Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Part 4 [Available To Watch]

Demoncarnotaur said:
u crazy

but seriously, this looks a lot better:

http://i.imgur.com/FCbK5.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
Whoa, I had no idea Blompkamp made those! How the hell did I not know that? Those are really good. I still don't like District 9, though I guess I'm probably in the minority there.
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Demoncarnotaur said:
u crazy

but seriously, this looks a lot better:

FCbK5.jpg
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For me, a lot of it has to do with the weaponry. I fucking hate the look of the Assault Rifle -- both in game and whenever they try to translate it to live action. It just looks like a fucking child's toy. I know it's supposed to be one of the key weapons in the franchise, but it looks like shit. At least the Battle Rifle looks somewhat realistic, albeit still fairly cartoony in live action. I think it's the one thing I hated about the ODST commercials.
 
Yeah, I wouldn't have minded a drastic visual overhaul for the AR in Halo 4.
 
JdFoX187 said:
For me, a lot of it has to do with the weaponry. I fucking hate the look of the Assault Rifle -- both in game and whenever they try to translate it to live action. It just looks like a fucking child's toy. I know it's supposed to be one of the key weapons in the franchise, but it looks like shit. At least the Battle Rifle looks somewhat realistic, albeit still fairly cartoony in live action. I think it's the one thing I hated about the ODST commercials.
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I'll agree with this. The AR looks like a toy.
 
Demoncarnotaur said:
u crazy

but seriously, this looks a lot better:

FCbK5.jpg
Click to expand...

Well everything looks more authentic with dirt all over it. The look and tone of these two productions is very different as well. I don't know how we can really compare the two when one was all action, and the other was the first 15 mins of a 90 min movie.
 
99% of everything is the way it is lit and shot. Look at anything in Stan Winston's or Wetas workshop and it looks awful until the camera is set up on it and the lighting hits it. There is no excuse for the AR to look cheap.
 
^ I don't even think good lighting could save this AR prop, you can clearly see the material its made out of and the paintwork. Really, if they wanted an AR they should have went with the Halo Reach style which is a way better looking weapon IMO.

Warm Machine said:
I can see the director at the end of shooting wondering why it doesn't look better than it does. It must be incredibly frusterating watching the dailies and seeing the production value not be there.

Really, why do the same shots we have seen in a dozen war movies of training or cadets not look good here? It really is the same content as Starship Troopers or Full Metal Jacket. I can tell that there are lots of places where the camera should never have been and vice versa. Thing is, Starship Troopers isn't that well lit of a film either. In fact, nothing Verhoven has ever done has had beautiful lighting but the production value is always there because every shot has a purpose.

There are moments in here that should have been paid off better too. At 6:09 when the Warthog drives in it is handled so very lazy. I assume the director just never understood that for many of us, it is the first time we have ever seen a real working Warthog. CAPITALIZE on that. That thing should be driving around the corner obscured by a warping heat haze through a telephoto lens. We should identify with it based on sound and silhouette.

When it comes to a stop in front of the cadets get low to the tires and have it kick up smoke and dust. Have the dust essentially be the thing that visually shames the cadets.

Then have the commander get out of it, boots on the ground first then pan up. Have him grimace at the cadets, step out of the way revealing a pissed off gunner manning that 50 cal with attitude. Make the moment bad ass! Right now it is just taken for granted. Do we get any sense that the Warthog is special, powerful, or iconic?

As is, the scene is basically saying, yeah yeah, here is a Warthog and here is a commander ho hum. Here comes a speech.

Really, the commander/sergeant guy whatever is doing a fantastic bit of performance too. Just it isn't being captured in a way that pays it off. Where is the wide shot establishing the man's authority? The commander should be nose to nose with Laksy in here focusing blame when he says "...all of us dead..." and then casting a wider net of blame with the remaining dialouge. I don't get a single frame of the guilt from any one of the cadets for their actions which is key to this scene. Without the guilt hammered home there is no scene.

Man, get the camera on the other side of the Warthog and shoot through the windscreen or seats or something to give some foreground here and there. Get low to the back tires and use it to balance a wider angle.

Every shot in anything needs motivation. The best commercial directors know this because they have 15-30 seconds and need to make sure every single image in their "story" is hammering home the point.

My problem with it is that all the pieces are here. The actors are FINE. They are just being let down by the production. The costumes, weapons, and everything are good, maybe they need a bit of wear but otherwise they work. Some of the shots are great, but as a whole it comes off like lower end TV and there is no excuse because the actors, cameras, sets, and support crew were all there on the day. It simply needed to be handled with more creativity in its direction and photography.
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Well said. Its funny, Im in the process of writing down my extended impressions/review and the Warthog reveal was one of things I mentioned, saying how it has a rather lackluster first appearance. Its missing all those little touches of superb filmmaking that you don't notice until they are gone. What we have in this now is OK, and it gets the job done..just it doesn't do much else other than that. I was thinking about the episode and was wondering "What would look good as .gif?" and really realized that nothing visually stands out as special. It has nothing to do with the budget, but rather the lighting/framing of the shot, etc. Its too bad really, because if those things were better I think the series would really blow minds. Still, I am enjoying it so far, but I really am left wondering how these issues wound up not being caught during production.

Also, I have to ask, is film just a passion of yours or a career path?
 
I actually didn't think it was bad, I liked a lot of it. However it is very clear that it was short as a whole then cut into parts arbitrarily.
 
Not bad.

Nice production. Wonder how much I'm missing by not having read the books? I started reading Reach as the first book it never finished.

This episode seems like its done its job of setting a few things up, giving us a briefing so to speak.
 
Major Battlestar Vibes in the way it's shot, the music, credit font, locations etc. You need a lot more than 20 minutes to get invested in anything though. Wasn't bad though.
 
If you feel the BSG vibe, it because it's actors from the show(The captain,general) and it looks like it the Vancouyver woods( Where BSG was filmed)
 
Not great, but intrigued.

I was hoping for more. And not shitty melodramatic teenagers and weird parallels to real life halo players (lone wolf ruining the game by not being a team player and assholes complaining about combat score)

Still interested to see where it goes.
 
Another big issue I had with visuals outside of its filming would be how much everything looked like Earth, and a mundane area at that. Im sure where they filmed was beautiful, but between the framing of the shots and the color correction it didn't show. On top of that, this isn't Earth and I wish it did more to show that visually.. yes I realize that the UNSC probably planted flora and fauna from Earth, but I still wish there was something to make the planet seem more alien. Halo is known for its fantastic skyboxes and that certainly could have been used to help make the wideshots stand out more.

On the flipside, I really liked the little touches like implying that Lasky is a good strategist due to him beating his brother in Chess all the time. I felt the way those shots and were handled was really nice.

Warm Machine said:
I directed the cinematics in Dead Rising 2.
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Ah, awesome. I figured you had some sort of connection to the film industry (or something similar), so that makes sense. I never played Dead Rising 2, but now I want to check out the cinematics at the very least.
 
Aggrotek said:
Kevin Tran!
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Haha I noticed that too, weirded me out.

I thought it was OK, wasn't expecting much considering the trailer and all -- acting was terrible and the AR does look like a toy. For me I just want to know more about the events between the end of Halo 3 and beginning of Halo 4, as long as I can get some interesting tid-bits from this, I will be satisfied.

I dare say, props to Microsoft for actually doing this and turning it into a 90min film. Hopefully we still can get a Halo film!
 
Demoncarnotaur said:
Another big issue I had with visuals outside of its filming would be how much everything looked like Earth, and a mundane area at that. Im sure where they filmed was beautiful, but between the framing of the shots and the color correction it didn't show.
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Depending on the time of year, that area of greater Vancouver/Burnaby is very green. Like rainforest green. Correcting towards brown/amber doesn't aleays work that well. However, I can imagine that the sunlight was probably really harsh looking. Basically, you would have to do something on the post end. Halo itself is very blue and green though so perhaps it would have been more true to the colour palette.

BTW, the 3 hours of realtime cinematics in DR2 were made in a total of 10 months tops so temper expectations to suit. Very happy with how it all turned out and we had a great crew.
 
The one thing I could never figure out about halo 3 story (just remembered watching landfall)

Why would chief jump off the forerunner ship in the first place?
 
Today was a long day, what with it being a Friday for one and two, not being able to view this first entry into the HALO 4's story until after work.

Great job 343 Industries!

Like any part of the Halo told in various mediums, we get slices of the universe and characters which make up the story arc this Science Fiction opus. So much was left unsaid in this first episode that would cause neophytes to the Halo Universe to scratch their heads and focus on a not-Hollywood produced movie and critique special effects and props; and this is where people fail themselves, as Halo requires one to be vested in the various mediums through which the stories are told. If their desire is to digest the canon for back story, one must also do some homework according to their level of interest.

The games, books, comics, ARGs, everything that is part of this I.P. all coalesce to illuminate various parts which are shown in brief passing, (ie. the Space Elevator on the compound, the way the combat games armor interacts with the non-lethal paint rounds causing the wearer to be immobilized, and how the USNC command structure is a generational commitment, etc.) but are so much more to the rabid fans, of which I am one. I think this is a great episode and am excited for more, I am also glad that the keepers of the Halo story are also rabid fans, and it is their hard work which has made this possible. I like the fact that viewing this with seasoned eyes and knowledge of the USNC and its training allowed me to appreciate what 343 Industries is conveying without hitting one over the head with it.

I'm glad we have something like this to watch. Thanks again, I look forward to the next episode.
 
Warm Machine said:
Depending on the time of year, that area of greater Vancouver/Burnaby is very green. Like rainforest green. Correcting towards brown/amber doesn't aleays work that well. However, I can imagine that the sunlight was probably really harsh looking. Basically, you would have to do something on the post end. Halo itself is very blue and green though so perhaps it would have been more true to the colour palette.

BTW, the 3 hours of realtime cinematics in DR2 were made in a total of 10 months tops so temper expectations to suit. Very happy with how it all turned out and we had a great crew.
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Yup, I went and grabbed these caps from their BTS filming B-Roll and you can really see the range of the colors:

OYHZp.jpg


l22r4.jpg


Compare it to the final, color corrected frame:

YPyoS.png


I imagine that they wanted something to make it look a little more moody so thats why the color correction was put in place.. I just wish it was more subtle, and allowed a deeper range of colors as IMO it looks out of place in the final product, especially with how the shots are framed. FUD doesn't need Halo 3's range of colors, but I wish the outdoor color correction looked a little more natural.. More range of color would really help make the simplistic shots look more interesting. I wonder how the rest of series will be in this department, especially after the Covenant show up.

Also, will do, looking forward to trying it out.
 
Pretty solid. Worst part surprisingly is the adult cast. I feel like the bit about Lasky in that initial training exercise is only meant to pay off in the game where he sacrifices himself towards the end but who knows. Looking forward to the next one.
 
Deadly Cyclone said:
You should write one.
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Good one, brah.


SMH. Fans like this are the reason 343i doesn't even need to try to write a decent script.


That Blopmkamp film is much cooler but even he can't keep some of the marine armor from looking goofy. Some things just don't transition well to live-action.
 
I'm a big Halo fan but I thought that this first episode was boring and average. And I really can't stand watching these scrawny kids in their ill-fitting combat armor flouncing about acting all angsty ...

But because it's Halo, I'll keep watching and hopefully things pick up.
 
Hope the story picks up. The actors are hard to believe and that is ruining it for me. I wasn't holding many high expectations for this and it seemed to land about where I expected it to on a quality level.
 
JdFoX187 said:
For me, a lot of it has to do with the weaponry. I fucking hate the look of the Assault Rifle -- both in game and whenever they try to translate it to live action. It just looks like a fucking child's toy. I know it's supposed to be one of the key weapons in the franchise, but it looks like shit. At least the Battle Rifle looks somewhat realistic, albeit still fairly cartoony in live action. I think it's the one thing I hated about the ODST commercials.
Click to expand...

Yep. The AR has always looked shit.
 
I didn't know GAF had so many talented film directors/producers actors and the like. I can't wait to see the fantastic films you've made.

There are a lot of assumptions and critics being made off of 20 minutes of footage. It's almost as if some of you didn't even watch it. To each their own. I really liked it. Great initial setup, the bad part is waiting for episodes. Great job 343.
 
Just watched it. Armor/weapons in the live action halo stuff is always so fuckin goofy. The guns just dont look right at all. I really wish they would deviate a bit from the games so the weapons dont look like super soakers. Other than that it does seem like it has promise. Just makes me want a halo movie!

wages said:
I didn't know GAF had so many talented film directors/producers actors and the like. I can't wait to see the fantastic films you've made.

There are a lot of assumptions and critics being made off of 20 minutes of footage. It's almost as if some of you didn't even watch it. To each their own. I really liked it. Great initial setup, the bad part is waiting for episodes. Great job 343.
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This is not a valid way to dismiss criticism.
 
wages said:
I didn't know GAF had so many talented film directors/producers actors and the like. I can't wait to see the fantastic films you've made.

There are a lot of assumptions and critics being made off of 20 minutes of footage. It's almost as if some of you didn't even watch it. To each their own. I really liked it. Great initial setup, the bad part is waiting for episodes. Great job 343.
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I mean, for the people who are just saying 'it sucks' ok, but you are going to say that to those who are backing their points up with well rounded criticism? I suppose movie review do not count ever.. and you can't have opinions on food at a restaurant since you didn't make it. I really haven't seen anyone in here say anything that implies they did not watch it. Its fine if you liked it ans found it flawless, but don't get defensive when others have different opinions.

For the record, I liked it a lot. I think it has a lot of little flaws that bring it down a notch, but Im still feeling very positive about it.
 
spootime said:
Just watched it. Armor/weapons in the live action halo stuff is always so fuckin goofy. The guns just dont look right at all. I really wish they would deviate a bit from the games so the weapons dont look like super soakers. Other than that it does seem like it has promise. Just makes me want a halo movie!



This is not a valid way to dismiss criticism.
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Actually it is. But then again neither is judging an entire film on 20 minutes.
 
Demoncarnotaur said:
I mean, for the people who are just saying 'it sucks' ok, but you are going to say that to those who are backing their points up with well rounded criticism? I suppose movie review do not count ever.. and you can't have opinions on food at a restaurant since you didn't make it. I really haven't seen anyone in here say anything that implies they did not watch it. Its fine if you liked it ans found it flawless, but don't get defensive when others have different opinions.

For the record, I liked it a lot. I think it has a lot of little flaws that bring it down a notch, but Im still feeling very positive about it.
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I hate having to point out the obvious but what the hell...

If the shoe doesn't fit then obviously I'm not talking to you. That being stated if you are giving "valid criticisms" then at the very least I think that person should show what they can do.
 
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