"Halo - Operation Chastity" - fan film production blog

The GRiDs were much smaller - but all in all they bear a very strong resemblance.

Of the four units I got, one was stated as being a "runner". I have yet two test. Two turned on but without HDDs, they had no OS, so sat in command prompt. I need to work out a way of booting something from the A:\ Drive that will make the monitors light up white for use with transparancies.

A nice comparison pic of a mid-90s tactical computer and a classic GRiD, which was one of the first tactical computers used by the US Army. The Toughbooks I had would have been the kind used by armed forces between 1999 and 2002, though these came from civilian companies:

http://staff.salisbury.edu/~rafantini/IMAGES/dual.jpg
 
The one on the right looks like the Aliens one. Now that you mention it, they were pretty darn small. Ah, the dangers of sci-fi film design. Real tech develops so fast that there is just no way to know what will still look high tech or retro a decade past the film's completion.

Trooper, there is a pretty cool Half-Life fan film up in the Cafe section:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=1548526&posted=1#post1548526

Just thought you might like to check it out since you're also doing a video game fan film.
 
Last edited:
Meanwhile, my unit comes on a pace:

toughbooks4.JPG


The Escape from City 17 movie is pretty cool - I don't like the look of the zombies much but the way they did the Combine was VERY clever. It impressed me a lot.
 
lookin good my friend now you just need to stencil UNSC and it'll be awesome you going to paint the rest of it green too?
 
Just thought I'd drop in and actually give a decent update rather than just details of laptops and prop construction. Relevant, movie-making announcements!

As is the case in such small communities, we always know someone doing something with someone else! And this is true here, as we've got a few DVXUsers now on board. Erez Henya of course has already outed himself as the film's composer, but I am also proud to announce the involvement of fellow DVXUser Andrew Brinkhaus, who will be coming over all the way from LA as Operation Chastity's Director of Photography!

In other departments, Sean Farrow has agreed in principle (pending other commitments) to be the film's VFX Supervisor, which is a big coup - Sean has experience on several major productions, including (quite relevantly) Band of Brothers.
 
Happy to be a part of the project, Peter. Looking forward to getting the ball rolling down this huge hill ahead of us.

In other departments, Sean Farrow has agreed in principle (pending other commitments) to be the film's VFX Supervisor, which is a big coup - Sean has experience on several major productions, including (quite relevantly) Band of Brothers.
Click to expand...

He was also the VFX supervisor on 1408, as well, he has worked on Da Vinci Code, Firewall, Batman Begins, Hustle, and Ella Enchanted, among others. :)
 
Last edited:
So, today I got over a big old hurdle - the script was finally sent for read throughs. While in my mind still not entirely there, at least it's out there now. Exciting, and at least one weight off of my shoulders!

Meanwhile, in the world of Small Things, patches:

267marines2.jpg

29unscdfr2.jpg
 
Rather chuffed to say I got interviewed for a leading computer gaming blog about the vehicle a couple of weeks back - the interview has just gone live:

http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2009/03/26/interview-with-pete-cooper-of-operation-chastity/

Pretty cool stuff, and will certainly get the word out. I've also been re-contacted by a few more off-road magazines about our vehicle. Profile, raised!

I would just like to say thank you to the DVXUser members who were kind enough to read the script through and give me their feedback. I'm glad to say the general consensus was that it wasn't bad, and that it just needed more - working on bringing back in all the cuts again. :D

Pete
 
troopercooper said:
Rather chuffed to say I got interviewed for a leading computer gaming blog about the vehicle a couple of weeks back - the interview has just gone live:

http://hawtymcbloggy.com/2009/03/26/interview-with-pete-cooper-of-operation-chastity/

Pretty cool stuff, and will certainly get the word out. I've also been re-contacted by a few more off-road magazines about our vehicle. Profile, raised!

I would just like to say thank you to the DVXUser members who were kind enough to read the script through and give me their feedback. I'm glad to say the general consensus was that it wasn't bad, and that it just needed more - working on bringing back in all the cuts again. :D

Pete
Click to expand...

Go PETER!!!! Woooohooo! Thank you for trusting me with your script read. Yay!
Great Article and thanks for the shout out! I feel special. :) A great push for DVXuser, Erez and Andrew Brinkhaus too.
 
Thanks for your support guys! The response to the article has been terrific - with luck, things will get rolling bigtime with regards to fundraising.
 
Nice to see a website up on this. Look forward to seeing costumes, etc.

I'm always so interested in the legal aspects of fan filmmaking. Only DC/Warner and Lucasfilm have given the (legal) go ahead to make fan films of their properties. I've never seen Marvel complain with the exception of a Marvel Zombies teaser which was, quite honestly, really, really grotesque (and cool) -- I could see Marvel's objection with it.

What's interesting is how everyone puts the "fan" aspect so front and center. I mean, there's nothing illegal about using any combination of an "intellectual property" -- and even less possibility for legal ramifications if the product isn't being sold (as is the case with your film).

Intellectual property law is flimsy. You would literally have to say the character's name is Bruce Wayne and Batman and he lives in Gotham City and has a butler named Aflred and drives the Batmobile and has a nemesis named the joker, etc. etc. for a company to even have a chance in a lawsuit. If you never called him Bruce Wayne, and he had, say, blonde hair? That would probably be enough for the intellectual property to be differentiated.

Heck, think about all the characters in Marvel, DC and Image who all mirror each other with the exception of their names.

The reason intellectual property law has to be so flimsy is because in America you can't copywright an idea. So, if you wanted your character to become Batman because he saw a bat when he was a kid and his parents were killed, you could make some changes and get away with it (but, come on, how tacky would that be?)

The way I think to protect yourself when making a fan film (other than Star Wars or DC/Warner) is to

A) Don't use any specific registered trademarks or logos (like the superman emblem, etc)

B) Don't use the franchise name in your title

You can PROMOTE something as a Halo movie (or better yet have one of your friends promote it so your unassociated with its association with the franchise), but if your title reads "HALO: (subtitle)", you're going to have a larger target on your project.

So tag, promote -- whatever. Just watch out using registered trademarks and logos.

And good luck!

(and if you're wondering WHY you should care about any legal ramifications -- just look at your website. You're selling ad space on your website. In every legal instance that is the same as selling your film -- though LESS companies would care about that than would care about you selling actual DVDs. The best way to sell the DVD is to ask for a $20 "donation" and tell your public that they will receive a FREE behind-the-scenes making-of featurette along with the original short film. I, personally, would take all that disclaimer crap off of your website and simply say that the short film is DEDICATED to and INSPIRED by...and list the creators, etc.)
 
Chamber005 said:
Nice to see a website up on this. Look forward to seeing costumes, etc.

I'm always so interested in the legal aspects of fan filmmaking. Only DC/Warner and Lucasfilm have given the (legal) go ahead to make fan films of their properties. I've never seen Marvel complain with the exception of a Marvel Zombies teaser which was, quite honestly, really, really grotesque (and cool) -- I could see Marvel's objection with it.

What's interesting is how everyone puts the "fan" aspect so front and center. I mean, there's nothing illegal about using any combination of an "intellectual property" -- and even less possibility for legal ramifications if the product isn't being sold (as is the case with your film).

Intellectual property law is flimsy. You would literally have to say the character's name is Bruce Wayne and Batman and he lives in Gotham City and has a butler named Aflred and drives the Batmobile and has a nemesis named the joker, etc. etc. for a company to even have a chance in a lawsuit. If you never called him Bruce Wayne, and he had, say, blonde hair? That would probably be enough for the intellectual property to be differentiated.

Heck, think about all the characters in Marvel, DC and Image who all mirror each other with the exception of their names.

The reason intellectual property law has to be so flimsy is because in America you can't copywright an idea. So, if you wanted your character to become Batman because he saw a bat when he was a kid and his parents were killed, you could make some changes and get away with it (but, come on, how tacky would that be?)

The way I think to protect yourself when making a fan film (other than Star Wars or DC/Warner) is to

A) Don't use any specific registered trademarks or logos (like the superman emblem, etc)

B) Don't use the franchise name in your title

You can PROMOTE something as a Halo movie (or better yet have one of your friends promote it so your unassociated with its association with the franchise), but if your title reads "HALO: (subtitle)", you're going to have a larger target on your project.

So tag, promote -- whatever. Just watch out using registered trademarks and logos.

And good luck!

(and if you're wondering WHY you should care about any legal ramifications -- just look at your website. You're selling ad space on your website. In every legal instance that is the same as selling your film -- though LESS companies would care about that than would care about you selling actual DVDs. The best way to sell the DVD is to ask for a $20 "donation" and tell your public that they will receive a FREE behind-the-scenes making-of featurette along with the original short film. I, personally, would take all that disclaimer crap off of your website and simply say that the short film is DEDICATED to and INSPIRED by...and list the creators, etc.)
Click to expand...

You're quite right - we've had a few comments about the ad space recently, and it was only a test thing for another site according to our web developer. They've now been removed.

I am confident we won't cross too many lines with regards IP usage. Only 2 individual characters are from other material (one from the games in a passing moment, another from the graphic novels), and even the costumes will vary slightly from the in-game models due to natural creative processes. Our title is "Operation Chastity". The "Halo" tag was dropped from the title very early on.

I think the reason fan productions place their fan status front and center is pride. They are part of a group and identify with it, and hope others will as a result and support it out of a sense of belonging and mutual identity. With something like Halo, I think that's especially important, personally - Halo is massive, and if that group can relate and appreciate the efforts being made, then hell, that group will be harnessed in a way no one has seen.

Also, sorry I haven't had time to reply - the fifth, and hopefully final, draft of the script is done!
 
Chamber005 said:
What's interesting is how everyone puts the "fan" aspect so front and center. I mean, there's nothing illegal about using any combination of an "intellectual property" -- and even less possibility for legal ramifications if the product isn't being sold (as is the case with your film).
Click to expand...

In the future the thought police will burst into our homes and take us away in the night if we imagine a scenario from a favorite film, book, or video game.

Now I'll go make my 1984 fan film.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top