"Halo - Operation Chastity" - fan film production blog

T

troopercooper

Active member
Fan-films, eh? You've got to love them.

This whole thing started when I got back from the United States. I'm busy writing a film treatment for someone when the idea crops up in my head -

"How cool would it be to build a Warthog from Halo?"

I start talking to engineers who agree to help make plans based on Land Rovers, and I share my project with a few people, who get a bit excitable. They then ask the question -

"What are you going to use it for?"

"Don't know. Just thought it would be really cool."

"Why don't you make a movie with it or something?"

My original thought was a couple of shorts featuring it and some Marines from the games, but as more and more people got excited, the more it seemed like a feature could be possible. One Warthog became two, with the addition of a Mongoose quad bike. Three UNSC Marines became ten, then twenty, until the idea cropped up that you could have potentially have an entire company assuming armour production was in house. Then live fire rifles, and full-on creature suits...

Oh dear. c_c

I'll give an update later talking about the current story concept and our idea for funding it, though I am definitely not sure whether it's a good idea or not.
 
Don't make a fan-film. Make a rip-off. At least then you can sell it or something. Change the design a bit and come up with your own story. Do something original. Fan-films are fun, but go nowhere.
 
So many people on these forums are "anti-fan films" because it goes against originality and... well a few laws.

But franky I'm all for them. Most big hollywood directors adapt their works from existing stories anyways. Heck, Peter Jackson is doing a Halo movie. Not only that, but sometimes it's just about the fun of film-making, and doing something you love in a story you love.

As for not making money off of it, I see fan films like investing loads of money into a Harley Davidson. No, it won't make you money, but it's something you can bring around with you and show off. It's something you enjoy having around.

Project sounds interesting.
 
Right! Finally home from work, so I get to do a bigger post!

I found it interesting that the very first post in reply to the thread was a comment saying that fan films shouldn't be done because you get no real benefit or profit from it. I disagree on many levels.

For starters, the one thing that brings us all to this very forum is film making - which fan film making genuinely is, and though the quality of fan films can be pretty appalling, some are genuinely quite good and certainly fun.

Secondly, the idea that no money can be made from fan films is again untrue, especially potentially in this case. The benefit of having something as marketable as a Halo, Star Wars or other big-name fan film, if made to sufficient quality, is that you are then left with all the props and wardrobe afterwards.

If made by yourself and, again, to sufficient quality, these can be very easily resold afterwards, which is partly the reason why I am not afraid to press ahead with this project. Every set of armour, every rifle, every uniform - these can all be resold to recoup massive amounts of funds. It is also becoming very clear now that wardrobe items are a lynchpin of marketing not only in regards publicity for the sale itself, but therefore your movie as a side effect (e.g. the recent Hulk movie, where the official Marvel auctions on ebay for costumes, props and such were almost as highly publicised as the movie itself).

Thirdly, assuming that a fan film is made to a good quality, who is to say that it doesn't get you anywhere? Sandy Collora (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374526/) made his name via the $30k short Batman: Dead End which caused a massive furrore at San Diego Comic Con a few years back. If fan films cannot be sold (which Dead End now is, btw) they can at least be used as a marketing tool for yourself, your production company and for the people who appear in it. At the very least, if you are serious about film, they can be used for show reels and as a basis for securing funding at a later stage.

I mentioned earlier about routes for funding. The suggestion came from one of those excitable people that I should start looking for people to help fund it - a consortium of sorts. It was further suggested that I could, in exchange for small fees ($20-40 per month for 12 months) they would gain a guaranteed spot as an extra for one of the major scenes in the film.

I was somewhat reluctant about this originally as the idea of casting 100 random people - the required figure, by my count, to make this work - as United Nations Space Corps personnel is absolutely horrendous. So many people! But then I also took stock of the fact that I would then have 100 willing extras to make any small base look full of soldiers, civilians and medical staff. Doable, though I would need photos of everyone beforehand to work out costuming requirements.

I am still not sure if this could work but I already have a whole load of enthusiastic people willing to commit funds and spread the word. What do you guys think? Do you think this is potentially a viable option to secure funding for such a project?
 
troopercooper said:
Fan-films, eh? You've got to love them.

This whole thing started when I got back from the United States. I'm busy writing a film treatment for someone when the idea crops up in my head -

"How cool would it be to build a Warthog from Halo?"

I start talking to engineers who agree to help make plans based on Land Rovers, and I share my project with a few people, who get a bit excitable. They then ask the question -

"What are you going to use it for?"

"Don't know. Just thought it would be really cool."
Click to expand...

I always wondered what it would feel like to actually drive a real Warthog, especially with the way they slide around all over the place. It would probably be fun but terrifying if it actually worked like the ones in the games. I'd probably wreck it. If you do build a real one, you might want to make sure it is easier to control for safety concerns.

troopercooper said:
I'll give an update later talking about the current story concept and our idea for funding it, though I am definitely not sure whether it's a good idea or not.
Click to expand...

I'm a pretty big Halo fan, and have actually thought of making a Halo short fan film myself. I've also thought of doing an Aliens or Battlestar Galactica fan film as well, but I've got a pretty good little story that would work well in the Halo universe. I have always thought that making a fan film is a way to practice playing in someone else's sandbox. What I mean by that is this -- when and if I get to make films in Hollywood, I will most likely be restricted to remakes or adaptations for some time. That seems to be what they are intent on producing for quite some time now. A fan film is a way to learn how to work with material not created by you.

As far as making a fan film, you should do it if you want. There will always be people that say don't do this or don't do that. As long as you are aware of the limitations that come with making a fan film, and you are able to accept them, then go for if you really want to do it. My biggest fear with doing a fan film is the possibility of pissing off the company that owns the rights to the original work. Little old me vs. a big corporation is not a position I want to be in. I've never understood why, as long as the fan filmmaker is not trying to sell or make money from the film, they would be against the fan film being on Youtube or online. I mean, it is free advertising for the original work. Maybe if the fan film is a turd but if it is good, then one would think that it is doing a good thing for the original film, game, or book.

Your project sounds interesting and ambitious.
 
Jon Starr said:
As for not making money off of it, I see fan films like investing loads of money into a Harley Davidson. No, it won't make you money, but it's something you can bring around with you and show off. It's something you enjoy having around.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the double post, but you make a good point. And lets face it, to actually make any money or get any notice for an original film, whether it is a short or a feature means that you must have an extremely well crafted piece of cinema. Most of us are not going to have this all the time, especially right out of the gate, and until we've made a few quality films in a row and have a pool of real talent to call on for both cast and crew, making films that can actually compete with the ones that are playing in the theater or are sitting on the shelves at Best Buy or Blockbuster is a nearly impossible task. Then, even if one makes a great feature, the chance of selling it to a distributer is still slim just because there is so much material out there and not enough screens for it all to be shown on.

If you don't mind Jon, I would like to revise your quote a little.

"As for not making money off of it, I see films like investing loads of money into a Harley Davidson. No, it probably won't make you money, but it's something you can bring around with you and show off. It's something you enjoy having around."

In my eyes, making a fan film is only marginally different than making an original one if you are not an established filmmaker. I don't mean to burst any bubbles, because I want to eventually make my own indie feature and hopefully sell it to a distributor and go on to do bigger films some day. A lot of the people on this site probably want the same thing, but the odds are not in our favor.
 
Nektonic said:
If you don't mind Jon, I would like to revise your quote a little.

"As for not making money off of it, I see films like investing loads of money into a Harley Davidson. No, it probably won't make you money, but it's something you can bring around with you and show off. It's something you enjoy having around."

In my eyes, making a fan film is only marginally different than making an original one if you are not an established filmmaker. I don't mean to burst any bubbles, because I want to eventually make my own indie feature and hopefully sell it to a distributor and go on to do bigger films some day. A lot of the people on this site probably want the same thing, but the odds are not in our favor.
Click to expand...

You revised my quote! How dare you!

Hehe, you make a good point actually. Who really makes money from their indy features? I worked on a "big" indy feature being shot here in montreal. It actually made it into theaters (one theater downtown and only for a few weeks mind you), but it made it there. They sold it for TV and they're TRYING to make their money back. They're doing surprisingly well for a local indy film, and I saw it and found it hilarious, but I don't think they're even close to making back their money yet. Considering things, they have a lot going for them.

However, most people will probably never hear of them or see their work. However, if you're even a slight geek and you surf the web a bit, who hasn't heard of Ryan vs Dorkman (a fan film)?

I say investing money into a huge fan film has more impact on your career than on some random feature that you have the rights to for selling.

It's why in Hollywood they make branded films (a story that already has a strong fan base). They know it gets more of an audience.
 
I just wanted to say thanks to all the people who have PM'd me about this showing interest and support. I'm thrashing around with a few ideas at the minute and I will detail the story synopsis soon, but I just thought I'd take the time to say thank you! :)
 
Jon Starr said:
Hehe, you make a good point actually. Who really makes money from their indy features? I worked on a "big" indy feature being shot here in montreal. It actually made it into theaters (one theater downtown and only for a few weeks mind you), but it made it there. They sold it for TV and they're TRYING to make their money back. They're doing surprisingly well for a local indy film, and I saw it and found it hilarious, but I don't think they're even close to making back their money yet. Considering things, they have a lot going for them.
Click to expand...
It's hard because of the way Indie's are trying to make the movies - especially when they haven't thought out anything beyond the production itself. It's hard for even hollywood films to make their money back - more movies are failures than successes. But don't let that discourage you.

I actually plan on making a fan film - for Star Wars. I already know the whole plot line, in fact I'm even considering making a Trilogy for my take on Star Wars. However, instead of doing it first or at the beginning of my career, I plan on doing it towards the middle. I want to put about $2 to 3 million into each fan film so that it will look and feel like the originals (Ep 4-6). And no one will know me for my "fan film" they will know me for my other works, but say "oh yeah - he did that fan film too".

Jon Starr said:
However, most people will probably never hear of them or see their work. However, if you're even a slight geek and you surf the web a bit, who hasn't heard of Ryan vs Dorkman (a fan film)?
Click to expand...
Honestly - never heard of it.

Jon Starr said:
I say investing money into a huge fan film has more impact on your career than on some random feature that you have the rights to for selling.

It's why in Hollywood they make branded films (a story that already has a strong fan base). They know it gets more of an audience.
Click to expand...

I'd say yes and no. I'm a supporter of any movie no matter how big small obscure or concrete. And I'm a supporter of troopercooper because of some internal things we are working on, but fan films may just be that - a fan film. And if you make it, you have to be ready for a situation where only a few may see the movie. Nothing wrong with making it - just be ready.

With any movie you have to be ready, making a fan film just gives you more hoops to jump through if profit is your aim.
 
Oooh yes - and a fine inspiration it is! Neill Blomkamp created some amazing visuals for that ad campaign, and WETA did amazing VFX work. :)
 
A small victory for me - I secured my armourer and it looks like we will be using gas-powered weapons for the film. Working Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Sniper rifles ahoy!

I've found it very hard to actually make contact and actually maintain decent communications with effects guys and armourers here. I'm not sure why this is, really - I've been perfectly genial and been willing to compromise but a lot of them seemed very rude, if indeed they actually wanted your business. Go figure. The guy I've got was very nice and deals primarily in non-pyrotechnic effects. Nice!
 
troopercooper said:
A small victory for me - I secured my armourer and it looks like we will be using gas-powered weapons for the film. Working Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Sniper rifles ahoy!
...
The guy I've got was very nice and deals primarily in non-pyrotechnic effects. Nice!
Click to expand...

This isn't the DVXway - share. Who is this guy? How can we harrass him? :beer:
 
I'll start throwing names around when I know it's all set and I'm dropping cinder-blocks out of sheer excitement. It's looking fun though! :)
 
Two weeks have gone by and progress is being made - I am speaking to a composer, my prop guys are busy at work and the last touches are being made to the script now. Furthermore, I was speaking with a leading prop company in the UK, who I know personally, and they may be willing to offer assistance with background costumes and weapons for next to nothing, as well as hooking me up with a couple of trainee CG people! A good week indeed.

I am still trying to suss out budgetary requirements. The prospect that the prop company will buy up all of my props for resale after production - another possibility - means that I would at least see a large chunk, if not all, of my budget returned to me after shooting. This is very positive as that means I could potentially make this with no loss and still come away with an excellent dearth of learning and, hopefully, a very good low budget film.

A friend of mine is doing me some concept images for the Marines and Dropship Pilots, so once those are done I'll stick them up in here. :)
 
A fresh update since it has been a while.

Here's something I didn't expect - companies seeing my rather ambitious project as a route to gaining publicity for prop construction. A company has come forward to help me build my Warthog 4x4 fighting vehicle, and have even helped source the donor vehicle to base it on. I thought that was a project I was going to have to head up myself.

Meanwhile, guns are under construction, and the treatment is completed and awaiting the completion of a script I have promised someone else so that I can start work on writing it up. Exciting times!
 
Something occurred to me today, since a lot has been going on behind the scenes while I've been busily working away on my various projects.

Budget is approximately £30,000 ($50k). The production value, based on current estimates, is approximately £400,000 ($650k).

What the hell just happened?
 
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