Half-Life Short Film Grabs Attention

switchfeet writes "For any of you Half-Life fans out there, this new short film based on the game by The Purchase Brothers is really garnering some attention on pretty much every gaming site out there. 'It's a mixture of live action and game footage, and makes smart use of in-game sound effects, and some really fantastic location hunting. ... The Purchase Bros describe the production as 'guerilla style with no money, no time, no crew, no script, the first two episodes were made from beginning to end on a budget of $500.'"

Comments

It's indeed great

[Anonymous Coward]

It's very well done, albeit a bit short.

I was amazed that 'amateurs' were better at actually converting a game into a movie better than Hollywood has ever been.
There's one very big flaw though: Gordon Freemans talks!!! ;-)

Re:It's indeed great

[richy freeway]

Except Gordon Freeman isn't in this video...

Re:It's indeed great

[RiscIt]

What's the point? He wouldn't say anything anyway.

Re:It's indeed great

[krenshala]

Yeah, but actors with no lines don't get paid nearly as much as ones that get to say stuff. Would you want the part of Gordon, when everyone around you gets lines, but you have to just stare at people (with the option to take a crowbar to them, admittedly)?

Re:It's indeed great

[mrchaotica]

Yeah, but actors with no lines don't get paid nearly as much as ones that get to say stuff. Would you want the part of Gordon, when everyone around you gets lines, but you have to just stare at people (with the option to take a crowbar to them, admittedly)?

I'm a mime, you insensitive clod!

Re:It's indeed great

[FloydTheDroid]

You'll need to watch Freeman's Mind if you want that.

Re:It's indeed great

[Sj0]

I think you meant ".................."

Impostor!

Very Cool!

[tedgyz]

Maybe some studio will pick up on the idea and make a feature-length film. We need something better than Doom!

Re:Very Cool!

[Shrike82]

I heard Uwe Boll is free. I'll give him a call...

Re:Very Cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

Noooooo!!!!

Re:Very Cool!

[KodePhreak]

Well the game is pretty much a complete storyline in itself :) I have always said it was worthy of its own movie

Re:Very Cool!

[sanosuke001]

Their site actually said Valve had flown them out to Seattle and has been in touch with them regarding the project. I think their first episode was fantastic and would love to see more. Valve throwing them a bit of cash could definitely increase their vision. A full-length movie would be amazing.

Re:Very Cool!

[rastakid]

The rights for making a feature-length of Half-Life (1) were sold back in 2003.

Re:Very Cool!

[tepples]

The rights for making a feature-length of Half-Life (1) were sold back in 2003.

But when a company sells the movie rights to a franchise, isn't such a contract usually written to expire within five years or so? Do you have a citation that we could look at?

Re:Very Cool!

[Creepy]

You're kidding, right? (that's a joke ;)

According to IMDB, ou-vay (Uwe as the Germans would say it) is booked for
# Zombie Massacre (2010) (in production) (producer)
# BloodRayne 3 (2009) (in production) (producer)
# Sabotage 1943 (2009) (in production) (producer)
# Max Schmeling (2010) (pre-production) (executive producer)
# Janjaweed (2009) (pre-production) (producer)
# The Storm (2009) (filming) (producer)

My guess is he is also directing most of those. Without looking up the profiles, I had heard Sabotage 1943 is based on Velvet Assassin and obviously BloodRayne 3 is based on the video game of that name, and I think Zombie Massacre is a Wii game... aside from that, I'm clueless. It's pretty sad when he's making movies of games so obscure even I haven't heard of them (or maybe he's branching out...)

Re:Very Cool!

[Jager Dave]

Just so long as they still cast Rosamund Pike (the girl that played Samantha Grimm) :)

Re:Very Cool!

[Toonol]

BloodRayne 2 (the film) was completely independent of BloodRayne 2 (the game). I think BR 3 will be as well.

I feel a bit dirty, but I'm going to recommend his adaption of "Postal". It is filthy, tasteless, and obscene, but funny. It's the only film he's done that is worth seeing; for some reason, his sensibilities worked for that film, while they fail everywhere else.

Re:Very Cool!

[ucblockhead]

If Valve is smart, they sold the rights to the plot and characters, not the setting. That would allow something like this, set in City 17 and featuring known of the main Half-life characters, to be done without effecting those rights.

Re:Very Cool!

[BlatOdea]

She was the only good part about that movie. Doom was fine for a Sci-Fi flick, but a disgrace to Doom, IMHO.

This HL short is awesome though, seemingly better quality and more captivating than Hollywood production.

Re:Very Cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally I think Valve should go with a Sci Fi series, rather than a movie.

Re:Very Cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, there's a film I believe was the inspiration for the game. It's called From Beyond. At some point in the film there's even an Ichthyosaur-like creature.

From the imdb summary:

Dr. Pretorius and his colleagues are working on a sensational experiment: by means of stimulation of the pineal gland, they want to open the human mind to higher dimensions. When the experiment succeeds, however, they are immediately attacked by terrible life forms, which apparently are floating around us all the time.

It's an awesome movie, not just because of it's similarities to Half-Life.

Re:Very Cool!

[Anonymous Coward]

The summary doesn't do justice to the similarity, however. What they use to stimulate the gland is a machine they've built called a resonator. When turned on, it allows monsters from other dimensions to enter theirs.

Although since the film is based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, it's possible the game could have been based on the story as well and not the film.

Re:Very Cool!

[rastakid]

Back in 2003 I saw this article on NU.nl, a very populair and trustworthy online news outlet in The Netherlands: http://www.nu.nl/internet/174435/half-life-verfilmd.html

You'll have to run it through Babelfish though, as it is written in Dutch.

We need these guys to get hired by valve

[jack2000]

I enjoyed their work and can only wish for more.

The problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Gordon would have to TALK, and that can't possibly work well.

Re:The problem

[dintech]

I think we should watch it before passing judgement, yes?

Re:The problem

[grumbel]

The movie is not about Gordon Freeman, which elegantly sidesteps that problem.

Re:The problem

[The Gaytriot]

I would assume it would turn out like what the Halo movie was supposed to be. The movie focuses on other characters, leaving the main character from the games (MC, or Freeman) as a cameo role.

I think it would end up like a couple of the Half-life expansion packs, where you play an ancillary character, catching brief glimpses of Gordon during the game.

Re:The problem

[Lordpidey]

Well excuse me princess.

Re:The problem

[Anonymous Coward]

I create original witty material, and animated this wonderful cartoon.

Re:The problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Stop calling men things like princess and honey. It makes you look, well, you know...

From Valve

[Barny]

Valve had this to say in the latest steam news...

The short film Escape from City 17: Part One, viewable on YouTube via the link below, was inspired by the Half-Life 2 episodes and chronicles the escape from City 17 by some members of the citizens resistance. It was created by The Purchase Brothers, a commercial directing duo, and their small team based in Toronto, Canada. They have been Half-Life enthusiasts from the start and have created this short, the first in a series, on a shoestring budget using handmade costumes, some donated equipment, and the Source SDK, not to mention lots of their own blood, sweat and (we assume) tears. It was sent to Valve unannounced, and we were blown away -- the production quality certainly exceeds that of the usual community-made movies we see. We're told the second episode is nearing completion, and we can't wait to see what's in store. We hope that you enjoy the series.

PLEASE NOTE! This live-action video contains scenes of blood and harsh violence, and may not be appropriate for younger audiences or sensitive viewers.

Seems they liked it too :)

Re:From Valve

[complete loony]

Though valve posting that update news is *why* this short film has gotten so much attention.

bad "marketing" angle

[njen]

guerilla style with no money, no time, no crew, no script

(Time) First of all, as someone who works in CG, I can say without a doubt, that those effects would have taken a while to do. You don't just whip up cloud vortexes and comp them in a mere hour. It's this kind of talk that helps support the belief that you can push a button, and a computer takes care of all the effects.
So it would be prudent to say that the actual filming of the live action component was done in "no time". The entire film from concept to final would have taken at least a few weeks, if not a couple of months I imagine.

(Money) Second, they would have had to work with legitimate copies of 2D and 3D software. If it was done with anything other than Blender, then that's at least a few thousand dollars right there.

(Script) Third, it's the story that makes films great. Without a good script, a film is meaningless. I mean look how much effort the storytellers of the game put in to tell a great story in an fps shooter. I don't think it's a wise thing to boast that one has no script.

I am not trying to belittle the film, as an amateur short with the given constraints it works as best as it can. But I just wanted to expand on the angle that they are trying to push their film from.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[chalkyj]

I have the feeling they didn't literally mean "no time what so ever". They're not trying to apologise for the quality of the film because it was simply willed into existence.

It did take them some time - evidently it took them how ever long it took them to produce what they produced. The implication of "no time" being that they weren't able to put as much polish on it as they would have given more time.

One would also assume that as independent film makers and commercial directors they had access to the software already, rather than trying to include every single resource involved as part of that one film's budget.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Lumpy]

Yes and no. it's easy to hide the bad CG with "shakeycam"(tm) because nothing stands still long enough to allow most viewers to see the poor placement or bad blending. Also their "shakey cam" was not all hanheld shots but some of them were done in composting to add in some camera movement. Unfortunately many people can see that because they used too little of a sample of shakyness and looped it causing a repeating pattern.

for highschool/college newbies This is a great job. but I would consider it a rough edit. It's not complete, the muzzle flashes are horrid simply because they are CG in instead of firing flash blanks. no real squibs, etc.... and for those of you that say you cant to the real stuff on a zero budget.. I say HA. I have rigged squibs for less than $1.00 each that are as safe as the $150.00 each hollywierd ones. and using blanks is as safe as the hollywood shots. it's all in camera angles you never actually aim the guns at the other actors.

It's a great fanfilm from someone brand new in the filming industry. but it needs a lot more editing and clean up the sg so they don't have to use shakeycam to hide the rough placement.

Just a part time pro that has been doing what they do for far far longer. They have an awesome start. If they keep refining their skills they will do FANTASTIC things.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Zerth]

Yes, but then you have everyone who has actually seen a gun saying "Why are they shooting at the wall?"

Let them take the powder burns, call it method acting when they start flinching on cue.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Muros]

(Script) Third, it's the story that makes films great. Without a good script, a film is meaningless.

You've obviously never seem a Jackie Chan movie.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with regular blanks (besides the safety) is that they burn too fast. You can't catch the muzzle flash properly, which results in missing/stuttering on screen.
That's why hollywood blanks were invented.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[IndustrialComplex]

Third, it's the story that makes films great. Without a good script, a film is meaningless. I mean look how much effort the storytellers of the game put in to tell a great story in an fps shooter. I don't think it's a wise thing to boast that one has no script.

If the build it up episodic, then they may mean that they have no idea where the story will take them. Which isn't so bad if you think about it. With proper acting (which at some points, this was lacking) this type of genre can work without much of an overall script. Improvisation works well with a 'escape from the city while fighting zombies and aliens' type story.

Like you said, those computer generated effects take time, so while one guy works on that, another can work on the next scene's story.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Lumpy]

Hollywood blanks are easy to make yourself. All you need is reloading equipment and the right stuff all bought at your local gun shop. I can make a pistol look like it fired a rocket because it has so much muzzle flash and leftover fireball.

No I wont tell you how. But it's not hard to do once you understand gunpowder and wadding.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Guspaz]

Squibs might come cheap, but the destruction of the costumes worn while using them doesn't (be it in time or money).

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Anonymous Coward]

and everyone knows Jackie Chan films are just Bruce Lee fan-fics

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Chabo]

Don't necessarily need to destroy the costumes. Robert Rodriguez used condoms filled with fake blood when he made El Mariachi.

That movie is a great example of a full-length action movie made on a shoestring budget.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[BattleApple]

...some of them were done in composting...

Jeez.. If you thought the camerawork was a pile of shit, just say so

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Hecatonchires]

mod parent up +1 insightful & funny

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Guspaz]

How do you achieve the visual effect, then? I know little of film production, but from what I understand, the basic technique is to place the squib beneath the outermost layer of cloth, and to score the cloth for easy tearing when the squib goes off.

I suppose you could put the squib against the outside of the costume, and then cover it with another piece of fabric on top of it to give the illusion that the cloth is being penetrated. That presupposes that washing the costumes removes the fake blood, though. On the other hand, if the cloth is black, most stains would probably be hidden after washing.

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Anonymous Coward]

The above post is the CG editing equivalent of "look at those sharp knees, I would definitely not hit that."

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Chabo]

That's how commercial squibs are implemented, yes, but watch El Mariachi sometime, and watch Robert Rodriguez's "10 Minute Film School" on the DVD.

Because of the extremely low budget he was on, he went without any unnecessary expenses. Instead of a slate, he had the actors on-screen hold up fingers denoting the scene and take numbers. Instead of a camera dolly he used a handheld camera while being pushed around in a borrowed wheelchair, and instead of commercial squibs he propelled fake-blood-filled condoms at the actors at high speed.

Honestly, the effect worked well, and the movie looks just as good as Desparado, the much higher-budget sequel (with the possible exception that Selma Hayek wasn't in the first movie... ;) ).

Re:bad "marketing" angle

[Anonymous Coward]

You all are quite abundant on slashdot. Please stop pontificating about how you know this and that, and how they aren't giving you the whole picture and blah blah blah blah.

Maybe you've worked on these projects, maybe you've read about all the work that goes into it and think you're an expert, maybe you're someone who is actually in the entertainment industry and you're familiar with large scale commercial projects and all that goes into them....I don't know and I'm not about to guess, but I will say that it's quite possible to do the project suggested above in the manner suggested.

These projects aren't about attaining studio quality, these projects are about creating a story that can take life on of its own. If you sit on your ass waiting for "the perfect scenario" you'll never make single anything and no I'm not talking out my ass, I have made a few of these myself (dramatic, not sci-fi action but still...)

WOW

[Anonymous Coward]

This movie with 500 look's AMAZING i cant imagine what could be done with a greater budget from this guys. would be nice to know how much time i took them to made the first episode.

Valve

[mfh]

Why wouldn't Valve be blown away? Valve was a group of dedicated gamers who originally wanted more out of the first person shooter experience, so they started their own company and leveraged their own talent to creating Half Life. They were heralded similarly to the Purchase Brothers, although it's not the same scale. I bet seeing that film reminded some of people at Valve of their experience around the first launch of Half Life. :)

Re:Valve

[Saffaya]

IIRC (read long ago on gaming sites that are now long forgotten), Valve was created by ex-microsoft employees. Half-life's first incarnation was not as good as they hoped to be. Thanks to their wealth (from being rather early microsoft people), they were able to scrap the game as it was, keep the really good parts , and expand those, polishing the whole until they were fully satisfied with their work and finally released it to the world.
Their financial independence made possible the heavy reworking that lead to the genesis of half-life as we know it. A luxury most of the developping teams nowadays can not afford.(blizzard being the exception)

Just to say that the qualificative 'group of dedicated gamers' does not fully describe Valve, imo.
It rather makes me think of the players who wanted more out of the FPS experience and wrote counter-strike, the half-life mod.

Re:Valve

[Guspaz]

Except, then the Counter-Strike team was hired by Valve. And previously, the Team Fortress team was hired by valve. And then Day of Defeat team was hired by valve. And then the Narbacular Drop team was hired by valve.

There's a pattern here; even if Valve's executives aren't a "group of dedicated gamers", a large proportion of their best staff is. And those executives certainly have a pretty commendable attitude at running a business. They encourage community works (Black Mesa, for example, or this film project) where other large companies would squash them.

And how many other companies have a chief executive who not only encourages customers to e-mail him, but actually responds to many of them? Not enough.

Re:Valve

[ucblockhead]

I wish other companies would realize that this attitude has made Valve money. Rather than attempting shut down Counterstrike for touching their precious IP, they looked at it, bought it and thereby made lots and lots of money.

Money where my mouth is.

[Marauder2]

I will pay for this on DVD/BluRay/Download.

I would love to see this taken to completion. This is what I have been hoping for in a "HalfLife Movie".

Re:Money where my mouth is.

[Anonymous Coward]

Amen

For a full length film of this quality I would gladly pay to see it three times in the theater and then buy the special edition DVD.

I don't even care that it's not up to all the critics expectations of CG or special effects. This 5 minute clip was better than the entire Doom movie just because it actually captured the feel of the game so well.

Re:Money where my mouth is.

[GeorgeMonroy]

I hear ya. I would do the same.

Re:Money where my mouth is.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ugh. You people are the reason the film industry pumps out so much shit.

Gary's Mod

[Anonymous Coward]

What if they used Gary's Mod?

-jgtg32a
Anon because the fools actually gave me mod points

Fan films

[elrous0]

The problem with fan films to me isn't the production values, it's the acting and writing that usually give them away as amateur efforts. The three things that always give a fan film away are acting, writing, and lighting. Most fan film makers think that cool FX and costumes are all there is to filmmaking. I've seen only a few exceptions to this (the most noteable being a Star Wars fan film from several years ago called "Broken Alliegience," which had some surprisingly a-class acting, writing, and lighting.

So, basically...

[Anonymous Coward]

So, basically they used some cinematics from the game and composited talky footage of themselves standing next to a train with some other CG from the game. And, as an extra bonus, they apparently dangled the camera from a bungee cord attached to the testicles of a hyperactive hummingbird. Slick, but...

Cringe-worthy acting

[Anonymous Coward]

"I hate walking. Argh!"

Burn Hollywood Burn!

[dr.banes]

This is better than anything Uwe Boll ever put together with millions in budget.

Re:Burn Hollywood Burn!

[krenshala]

Personally, I think my cat could make a better movie while working on a shoestring budget than Uwe Boll ever did.

the first two episodes

[frovingslosh]

Well, it's not Half Life, It's Half Life 2. But it's pretty neat for an amateur effort.

But the /. write up says " the first two episodes ...", anyone have any link to the second of the two episodes? I can only find the first.

Re: the first two episodes

[Anonymous Coward]

They have not yet released the second one, but there are only going to be 2, I believe.

Fucking Awesome!

[Anonymous Coward]

This 5 minute trailer is better than the majority of the multi-million dollar movies I've seen in the last year!

lol++

Sub discussion - Who do you think should play who?

[therufus]

This is an inspiring piece. Well done guys. But imagine if HL came to Hollywood. Who would you get to play which character?

I'd love to see G-Man played by Christopher Walken :D

Re:Sub discussion - Who do you think should play w

[ndixon]

Sasha Baron Cohen, in Ali G guise, would make a good Freeman - as long as he keeps hit mouth shut.