Over this summer I have been taking a film studies class. I had the professor and film critic for a local paper, look at the Forward Unto Dawn trailer. He had no prior experience concerning the Halo universe but still had some interesting observations and they are as follows:
- Colors of the trailer were extremely muted or omitted.
- Significant light contrasts.
- That the world is intentional made to look almost black and white.
- He also made note of the uniforms and them being reminscent of 1940s fascist uniforms.
- Photography had good values.
- A lot of implied oppression from Mise en scène.
- The editing was crisp and well done.
- It was clearly more formalist than realist.
- Despite not being a fan of Halo, he was interested in seeing more.
What does this mean?
To me, this means that they are conveying the world's subtexts most of us get from reading and playing the games in other ways that make it easy for people new to the franchise to understand.
The fight between the UNSC forces and the Insurrectionists is a black and white issue to most in the universe, and Lasky has been struggling with his decision to take part in it. Also present is the subtext of Fascism on the part of the United Earth Governments inflicting their will upon all of the colonies. And while this is live action, being a more formalist film means it can better represent the fictional and imaginative nature of the Halo Universe. While not all of these concepts will be conveyed to new viewers, I am extremely encouraged by the clear attention to detail the director, cinematographer, producers, and editors have when it comes to all the different facets of this production. While I thought I couldn't get more excited about Forward Unto Dawn, I have.