Halo Xbox One announcement trailer

The Halo Xbox One announcement trailer is a pre-rendered trailer announcing the return of the Halo franchise on the Xbox One console in 2014.^[1] First shown at Microsoft's E3 2013 conference, the trailer features John-117 journeying through a desert on an alien planet and encountering a Forerunner Guardian.^[2] Although its content alludes to Halo 5: Guardians, set for a fall 2015 release, the trailer was not meant to be an announcement for that particular game but rather a broader "journey" set to begin in 2014 with the release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection and the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta. For this reason, the trailer does not assign a specific title or number for the game.^[1]^[3]

The trailer is produced by Paula Lacerda and directed by John Allardice of the CGI company Axis Animation, which also produced the Halo: Infinity series.^[4] The music featured in the trailer was composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi,^[5] who was responsible for some of the music in Halo 4^[6] and went on to compose most of the Halo 5: Guardians soundtrack.^[7]

Transcript[edit]

Open on a dim desert landscape, with sand flying off of dunes in the audible wind.

A cloaked figure trudges through the sandstorm. The shape of a SPARTAN-II helmet is visible under the hood. The edges of the cloak flutter in the breeze as the figure keeps moving forward. There is a long trail of footprints left behind.

Finally, the figure reaches some bare rocks and stops. In the distance, a large sharp-edged rocks sticking out of the ground in a manner that evokes the dead, damaged Forerunner aesthetic. Above them, a large, bare moon sits in the sky.

The figure starts to continue, but the ground ripples and the rocks lift into the air as a strange, mechanical groan is heard.

The figure stops.

The rocks hover briefly and then fall. As they touch down, the ground falls away, sucked downward as something rises up.

The figure watches as a large, lit machine floats upward, cascading sand beneath it. It continues to rise, casting shadow over the land.

The figure stares up at the mechanical giant, now with visible Forerunner aesthetics, and a Spartan hand exits the cloak. It holds an empty data crystal chip -Cortana's.

The machine lifts what are now clearly large wings formed of disconnected segments, hovering in an organized pattern. It pulses, sending a shock wave outward that blows back the figure's hood, revealing John-117. He clutches the chip with resolve and looks upward. The machine's light reflects from his partially cracked visor.

Cut to titles hovering over the desert landscape:

HALO

2014

YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS ON XBOX ONE

343 INDUSTRIES

Trivia[edit]

Production notes[edit]

Three versions of this trailer exist:
- The official version revealed at E3 2013, featuring the simple Halo logo, dubbed Halo on Xbox One by most official sources.
- The version posted by Axis Animation to their web portfolio, which features different audio mixing, making the background melody more audible, and removing other sound effects, such as the Guardian's bellow.^[4]
- The version posted by John Allardice, the director of the trailer, which is identical to the E3 2013 trailer, barring the change of the logo from Halo to Halo 5.^[8]

Mistakes[edit]

As the Guardian begins to fully flare its wings out, its eyes aren't glowing. However, in the next jump cut as it pulses, both are glowing their normal yellow hue.

Gallery[edit]

Concept art[edit]

Concept art of the Guardian.
Concept art rocks levitating above the sand.
Concept art of John-117 in his cloak.
Concept art of the Guardian rising from the sand.
A concept color script for the trailer.
More concept art, featuring different takes on John-117's armor and the Guardian's design.