TRYHARD COMPANY Update: New VFX Locked, Secret Storyline Builds, and a Look Back at Star Trek TOS
- Oklahoma Ward
- 7 hours ago
- 8 min read
"TANK doesn’t sleep — and neither do we. Week by week, we’re bleeding through the cut… and loving it."
📚 TABLE OF CONTENTS
🎬 PRODUCTION BREAKING NEWS
Hot Off the Workbench – While the render was still smoking.
EPISODE 01: (CLICK ON LINK to see PROGRESS)
Edit Pass #3 has taken another leap forward — rising above 87% completion.
💥 Big strides also made in set and costume design for the final two pickup scenes. The energy for these shots is building — can’t wait to film them!
EPISODE 04: (CLICK ON LINK to see PROGRESS)
Locked in more edits on Edit Pass #3, pushing it well beyond last week’s 75% mark. The tunnel tension is rising — and it’s going to show.
EPISODE 06: (CLICK ON LINK to see PROGRESS)
🎇 4 large VFX sequences fully completed and placed
This episode’s engine is roaring — you’ll feel it.
(For access to all Episode Breakdowns)
🛠️ PROJECT UPDATE: TRYHARD COMPANY
💬 Field Notes from the Director's Chair – Progress, Pressure, and the Push Forward.
This week? A storm of progress.
🎬 Major special effects were completed and implemented — the kind that only get tackled once the edit is locked. These weren’t just filler FX. These were scene-defining, and now they’re burned in for good. Seeing those final layers fall into place? That’s the kind of fuel that keeps the engine roaring.
But there’s something even bigger happening behind the scenes…
TRYHARD COMPANY isn’t just one story.
It’s three.
The first arc? Each individual episode follows a clear beginning, middle, and end — the classic structure.
The second arc? A series-spanning storyline that builds tension across all six episodes.
And the third? A secret undercurrent — something no one on set has known about. Not even Nicole... until now.
Only recently — with enough scenes edited and nearly every plotline dialed in — did the space finally open up to weave this hidden thread throughout the entire series. The payoff? At the end, it all clicks.
Lines in Episode 4 that seemed simple.
Last words in Episode 2 that felt random.
They’re going to hit like a gut punch.
And the best part? Only Nicole - and I - are filming this part.
It’s under wraps. And it’s going to drop jaws.
All of this is being built in the middle of real-life chaos — hospital runs, feeding tube schedules, and caregiving around the clock for Dad - but - he is back home now. And despite it all, he looks me in the eyes and says: “I want to see this series.”
That’s all the fire we need.
So as TANK would say…
🩸 Buckle up. Knuckle up.
We’re not stopping.
🎙️ DIRECTOR'S THOUGHTS
Wires, Guts, and Everything in Between.
The Theater, the Line, the Popcorn, the Crowd.
🎬 Let’s cut to the truth...
I remember when Nicole and I first started dating in L.A. — one of our earliest shared loves was the movies. Not just watching them — going to the theater. And we had rules:
🎟️ Get there early.
🍿 Popcorn in hand. (One bag each — no sharing.)
🎯 Middle of the row, one up from dead center — or we wait for a different showtime.
We’d even check seating charts online and pass on a showing if we couldn’t get those perfect spots. And if the theater didn’t assign seats? We were the ones waiting in line for hours. One of the best memories? Seeing The Dark Knight in real IMAX — the kind only L.A. had. The screen was so massive you couldn’t see the bottom of the frame. Nicole and I tag-teamed: she held the line, I made popcorn runs… twice. Then she darted in as the doors opened and secured our spots like a heat-seeking missile. We’d high-five across a crowd just to claim those seats.
But it wasn’t just about the seats — it was about the people. The communal energy. Hearing an entire audience gasp, laugh, or scream in sync.That’s what made a blockbuster feel big.
Now? Most things premiere on streaming.
There are fewer watercooler moments.
Even when something huge drops, no one’s really talking about it. We just… move on.
I get it. I do it too. It’s easier. Cheaper. Comfortable.
But part of me misses it — the theater as a ritual.
Sitting on the sidewalk with a crowd of strangers for Paranormal Activity.
Swapping stories, holding each other’s place in line, ordering pizza together and debating film news while waiting in the dark.
I know those days are probably gone.
But I’ll raise my popcorn bucket to the ones who still care —Who still want to talk an hour after the credits roll.
If that’s you?
You’re my kind of people.
🎭 ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Drops every WEDNESDAY
📺 SERIES SPOTLIGHT
Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)
🔍 A bold, genre-defining series that changed sci-fi forever.
Featured Series: Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969)
Created by Gene Roddenberry | Starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
☕ Pick up your coffee cups...
❤️ WHY I LOVE: Star Trek: TOS
In one sense, I think — do I even need to write about this? Everyone knows Star Trek, right?
But… they don’t.
These days, I watch a lot of reaction videos. I think it’s my way of replacing the old movie theater experience — seeing people react to classics for the first time. Yeah, I know some of them might be faked, but a few — eight or so — feel truly real. And honestly, when I went to the theater back in the day, I never cared if someone next to me had already seen the movie. I just liked being around people who were laughing, crying, gasping at the same moments I was. It made you feel connected — across backgrounds, ideologies, races. There was something unifying in that.
Recently, I watched a couple online reacting to the original Star Trek episodes. I figured: today’s kids, all these slick visual effects — they’re not going to like it. Even Nicole didn’t really connect with it when I tried to show it to her years ago.
She thought it seemed hokey. But something happened. Time passed, I gave it another shot — and it hit me:
I didn’t love Star Trek just because I was a kid. I loved it because the stories were real.
Sure, as a kid I wanted a phaser, a tricorder. I wanted to be Captain Kirk. My buddy? He was Spock.
And listen — let me just say it — I had a massive crush on Uhura. Still do. She’s one of the most striking, confident women I’ve ever seen on screen.
Class, beauty, strength — all of it.
But what really makes Star Trek: TOS hold up?
The characters.
People who’ve never even seen it still know the quotes. "Beam me up, Scotty." Red shirt jokes. Spock’s hand symbol. The Vulcan nerve pinch. Bones growling, “You green-blooded goblin!”
Even if you didn’t watch the show — you felt its fingerprints.
That’s always been my test for greatness: It’s not about what happens in a series — it’s who it happens to.
That’s why most some shows become timeless. They’re built around fascinating characters — Magnum. Columbo. Shaft.
But when you build a world on ensemble, like Star Trek, it breathes - so many characters that stand out - clearly stand out... that's - rare ground. Very. Rare.
And even for younger viewers — for anyone raised on high-budget visuals — Star Trek: TOS still breaks through. Because it’s not about the effects.
It’s about the heart.
These episodes tackled huge topics:
🌍 Culture clash
⚖️ Prejudice
🧠 Logic vs Emotion
🤝 Connection beyond race, gender, and species
And they wrapped it in mystery, sexiness, sci-fi action, and yes — Kirk’s shirt always had to get ripped somehow.
It wasn’t preachy.
It was storytelling with purpose.
Honestly?
If I had to pick just one series to show another civilization as a way of saying,
“This is what we could’ve been…”
It would be Star Trek: The Original Series.
📜 Summary
In the 23rd century, Captain James T. Kirk leads the starship Enterprise on a five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before.Each episode blends space adventure with thoughtful allegories on war, identity, race, power, and what it means to be human — all wrapped in vivid colors, eerie alien soundscapes, and unforgettable characters.
🧩 Two Interesting Facts
NBC almost canceled the show after Season 2, but a massive fan letter-writing campaign — one of the first of its kind — saved it for a third (and final) season.
The first televised interracial kiss in American TV history aired in the 1968 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” between Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura.
🎭 Actor Spotlight: Leonard Nimoy as Spock
Nimoy’s portrayal of the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer became one of the most iconic performances in sci-fi history. His commitment to Spock’s internal conflict — logic vs emotion — gave the series its emotional core and inspired decades of stories.
🎬 Iconic Scene
“The Devil in the Dark” — Spock mind-melding with the injured Horta, revealing the creature’s pain and misunderstood nature. “Pain! Pain!” It’s a classic moment of empathy and science fiction flipping the monster trope on its head.
🗞️ What the Critics Say
“A revolutionary blend of pulp adventure and philosophical exploration.” “Campy, yes — but light-years ahead of its time.” “Spock and Kirk weren’t just characters — they were cultural blueprints.”
🎥 FILM SPOTLIGHT
Pop in the tape and dim the lights…
Let’s talk about a film that never left me.
Drops next 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
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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
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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 Weds/Saturday...
Create fearlessly,
Oklahoma Ward