"Halo - Operation Chastity" - fan film production blog

Erez Henya said:
Hey, Joseph! I didn't know it's you! how are you my friend? are the plans working themselves out?

I needed your inspiring words today. Thanks you very much!

I agree, our project is officially amazing.
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Yeah, small world. :) I try to only hang out with the best! :) Peter and I met on DVXuser a while back - he's supposed to be writting my next screenplay for me - but it looks like it might be permanently on hold. :) But that's okay. He's really inspiring me though - I thought I may not be able to shoot the script he's writing for me because of budget, but the more I see this, the more excited I get and I start to think - well... maybe?
 
In all seriousness, judging by what I have managed to achieve so far - which is incredible in its own right - I would say you could half your originally projected budget and still make the script I have been writing. Your issues would be cast and effects - remove the needs for overly flashy effects, and remove expensive cast members, and I believe we have a pretty 'cheap' script there.

If you fancy a little holiday over here, maybe you could run cam on the behind the scenes footage? While I honestly doubt this will see a 'full' DVD release, I think it would be good to get it documented at any rate. :)
 
jls4 said:
Yeah, small world. :) I try to only hang out with the best! :)
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Oh yeah, this little planet is so much smaller than it seems at first, and if you hang out only with the best, as I do, then it gets even smaller! I bet we already share a few other friends already! (it happens to me all the time)

But that's okay. He's really inspiring me though - I thought I may not be able to shoot the script he's writing for me because of budget, but the more I see this, the more excited I get and I start to think - well... maybe?
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The answer is yes. Gone are the days where one needs to mortgage their home to produce magnificent films that look and sound extraordinarily professional. Luckily! Give it a go, my friend.

If you're still hesitating, I can get you more proofs, something to really piss you off, haha!
 
troopercooper said:
In all seriousness, judging by what I have managed to achieve so far - which is incredible in its own right - I would say you could half your originally projected budget and still make the script I have been writing. Your issues would be cast and effects - remove the needs for overly flashy effects, and remove expensive cast members, and I believe we have a pretty 'cheap' script there.

If you fancy a little holiday over here, maybe you could run cam on the behind the scenes footage? While I honestly doubt this will see a 'full' DVD release, I think it would be good to get it documented at any rate. :)
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That's the thing. I'm stuck on big names now. Just gotta have one. The Corrado and ALPFD threads have me stuck. It was too "easy" for them to sell.

As for Behind the Scenes, that's cool. Bu tI doubt if I come, I'll be there more then 2 days. I need to save my vacation days for my next project - especially since I hoep to work with named stars. I love having a 9to5 in this economy, but it's hard to shoot a movie around. :)

Erez Henya said:
The answer is yes. Gone are the days where one needs to mortgage their home to produce magnificent films that look and sound extraordinarily professional. Luckily! Give it a go, my friend.

If you're still hesitating, I can get you more proofs, something to really piss you off, haha!
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I agree, but I just want a name to sell it. I don't want to fight anymore. My next feature will be my 4th. I need to go in and out easy and walk in with the confidence to get a half a million dollar or more sale. So I can start setting up distribution even before I shoot. You need a good sale to set that up.
 
Huh, interesting. Looks like you're going all-out on this, kudos for that.

Normally I come down on the side of the fence that says "fan films are a waste of time and talent". But there is one factor that's very clear in this experience you're sharing: they're also cheap. When you get in front of a franchise that already has a very devoted fanbase, people come out of the woodwork to work for peanuts or free, just to be a part of something they love. That's where your budget discrepancy comes from... you've basically sliced out the most expensive part of any production. Normally, selling back your props wouldn't be worth a damn, but this is a unique circumstance where there's a real market there.

That said, are you at all worried about legal liability for making money off of someone else's IP in that way? That would be my biggest concern here and I'm just curious if you've consulted attorneys about it.
 
From all the consultation I've had, it seems that it should only really become an issue as and when *profit* is achieved. So the solution is really quite simple - just make my money back, and stop there. :) I won't lie that I am a tad concerned, but I am not exactly hiding from Microsoft, and if they wish to discuss the whole thing I would be very open to discourse. After 21 attempts to find relevant contact details with them through MS/X Box customer services, perhaps it's best that they get in touch with me...

I don't really mind taking a loss on this. Any money that can be recouped would be great, and if a deal were to be worked out for the film and I got a heap of money from Microsoft, all of it would just go to my crew afterwards. But fact is, I just like the idea of making a great movie set in the Halo universe, which far outstrips its budgetary bracket, and which becomes so popular that another one can be done.
 
You don't think it will be an issue if they are also contemplating releasing their own HALO movie? Don't you think they'd have a problem if there was some consumer confusion as to what movie is theirs and yours? I could see them being concerned not with recouping your profits but watering down the HALO brand name.

I don't know what I'm talking about but it might be worth your time to get the answers NOW instead of putting all this effort into it and having it fall through in the future.
 
As I've said, I have tried. Stuff like this is generally accepted as only promoting and not working in the detriment of the brand. The last big company to 'kill' a fan-film was Games Workshop, and the negative press they caused was massive. Anyway, the official Halo movie is long-dead.

Now, good news! A final completed concept art:

warthog2.jpg
 
Really looking forward to this!

I would definitely suggest getting answers now on whether there's going to be any problems in the future with regards to releasing this. Last thing you want are expensive lawyers chasing you for copyright infringement or something.

A similar thing happened to a Max Payne fan film. 20th Century Fox closed them down because they were worried that people would get confused between the proper film and the fan film.
 
The concept art does look really cool. And because I love Halo and have wasted many hours of my life playing it, I'm rooting for you.
 
Thanks for the messages of support. :)

As I have said - and this will be the last time I will discuss this - I have tried and failed to open discussions with Microsoft about the use of their IP within my film, limited as it is.

My film is operating within the boundaries of their guidelines for use of IP which I have managed to find online, though god knows if it is up to date or not. It's the best I can do as a filmmaker, as they have no direct route of communications about these kinds of matters. All I can do is wait for them to talk to me, if they even want to talk to me. Likelihood is I will be showing my film to Bungie before I release *anyway*, so who knows where that might lead. Online release should be no problem - the issues arise when I start looking to sale of DVDs and other such things.
 
Great thread,

Sorry if you've already mentioned this but who is doing that concept art? It looks amazing. Beautiful images.
 
doubler83 said:
I would definitely suggest getting answers now on whether there's going to be any problems in the future with regards to releasing this. Last thing you want are expensive lawyers chasing you for copyright infringement or something.
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The thing is if he can actually get through to someone at Microsoft that has the clout to make this level of decision, the answer will probably, heck, will almost positively be a big fat NO. Microsoft is a big corporation. It would be the same with Sony if someone wanted to make a fan film based on a Playstation game.

As long as the film is made without the notion of trying to profit from it you should be fine. Look at all the Halo machinima films out there. I don't recall Microsoft or Bungie going after them, but were flattered and pleased that the game was inspiring such creativity and devotion in its fans.

If this Halo film turns out really good, then I would think that Bungie would get behind it. Microsoft might then be more inclined to back it then as well. Who knows, if it is really professional and high quality they might even put it up as a download on Xbox Live?

It's a shame the Peter Jackson/Neill Blomkamp Halo film is pretty much a dead turkey. I was really looking forward to it, so now I'm rootin' for your film dude. The concept art looks awesome and epic. I can't wait to see the finished product.

dougspice said:
Too bad Fox backed the wrong horse, huh?
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Especially when you factor in that along with Universal, 20th Century Fox was one of the original studios that was going to co-produce the Halo movie.
 
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It's a weird thing - had Microsoft gone with a $150M production budget (Iron Man levels) I am confident a decent film could have been made that would have easily made $500M in the cinemas worldwide, if not more! Demanding a $200M budget or nothing would have still made fantastic business sense - it still would have made a ton of money. But what can you do. I remain certain that an official Halo movie would become the biggest grossing film of all time.

Interesting of note is a rather good-looking fan-film made here in the UK called "The Hunt For Gollum". Cost £3000 ($4,200 in current money), and has received no litigation from Jackson's people over the issue. So at the very least, my film should get seen!
 
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