Salute To Superfans: Battlefield Friends

We all love video games, but some just love them more than others. 

Battlefield Friends are well known for their hilarious animated series about Battlefield. Hank and Jed are the creative minds behind Battlefield Friends, and following the announcement of Battlefield 1, they took some time out of the production of season six to tell us why they love the franchise and their initial thoughts on the new game.

You’re massive fans of the Battlefield franchise, when did you first come up with the idea to create an animated series about Battlefield?

We came up with the idea in 2012. We had been playing Battlefield since Bad Company and Battlefield 3. We kept telling the others that they needed to get Battlefield 3 and play with us and they eventually did. Soon after, we found ourselves constantly talking about our Battlefield experiences, specifically in multiplayer. We had been producing other animated projects and thought it would be a good idea to make a Battlefield-based animated pilot. We made the pilot, which was then picked up by Machinima, and the rest is history.

How do you bring your creative ideas to life, is there a specific production process that you adhere to?

We try to make sure that our audience can relate to each episode. We want them to say "that happens to me all the time!" The show is successful because of the common ground we all share as "Battlefielders."  Sometimes we take some creative liberties but we really try to stay true to the game as well as the community's experience.

How long does it take to create an animation like the Battlefield 4 or Battlefield Hardline Season Finale?

Depending on the amount of action, two to four weeks.

Now that Battlefield Season 5 is complete; what’s next for Battlefield Friends?

We're about 75 percent done with production for season six of Battlefield Friends and hopefully we'll see a change in their uniforms at some point. The season six premiere of Battlefield Friends just aired May 16 on Vessel and we're looking at a YouTube release on Machinima sometime in August. Beyond that, who knows. I know the Noob is looking forward to riding some horses so maybe that's something we'll see down the line. 

The Battlefield franchise is huge, do you have a favorite game collectively and if so, why?

Recently, we did a video on our Neebs Gaming YouTube channel talking about that very topic. The consensus between all of us was that Battlefield 3 was our favorite. It had the perfect balance of map variety, weapons and vehicles. It was also the game that we really started to cut our teeth on.   

How much Battlefield do you guys play?

Well, while we're animating a season of Battlefield Friends, as we are right now, not much. Since we are a small team, we all try to contribute in the production of the series which takes a great deal of our time and energy. But when we're not in production we play a lot. Not just because we need to make the show, but because we genuinely love playing together.

You were present at the Battlefield World Premiere in London, what were your initial thoughts on seeing the Battlefield 1 trailer?

We were really impressed by the trailer. It was new, brutal and visually amazing. But what we were most excited about was the buzz coming from our peers who had already played Battlefield 1. These are guys whose opinions we value so much and have a great deal of respect for. So when they told us how amazing the game was, we got excited.  

We saw mustaches in the trailer, what else would you would really love to see in Battlefield 1?

We were worried that mustaches were just a rumor! A couple of the things we would like to see in Battlefield 1 are the ability to control the zeppelin or battleship. The ability to get on an enemy horse would be hilarious. Also, character animations after a kill, much like Star Wars Battlefront.

BFFs - Season 5 is available to watch now.

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