My buddy David Nottingham just sent me a link to this amazing video clip he found on YouTube. It seems some enterprising outsiders have begun making their own movie based on the video game franchise: HALF LIFE. Their aesthetic is very much what I’m trying to achieve with my new pilot for NBC. Using VFX in a way that doesn’t draw attention to the effects themselves — but uses them in context to sell the idea that extraordinary events are happening in an ordinary world that the audience can recognize and connect with. The fact that the folks who made this Half Life short didn’t spend much money on the thing is very cool. Obviously, if one were paying for their labor and their tools — the budget would be higher than the $500. this video cost ‘em. But the lesson is still paradigm shattering for Hollywood. With the right approach, tools, and creative talent — amazing things can be done at a price point that accounts for the current economic crisis enveloping in the world. No excuses Hollywood. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Who will face the challenge?
HALF LIFE BROUGHT TO LIFE!
Published: February 21, 2009