New Live action Halo Short

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2007-08-27 08:23pm

You might remember seeing one of these around E3 time, well another live action Halo short from WETA and the guy they snagged to direct the movie showing off ODST's, brutes, and a warthog among other things.

Download

YT300000 · Post by **YT300000** » 2007-08-27 09:09pm

The camera work is way too Pitch Black for my tastes. I've never been a fan of extreme over-saturation - and I hate shaky cam. In this video especially, some of the people in armour look CG at times, because of the weird lighting.

Was the first video like that, too?

Sidewinder · Post by **Sidewinder** » 2007-08-27 09:38pm

The last I heard, there was a dispute with the studio regarding the budget, and production on the live action 'Halo' movie was suspended. Has Microsoft and WETA found a new partner for the project?

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2007-08-27 09:46pm

From what I gather no but they had the guy they hired to direct the movie make this short, and from the wording of their announcements there's more to come.

As far as I know the full movie is still on hold though but who knows maybe the release of Halo 3 will kickstart it again.

HSRTG · Post by **HSRTG** » 2007-08-28 01:56am

If that's an indication of what the Halo movie would have looked like, I'm glad it was shitcanned. That entire short looked like ass. And it seems to have been shot in a junkyard.

Battlehymn Republic · Post by **Battlehymn Republic** » 2007-08-28 04:25am

I believe in Blomkamp.

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2007-08-28 04:33am

There wasn't much of an epic atmosphere, something I think could be fixed with some good music (or any music) and an establishing shot (which has no place in a short). I think the claustrophobia and shaky-cam could be good if we could see it in contrast with something before and after (like scenes in the tranquility of space). As it stands now though, it doesn't feel very Halo.

However, the director can do well with a little more than 1:37 minutes to use, see Alive in Joburg. This one has music and wide, scenic shots.

By the way, why didn't the Pelican just pick them up instead of going to all the trouble of dropping a Warthog? What's the point?

Battlehymn Republic · Post by **Battlehymn Republic** » 2007-08-28 04:43am

Why, to showcase the driving scenes in action, silly! Not to mention feature the driver's incredibly fake steering skills, as well as recreate a copy/homage of the scene in Black Hawk Down when the driver is shot. I'd have to say the weakest part of the short is the acting, specifically the tough guy dialogue.

Post by **weemadando** » 2007-08-28 06:25am

HSRTG wrote:If that's an indication of what the Halo movie would have looked like, I'm glad it was shitcanned. That entire short looked like ass. And it seems to have been shot in a junkyard.

I'm guessing that was mostly proof of concept and fx/costume/prop trials. It looked like it was shot in a junkyard probably because it was.

Slacker · Post by **Slacker** » 2007-08-28 11:12am

Winston Blake wrote: However, the director can do well with a little more than 1:37 minutes to use, see Alive in Joburg. This one has music and wide, scenic shots.

Wow, that was really well done.

Agent Fisher · Post by **Agent Fisher** » 2007-08-28 11:34am

Winston Blake wrote:By the way, why didn't the Pelican just pick them up instead of going to all the trouble of dropping a Warthog? What's the point?

Did you not see the huge ass amount of Banshee's streaking around? If that pelican had waited to pick them up, it would have been shot down.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2007-08-28 03:36pm

weemadando wrote: I'm guessing that was mostly proof of concept and fx/costume/prop trials. It looked like it was shot in a junkyard probably because it was.

According to WETA's website everything on that hog works. The gun is functional, it's got digital displays, 4WD, and it can crab crawl to.

Lazarus · Post by **Lazarus** » 2007-08-28 04:17pm

If that's an indication of what the Halo movie would have looked like, I'm glad it was shitcanned. That entire short looked like ass. And it seems to have been shot in a junkyard.

You know what? I've had enough of people taking potshots at stuff like this to act like they know what they're talking about. This is a brilliant live-action short. This was produced on a relatively small budget, so yes, maybe they didn't fucking rent half of New Zealand to do it, but it's not a summer blockbuster, so don't judge it as such. The props were all of excellent quality, and the integration of CGI and overlay effects was seemless. If this is an indication of how a Halo film would turn out, I hope they green-light it ASAP.

Not to mention feature the driver's incredibly fake steering skills, as well as recreate a copy/homage of the scene in Black Hawk Down when the driver is shot. I'd have to say the weakest part of the short is the acting, specifically the tough guy dialogue.

OMG guy shot shot IN A 4X4!! TOTAL COPY OF BHD!!!

Please, it's not even remotely like BHD, beyond 'soldier in front seat of armoured car gets shot'.

Yeah, tough guy dialogue? Cos there was NONE of that in the games...
Have you ever played Halo at all? Sure doesn't sound like it.

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2007-08-28 04:53pm

HSRTG wrote:If that's an indication of what the Halo movie would have looked like, I'm glad it was shitcanned. That entire short looked like ass. And it seems to have been shot in a junkyard.

Have any particular reason why you don't like it beyond the setting?

Battlehymn Republic · Post by **Battlehymn Republic** » 2007-08-28 05:50pm

Lazarus wrote:OMG guy shot shot IN A 4X4!! TOTAL COPY OF BHD!!!

Please, it's not even remotely like BHD, beyond 'soldier in front seat of armoured car gets shot'.

Yeah, tough guy dialogue? Cos there was NONE of that in the games...
Have you ever played Halo at all? Sure doesn't sound like it.

I wrote a reply to this but apparently it didn't post. Suffice to say, I was half-joking about the BHD thing (and even if it was an homage, that's a good thing), my dislike for the tough guy dialogue was centered around the "suck it up!" line which was kind of unconvincing and out of place, and again the driver steering looked kind of fake. Other than that the short flattened my balls, I believe in Blomkamp, and they'd better make the film soon.

Lord Insanity · Post by **Lord Insanity** » 2007-08-28 08:28pm

That was cool. Seems like the shaky cam and quick shots (and bad steering) were to hide the low budget. If they can make a "no budget" promo that good, with a real budget, Halo would probably make an awesome movie.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2007-08-28 09:51pm

Blomkamp uses shaky cam to make it look more like a doc.

See Tetra Vaal, et al.

Winston Blake · Post by **Winston Blake** » 2007-08-29 02:06am

DPDarkPrimus wrote:Blomkamp uses shaky cam to make it look more like a doc.

See Tetra Vaal, et al.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. It looks like a documentary, just like Blomkamp's previous stuff. Hopefully at some point, someone must have told him that people want 2 1/2 hours of this, not 2 1/2 hours of Halo: Blair Witch Project. I'd love to find out what the budget was for this short.

Anyway, I hope the documentary feeling is going to change for the subsequent parts of this series (the OP is only the first part). Compare the doco-style of 00:19 - 00:37 in the Halo 3 trailer above.

DesertFly · Post by **DesertFly** » 2007-08-29 03:49am

I thought that was sweet, for the short amount we got, and drool over the thought of a Halo movie that looks like that. Now, I don't necessarily want shaky cam like that the whole time, but for emphasis occasionally, it would be cool.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2007-08-29 07:31am

Battlehymn Republic wrote:
Lazarus wrote:OMG guy shot shot IN A 4X4!! TOTAL COPY OF BHD!!!

Please, it's not even remotely like BHD, beyond 'soldier in front seat of armoured car gets shot'.

Yeah, tough guy dialogue? Cos there was NONE of that in the games...
Have you ever played Halo at all? Sure doesn't sound like it.
I wrote a reply to this but apparently it didn't post. Suffice to say, I was half-joking about the BHD thing (and even if it was an homage, that's a good thing), my dislike for the tough guy dialogue was centered around the "suck it up!" line which was kind of unconvincing and out of place, and again the driver steering looked kind of fake. Other than that the short flattened my balls, I believe in Blomkamp, and they'd better make the film soon.

Wasn't it the passenger who got shot, not the driver?

The ODST armor looked very nice; the Brutes were, well, a bit unconvincing. They looked like Wookies.

The Banshees were really nice, though.

HSRTG · Post by **HSRTG** » 2007-08-29 03:25pm

SylasGaunt wrote:
HSRTG wrote:If that's an indication of what the Halo movie would have looked like, I'm glad it was shitcanned. That entire short looked like ass. And it seems to have been shot in a junkyard.
Have any particular reason why you don't like it beyond the setting?

1. Massive (over)use of shaky-cam.
1a. Massive (over) use of 45 degree cam.

2. As mentioned before, the "Suck it up" line.

3. The "Brutes" looked like ass, shot like it too. I guess the ODSTs were playing on "Easy".

4. ODSTs? Since when do they matter? Where's the Chief?

5. (More consistency point, really) If the Covenant have enough Banshees to nigh-constantly spray plasma (inaccurately) at the Marines, why couldn't they spare any to shoot the unarmed, slow as hell, Pelican down?

6. Shot in a junkyard. With random fucking walls everywhere. Seriously, walls. Outdoors. Doesn't this ring any kind of "Contrived" bell to you?

7. If there are cameras everywhere (RE: the constant "Cam 3 readout with random numbers in the view"), why aren't the Covenant more coordinated? Or did the humans drop a cluster bomb of cameras?

Pulp Hero · Post by **Pulp Hero** » 2007-08-29 03:50pm

Tech demo for direction style/FX. Christ, people are getting so nit picky just for the sake of it.

ThatGuyFromThatPlace · Post by **ThatGuyFromThatPlace** » 2007-08-29 04:13pm

about 5-8 seconds of starships floating about in space, with no shaky camera work, just for contrast, spliced in (or maybe framing the rest of the film) would have made it much better.

Battlehymn Republic · Post by **Battlehymn Republic** » 2007-08-29 05:54pm

The short was shot in a Wellington landfill. Ah, New Zealand, you are the Toronto for the films with the big special effects budget.

HSRTG wrote:1. Massive (over)use of shaky-cam.
1a. Massive (over) use of 45 degree cam.

It's your personal aesthetics, but shaky-cam does not necessarily mean suck at all. Witness the filmography of Paul Greengrass.

HSRTG wrote:4. ODSTs? Since when do they matter? Where's the Chief?

They're probably saving him for the final short (which, God willing, will turn out to be the trailer for the re-un-cancelled film). And besides, don't be hatin'. The war against the Covenant is a matter for the whole of humanity to partake in, or have you forgotten?

HSRTG wrote:5. (More consistency point, really) If the Covenant have enough Banshees to nigh-constantly spray plasma (inaccurately) at the Marines, why couldn't they spare any to shoot the unarmed, slow as hell, Pelican down?

Because the people behind the short probably, I don't know, wanted to show off their brand new spanking real Warthog in action?

Winston Blake wrote:I think you've hit the nail on the head. It looks like a documentary, just like Blomkamp's previous stuff. Hopefully at some point, someone must have told him that people want 2 1/2 hours of this, not 2 1/2 hours of Halo: Blair Witch Project. I'd love to find out what the budget was for this short.

Not exactly the same thing, but Blomkamp's "Yellow" is a bit less (but not completely devoid of) shakey-cam and more of a cienamtic feel. Though it is in a semi-documentary format.

HSRTG · Post by **HSRTG** » 2007-08-29 08:30pm

Battlehymn Republic wrote:It's your personal aesthetics, but shaky-cam does not necessarily mean suck at all. Witness the filmography of Paul Greengrass.

I know it doesn't. I'm a fan of nBSG, but they actually know how to use shaky-cam. Artificially induced confusion via poor camera work just pisses me off. Yeah, it's a personal aesthetic. The complete lack of establishing shots, to show us the layout of the place, or what's actually happening, doesn't help.

They're probably saving him for the final short (which, God willing, will turn out to be the trailer for the re-un-cancelled film). And besides, don't be hatin'. The war against the Covenant is a matter for the whole of humanity to partake in, or have you forgotten?

I play Halo for the Spartan action (which happens to be the Chief). Not my expendable ammunition carriers masquerading as useful allies. Similarly, I would expect a Halo movie to focus on him. Is it too much to ask that they have the main character of the games actually play a role in the movie?

Because the people behind the short probably, I don't know, wanted to show off their brand new spanking real Warthog in action?

Then they shouldn't have had constant Banshee strafing runs. Or they should have given the Pelican some point defenses. Or they should have had the Pelican shot down, and the Warthog extracted from its burning remains. "Oh, look, it's LIVE ACTION Halo" doesn't last long under the massive number of flaws this has. It lasted, for me, about five seconds. And then my brain engaged.