We’re Back — New Blog Format & SFX Breakthroughs
- Oklahoma Ward
- Jun 12
- 5 min read
"TANK doesn’t sleep — and neither do we. Week by week, we’re bleeding through the cut… and loving it."
After a short silence, the war room lights are back on. New look. New format. Major SFX breakthroughs locked in on EP3 and EP5 — and we’re just getting started.
📚 TABLE OF CONTENTS
🎬 PRODUCTION BREAKING NEWS
Hot Off the Workbench - We just created this — while the render was still smoking.
🎬 Welcome to the final Thursday post of the year... disguised as a Wednesday update.
It’s like time travel — only with more fire, sweat, and Wix errors.
🧨 The new normal kicks in next week: Wednesdays & Saturdays, no exceptions. TRYHARD rolls on.
Despite another unexpected hospital stay for my dad, Nicole and I are keeping our promise to him — to finish this series. While balancing care and chaos, I knocked out a huge batch of SFX, locking in major progress on Episode 3 and Episode 5. Meanwhile, Nicole’s been hunting down a massive SFX outfit for one of the final, high-impact scenes — a character that will appear across all episodes and push her acting chops to the limit. I can’t wait to see what she does with the challenge. BOOM! BOOM!
TRYHARD COMPANY is still on track. The tunnel stays open. We’re pushing forward.
This week's TRYHARD COMPANY episode progress includes seven new SFX, updated director notes, and a fully locked sequence.
👉 Want the details?
[Enter the Command Center], click the episode buttons — then scroll to the Director’s Notes at the bottom of each page to see what’s been updated this week in EPISODE 3 and EPISODE 5.
🛠️ PROJECT UPDATE: TRYHARD COMPANY
FX Breakdown now live
🔗 [Enter TRYHARD Command Center]
🔗 [View New Assets]
✅ Multiple SFX shots have been completed this past week — especially in Episode 3 and Episode 5.
If you enter the Command Center and head to the EP3 and EP5 pages, you’ll find exact numbers logged under Director’s Notes.
More detailed SFX completions will roll out in future posts — for now, we’re keeping it tight while we balance life, production, and this newly launched blog format.
The tunnels are active. Every shot counts.
🎙️ DIRECTOR'S THOUGHTS
Here are 3 things I THINK I think…
1. The work doesn’t wait — but neither does life.
Balancing hospital visits, emotional breakdowns, and late-night SFX passes isn’t something they train you for. But we’re here. Every day I wake up and choose to keep going — for him, for us, for this series.
2. Nicole is about to take on the biggest performance challenge of her career.
We’re designing a sequence that spans all six episodes — and she’s carrying the emotional weight of it in one brutal, transformative performance. This isn’t just about VFX or design — it’s about putting raw, human survival into a sci-fi world. And she’s ready to bleed for it.
3. Progress feels slower until you look back.
Some days I feel like we’re not moving fast enough. Then I open a timeline and see 14 new shots, 6 locked effects, a final sound cue, and a comment from a fan that says, “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
That’s when I realize — we’re not just making something… we’re making something that lasts.
🎭 ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
“Some actors perform. Some bleed on screen.”
I’d die to go into battle with these two.
This week, I’m holding the spotlight for a moment — to explain why this section matters to me.
Actors are the reason I do what I do. Their craft, their courage, their willingness to dive into emotionally raw, sometimes absurd, deeply vulnerable situations — just to make us believe in something for a few minutes… it never stops inspiring me.
I’ve watched actors push through fear, doubt, exhaustion, and still give performances that feel carved out of real human experience.
That struggle?
That journey?
I love it.
I live for it.
And somewhere along the way, I realized I didn’t just want to watch great performances — I wanted to build spaces where they could happen.
Next Wednesday, I’ll begin sharing the actors who’ve left that mark on me — in film and in series — and why. And over time, I’ll spotlight the actors I've watched and I’ve worked with who’ve broken through their own walls, right in front of the camera.
This section is for them. All of them.
📺 SERIES SPOTLIGHT
Series that made me want to tell stories for a living.
Drops every Saturday.
🎥 FILM SPOTLIGHT
Pop in the tape and dim the lights…
Let’s talk about a film that never left me.
Drops every Saturday.
🏆 CRAWL OR DIE CORNER
The film that started it all.
Before TRYHARD COMPANY, there was CRAWL or DIE — a relentless indie beast that clawed its way out of the U.S. underground and became a cult phenomenon, especially overseas.
🎬 WATCH IT NOW
You can stream or rent CRAWL or DIE here:
🔥 Cult underground sci-fi. One tunnel. One woman. One chance.
🎨 FAN TRIBUTE VAULT
This week’s spotlight: 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.
💬 STILL BLEEDING INDIE
TANK wasn’t just a survivor — 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.
🎬 Rent / Buy / Stream the Original CRAWL or DIE and Prepare for TANK’s return in TRYHARD COMPANY: The Series
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY
🔴 Don’t Miss the Next Drop 🔴
STAY IN THE LOOP WITH US
Get behind-the-scenes updates, new blog posts, and future project news — not just TRYHARD COMPANY.
👤 Follow Oklahoma Ward – director, editor, indie war room general
👩🚀 Follow Nicole Alonso – actor, creator, and the face of TANK
📰 Follow this Blog – for every update, every drop, every detour
Whatever we build next — you’ll be first to know.
🚀 JOIN THE TRYHARD COMPANY TEAM
We’re building this series from the ground up — no studio net, no budget machine. Just fire, grit, and a need to create something real.
If you’re reading this — you’re part of the mission.
💥 Want to Go Deeper?
🔗 Visit TRYHARDseries.com
📢 Share this blog with someone who loves raw sci-fi
📡 Spread the word:#TRYHARDCompany | #TANKarmy | #IndieSciFiLives
🎥 The mission’s live. The team is growing. Let’s make this impossible thing happen — together.
🟡 SIGN UP FOR UPDATES 🟡
🔗 CONNECT
📣 Want to stay in the loop?
Follow us across socials and join the team:
🟡 SIGN UP FOR UPDATES
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 Weds/Saturday...
Create fearlessly,
Oklahoma Ward
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