Blockbuster Convergence.

I have briefly mentioned how i believe that a blockbuster game, can certainly be a blockbuster film but only in the right hands. I believe that the Halo - Forward Unto Dawn live action web series will be the beginning of the convergence of major blockbusters. Forward Unto down is a live action series that is being released just shortly before Halo 4 hits the shelves and will have 5 episodes over 5 weeks leading up to the games release. This may not be the first of its kind with films such as the Mario bro's live action movie but its certainly in its own league.





We are introduced to this trailer with an establishing shot of a quite dark and dingy island with what seems to be a building with a radio tower, this then cuts to a wide shot of what look to be officers getting orders which is then established by the female character as she gives the orders to the units. As this happens it cuts to flash forward shots showing the orders that she is giving being completed. This gives us a first taste of the live action scenes that look very realistic and have almost a 'Saving Private Ryan' feel to it with shaking handheld cameras, often obstructed views from behind trees, explosions and POV shots that fit the theme of First person shooters, this is the theme throughout the trailer showing that the series is a very action based series with tons of battle scenes. We also then hear a piece of dialogue from the female officer who we previously heard giving orders say "There's a solider inside of you Thomas, you need to see it". This then tells us that we will be following the story of a new recruit named Thomas and his struggles of fitting in. There are also many inter-textual references in the trailer to the Halo franchise. One that was very noticeable to me being a big fan of the Halo franchise was at 2:15 there is a non - diegetic sound of an Elite being killed which only the fans of the game series will pick up on. Then in the next shot there is another reference which is a low angle shot of the Master Chief, the most iconic piece of the Halo franchise with the low angle signifying how the fans of the series look up to him and how important he is to many of the franchises fans, this is noticeable with the iconic voice and the '117' on his chest plate.

This series has not used any big name stars or not even a big name director, in fact it doesn't have a director. This is all done as a whole by 343 studios working closely to previous Bungie developers and fans. As this is not a film and is only a web series these big names are not needed but what will come next will be. Before this series was announced there was the rumors of a Halo movie which ended up collapsing. Although in interviews leading up to the Forward Unto Dawn trailer there was a hint of a possible second try at the film with one of the lead crew saying that this could lead to a possible film in the coming years. So this can be classed as almost a test run for a possible feature length film. If all goes well i believe that this series can become a big hit and will almost certainly evolve into the Halo movie which many hardcore fans have been craving and what i believe can be the start of a new genre of film.

Here is an insight to the making of Halo : Forward Unto Dawn.