Bungie Studios have just released a television commercial for Halo 3, the new version of the classic XBox game. The 60 second spot opens with an aerial view of two children lying in the grass looking into the sky. “Ever wonder what’s up there?” “Like what?” “Maybe someone up there is wondering what it’s like here.” “I guess.” “Do you think we’ll ever meet them?” “I hope so. Don’t you?”
The Halo 3 video uses a helmet as the connection between the boys’ night time scene and a daytime desert battle scene. We move to MasterChief’s point of view. The childrens’ voices echo, “Do you think we’ll ever meet them… I hope so…” Covenant banshees fly through the sky. Master Chief looks around to find his helmet, puts it on and pauses. A female voice, perhaps Cortana, attempts to reach the Chief. We see an upturned vehicle (wheels still spinning) and an assault rifle (Halo 1) lying in the sand. Is this vehicle a new feature for Halo 3 or is it just a Warthog?
Master Chief’s communication is reactivated. He hears his comrades saying they think they’ve lost him. “Not yet”, he whispers. With the assault rifle on his back and a pistol (Halo 2) in his left hand, Master Chief creates a force field (new feature!) to protect himself from the impact of an incoming Covenant plasma bolt. He runs, pulls ouot his assault rifle and jumps off a cliff into a pack of Covenant soldiers surrounded by Covenant wraith tanks.
The tagline: “Finish the Fight 2007”.
Click on the image below to play the Starry Night video.
Credits
The Halo 3 television commercial was created at McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, by creative directors Rob Bagot and John McNeil, copywriter Rick Herrera, art director Tim Stier and agency producer Tammy Smith-White.
Filming was directed by Joseph Kosinski via Anonymous Content (see his earlier Gears of War ad) with executive producer Jeff Baron, director of photography Garry Waller and producer Scott Kaplan.
Editing was done at Rock Paper Scissors by Kirk Baxter with assistant editor Adam Purcell and executive producers Dave Sellars and Linda Carlson, and producer Carol Lynn Weaver.
Visual effects were produced at Digital Domain, Hollywood, using “assets supplied by Bungie”. Digital Domain team members included VFX producer Michael Crapser, executive producer Lisa Beroud, VFX supervisor Eric Barba, computer graphics supervisor Vernon Wilbert, colorist/Flame artist David Stern, visual effects coordinator Alex Thiesen and Titles/Flame artist Michael Saz.
Xbox Mnemonic Graphics were developed at Motion Theory.
Sound was designed by Stephen Dewey at Machine Head.
Music is by Marty O’Donnell.
Halo 3 will released in beta format in 2007.