Meeting the Spy: An analysis, Part 1

A Red Spy is in the Base! Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnuYi-nzE90

As part of an ongoing animation analysis project, I will be using the "Meet the Spy" trailer for the Team Fortress 2 computer game to explain or demonstrate various ideas presented in the book "The Illusion of Life." This first post will cover how chapter one in the book relates to the video.

First a brief description of the video.
 The actual video starts at 0:04. An alarm in a base is going off, panels on a wall display what is wrong as a voice over the intercom also shout them, saying "Intruder Alert! A Red Spy is in the Base!" A man at the controls for the panels (who is simply referred to as the Soldier in the game itself) repeats the alert in a question then grabs a shotgun and clumsily but quickly makes his way down the stairs. The voice yells "Protect the briefcase!" to which the Soldier replies "We need to protect the briefcase!" As he stops he sees another person (who is referred to as the Scout) trying to get past a locked door. The Scout asks for help and the Soldier pushes him out of the way, trying to use the keypad lock on the door he enters the key "1, 1, 1, 1," As the lock doesn't open the Scout gets impatient. Behind them running towards them is a huge man (known as the Heavy) who yells "INCOMING!" The other two scream as he plows through them and the door. As the Heavy charges in while the other two stumble and ultimately fall to the floor the briefcase is revealed as being safe. The Scout mentions the briefcase is safe and the Heavy calms down. Somebody clears their throat and the two on camera look behind them to see a new character (Named the Spy) carrying a dead body. He cooly says "Gentlemen." The camera then cuts to a title screen for the animation. When it cuts back the Spy shifts the load on his shoulder and walks slowly towards the briefcase, mentioning that it is safe. The three others agree, to which the Spy asks if anyone "killed a Red Spy on the way down here?" The three gesture in their own ways that they didn't. The Spy replies "Then we still have a problem" and drops the dead body on the table, shown now with a butterfly knife sticking out of its back. The Soldier points out the knife, and the Scout pulls it out mocking the Spy, bringing up that he's killed plenty of them and that they are "A dime a dozen back stabbing scumbags, like you (To their Spy)." As he talks he spins the butterfly knife clumsily and knicks himself, dropping the knife and saying "No offense." The Spy picks up the knife, expertly flips it shut and hands it back to the Scout saying that if he managed to kill any spies they were not like him, and nothing like the one loose in their base. The Scout asks if the Spy is "President of his fan club." The Spy turns around and says, "No, that would be your mother." As he talks he holds up a file and slaps it onto the table, causing the photos within to fall out. The photos are of a man wearing a red version of the spies mask (but nothing else) holding a petite looking woman with done up hair. As the pictures are shown the Scout can be heard stuttering in shock. The Spy then says "And now he's here to fu-(bleeped out) us! So listen up boy or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing that happens to you today." As he says this the music begins to get much more ominous. The spy pulls a cigarette pack from his suit jacket and gets a cigarette out, meanwhile the Scout starts grabbing all of the pictures, snatching some from the Soldier and the Heavy. The Spy takes a drag then says that the Red Spy has already breached their defenses. The camera fades to a Red Spy moving through the shadows and coming up on an automated turret and a man watching it (He is called the Engineer) The Spy moves towards them, sliding a device across the floor that fries the turret and destroys it, the Engineer yells "Sentry Down!" as he tries to get his gun ready the Spy aims with his revolver and fires, blasting the Engineer in the head and causing him to tumble through the door behind him, the Spy aims and takes another shot at a target off camera, which causes the transition back to the Blue Spy to occur. The Blue Spy motions to the dead body and says "You see what he's done to our colleagues!" As he does the camera fades to another flashback in which the man who is now dead is peering out of a very cramped space with a sniper rifle (he is called the Sniper). The Red Spy is slowly creeping up on him with his knife in hand. The Sniper turns around and sees the Spy. He tries to attack him with his rifle but the Spy kicks him back. The Sniper grabs a nearby machete and swings at the Spy but the Spy dodges around him, slices him a few times then jams the knife into his back and adjusts his tie as the Sniper falls over a rafter. The camera fades back to the Blue Spy looks around the room saying that the Red Spy could be any one of them. The camera again fades to a flashback of a man in a doctor's labcoat (Called the Medic) attacking the Red Spy with a bonesaw. The Spy grabs his arm and locks him to himself, when he does a closeup of the Red Spy shows him turning into the Medic. When the transformation is finished the Medic rears back in shock and fear and the Spy slams his head with his forearm, causing the Medic's glasses to fly into the air. The Spy grabs them and puts them on, completing his disguise. The camera cuts back to the Blue Spy saying that he (the red spy) could be in the room with them, it could be you (as he points to one of the three off camera) it could be him. As he goes to finish his line with "It could even be---" he is cut off by his head exploding. As the body slumps to the ground the camera cuts to the Soldier holding his shotgun and the Scout and the Heavy exclaiming their shock at what just happened. The Soldier asks what they're bothered about and says "It was obvious, he was the Red Spy." He kneels down with the Heavy to inspect the body and says "Watch, he'll turn Red any second now........any second now....." The camera cuts to show the Soldier and the Heavy and behind them the Scout. The Scout looks to the side then starts cooly walking towards the other two, the camera cuts to his hand, expertly flipping out the butterfly knife as the Heavy says "So, we still got problem." As the knife locks into place the Soldier says "Big problem."  The final shot shows the Soldier and the Heavy standing over the camera, the Scout shimmers and turns into the Red Spy as the Soldier asks who wants to start looking for the spy. The Red Spy raises his knife and says "Right behind you." The next shot pulls back from focusing on the spy in a group shot of all the different characters in the game also showing the logo for it. As the theme music for the game plays the sounds of a stabbing noise can be heard in time with the music as the Soldier and Heavy cry out in pain. Finally the Red Spy sweeps away some of the pictures and picks up one with him and the woman walking holding hands (and clothed) and says something along the lines of "Ah, my petite flower" In french before walking away.

The point of the preview was to give an entertaining look into how the Spy acts in the game and of his various abilities. His ability to disable automated turrets was shown in the first flashback, and his ability to disguise himself as the other characters was mentioned by the Blue Spy then demonstrated in the third flashback and then again at the end of the preview. His personality is shown as a clam calculating demeanor, and one who respects the skill of his adversaries. The way he moves in contrast to the other characters is much more floaty and deliberate, and his enunciation makes his point clear at all times. The video communicates these aspects of the Spy well based off of the principles presented in chapter one of the book. Each character in the game has a unique personality that is accurately portrayed in every way that they move and act. From the clumsy but powerful movements of the Soldier to the overpowering lumbering movement (and even the voice) of the Heavy to the quick and full of attitude movements of the Scout. Each character's motions are completely their own and allow them to be seen as completely different people.

The Spy's movements accomplish the same goal, giving his personality and everything about him a certain uniqueness that none of the other characters can imitate. It allows the animators to really explore the thought processes of the different characters and come up with even small gestures that they would naturally do.


It is in this way that the Meet the Spy trailer successfully communicated its ideas. The Spy is a cool and suave character who is also deadly to just about anyone he can fool, and he can fool just about anyone.