Hollywood movies are not the only things that are getting full transmedia promotional pushes. ‘Halo 4’ isn’t slated to be released until next month, but 343 Industries has already launched a live action web-series for the game and next week a trailer for the game will be released. While that may not seem newsworthy, what is newsworthy is the fact that the trailer will be produced by an A-list Oscar winning film maker, David Fincher.
Fincher, who is a huge ‘Halo’ fan, is best known for his directorial work on the film ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ but he is also credited for directing ‘The Social Network,’ ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ and ‘Alien3’ among others.
This time around he’s teamed up with visual effects artist Tim Miller who also handled the directorial duties for the trailer. Filmed in Prague, the two minute video will blend CGI with live action sequences. Have Miller work on the ‘Halo 4’ seems like a right fit as Miller is considered at the top in the field of visual effects.
“I enjoy collaborating with Tim Miller,” said Fincher, “who is at the visual and technical forefront of hybridized live-action/CGI – not only pushing the boundary but defining it.”
Miller, himself, was very excited to be part of this project:
“Halo is one of the most iconic sci-fi universes, with a depth that allows for amazingly cinematic and emotionally riveting stories. The chance to tell a story that explores never-before-seen facets of Master Chief’s journey is an honor. Our goal is to deliver a blockbuster, Hollywood-quality trailer that raises the bar for the award-winning legacy of live-action Halo storytelling and gets fans stoked for the return of Master Chief.”
Besides the web–series and the launch trailer, 343 Industries are also complementing the game with new novels, comic books, action figures and other merchandise. According to Kikki Wolfkill, executive producer of ‘Halo 4,’ “One of the things we decided to do with this universe was to make sure that every piece of it was connected and meaningful or relative to each other. Not that you have to experience the whole thing or read all the books or do all of that, but every piece should have a meaningful part of this larger universe. Transmedia has always been really core to what we’ve done. When we started designing the game, we also started seeding other fiction in novels, graphic novels, anime and other media so that people who do like to explore all of it kind of get an extra layer of story and information.”
Normally launch trailers are released within a couple days of the game’s release, but with ‘Halo 4’ being such a big deal, Microsoft is sparing no expense. With Fincher behind the project, you know this will be something to see!
The trailer, which is titled ‘Scanned,’ will debut on Thursday, October 18th on ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ on NBC. Immediately following the television premiere, the trailer will then be available on YouTube and Halo Waypoint. So even if you can’t stay up to see the trailer make sure you come back to ScienceFiction.com as you know we’ll have it here for you to watch!
