Editing Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

{{Film infobox

|image=[[File:FUD-Poster.jpg|300px]]

*''Blu-ray/DVD'': December 4, 2012 {{Ref/Reuse|thb101012}}

|runtime=90 minutes

 

''Forward Unto Dawn'' is hosted on [[Halo Waypoint]] and [[Wikipedia:Machinima.com|Machinima.com]].<ref>[http://www.insidegamingdaily.com/2012/04/30/halo-4-live-action-series-to-debut-on-machinima-network/ '''Inside Gaming Daily''': ''IGDaily - Halo Live-Action Series - 4/30/12'']</ref> The ''Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition'', which contains the complete, film-length cut of ''Forward Unto Dawn'' as well as additional material, is included with the ''[[Halo 4 Limited Edition]]'' and is available via ''Halo Waypoint''.<ref name="thb5612">[http://www.halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/05/16/The-Halo-Bulletin-51612.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin 5.16.12'']</ref> The ''Special Edition'' was also released for download on [[Xbox LIVE]] on November 5, 2012, for 2,800 Microsoft points.<ref>[http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-CA/Product/Halo-4-Forward-Unto-Dawn-Special-Edition/f9954433-a8ee-4d85-800e-84cef8f9acc4 '''Xbox Live''': ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Special Edition'']</ref> The film cut was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 4, 2012.<ref name="thb101012">[http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2012/10/10/The-Halo-Bulletin-101012-.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''': ''The Halo Bulletin: 10.10.12'']</ref> Originally released on the MachinimaPrime YouTube channel, episodes 3-5 of the series were taken offline on YouTube some time following the release of the ''Special Edition'', but are back online in certain regions as of September 2013.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBYG77VeCE '''YouTube''' - ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Part 3 (Live-Action Halo Series)'']</ref>

 

The series also incorporated interactive features with the [[Halo Channel]] application for [[Xbox One]]. Viewers could complete challenges related to the series to unlock features that can be used in ''Halo'' games. Each episode has several challenges and "Second Story" videos that expand on events that were not shown in the series. Additionally, viewers could access the Halo Channel's "Halo Encyclopedia" to gain information on characters, locations, weapons, and vehicles that are featured in ''Forward Unto Dawn''.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-gb/halo-channel '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Halo Channel'']</ref>

{{Spoiler/begin}}

In his spare time, Lasky replays video messages by his now-deceased brother [[Cadmon Lasky|Cadmon]], with whom he used to have regular video correspondence. Most of Lasky's classmates, particularly [[Walter Vickers]], are unrelenting in their provocation of Thomas, affirming their distaste for the freshman who fails to live up to the example set by his brother and his [[Lasky (colonel)|mother]], a [[UNSC Defense Force|UNSCDF]] [[colonel]] and former superior of CAMS professor, [[K. L. Mehaffey|Colonel Mehaffey]]. One of the few cadets sympathetic to him is [[Chyler Silva]], who attempts to encourage Thomas to be a better leader, and [[Michael Sullivan]], who cares little about his performance and focuses on hacking classified UNSC mission recordings, eventually uncovering footage recorded by a [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan]]'s helmet camera. Another Hastati Squad member, [[Junjie Chen]], struggles to live up to the expectations of his father and is concerned about Lasky's poor performance decreasing his combat scores. Frustrated by the verbal and minor physical harassment he receives from Vickers, Lasky eventually assaults his squadmate in the school's [[mess hall]]. Lasky mildly injures Vickers and only stops when Colonel Mehaffey intervenes. Despite Lasky's consistent misbehavior, the Colonel makes an effort to have him embrace the warrior culture of the UNSC and inspire him to become a better leader.

Lasky and Silva join the rest of Hastati Squad in a queue for the academy's [[space elevator]], while [[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] drop in to the academy grounds. The stress of waiting proves too much for [[Dimah Tchakova]], who against the orders of their squad leader [[April Orenski]] rushes in front of the queue and invokes her mother's position to allow a Marine to let her in the next elevator car. As the car ascends, the rest of the cadets watch in horror as three [[Ceudar-pattern heavy corvette|alien ships]] appear in the clouds and one of them opens fire on the space tether. The tether's lower structure collapses on the building and the members of Hastati Squad barely escape the destruction.

The Warthog is ambushed by Jackals on the journey and becomes irreparably damaged, and the squad is forced proceed on foot. Silva realizes that she has taken a [[Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher|needler]] round to the stomach; the squad flees into the jungle as the Chief engages and kills a single Hunter. With all [[biofoam]] having been used to treat Sullivan's leg, however, Silva dies shortly afterwards. Having ran out of ammunition during the previous fight, the Spartan plans to distract the second Hunter while the cadets run to safety. Distraught at Silva's death, Lasky volunteers to take the Chief's place. As the Hunter is focusing on Lasky, the Chief successfully uses a [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose grenade|grenade]] to neutralize the walking tank. The battered team makes it to the rendezvous point at dawn, where they are picked up by a Pelican carrying [[Kelly-087]] and [[Frederic-104]]. The Chief commends Lasky for valor under fire, and gives him an armor fragment from the Hunter as a memento.

Back in the present, Commander Lasky prepares to enter cryo while holding his dog tags; Silva's dog tags and the Hunter armor fragment are attached to the tags' chain, Lasky having kept them for over three decades. The ''Infinity'' and its escorts jump into slipspace, with [[Requiem]] as their destination. As the ''Dawn''{{'}}s wreckage is inexorably pulled toward the mysterious shield world, Cortana prepares to reawaken the Master Chief at last.

[[File:FUD - CAMS comparison.jpg|thumb|250px|A comparison of an unfinished shot of Corbulo Academy from the official trailer (above), and the finalized version, with digitally added elements such as [[wind turbine]]s, satellite dishes and a [[space elevator]] (below).]]

According to director [[Wikipedia:Stewart Hendler|Stewart Hendler]], time was considered the primary challenge when embarking on a production of this scalen a relatively short notice. Primarily written by screenwriters Aaron Helbing and Todd Helbing, work on the script is noted to have begun around [[2011|December 2011]]. Production officially started in late April 2012.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}}

Filming, which lasted for a total of five weeks, started on April 28, 2012 at [[Wikipedia:Simon Fraser University|Simon Fraser University]] in [[Wikipedia:Vancouver|Vancouver]], [[Wikipedia:British Columbia|British Columbia]], [[Wikipedia:Canada|Canada]], a popular filming location for many notable science fiction series like [[Wikipedia:Stargate SG-1|''Stargate SG-1'']] and [[Wikipedia:Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|''Battlestar Galactica'']]. Since much of the series is set at Corbulo Academy, an actual, existing location was used to give the school a concrete identity. Although many other locations around the world were initially considered to represent the academy, the SFU was chosen because of its rugged, decidedly futuristic architecture.<ref name="sleeper">'''[[Awakening a Sleeper]]'''</ref> For the filming, the campus was decorated with additional embellishments, including various UNSC [[propaganda]] murals and a statue of the academy's namesake, the Roman general [[Wikipedia:Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo|Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo]].<ref name="Kotaku 512012">[http://kotaku.com/5906858/first-look-at-the-set-of-the-halo-4-live-action-series '''Kotaku.com:''' ''First Look at the "Set" of the Halo 4 Live Action Series'']</ref> Most outdoors scenes within the academy, as well as the establishing shots of the campus and select indoor scenes like the mess hall, were filmed on-location at SFU.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}}

 

After the first week of filming at the SFU campus, the second week was spent shooting the forest scenes, namely the cadets' training exercises and the final battle sequence, including the Warthog chase. The forest location was woodland in a drainage basin north of Vancouver. Despite some logistical problems, the site attracted the attention of the crew because of its unique, almost otherworldly atmosphere. Most of the interior scenes at the academy were filmed on set during the last three weeks of filming. While the SFU campus is recognizable as a real-world location, the sets were designed with an emphasis on giving the series a unique signature aesthetic. The largest of the three major sets was a single 25-meter long hallway, which was used to represent many different hallways in the series, primarily the main corridor at the Corbulo Academy dorms. As part of the hallway set, a single dorm room was also created and was similarly used to depict several different rooms. The third major set was the cadets' locker room and cryo training facility.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}}

While the role of the main protagonist is filled by [[Thomas Lasky]], who is also a major character in ''Halo 4'', [[John-117|Master Chief John-117]] also plays a pivotal role in the series. Lasky is played by Australian actor [[Wikipedia:Tom Green (Australian actor)|Tom Green]].<ref name="credits">[http://www.microsoft.com/games/mgsgamecatalog/halo4_fud_credits.aspx '''Microsoft Game Studios''': ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Series Credits'']</ref> The Master Chief is portrayed by Canadian actor [[Wikipedia:Daniel Cudmore|Daniel Cudmore]], best known for his role as the mutant [[Wikipedia:Colossus in other media#X2|Colossus]] in the [[Wikipedia:X-Men (film series)|''X-Men'' film series]]. Cudmore also performed the Master Chief's stunts, as he doubles as a stunt performer. He considered the role a challenge; as the cumbersome suit would significantly mute natural movement, Cudmore found that his physical acting came across more clearly by exaggerating his movements.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}} As ''Forward Unto Dawn'' is set thirty-one years before ''Halo 4'', the production team originally experimented with de-aging [[Steve Downes]]' voice so he could voice the fifteen-year-old John-117; Cudmore would act only as the Spartan's physical embodiment. However, the team realized that Downes' altered voice sounded too high-pitched. Thus, a separate actor, {{Plain|[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3773430/ Alex Puccinelli]}},{{Ref/Reuse|credits}} was given the role of voicing John, whose voice would evolve over three decades to possess the gruffer quality of Downes' performance.{{Ref/Reuse|THB 7.18.12}}

When the main roles were being cast, it was considered important that the cadets would appear believable as young and inexperienced teenagers forced into a life-and-death situation.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}} At the time of casting, there was a fair amount of secrecy surrounding the production, then known only as ''"Sleeper"'', and the actors were not initially informed that the series would be set in the [[Halo universe|''Halo'' universe]].{{Ref/Reuse|cryo}}<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZHvDfNZe6o '''YouTube''': '' Halo After Dawn: Episode 3 - The Haircut'']</ref> In preparation for their roles, the actors for the main characters were given a collection material to study, including the existing [[Halo novels|''Halo'' novels]].<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bOajLVJ3CE '''YouTube''': ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Anna Popplewell (Exclusive Interview)'']</ref> Although basic background profiles had been created for the characters in advance, the actors were given a degree of freedom to build on the cadets' backstories themselves.<ref name="cryo">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jHclMt97Qw '''YouTube''': ''Halo After Dawn: Episode 4 - Cryo'']</ref> Over the course of the week before the filming began, the actors for the cadets of Hastati Squad underwent an intense basic training regimen, fashioned after military training, under the supervision of the series' stunt coordinator James Bamford as well as an additional military consultant. Taking place in a warehouse in Vancouver, the program consisted of basic physical exercises, various military drills, and even live-fire weapons training with assault rifles so the actors would be able to perform their parts in a more convincing manner and be acclimatized to moving as a unit. Stewart Hendler wanted Bamford to go as far as possible with the training, to the point of the actors vomiting and "calling their agents", although all of them endured through the process.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}}

{{#widget:Vimeo|id=62203990|width=300|thumb|caption=HALO 4: FUD - Title Sequence - Making Of}}

UNSC officer uniforms seen in the series are largely derived from the designs seen in ''[[Halo 3]]'' and ''[[Halo: Reach]]'', but are given an olive drab coloration as opposed to the blue-gray or white typical of [[UNSC Navy]] uniforms. Although it has been previously established that unaugmented humans must enter [[cryonics|cryo-sleep]] fully naked, this was circumvented by giving the cadets dedicated "cryo-suits" to wear in scenes involving cryo-stasis. The suits were created by a Vancouver wet suit company and were designed to be skintight with the requirement they could be removed on camera for the scene with Lasky removing his suit in the shower to reveal his blisters.{{Ref/Reuse|looks}} However, not all of the cadets wore the rubber suits in the cryo scenes,{{Ref/Reuse|cryo}} and would instead use a similarly colored bodysuits made of fabric.

Most props, including the Master Chief's [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|Mark IV MJOLNIR armor]] and the body armor sets and weapons used by the cadets and Marines, were created by Los Angeles company Legacy Effects, which has previously worked on major film productions such as ''[[Wikipedia:Iron Man (film)|Iron Man]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra|G.I. Joe]]'' and ''[[Wikipedia:Pacific Rim (film)|Pacific Rim]]''. The MJOLNIR armor is visually based on the design from the ''[[Halo Legends]]'' short ''[[The Package (animated short)|The Package]]''. Realizing the suit physically proved to be a challenge, as the original model was not designed to be worn by an actual person. Built specifically using Cudmore's body as a template, most of the armor components are actually made of a flexible material to allow more unrestricted movement. Due to sweat building up in the heavy and fully enclosed rubber suit, the suit was cleaned with vodka after each filming session. The visor was separately processed by eyewear manufacturer [[Wikipedia:Oakley, Inc.|Oakley, Inc.]] to give its iconic, golden reflective coating.{{Ref/Reuse|looks}}

[[File:FUD -Warthog.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The Warthog featured in the series.]]

Although ''Halo''-themed weapons and other items existed as leftovers from prior live action projects, Legacy built most of the weapons from scratch with additional attention to detail such as LED lights and a tactical [[flashlight]] in the MA5 assault rifles.{{Ref/Reuse|sleeper}} In addition to these new props, ''Forward Unto Dawn'' also reuses a number of props and costumes from previous live-action media. The [[ODST armor]] from ''[[The Life]]'' is seen in several episodes. Additional ODST and Marine Armor was possibly borrowed from ''[[Halo: Landfall]]''. The [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV|MJOLNIR armor]] worn by [[Kelly-087]] and [[Frederic-104]] originally appeared in ''[[Deliver Hope]]'', in which the suits were worn by [[Catherine-B320]] and [[Thom-293]], respectively. The suits and helmets were repainted and physically altered to distinguish them from the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V|Mark V armor]] they originally portrayed; for example, the jowl and forehead armor guard on Kelly's helmet are taken from one of the suit's [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/FJ/PARA variant|FJ/PARA]] knee guards.

The extended edition, available on ''[[Halo Waypoint]]'' to owners of the ''[[Halo 4 Limited Edition]]'', contains an alternate cut of the series itself as a single continuous film, totaling 90 minutes in length; this includes a "[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn: Prelude|Prelude]]" segment featured at the beginning of the film and a blooper reel at the end. The film remains largely identical to the webseries, aside from moving the "present-day" portions chronicling Cortana's descent into [[rampancy]] aboard the UNSC ''Forward Unto Dawn'' to a single sequence at the beginning of the film, whereas in the webseries they were splintered into individual scenes featured in the opening of each episode. The online extended edition also contains various pieces of bonus material, including [[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn character interviews|interviews]] with the main characters, additional videos and behind-the-scenes footage, including ''[[Awakening a Sleeper]]'', a 20-minute "making of" documentary of the series.<ref>[http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/fud '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Forward Unto Dawn'']</ref>

A Blu-Ray/DVD combo "Deluxe Edition", containing additional exclusive material including art cards, a poster and over 100 minutes of bonus content, was released for [[Wikipedia:DVD region code|Region 2]] on May 27, 2013.{{Ref/Reuse|cvg}}<ref>[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Halo-Forward-Deluxe-Edition-Blu-ray/dp/B00BJMYEYG/ '''Amazon''': ''Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Deluxe Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo'']</ref>

{{Featurelist|secondcolumn=title-5|title-1=Characters|

*[[Christina Rice]] {{Fm}}

*[[Chyler Silva]] {{1st}}

*[[Dimah Tchakova]] {{1st}}{{Ref/Reuse|Times}}

*[[James McCann]] {{Fm}}

*[[Junjie Chen]] {{1st}}

*[[Kelly-087]] {{Ref/Reuse|IMDb}}

*[[Audrey Lasky]] {{1st}}

*[[Kennedy Mehaffey]] {{1st}}{{Ref/Reuse|Halo Waypoint}}

*[[Orlin]] {{1st}}

*[[Phillip Shere]] {{1st}}

*[[Sean Kaye]] {{1st}}

*[[Thomas Lasky]]  

*[[Unidentified Sangheili Zealot]] {{1st}}

|title-2=Species|

**[[Mgalekgolo]]<ref>[http://www.mediafire.com/view/?om4u4m420g5me8d '''Mediafire -''' ''Hunter screenshots, FuD Episode 4 credit previews'']</ref>

|title-3=Organizations|

|title-4=Locations|

 

|title-5=Events|

 

|title-6=Vehicles|

*{{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}}

*{{Class|Autumn|heavy cruiser}} {{1st}}

*{{Pattern|Ceudar|heavy corvette}}

*[[M8900 drop pod]]  

 

 

***[[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark VI|Mark VI]] {{C|Upgraded variant}}

**[[Heads-up display]]

}}

*A [[:File:H4FUD-CAMS-Stylized-ODST-Mural.jpg|mural of an ODST]] seen at Corbulo Academy is a heavily stylized version of a [[:File:ODST Sniper.jpg|piece of concept art]] for ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|Kotaku 512012}}

*In Part 5, the M41 Vulcan's barrels do not spin when firing.

*The Spartans' Pelican sports the [[:File:UNSC insignia (post-war).png|post-war version]] of the UNSC insignia. The rest of the series consistently uses the contemporary version.

File:H4FUD_Logo_Concepts.jpg|Different concepts for the series' logo.

File:FUD_-_CorridorSetConcept.jpg|A conceptual model of the Corbulo Academy corridor set.

 

File:FUD_-_SurvivorsLineup.jpg|A promotional shot of Lasky, Silva, Sullivan and Orenski.

 

File:FUD NextOn.png|Screen used for crediting Stewart Hendler as director and teasing the upcoming part.

{{Ref/Sources|3}}

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