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]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Image:H3 Assault Rifle.jpg|250px|right]]
+{{Title|''Halo 3'' announcement trailer}}
-[[Image:H3 Cortana.jpg|250px|right]]
+{{Status|RealWorld}}
-[[Image:Chief Visor.jpg|250px|right]]
+{{#widget:YouTube|id=0ENyvXc_Cuw|width=300|right}}
-[[Image:Ark.jpg|250px|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); 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.
-==Summary==
-At E3 of 2006, the [[Halo 3]] [[Announcement Trailer]] was shown. Unlike [[Halo: Combat Evolved]] and [[Halo 2]], this trailer is in widescreen, HD (High-definition). Cortana's final line in it sems to reference the first of the [[Cortana Letters]].
 ==Transcript==
+''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.''
-Fade in from white to ruins at the edge of [[New Mombasa]]. A warning sign depicting a [[Grunt]] crossing swings in the wind(For those of you who don't know, bungie has an excellent sense of humor). 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 familliar sillouete approaching the camera. Again, a transmission from Cortana flashes by, showing her lips moving realisticly.
-'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I am your shield. I am your sword..."
-The figure, which is clearly the [[Master Chief]] walks through the smoke, an [[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. We follow them to see an [[Assault Carrier]] in the foreground with a fairly sizeable Covenant fleet in the backround. 9 Banshees (who's pilots' identities are hidden from us) are escorting a [[Phantom]]. The Chief stands at the edge of a cliff. We follow the [[Covenant]] ships to see a massive [[Forerunner]] building in the valley, [[The Ark]]. <!-- It can be confirmed to be the Ark. See "The Ark" article. -->A hole is in the center, and matched above it, a swirling hole in the clouds with a storm raging. A shockwave sweeps the valley as plates in the structure rise. As soon as the shock wave occurred, the covenant cruisers 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.
-'''Cortana:''' ''(voice over)'' "''This'' is the way the world ends."
-The Halo 3 logo is shown, and the trailer ends with:
-                                       Finish the fight
-== Trivia ==
-*If you listen carefully, when [[Cortana]] speaks, the [[Gravemind]] is saying the same words.
-*On [[Cortana]]'s second line, it sounds as if she says "source" rather than "sword." However, [[Martin O'Donnell]] has confirmed it to be "sword."
-*In the beginning, you can see a grunt crossing sign.
+''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.''
-*Also, if you look closely, when the shockwave moves across the crater, you can see a covenant cruiser get pushed away from the middle of the crater.
+*'''Cortana:''' ''(distorted)'' "...I am your shield. I am your sword..."
-*Secondly, if you pay close enough attention, when the shockwave goes across the land, you see banshees and a phantom go back in the direction of MC. However, after the scene when the cliffs fall apart, the banshees and phantom are gone for some strange reason.
+''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.''
-*Additionally, if you take a closer look at the Banshees you can see that there is nobody flying them. (On the Bungie.net Halo 3 forum,[http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=8563693| one post] offers the possible explanation that the pilots are Elites with camouflage)
+*'''Cortana:''' "I know you. Your past, your future..."
-*In Halo 2, the The Prophet of Regret's cruiser jumped into slipspace out of New Mombasa, Kenya, destroying the city. It is believed that this explosion caused the crater to be formed, revealing the Ark. (In the background, you can see the remains of Mombasa.)
+''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.''
-*The enormous hole in the 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:''' ''(voice over)'' "''This'' is the way the world ends."
-*The gun that Master Chief holds looks like the assault rifle from Halo 1. However, Bungie confirmed that it is not the exact same weapon. Many believe that it could be the MA2B, or a new MA model.
+''The'' Halo 3 ''logo is shown, and the trailer ends with:''
+<center><tt>Finish The Fight<br/>
+</tt></center>
-== Links ==
+==Trivia==
-*[http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/3/5b3d8532-65bc-4bf6-b5ea-6ba0f2084d74/h3_e32006_announce_large_uncropped.wmv LARGE Windows Media trailer]
+[[File:H3 Announcement trailer Grunt Crossing.png|thumb|250px|The Grunt crossing sign in the beginning of the trailer.]]
-*[http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/3/5b3d8532-65bc-4bf6-b5ea-6ba0f2084d74/h3_e32006_announce_small_uncropped.wmv SMALL Windows Media 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."{{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}}
-*[http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/3/5b3d8532-65bc-4bf6-b5ea-6ba0f2084d74/h3_e32006_announce_large.mov LARGE Quicktime trailer]
+*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.
-*[http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/b/3/5b3d8532-65bc-4bf6-b5ea-6ba0f2084d74/h3_e32006_announce_small.mov SMALL Quicktime trailer]
+*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.
+*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:
+::''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.''
+==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:Games]]
+[[Category:Halo 3 trailers]]