all.

And that intro? Absolute classic. Wild. Risky. Totally unforgettable. Something you could never make today — and that’s part of why I love it.

Wanna know which of my episodes pays homage to it? Check back Thursday to find out — it’s hiding in plain sight.

📜 Summary

Before steampunk was even a term, The Wild Wild West was fusing secret agents, high-tech gadgets, and Old West grit into one outrageous hybrid. Secret Service agent James West and genius sidekick Artemus Gordon take on evil scientists, assassins, and twisted villains — all while decked out in Victorian weaponry and sci-fi inventions decades ahead of their time.

🧩 Two Interesting Facts

The show was pitched as “James Bond on horseback” — and delivered exactly that, complete with custom gadgets, exploding cufflinks, and knockout gas in boots.
It was one of the first American series to feature elaborate practical effects and original villain creations every week — many of which influenced later Batman and Mission: Impossible episodes.

🎭 Actor Spotlight – Ross Martin

As Artemus Gordon, Martin was a master of disguise, pulling off new personas nearly every episode. He gave the show depth, charm, and a layer of comic timing that helped balance the darker plots and deadly tech.

🎬 Iconic Scene

In one of the show’s best episodes, West and Gordon confront Dr. Miguelito Loveless — the show’s recurring villain — inside a surreal lair filled with booby traps, hallucination gas, and warped perspectives. It’s tense, bizarre, and still visually inventive over 50 years later.

🗞️ What the Critics Say “A genre blender that shouldn’t have worked — but did.” “Campy, dangerous, and unforgettably bold.” “A cult series that walked so modern mashups could run.”

🎥 [Watch the Intro]

Take a trip down memory lane with us as we explore the archives of our past content, with forgotten gems and timeless insights.

Classified Files Pending...

TRYHARD Recruitment: Sign Up Now

🧠 JOIN THE TRYHARD COMPANY TEAM

We’re building this series from the ground up — no studio safety net, no big budget machine. Just passion, scars, and a relentless drive to make something real.

If you've made it this far — you're already part of it.

💥 Want to go deeper?

🔗 Visit TRYHARDseries.com
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Mission Accomplished... for now.

The briefing may be over, but the mission continues. Join the TRYHARD COMPANY team and stay tuned for more updates, insights, and behind-the-scenes information. Share your thoughts and join/follow us on Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, twitter/x etc. - and we'll catch you every Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday...

Create fearlessly,

Oklahoma Ward