LZ - Sparrow | A Half Life 1 Animation Film 

Seeing how extreme, gory, violent, and terrifying the Black Mesa incident was, imagine the Seven Hour War...

its creepy how realistic the people are, you can see the fear in their faces and eyes

This really gives me a perspective on how much of a force Gordon Freeman is throughout this chaos

The way you have the headcrabs disable marines, and then having the zombies get at them. My god, I absolutely love your usage of em.

This single handedly one of the best depictions of Black Mesa's messy withdrawl I've seen. My jaw dropped watching the marine get overpowered and torn apart by those zombies. I loved the cinematography in this: the marines move around and respond in a manner that if it wasn't the source engine would look positively life like. The only exclusion to great movement would be the alien grunts: but it's such a small moment that it's entirely forgivable due to the raw passion and eye for detail exhibited everywhere.

I'm amazed. You managed to preserve and flesh out the HORROR of Half-Life's storyline, which a lot of players seem to have forgotten because we're so used to playing the game we basically blaze through it like some sort of action shooter; and we don't stop to consider how HORRIFYING the whole thing must've been to the characters in-game.

Not only for the smooth realistic gmod animations that you rarely see in most gmod animations, i also loved the part where you incorperate the wounded HECU soldier radio into the animation. 11/10 Masterpiece animations.

2:06 the soldier fusing with the fence causing it to get stuck is so sick... i love it!

God I love each little detail poured into this, such as 1:52 showing that the PCV can tank vorti hits to the torso but doesn't protect the rest of the body as the HEV does.

Definitely a masterpiece! Brutally, darkly and dramatically. Feel sorry for the HECU unit, that left for die. Moreover, they died brutally - not like heroes.

It's a horrifying thought, to think that the fortifications they put to prevent anyone from escaping Black Mesa. Kinda also backfired on them. Especially, as they started to lose ground.

What I always found creepy about HL zombies is that if you pay attention, you can hear words among their moaning like "help me" and "oh god". Makes you think that the people are still there, trapped in their own, mutating bodies. Always made me feel sad about them and I saw putting them down as an act of mercy. You've really showed that side of zombies in this film. Excellent job.

Man spent the last moments of his life unknowingly saving his squadmate from the agonizing existence of being a headcrab zombie. What a lad.

This is by far one of the greatest sfm short films I've ever seen. I don't know what else to say, this is, this is perfection. the use of prexisting voice lines from other games to portray the HECU grunts we see here, the angles, the realism in how they fought and reacted, the emotions in this... just perfect. I always wanted to see something like this, and you made it come to life in the best way possible. thank you, man, this really made my day

I never took into account just how dangerous and deadly the Xen creatures are. Playing as Gordon Freeman, you feel practically invincible as long as you keep your suit power up. This does a phenomenal job showing the true reality of it

Always appreciate good Black Mesa videos, they are rare these days

A whole dad gum year The fact you guys managed to persevere and not abandon it says quite a lot… Take a break! You deserve it!

I have never in my entire life seen a better representation of the abject hopelessness of the Seven Hour War than this video.

You not only made the headcrabs extremely useful but the zombies as well. Also seeing how much tension the marines were going through in this was incredible.

I feel like vortigaunts would be completely ineffective against modern human small arms, I mean they don't use cover and take a long time to charge up their energy attacks. I always thought of the failures at black mesa being a result of the marines being cut-off and surprised by the teleportation technology, and the heavier, more armored units like the grunts

This was fucking amazing. I can’t even begin to fathom how difficult and long this was to make, but you somehow perfectly portrayed the grim situation the HECU were thrust into with barely any dialogue. I felt more sympathy for these marines than most overinflated TV series and movies. I think the simplicity of the story and characters, as well as knowing it was made by a single person makes you appreciate it far more. Knowing this was made as purely a passion project adds to it too.

I love the usage of voice lines from different games (noticed the 60% combat effectiveness line from Modern Warfare 2) which kept the scene feeling varied and realistic. Fantastic job.

1:49 I cannot stop rewatching this part, it's just so unbelievably smooth I love it.

12:24 the way the zombies said "hear me oh god..." it sounds like "kill me oh god...." its kinda sad because the people are still conscious when they get headcrabbed.... god... imagine if this is real man...

Holy. Shit. The way you presented the pressure and TERROR of the cascade literally sent me down a lot of shivers. I was afraid to not suddenly get jumpscared, that's how tense this all was. This made me feel sad for marines even more. Poor dudes thought this will be just a standard operation, but no, that is a global conflict between worlds. I almost shed a tear watching them die horribly. Salute for HECU, you have my respect. This is truly a masterpiece among Half Life animations! You did a phenomenal job and I hope this blows up in the future!

I love that you added a simple yet forgotten attention to detail that most people get wrong! The basic trigger safety, the way you make the Marines fight better than most animations, the way you animate the Marines (realistic), the Marines saying Gunny (term in the USMC for Gunnery Sergeant) and the despair. This is excellent! Bravo!

This is amazing, truly one of a kind. This is probably my favorite piece of HECU lore I've ever seen. This is a whole movie. The execution is flawless, this deserves to be up there with the greats. The fact that it only has 726 likes is insane. This is excellent.

i love that this shows the reality of the horror the HECU had to face when dealing with black mesa as a whole. pretty sure the last thing they thought they'd be fighting was aliens. This was amazing man. very good.

The scene at 8:26 is some of the most brutal stuff I've ever seen from these Black Mesa animations, Honestly this whole video is a different caliber with how gritty and brutal it all is.

man i have no words, this is a masterpiece the animation was smooth as butter, the dialogue, the references

I always wondered how could the well trained marines be infested by head crabs if not by ambush.. now I know the answer is during chaos.

One of the best things about your animations is the ability to depict a side losing but still make it extremely enjoyable to watch

Dear god, the zombie sounds will forever haunt me, just from how much pain there is in them.

This video really emphasizes the reality of the Resonance Cascade incident. If you're not Gordon "more luck than Master Chief" Freeman everything happening in Half Life 1 is equivalent to an apocalyptic sci fi horror movie.

I'm actually flabbergasted by the quality of this video. It really just shows that everyone in the half-life universe, every "bad" guy in the first game was all just following orders, not just some mindless machine aimed to kill the player and everyone else. This really shows how the H.E.C.U was absolutely not prepare for the horrors black mesa was going to bring and were trying their best to control the situation at black mesa against the Xenians.

This is one of the best SFMs out there. I clicked on this video out of curiosity and i was blown away by the level of details. First time the whole thing was depicted with all the gore and chaos. Fantastic job. Valve should take a look at this and start considering a TV series, especially for the Oposing force. Talented creators like you show what is possible.

I like how you made the person in the end die slowly instead of "Oh IFAKs gone. Guess I'll die." crap. 10/10.

God... When I was playing the game I was so confused on why the military pulled out. This really shows why,

I'll chip in and comment. I genuinely love how you gave Black Mesa a Hue City feel in terms of casualties and futility and hope you make more content. As someone currently writing and working with an artist on a graphic novel, I appreciate what you did to tell the story visually as well as through characters' emotions.

Oh my god, i never seen a horrific scenario about Black Mesa. I was take a very pleasure to see this masterpiece. You create a really anxious moment and we very seen the scare of the guy. You deserve a lot of view for that

This adaptation of the head crab zombies were even more terrefying than the ones we got in game.

Man this is phenominally good. It's amazing how much emotion you are conveying using the crude facial expressions. Combat scenes are really good too and you can really feel the hopelessness of the soliders here. Great job!

I actually really enjoyed this film. I really liked the aspect of how everyone who is in shock is either frozen or just completely oblivious to their surroundings. 10/10 video, would recommend.

I truly love the way you use the headcrabs, you're the first person I see that uses the headcrabs to disable the marines(also using teamwork in a way)

Funny enough, I was watching a video on all of the radio transmissions + EAS messages just to re-listen to the beautiful voice acting, and I just kinda stumbled onto this video after recognizing "LZ Sparrow". Though it's a damn shame to watch the final moments of Goose 4, you did a great job animating this in Gmod! Always impressed seeing your work.

Can't say I have ever seen a HECU focused video like this before. I would watch a movie lenght one of this.

4:16 i think i just saw marine having PTSD in background

This was probably a single hard to watch animation ive seen. You really nailed the brutality.

The moment I saw that guy lean against the wall I had a feeling he's going to be the one with the destroyed IFAK and when he reached for the radio I just knew. It was depressing listening to it in-game and seeing it in animated form makes it even more sad. It was really cool hearing the LZ Sparrow distress call (which I also caught in the game just like many other people I'm sure) and seeing an interpretation of how things went down. Amazing work

This is complete masterpiece. Lore details, use of assets, tension, story, Just the best HECU fan animation I saw.

El hecho de que esto es GMOD, simplemente es sensacional.

I absolutely ADORE how you done all of this and how good of a portrayal this is of how really fucked and unorganized shit got, and I also especially love the gore effects and how the zombies being really terrifying ( headcrabs too! ) 20/10 short film, it's like something how I imagine my npc battles go in gmod but animated and done really well , and the fact all this was done in gmod too as well makes it all the more got DAYMN impressive.

I like how this shows how long the Black Mesa incident really lasted. It seems almost a full week goes by in game by the time you get to Xen.

Not going to lie, that was brutal...but what hurt most must have been being abandoned by your allies. Great video BTW ❤

Tragic and truly hooking piece of art, the true nature of the individuals living this situations. One of the best animations I have ever seen. Your deserve more for this talent and effort.

I still love how well animated this is and the references. This deserves more views

Dang it, I was actually in the process of animating this conversation in SFM 11:02 lol This animation is absolutely outstanding though! Your combat sequences are intense, there were moments my jaw dropped at the brutality. Honestly beats the idea I had in mind. Overall, fantastic video man! 😁👌

I fucking love how you used the radio messages from black mesa i remember hearing them while i was running around as gordon and it absolutely terrified me to imagine what it was like on the surface but seeing it was just awesome just the total chaos of it is captured perfectly. keep up the good work!!!!

The ending was wild, the zombified marine asking for help, but what I heard was “Tommy god help me”

I love the foreboding sense the head crab soldier gives off You as the viewer know it’s gonna jump up suddenly and start attacking them. But they don’t know that

2:56 It's kind of like a tribute to Saving Private Ryan.

Looking back at this I appreciate how you portrayed the weapons used by the HECU as being different from each other in this machinima like the M16 and MP5 along with the Glock and Beretta pistols rather than just having them all use MP5s and shotguns as seen in the games.

this jsut shows how fucking scary the headcrabs are like jesus christ

When you're shooting civilians in a secret government facility then the air starts to glow green.

Always wanted to see someone animate these radio transmissions and this was beautiful. You did great

Half life universe has got to be beyond terrifying to live in; animation conveys that really well. Excellent work!

I'd almost tear up because of how amazing and well-made this was. Especially since I'm a fan of the lore. Thanks to people like you, Half-Life never truly dies (pun sorta intended).

Good shit, really goes to show how the marines went from having the situation under control to being completely overrun

Jesus man that was one of the truly best animations I have ever seen! Just shows how in over there heads they were. Was NOT expecting the wounds from the vortigon beams. No wonder those guys are a threat. The incorporation of the voice lines are top tier! You deserve a lot more subs man!

God this is a terrifying rendition of how it went down, the fact that many of the marines weren’t killed but maimed and left to die is awful

Damn, this SFM is great, really just shows in how large of a disarray the marines were in. It's also amazing that you've managed to actually make the marines feel real, with the squad lead giving orders, hand signals and the animations were top notch. It really shocks me that this was made in garry's mod.

I remember playing Black Mesa and coming across a radio and listening to the "My IFAK's gone" conversation. That hit fucking hard. I tried imagining what must've happened to him, and lo and behold I come across a beautifully-made short film that shows me.

Damn, the animation is so great and the injuries are so serious, i love your animation man.

Nightmare fuel when the head crab zombies just chomped on him. I wouldn't even be able to imagine the pain. Jesus Christ. Well time to watch some memes before bed! But honestly, Great work. Had my heart pumping for a good 20 minutes after this.

Amazing work divine "They didnt even stand a chance"

"We should've left when we had the chance... n-now it's too lat..." - HECU Marine

i always wonder if the hecu didnt attack the scientist and gordon have to team up with them they might just have a chance to quickly take back the black mesa

I thought to add that I think you definitely captured the essence of Half Life here. :) You showed off the aliens as brutal and savage which they are absolutely - The marines in the game are losing not only to Gordon Freeman but also because of the teleportation ability of the aliens, imagine - any attempt to form a containment will fail due to the aliens ability to just show up.

I...there are no words. The animation. The action. the horror. ITS SO FUCKIN GOOD MAN. This was amazing to watch. It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Damn fine work, Damn fine!

Man Black Beret solider sure was tired I hope we get to see him again after he wakes up from his nap.

Holy cow, I didn't think I'd see another half-life animation from you. This is a very much welcome surprise

This...this just shows how fucked everyone is during the 'Black Mesa Incident'. Well, unless you are a protagonist of one of the games. The only obvious thing that I complain about is that one scene where that headcrab latches on a marine's leg, followed by what looked like a zombie biting him with its head. Headcrab zombies don't do that. They bite with their chest-maws. Which by the way you did a good job with that other marine dying by being tackled and chomped alive by zombies. Another thing, the P.C.V. that HECU marines use is basically a cheaper militarized version of H.E.V. suit's powered reactive armor. You, know, the same one that can consume the energy of a grenade blast. So, I thought that the marines wouldn't die as easily from vortiguant lightning attacks. And then I realized...that it only covers the torso. Leaving everything beside it to get grilled. Glad you showed that. In conclusion, gud job m8.

I love how this is filmed like real war footage at the start

This animation is underrated as hell. Huge respect for your work 💪

I fucking love this shit, absolutely satiates my love for Black Mesa and fan animations of it. Stuff like this reminds me of how harrowing this all must’ve been for the marines sent to the facility, and there’s an example I want to cite. In Forget About Freeman, your last major fight with the HECU is out in the open along a makeshift HECU campsite and some fences. From what you can piece together, it seems like these guys were about to pack up and break through the fence line, maybe to evacuate out of the BMRF on foot with whatever armour they have left. Unfortunately, Gordon stumbles upon them before that plan gets set into motion.

wow..just wow. the pacing, angles, sound effects, smooth af animations, everything was perfect!

Fuck the way the zombies just tore at the guy..

Brilliant! Had me gripped from beginning to end Love how you've elevated the lowly headcrab from a nuisance in the game to something truly terrifying in this film Well done!!

12:30 i love how you can tell he didn't shoot that zombie to save himself, he put the poor soldier out of his misery

Imagine if these were npcs in gmod that could actually act like this.

Deserves to be hired at some triple a game studio doing all this one gmod is impressive I’ve watch your channel for multiple years and it gets better every film

One whole bloody year to make such a masterpiece! You are underrated man, your content deserves to be shown to many more! Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing more content like this 👍

it is incredibly impressive how much detail and work have been put into this, well, not only this but the rest of your work, its just, jaw dropping good work pal, good fucking good also, poor karl, give him a break

Only issue I have with this is that the radio call from Goose 4 comes after Goose 4 lifts off, and is given by the marine NCO even though it's supposed to be the pilot calling for support. Would've made more sense to have it play after some of the marines get shredded, then show the CO die and gate get stuck so the other NCOs just cut tail and run. It's just an odd error in an otherwise excellent animation.

Half Life should have been a survival horror game In all seriousness, something about the the Black Mesa Incident has always captured my imagination and makes me wish that the desperation and horror could be captured in a movie or a new game. Thank you for this extremely detailed and well thought out cinematic take on the game. PS It really figures that something so bleak (yet humane) would come from a fan of Insurgency (you are a fan, aren’t you?).

I LOVE THIS HOLY CRAP ALL THAT HARD WORK PAIED OFF! A YEAR HOLY CRAP...I HAVE TO GO BETWEEN PROJECTS TBH...(MAYBE THAT'S A "ME" PROBLEM LOL, AIN'T TRYING TO BE RUDE OR DOWNPLAY ANYTHING). BUT AS I SAID, THATS AWESOME HOW YOU ALL STAYED FOCUSED AND FINISHED IT GREAT WORK! BUT GOD, I FEEL BAD FOR THE MARINES NOW...REALLY, REALLY BAD FOR THEM, MORE SO THEN I DID BEFORE TBH. I WTHT HE GAMES PORTRAYED THIS STUFF MORE. HOLY CRAP, THAT DEPICTION LOOKED BRUTALLY HONEST IMO. ALSO, I LOVE THE TIE IN'S WITH THE RADIO SCENES..IT MAKES IT MORE TERRIFYING, REALM AND SAD. BTW...THE ENDING...THE HEARDBEAT AFFECT...NICE TOUCH. :( TBH I WANNA SEE A HL2 CITIZEN/RESISTANCE/REBEL VERSION OF THIS WHEN/IF YOU ALL EVER PLAN ON MAKING IT THAT IS? :) ALSO, WHAT DID YOU USE TO ANIMATE THIS WITH? IT'S INCREDABLE, AND SO'S THE LIGHTING, AS I SAID BEFORE GREAT WORK, 100/10 PLEASE FORGIVE ANY MIS SPELLINGS OR GRAMMAR MISTAKES IF ANY ARE PRESENT. ^_

this is spectacular

What makes this so cool is that a majority of the scenes are Gmod stopmotion followed by a cinematic camera! Here's to more views and subscribers!

SIIII! Me suscribí hace un tiempo y pensaba que habías abandonado el canal me alegro mucho de ver esto, seguro que es oro puro amigo, felicidades

I dont think any other animation really captures how gritty black mesa was, fantastic work dude.