Long Way Home: A Halo Story (2021)
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2021
- "A lone Trooper must rendezvous with his squad on Delta Halo after a failed drop from orbit."
This film was made as a final end-of-year project for a screen and film production course at Yoobee in Wellington, New Zealand.
Made over a course of 10 weeks on a budget of "I'll buy you lunch today" this project had to go through pitching, storyboarding, extensive pre-production, a week long shoot of half days and careful post-production.
The film was inspired by Peter Jackson's production approach to "The Lord of the Rings" where he used epic, natural landscapes as well as the use of physical props, vehicles and creatures peppered with a little cgi to bring a gritty reality to the story.
I hope you enjoy.
Gareth Reeve
[Halo] © Microsoft Corporation. [Long Way Home: A Halo Story] was created under Microsoft's "Game Content Usage Rules" using assets from [Halo], and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft. - Krátké a kreslené filmy
For a "i'll buy you lunch today" budget, it feels better as a Halo story than the whole "Halo Series" season
Thank you so much :-) Hopefully, we will have an actual budget next time!
@@garethreeve5578 you should get 100k RN bruh I don’t want to see someone like this with 2k subs cmon guys get him to 100k!
The difference between good writing and a big budget
I suspect that's because this guy actually played the game or read the books....
Truuueee
This did in 8 minutes what the Halo TV show couldn't do in a whole season
Bravo good sir. Bravo. 💯
I've been saying the same thing. Master Chief wasn't even needed, and THIS was still Halo!
u mean cram the whole thing with fanservice? ur a child that wants to see guns and explosions every 6 seconds because your little brain can't go more than a minute without any form of stimulation
@@juliobrian4757 Agree
I mean, you not wrong
Felt connected to the characters emotions and he felt human.... WITHOUT him taking his helmet off for literally every scene.
This was better than I expected actually. Seemed very professional, the armour was good and I was very impressed by the jackals, CGI was solid. Great work!
CGI was amazing
Dude this is f’ing awesome!
CGI was better than the TV show lol
Love the authentic sounds that even a fully fledged halo TV show can't get right. Good job soldier
He’s not a soldier
Little did he know, it would be better than the halo tv show soldeir
No dead ass fr right
One of the things that really added to this was the closeup of a strike to the rock face by an incoming shot. There was a great pitting and what really looked like a melting point in the rock. Superb!
Thanks Matthew! That’s actually one of my favourite shots haha
Found this after trying to endure the Halo series from Paramount. This short, 7 minute project had better story telling and heart than just about anything the show has shown so far. This man needs millions to make his own movies/shows in the Halo universe.
Oh yes please! I would love that opportunity haha
You nailed. This is HALO
Thank you for your gem to the community
Thank you so much for watching it 😀
@Gareth Reeve thanks to you, you did create, and even better and more competent product than a hole enterprise.
Congrats to you and your team
Siempre te encuentro en los lugares más inesperados búho
I wanted to imagine that Andersen and the Elite would meet again after the Great Schism and become friends, but then I remembered only 6 people survived Delta Halo, 3 of them with plot armor. That stings.
Delta halo was the one in Halo 2. More than 6 survived that. The one in Halo CE was Alpha Halo.
Yeah, in canon lore 😉.
@@eagle219406 In Amber Clad was infected by the flood. Those that didn’t fall to the parasite were killed by the Covenant. As far as i know there’s Chief, Johnson, Miranda and Chips Dubbo survived Delta Halo.
@@caelanathey124 don’t forget about stacker as well
@@caelanathey124 You’re No Chips.
Wait he's on Delta Halo!?
That means the friendly elite could be apart of Rtas' Vadums (Half jaw) party.
Did you choose the Covenant Civil war as a time period for the film or was it coincidence?
Either way a well made fan film.
Don't think I didn't see that O.N.I badge on his shoulder
To me the Elite on the Cliffside had a slight resemblance to the Arbiter, in my opinion.
@@joshuauerkvitz5084 maybe, but during this specific time period before the In Amber Clad was hijacked by the flood would be before the Miranda went to the Library.
Rtas' Vadum already had his doubts about the covenant since the mission Delta Halo unlike the Arbiter.
It would be more plausible that it's an elite aligned with Rtas' and that had already gotten into a conflict with the Brutes.
My general theory is that the ODST did a "Rookie" and got sperated during the events of Delta Halo, while the Elite was one of the Sanghelli that had a skirmish with the Brutes during New Mombasa before he was pulled back to the carrier to go to installation 04.
Correction, Look at the helmet of the sangheili, that was a silent shadow member or a Spec Ops Elite, Not to mention the back armor, Looks to be a bit more visible then the rest of the elite, meaning darker color on the armor itself.
@@underseaperspective Absolutely correct my good sir! That is precisely the angle we were going for with the Elite :-) Good spotting!
@@underseaperspective
I have just a slight correction for your post Installation 04 is from Halo CE installation 05 is from Halo 2.
As someone who knows absolutely nothing about Halo, this was still super cool and fun to watch.
The holovideo of his family added a beautiful emotional touch to his story, and what he’s fighting for. And the music added a mysterious ambience to his introduction, like a lone wolf ODST vibe.
For an introduction, this was an incredible start! Can’t wait to see more, finish the fight lad ⚔️
Thanks Enigma! That’s exactly what I tried to achieve with his family 🙂 It’s almost like an old war letter that couples used to write to each other, only this is a futuristic version
@@garethreeve5578 reminds me of the pilot from infinite. Except this one is even better 😁
Loved the music cues. Especially the shot where he looks up and sees the Halo ring and the reach music begins playing. Also love the misdirection of the elite actually helping him. The CGI was also very impressive, and the jackals were incredibly convincing.
One of the only criticisms I have is that at the beginning where he begins looking for the holo, I would subscribe to the “show, don’t tell” line of thought here. You can easily tell the viewer he is frantically looking for something by just the movements and maybe a single gasp or something. Having the ODST vocalize what he was doing kind of forced it down the viewer’s throats, and interrupted the quiet mood you were setting. Same goes for the “I know you’re out there” part.
I mean, when he was looking for the tags/holo, I would've said that too. I thought it was a pretty natural moment.
I'm with the original commenter her I think it took away more than it added. Otherwise this is incredible
I agree that some of the dialogue was not needed. The visual clues were good enough.
I'd disagree if the voice acting was done better. I agree that it was a natural thing to say but there was relatively little emotion put into the line
What I'll say is I disagree with the "I know you're out there" line. I actually think that was fine as is.
This fan film put the whole damn official halo show to shame. The Jackals looked legions better, and the guy even kept on his Helmet lol! Great work!!
This is really cool, I think my only critisim would've been holding off on showing what the ball was. I think it would have been more powerful to have held it off towards the end since it would leave the viewer with wandering why it was so special and worth risking his life for. And then when the hologram is revealed, it would make it that much more impactful.
Maybe as he was leaving on the pelican he couldve activated it and then revealed why it was so important
Chekov's ball
@@bumfacegamingandotherstuff8844
Except the didn’t have any shots of him on the pelican
Or maybe it activates in the sand where dropped it and you see what it is..
I disagree, using the ball at the start gives the audience a connection to the mc, this gives us fells for him and we start to automatically rout for him and feel for him when he losses it and when he risks the recovery. while the guessing and the confusion can add to the story and engagement, i don't think that that is worth the audience connection, mayhap in a longer piece when there is a different opportunity for audience connection.
Here we go!
Very impressive short!!! =D Great to see ODST live-action films still coming from the community =D
Thank you Andrew! Hopefully this won’t be the last one we do 😀 🤞🏻
That was so well done, would love more of this. SANGHELLIBROS for the win
I like how a handful of people with a tiny budget made a more emotional and engaging story in 10 weeks that is less than 10 minutes long than an entire Hollywood TV show could in 8 1 hour-long episodes
this short film humiliated paramount with its halo series. 10/10 to this Masterpiece
This must be on easy difficulty as that Sniper Jackal missed. Anyway, this was a joy to watch. Loved it.
Maybe the Jackals wanted target practice. If you've noticed, they didn't hit a vital spot when they did get a hit. It was probably a bet or something...
He was just "playing with his food"
He would not be okay taking a beam rifle hit like that and it wasn't a graze. In the books, Covenant small arms are devasating in the damage they do. Peeking out while pinned is asking to get head shotted too if that Elite wasn't there, if they were trying to draw him out from cover. Those Jackals must be poorly trained if they missed the first shot as he was standing still.
Amazing how a simple short fan film like this, is so much better than the tv show that was produced by an actual film studio on paramount.
It's amazing what someone can do when they're making something to be good, rather than making something so the studio investors can buy another yacht.
Great CGI, that’s normally where these fan films fall short but this looks professional.
Something like a fencing salute from the elite would have helped show that he was friendly. As it stands he looks more menacing/threatening, and we have to deduce by the lack of jackal fire that he’s helpful. A little more jackal screaming would have helped indicate as well that they were taken out rather than ordered to stand down. Very well done overall!!
Awesome, sad to think he probably died on this instillation though, don't think hardly anyone made it off this ring
I think in the book one odst made it along side Sgt johnson, im now hoping its this guy
you can just feel the love and desire to make something that looked and felt like Halo
This is awesome. The best part imo were the Jackals. The puppetry in the close-ups was top-notch, it looked like something out of a big-budget movie. Actually scratch that, it looked better because a big-budget movie would probably use CGI for them.
Thank you, Raz! 😀 We really wanted to have that classic Spielberg/Harryhausen/Jackson style of physical creatures as we believe firmly that they looked & worked better than any CGI creatures placed on film 🙂 I certainly want to push for them again in any future productions we do - they’re just too much fun!
@@garethreeve5578 sooooo what you’re saying is you’ll be doing a series????👀👀👀👀
@@garethreeve5578: Did you consider animating a steam explosion when he gets hit with the particle beam? The Nylund-era books describe the plasma weapon effects as being pretty brutal.
@@elikbucio1883 haha not necessarily a “series” as such, but I definitely want to make bigger and better Halo productions in the future 😉
@@jesse16309 I actually hadn’t thought of that, but it sounds like it would have been a great option! Almost like searing/cooked flesh… ewww haha
1:00 gave me chills, that was a great little scene. This was awesome! The jackals were fantastic, their incoming fire looked beautiful splashing in the sand. You could see the satisfaction of the one when he scored a hit lol. Subbing so I don't miss any more to come!
When an 8 minute video is better than a million dollar budget paramount series…
This felt more like Halo than the Halo TV show
I see a few comments that say 'low budget' as far as live action goes? This was impressive regardless of the budget. Clearly this is someone that loves Halo and wants to do right by it. Keep up the good work!
Thank you kindly! I really appreciate that 🙂💕
This goes to show a little passion goes a long way.
better than the entire halo tv series in only 8 minutes and a fraction of the budget. good job. loved the video.
I never had the chance to play at any Halo game... 😭
Btw i think you made a huge work, I was completely in the story : my only regret is it's not a long movie...
Well done, Sir 👍🤩
Crazy how just some fans who care about halo can create something so good, then there’s the halo show
You've captured what 90 million dollars could not....
The spirit of Halo.
HOLY CRAP !!! This had 1000% more Halo feels than the multi million $$ Halo TV show. So much better despite only 8min long. THANK YOU !!!!!
These eight minutes felt more like Halo than nearly eight *hours* of the official Halo series.
This 8 minute video is MUCH better than the "official" Halo TV show that features master cheeks!
There it is. In under 2 minutes, this short film already managed to form an emotional connection with the audience than the Halo series in its entirety
Thank you so much! 😀
This is incredible the cgi is really good the idea of it is amazing (man had a Pokémon ball)
Thank you! :-D
An amazing concept for a film. We know ODSTs are legends for dropping into hell, but what happens when YOU get lost. You don’t have a fire team, it’s JUST YOU. It’s not the same as in new mombasa since you are an heretic on a sacred place, YOU WONT HAVE A NICE DEATH
This short film is something I didn’t I needed. I love the very ODST and Reach inspired aspects of it
Thank you. Fan made videos like this is what makes me love Halo. The television show is a disgrace to the franchise.
Wow…
Just: Wow.
Even though this is just a short little story about an ODST, it’s made to perfection! CGI isn’t the best but it’s definitely good. The design of everything too, the armour to the weapons is just * chefs kiss *.
Bravo good sir.
I really needed this. I love ODSTs to the point where I use an ODST helmet in every halo game that allows it. After having to deal with the failure the was the Halo tv series, this was the best thing Halo related that I’ve seen since I last played Reach. I was actually crying within the first 3 minutes with the brilliant use of Deference for Darkness with the projection of his family. The ending gives a pleasant twist that actually follows the lore of the games amazingly. It’s incredible to me how art is made by people who are super fans of a franchise, it often tends to be better than the official films, shows, or games. This short film deserves a standing ovation. Bravo, sir. Bravo. 11/10, would watch for the first time again.
Thank you Alex for your kind words 🙂 I’m really happy that the film resonated with you so much. Hopefully our next project will be even better! 😀
Literally I'd pay to see this over the official tv show.
I'm gonna keep it short and simple:
This just goes to show that you don't need big name actors, fancy studios or a big budget to make proper live action Halo content. What you need, is actual love and passion for Halo. These guys pulled off something phenomenal which 343 industries and paramount couldn't.
Detailed criticism:
This feels extremely like the original Halo trilogy, and especially Halo 2. The setting, the ambience, the story and the CGI was top notch. Cgi gets a special praise because even top studios couldn't pull off such an amazing amalgamation of pure emotions and realism through CGI (especially in the Halo tv show) A few negative parts about it which is completely okay to have since this is a school project and I wouldn't expect students to have all the enough resources or budget to achieve the picture perfect results. They are that the acting of the ODST was a bit stiff, maybe he didn't have much free movement because of the Armor. At the end when he was shot, expected him to have a lot more painful reactions. But ofcourse these aren't (probably) professional actors and probably college students which makes it extremely astonishing that they still achieved the levels of emotions that they did. The other few parts which looked a bit off was that the jackals looked and moved like dummies and that the pelican had a bit shading and lighting differences compared to the sky in the background. But these are very minute and I definitely expect small issues like this to exist as these things are very normal even with larger studios.
Areas where I was particularly very impressed were that all the props (Armor, etc) was extremely on point and looked like they were actually made for big budget movies. The story is extremely out of the box and doesn't try to become something new but instead expands upon what we know and love halo about. The CGI on the camouflaged elite was extremely well done. And I have to say this, it looked exponentially better than the camo elites in the Halo TV show. Last but not the least, I would like to praise the choice of music and depiction of the landscape of Halo, since Halo has a very unique look to it, a mysterious alien structure. Many people have previously made it look like Earth including 343 themselves (Halo CE anniversary graphics) which Halo isn't supposed to look like. So I really like that you've maintained continuity.
And just another point, I would like to consider the elite as arbiter, and would've liked to see him turn off his Camo and reveal his Armor before he left. This would've really sparked something magical inside all of the Halo fan's heart.
Great work. Keep it up. You guys have serious potential and trust me not many people hear this from me ❤️❤️❤️
Mate... thank you so much for your kind words; they were very touching and uplifting 😀
I really appreciate your honesty and your critical points certainly highlight what we need to do in order to make our future projects even better, so thank you for that 🙂
If this is where we started, I'm sure that any future projects we embark upon will grow even more! 😀
Thank you again! Nga Mihi,
Gareth
What you said, would make stidios think your insane.
Already 30 seconds in and it’s better than the paramount halo TV show
This was awesome! The production value was great and it was overall put together very well. I really enjoyed this excellent job!
I wish the Halo tv show had this much love put into it
The Elite saving the ODST at the end was a nice twist, CGI work was outstanding for a budget that literally just about covers lunch!
really suprised this doesnt have more views, sure it could be better here and there, but for a fan made short film there was alot of love and care put into it.
This is Halo. The grittiness, the mysticism, the passion... And the visuals were top notch. I can see you going places... And dang. This is up there with Landfall.
Honestly at this point looking to fanmade projects over the new halo series still holding out hope the fans will make somthing greater. This was solid work keep it up bro.
Thank you so much 🙂 Hopefully we get a chance to make more 😀
@@garethreeve5578 I have given up hope that any big companies will produce a real halo series based off the lore we have all come to love and know. Your channel, the lost wolves halo series, and operation charity falls have given me hope in the future of halo series. You have my full support in any creations you bring into the future. The fans our my last hope at shows that pay tribute to halo. My hopes and dreams are with you.
@@howlindeath4278 mate... thank you, thank you, thank you! That really means so much :-D I certainly hope that we can bring more awesome Halo stories to life and if we're lucky enough one day in the distant future; a motion picture trilogy
Beat CGI I’ve seen in love action Halo, hands down. You actually really threw me off guard when the Elite spared him. You took the plot somewhere without falling into tired tropes!
Thank you so much! That is really appreciated 😀
I’m glad you liked the part with the Elite; I wrote his part with the thoughts that maybe he was one of the first Elites who learned of the Prophet’s & Brute’s treachery early on before the Great Schism, so he decided to defect first.
We also tried to keep the CG to a minimum as the team all lives for practical effects. The Jackal was certainly one of the favourite practical effects in the film 🙂
@@garethreeve5578 OMG that IS a practical jackal!! Okay you made me day with that. Thank you for your efforts. Thank you. I'll be watching, and I hope many more will be too :)
@@TravellingHalo It sure is! :-D We had so much fun sculpting it and trying to find ideal material for the quills.
It was heavily inspired by the use of practical Brutes in the live action ODST commercial.
We certainly hope to make more of these in the future - the ultimate dream is a studio-funded trilogy of course, so we will have to work hard to make the dream a reality XD
I have been considering a "Making Of" this short film with a few behind the scenes photos & a bit of commentary talking about the film's production. Do you think that might be worth creating for you all?
@@garethreeve5578 I would watch the heck out of that, yes!
@@TravellingHalo I might have to see what we can cobble together :-D
A budgets worth of lunch, and made in ten weeks?
That is amazing considering the fact that this an eight minute film.
And it was better than paramount's whole show on Halo.
Hats off to you, man
Thank you John 🙂 That means a great deal!
This is what Halo is all about. Thank you.
This was ten times better than every good moment in the Halo tv show. Amazing job! You even did the jackal's better than the tv show did!
Once again, fans do better work on Halo than professionals. Bravo, sir!
The writing in this was great. The ODST armor and AR prop we’re pretty cool as well. The hud was nice and even on a low budget, everything looks nice. Fantastic job Spartan! 👍🏻
Infinitely better than anything the series has offered and will offer
Thank you for the high praise!
love the trailer. love the music used and the ideas put into it. I kinda misread the title as Halo No way Home lol and thought it will be a trailer of rookie teaming up with chief and maybe noble six. anyways nice story overall really good and better than Foward Unto Dawn and Nightfall
I don't understand how you would think that this was better than forward unto dawn, this was good and all but it was literaly 8 minutes long, have you even seen forward unto dawn?
@@oogabooga3369 seen forward unto dawn? Yeah I've seen the dark ad hell action scenes couldn't even tell who's who or even see who's on screen besides that one elite and jackal. And plus chief killing that hunter was the only action scene that's not too dark to see
Ok this idea of a “Halo: No Way Home” is hilarious & I love it”
(Gotta toss in a Jorge from his other universes as a bonus, too?)
notice how he never removed his helmet and the emotion was conveyed seamlessly
Well done!! Really enjoyed how much you put us WITH him in this story. Looking forward to what you do next!
Well done man, reminds me of the Landfall trailer from back in the day. I like how that elite may or may not have saved our boy here
ODST armor is unmatched
This proves that budget doesn't matter. It's having the heart to do it. If Paramount took the budget they had and found people like this who wanted to do it, we could have a decent halo show.
Wow, incredibly well done guys. This was reminiscent of the day at the beach scene from back in the day, a little side story tied into the main events of the series.
The only drawback though, when he says "I'm comin home darlin" I can't help but think "oh, buddy, they haven't even released the flood yet, it's a way longer road home than you're thinking right now"
Exactly 😞 Bit of a sad ending overall, but at least he got to keep his family close until then.
Fantastic!
100% more Halo than the multi-billion dollar crap Paramount has put out!
BROOOO as soon as the music kicks in when he picks the necklace up, instant tear in my eyes. This is what the paramount plus show was missing, love. Love for the series and its universe. Honestly the thing makes me the most mad about the paramount series is the lack of halo music, it can turn a normally ok scene into something special.
Thank you Anthony! I’m glad the music meant a lot to you 😀
Truly impressed, and kinda mad I didn’t see this till now! **ODST STORYTELLING FOR THE WIN!!!**
🔥🔥🔥
Absolutely fire, puts the TV show to shame. If only they had you there 😔
Criminally underrated. This needs way more views. Good job, man.
Fantastic work, this thing is extraordinary man
Finally, an elite with honor. I have not seen an elite with honor in a while.
Not since the good ol' days
How is this fanmade project 1.000.000x better than that hot stinky pile of dogshit on paramount plus featuring Mastercheeks. No joke i loved this great work.
I feel we need more stories like this in Halo, rather then just Spartans 24/7, seeing the war from the normal humans like ODSTs and Marines
i’ve always appreciated fan films idk how they always make such good pieces on a limited budget it’s honestly impressive
You know, despite thinking “You never fight any elites in Halo 3: ODST because of the civil war. I wonder if this lone ODST can take on an elite.” I still didn’t see that slight twist coming. Great work!
Love seeing dedicated fan work for franchises like Halo.
Personally think this would have been far better with significantly reduced dialgoue. The overall story might have needed to be fleshed out a bit more. The music stings were a bit on the nose and could have been used a bit more sparingly but were fine enough.
Was shot well and your CG work etc was implemented very well. Pretty solid overall, but think leaning into the more subdued tone would've helped. Interested to see if you do any more projects like this.
While i agree with less dialogue, i must say it’s far better than hearing halo 5s dialogue
@@crimsonlancer1872 What, you didn't love Chief announcing everything he came across? My friends and I still laugh about him just saying "ELEVATOR" and "DATA CENTER" in a couple scenes, like yep, chief...that's where you are. No need to tell us.
Nice Work!
:3
Bro this is underrated af. I love everything about it. Keep up the great work dude!
The dull overcast day on that wide empty beach one had a good ODST atmosphere to it, real good jackals too.
That was amazing! Very powerful ending. Will be sure to share.
THIS IS SO GOOOOD!!! 😱😱 Love the Sangheili ❤ Would love to see behind the scenes!
Thank you so much! 😀 We have considered a little “Making of…” video for it, but we may have other projects to do first
this man made something the halo TV series could not even dream of. You deserve the love of the whole community
Thank you so much 🙏🏻 🥲
I absolutely love this, way better than the shit that paramount is crapping out. This might be just nitpicking but I feel like the music was a bit disjointed by all the different tracks stopping and starting other than that absolutely amazing
This was so good. I wish the tv show was more like this
Thank you! 😀
Awesome work dude. Saw a few familiar names in the credits too so well done team
3:24 love the trigger discipline good to know the makers of this video did their research
Great job! One of the best live action Halo fan films I've stumbled across.
Pretty good! I’m just wondering what was the point of the character. He crash lands, walks on a beach, gets a small graze, doesn’t kill any covenant and gets saved by an Elite (why?), and cause of the small wound he is going home to see his wife and kid and abandoning the war? Just kinda wondering the point. But it looked real good and felt like Halo.
It was during the covenant civil war so the the elites had turned on the rest of the covenant.
So happy to see this amazing piece of work coming out of New Zealand. Amazing video! You should all be proud
2:24
That my friends is the power of proper acting and directing. You don't need to see his face. That lean in and the camera work is all you need to understand what's going through his mind.
We've seen this kind of thing so many times, he has a family to get back to trope, but you have to sell it to the viewers it's not just there for the audience to sympathize with. That it actually feels like the character doesn't even know if he will and desperately wants to.
Excellent work!
Thank you so, so much! We certainly wanted to drive for a little more subtlety with that scene 🙂
@@garethreeve5578 And thank you for making it! Love it when ODSTs get the attention they deserve!
......and this is what happens when people who love the lore make something so spectacular, well done!
Thank you so much, Bryan! 😀
The CGI ocean looks real af.
Amazing work on this Short Film! The ODST Armor looks so badass, and the attention to detail is great. Also excellent choice for using the Halo Soundtracks instead of other music. Wouldn't be a Halo without em. Overall, well done and fantastic work.
This Flick was much needed after the recent MISHAP
This was great, cgi was pretty good as well, hope to see more
In future 👍🏽