Halo 3 announcement trailer: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:33, August 9, 2024

The Halo 3 announcement trailer was debuted at E3 2006. Unlike the Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 trailers, the Halo 3 trailer is in widescreen and HD (high-definition); it also rendered in real-time, being based on the ending cinematic of the level The Storm from Halo 3. An accompanying ViDoc, Finish the Fight, was released shortly after the trailer.

Transcript[edit]

Fade in from white to ruins at the edge of New Mombasa. A comical warning sign depicting a Grunt crossing swings in the wind. The camera slowly pulls back as a gust of wind kicks up a cloud of sand. A flash of blue light flows toward and past the camera, a partial image of Cortana visible.

Cortana: (distorted) "...I have defied gods and demons..."

Cortana vanishes, and the camera continues to back through ruins. A cloud of smoke rises, along with the storm, distorting the familiar silhouette approaching the camera. Again, a transmission from Cortana flashes by, showing her lips moving realistically.

Cortana: (distorted) "...I am your shield. I am your sword..."

The figure, revealed to be Master Chief, walks through the smoke, an MA5C assault rifle over his shoulder. He stares off to the right. He readies the gun and looks straight ahead. A transmission flashes by showing Cortana's entire face.

Cortana: "I know you. Your past, your future..."

Her face fades away into the Chief. Three Banshees fly toward the camera from behind him. The camera follows them to a Kerel-pattern assault carrier in the foreground with a fairly sizable Covenant fleet in the background. Nine Banshees are escorting a Phantom. The Chief stands at the edge of a cliff. The camera follows the Covenant ships to see a massive Forerunner structure in the valley. A hole is in the center, directly beneath the eye of the storm within the raging clouds above. A shockwave sweeps the valley as plates in the structure rise. As soon as the shockwave occurs, the assault carriers start moving out of the huge crater. The cliffs start to break away, and the Chief watches his footing. Energy gathers in the center; in the reflection of the Chief's visor, it fires; fade to white. Cut to black.

Cortana: (voice over) "This is the way the world ends."

The Halo 3 logo is shown, and the trailer ends with:

Finish The Fight 2007

Trivia[edit]

The Grunt crossing sign in the beginning of the trailer.

In the beginning, there is a "Grunt crossing" sign as an Easter egg. In an FAQ released with the trailer, Bungie jokingly explained, "The New Mombasa City Council had an incredibly efficient public works department until and even during the tragic and devastating Covenant invasion."^[1]
When Cortana speaks, a voice similar or identical to the Gravemind is saying the same words. This voice steadily fades with each dialogue; by the time she says, "This is the way the world ends," the second voice is completely absent.
The terrain geometry used in the trailer was reused for the main menu of the final game, albeit with the inclusion of the Forerunner Supernal Spiral-class Keyship Anodyne Spirit at the center of the portal.
Cortana's final line in the trailer references the Cortana Letters, a series of cryptic e-mails sent to marathon.bungie.org (a sister site of halo.bungie.org) as a publicity stunt before Halo: Combat Evolved's announcement during Steve Jobs's keynote at the Macworld Expo in 1999. The full line from the Cortana Letters is "...your poet Eliot had it all wrong: this is the way the world ends." This references T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men, whose final stanza (perhaps the most quoted of all of Eliot's work) goes:

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

Gallery[edit]

Development images[edit]

Early animation notes for the trailer.
Early animation notes for the trailer.
Storyboard of Cortana.
Storyboard of John-117 walking.
Storyboard of John-117.

Screenshots[edit]

The Master Chief's silhouette obscured by smoke.
Cortana, moments before she fades away.
The Master Chief holding the MA5C assault rifle.
The Chief watches as the Forerunner structure activates.
The Ark's portal reflected on John-117's visor.
A view of a Covenant assault carrier and the portal.

Sources[edit]

^ Bungie.net, Halo 3 - Announcement FAQ (Retrieved on May 11, 2006) [archive]

[1] Bungie.net, Halo 3 - Announcement FAQ (Retrieved on May 11, 2006) [archive]

[1]

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 {{Status|RealWorld}}
 {{#widget:YouTube|id=0ENyvXc_Cuw|width=300|right}}
-The '''''Halo 3'' Announcement Trailer''' was debuted at [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]] 2006. Unlike the ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'' [[trailer]]s, the ''[[Halo 3]]'' trailer is in widescreen and HD (high-definition). Cortana's final line within the trailer seems to reference the first of the [[Cortana Letters]].
+The '''''Halo 3'' announcement trailer''' was debuted at [[Electronic Entertainment Expo|E3]] [[2006]]. Unlike the ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'' [[trailer]]s, the ''[[Halo 3]]'' trailer is in widescreen and HD (high-definition); it also rendered in real-time, being based on the ending cinematic of the level [[The Storm]] from ''Halo 3''. An accompanying [[ViDoc]], [[Halo 3 ViDoc: Finish the Fight|Finish the Fight]], was released shortly after the trailer.
 ==Transcript==
-[[File:H3 Cortana.jpg|200px|right|thumb]]
-[[File:Chief Visor.jpg|200px|right|thumb|[[Installation 00|The Ark's]] [[The Portal|Portal]] reflected on [[John-117]]'s visor.]]
 ''Fade in from white to ruins at the edge of [[New Mombasa]]. A comical warning sign depicting a [[Unggoy|Grunt]] crossing swings in the wind. The camera slowly pulls back as a gust of wind kicks up a cloud of sand. A flash of blue light flows toward and past the camera, a partial image of [[Cortana]] visible.''
-'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I have defied gods and demons..."
+*'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I have defied gods and demons..."
 ''Cortana vanishes, and the camera continues to back through ruins. A cloud of smoke rises, along with the storm, distorting the familiar silhouette approaching the camera. Again, a transmission from Cortana flashes by, showing her lips moving realistically.''
-'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I am your shield. I am your sword..."
+*'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I am your shield. I am your sword..."
-''The figure, which is clearly the [[John-117|Master Chief]], walks through the smoke, an [[MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System|assault rifle]] over his shoulder. He stares off to the right. He readies the gun and looks straight ahead. A transmission flashes by showing Cortana's entire face.''
+''The figure, revealed to be [[John-117|Master Chief]], walks through the smoke, an [[MA5C assault rifle]] over his shoulder. He stares off to the right. He readies the gun and looks straight ahead. A transmission flashes by showing Cortana's entire face.''
-'''Cortana:''' "I know you. Your past, your future..."
+*'''Cortana:''' "I know you. Your past, your future..."
-''Her face fades away into the Chief. Three [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]] fly toward the camera from behind him. We follow them to see a [[Covenant assault carrier]] in the foreground with a fairly sizable Covenant fleet in the background. Nine Banshees (whose pilots' identities are hidden from us) are escorting a [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]]. The Chief stands at the edge of a cliff. We follow the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] ships to see a massive [[Forerunner]] [[The Portal|structure]] in the valley. A hole is in the center, directly beneath the eye of the storm within the raging clouds above. A shockwave sweeps the valley as plates in the structure rise. As soon as the shock wave occurs, the Assault Carriers start moving out of the huge crater. The cliffs start to break away, and the Chief watches his footing. Energy gathers in the center; we see the reflection in the Chief's visor. It fires; fade to white; cut to black.''
+''Her face fades away into the Chief. Three [[Irdnekt-pattern Banshee|Banshees]] fly toward the camera from behind him. The camera follows them to a {{Pattern|Kerel|assault carrier}} in the foreground with a fairly sizable Covenant fleet in the background. Nine Banshees are escorting a [[Kez'katu-pattern Phantom|Phantom]]. The Chief stands at the edge of a cliff. The camera follows the [[Covenant]] ships to see a massive [[Forerunner]] [[Portal at Voi|structure]] in the valley. A hole is in the center, directly beneath the eye of the storm within the raging clouds above. A shockwave sweeps the valley as plates in the structure rise. As soon as the shockwave occurs, the assault carriers start moving out of the huge crater. The cliffs start to break away, and the Chief watches his footing. Energy gathers in the center; in the reflection of the Chief's visor, it fires; fade to white. Cut to black.''
-'''Cortana:''' ''(voice over)'' "''This'' is the way the world ends."
+*'''Cortana:''' ''(voice over)'' "''This'' is the way the world ends."
 ''The'' Halo 3 ''logo is shown, and the trailer ends with:''
-<center><tt>Finish The Fight<br />
+<center><tt>Finish The Fight<br/>
-</tt>
+</tt></center>
-</center>
 ==Trivia==
-[[File:H2 Ark Concept.jpg|thumb|300px|A storyboard image.]]
+[[File:H3 Announcement trailer Grunt Crossing.png|thumb|250px|The Grunt crossing sign in the beginning of the trailer.]]
-[[File:H3 Announcement trailer Grunt Crossing.png|thumb|300px|An [[Easter eggs|Easter Egg]] image.]]
+*In the beginning, there is a "Grunt crossing" sign as an Easter egg. In an FAQ released with the trailer, Bungie jokingly explained, "The New Mombasa City Council had an incredibly efficient public works department until and even ''during'' the tragic and devastating Covenant invasion."{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.bungie.net/Games/Halo3/content.aspx?link=Halo3AnnounceFAQ|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Halo 3 - Announcement FAQ|D=11|M=5|Y=2006}}
-*If you listen carefully, when [[Cortana]] speaks, a voice similar or identical to the [[Gravemind]] is saying the same words. This steadily becomes less and less obvious as the video goes on; by the time she says, "This is the way the world ends," the second voice is completely absent.
+*When [[Cortana]] speaks, a voice similar or identical to the [[Gravemind]] is saying the same words. This voice steadily fades with each dialogue; by the time she says, "This is the way the world ends," the second voice is completely absent.
-*In the beginning, you can see an Easter egg - a "Grunt crossing" sign. Bungie replies - "The New Mombasa City Council had an incredibly efficient public works department until and even during the tragic and devastating Covenant invasion." {{Citation needed}}
+*The terrain geometry used in the trailer was reused for the [[main menu]] of the final game, albeit with the inclusion of the [[Forerunner]] [[Supernal Spiral-class keyship|''Supernal Spiral''-class]] [[Keyship]] ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'' at the center of the portal.
-*The enormous hole in the [[Portal Storm|swirling clouds]] above the middle of the structure in the crater is, according to Bungie, caused by strong, unseen forces from the structure itself.
+*Cortana's final line in the trailer references the [[Cortana Letters]], a series of cryptic e-mails sent to marathon.bungie.org (a sister site of [[halo.bungie.org]]) as a publicity stunt before ''Halo: Combat Evolved''{{'}}s announcement during Steve Jobs's keynote at the Macworld Expo in 1999. The full line from the Cortana Letters is "...your poet Eliot had it all wrong: ''this'' is the way the world ends." This references [[wikipedia:T. S. Eliot|T.S. Eliot]]'s poem ''The Hollow Men'', whose final stanza (perhaps the most quoted of all of Eliot's work) goes:
-*The terrain used in the trailer appears to have been used for the Main Menu of the final game, with the inclusion of the [[Forerunner]] [[Keyship]].
-*It is revealed in ''Halo 3'' that the announcement is an early build of the final scene of the fourth level, [[The Storm]].
-*When the Announcement Trailer was first revealed, ''[[Halo 2]]'''s plot had implied that The Ark was located on [[Earth]] and this trailer was believed to be depicting its activation of the [[Halo Array]], until the plot of ''Halo 3'' revealed that it was actually the Portal, which would lead to the true Ark.
-*Cortana's final line in the trailer references the [[Cortana Letters]], a series of cryptic e-mails sent to marathon.bungie.org (a sister site of [[halo.bungie.org]]) as a publicity stunt before ''Halo: Combat Evolved''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s announcement during Steve Jobs's keynote at the Macworld Expo in 1999. The full line from the Cortana Letters is "...your poet Eliot had it all wrong: ''this'' is the way the world ends." This references [[wikipedia:T. S. Eliot|T.S. Eliot's]] poem ''The Hollow Men'', whose final stanza (perhaps the most quoted of all of Eliot's work) goes:
 ::''This is the way the world ends''
 ::''This is the way the world ends''
 ::''This is the way the world ends''
 ::''Not with a bang but a whimper.''
-*The ''Halo 3 Announcement Trailer'' was named number 38 on Gametrailers list of the [http://www.gametrailers.com/shows/top-100-trailers/videos-clips Top 100 Trailers of All Time] in 2011.<ref>[http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/h3ucc1/top-100-trailers-of-all-time-trailers--40---21 Gametrailers Top 100 Trailers of All Time: 40-21]</ref> It was also voted number 5 on the user's choice list of the top trailers of all time.<ref>[http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/1d2t6c/top-100-trailers-of-all-time-user-s-choice Gametrailers Top 100 Trailers of All Time: User's Choice]</ref>
 ==Gallery==
+===Development images===
 <gallery>
+File:H3 E3AnimationNotes Sketch 1.jpg|Early animation notes for the trailer.
+File:H3 E3AnimationNotes Sketch 2.jpg|Early animation notes for the trailer.
 File:H3_Cortana_Rampancy_Storyboard.jpg|Storyboard of Cortana.
 File:H3E3_John117_Storyboard_1.jpg|Storyboard of John-117 walking.
 File:H3E3_John117_Storyboard_2.jpg|Storyboard of John-117.
 </gallery>
+===Screenshots===
+<gallery>
+File:H3 E3 Silhouette.jpg|The Master Chief's silhouette obscured by smoke.
+File:H3 Cortana.jpg|Cortana, moments before she fades away.
+File:H3 Bnet MA5C 1.jpg|The Master Chief holding the MA5C assault rifle.
+File:H3 e32006 Custom ChiefCliff.jpg|The Chief watches as the Forerunner structure activates.
+File:Chief Visor.jpg|The Ark's portal reflected on John-117's visor.
+File:Ark.jpg|A view of a Covenant assault carrier and the portal.
+</gallery>
 ==Sources==
 {{Ref/Sources}}
 {{Trailer}}
 [[Category:Halo 3 trailers]]