Epic Films

Old newsposts are listed at the bottom, and more recent ones are at the top. All are listed in the order they were posted.

We're well into fall as America plunges into a financial crisis. But that's not the reason this update is short. It's short because my capture card has now stopped working pretty much completely. Or, rather, since the card is actually just a circuit board, I'm suspecting it's just my computer, so it will be checked for repairs and upgrades within a few weeks.

In Halo news, Bungie recently released Title Update 2 (read all about here) and a teaser trailer for what looks like an expansion pack involving ODSTs in the midst of Halo 2's storyline. Check it out here for downloads or here to stream.

Not much going on; schoolwork is heavy but school itself is actually somewhat fun. I wish you guys luck in your studies.

-QuickTactical
10.1.2008

I'd try to be optimistic, but the fact is, folks, that production on Infiltration has completely halted. No, the movie is not scrapped, and yes, it will come out eventually. Obviously the trailer was a scam. I do dearly apologize.

School started Wednesday, and since this is my senior year, I wouldn't have much time to film even I was able to.

However, I'd like to point out the Lower The Guns campaign once again. I have shamelessly copied the original newspost. Otherwise, not much is going on. Thanks for reading.

-QuickTactical
9.4.08

----------

Once again, this vital tool is being brought to attention by Time Glitch. If you don't know, weapon-lowering is disabled online for Halo 3, making machinimas a little less professional-looking in Halo 3 for most movie makers. Check out Time Glitch's very well put together video here, and then join the Bungie.net group - all it takes is one click! There's 3500 members and counting.

To support this cause, and hopefully get Bungie's attention, we're all boycotting Halo 3 on September 25th, 2008. Do your part and help out - just don't play Halo 3 for 24 hours.

Also, download this screenshot or make your own with your gun lowered, include the same description, and reccomend it to all of your friends and tell them to do the same.

Let's make it happen.

Once again, this vital tool is being brought to attention by Time Glitch. If you don't know, weapon-lowering is disabled online for Halo 3, making machinimas a little less professional-looking in Halo 3 for most movie makers. Check out Time Glitch's very well put together video here, and then join the Bungie.net group - all it takes is one click! There's 1700 members and counting.

To support this cause, and hopefully get Bungie's attention, we're all boycotting Halo 3 on September 25th, 2008. Do your part and help out - just don't play Halo 3 for 24 hours.

UPDATE: Also, download this screenshot or make your own with your gun lowered, include the same description, and reccomend it to all of your friends and tell them to do the same.

Let's make it happen.

-QuickTactical
8.14.2008

We're just lazing along here as summer winds down, mobs of angry people demand a new movie (not really, but we wish), and we release a 2nd podcast.

Check out EF Podcast number two here on the podcast page. I'm not sure what to say about it, except we all had a good time making it. Maybe our own members were the ones that are actually the angry mob.

Not much to say in the way of movies, except I'm praying Infiltration will be done by the end of the month. It's a busy one for most of us, which is why this update is so short.

-QuickTactical
8.5.08

Okay, so this update is two weeks late, but I'm trying, aren't I?

In case anyone has noticed, Infiltration is coming along very slowly. In our prime days, Epic Films could get a movie filmed in under a month. This one is taking at least as long as Sandwar took (three months). That is mostly due to my aging computer, which either doesn't detect my capture card or captures at a very low framerate most of the time. On the positive side, I have recently met some great voice actors, so dialogue is almost wrapped up. The film itself is about half way recorded.

MystDragon3k recently joined Epic Films, and although he's a strapping young lad now going to college, I feel rewarded to have him as part of our motley crew. You should remember him as the creator of the Fantasy Halo series; if you haven't seen it, watch it now.

Every once in a while, I've vaguley mentioned "other" projects being worked on by "other" EF members. I'm sorry to say not much has come out of those in the past few months, and not very many of us are active. Infiltration is the only project that I know of that is being worked on by Epic Films. We're still going.

I almost went to MLG Orlando to meet up with members Motoxmadman and Tman1392. Almost. But we're now looking forward to meeting at MLG Dallas on October 3rd. Things aren't planned out at the moment, but if you'd like to meet us, consider going.

There is a lot of things going on in the community right now, but one thing in particular I'd like to point out is this Bungie.net group, called "Lower The Guns". It's a revival of the machinima movement from the early days of Halo 3. Basically, most machinima makers (including us) film over Xbox Live, but Bungie blocked weapon lowering in online parties. Dialogue would be much more professional looking if characters could lower their weapons, or be "at ease". So, join the group, revive the movement, and spread the message!

E3 2008 launched yesterday in Los Angeles. One thing unveiled was a new trailer for Halo Wars; although it's at ground level and pre-rendered, it's a stunning example of what a grittier Halo game should look like. There are also rumors that Bungie will unveil a new supplement to Halo 3 or a new Halo first-person-shooter.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.

-QuickTactical
7.15.2008

Why hello, friends. Not much going on currently (see below), but as promised, I am working on voice acting for the current film. I'm sure a lot of of you are looking forward to comedy, but unfortunately all I've got bouncing around in my head right now is "epic" films.

See what I did there?

One of our members, Alkelix, has proposed a very interesting idea of his own. I'm not sure if he'll want me to spoil the surprise or if it will ever come to life, but lets just say everyone has secrets. Otherwise, there really isn't much going on, I'm afraid.

Enjoy your summer!

-QuickTactical
6.4.2008

I recently got my Xbox 360 back, and it's in tip-top shape. The camera is rolling, and Infiltration is coming along nicely.

On all of our movie pages, I've posted a big notice to viewers:

NOTICE: We respectfully request that if you download our videos, do not upload them again to a hosting website unless permission is granted by us. Although we understand that you may want to give credit to us, we desire that our videos only to be viewable by official sources as linked to on this page. Failure to comply with this will result in a request of the videos to be removed sent to you and the website administration. Thank you.

This isn't because we don't like lots of people viewing our videos, but because we've come across a lot of people that upload our work without permission. Some even go so far as to ignore giving credit to us. So please, don't upload our videos on your own. Just let them be viewed where they are.

We're serious this time. Some lighthearted conversation is littered throughout our "first" full length podcast, mostly chatting Halo 3, machinima movies and creators, and, well...see for yourself. Check it out on the Podcasts Page.

-QuickTactical
4.11.08

Just a quick note: after a power outage earlier this week, my Xbox 360 got the commonly known red lights. I never thought it would happen to me since it seems to occur to people randomly, but after calling customer support, the most optimistic hope for getting it back is the second week of June. Only then will I be able to resume filming on Infiltration, so I apologize to anyone looking forward to that being released soon. However, I will be working on things such as voice acting while I wait. Thanks for understanding.

-QuickTactical
5.16.08

Everyone seems to be fat, dumb, and happy with the new Halo 3 maps. Bungie promised good times with Avalance, Blackout, and Ghost Town, and they certainly delivered. If you haven't already, go download them now: they are definately worth it. As for machinima purposes, all of them look fantastic. Projects from a few clan members haven't had much news in the past few weeks, I'm afraid, so all I can tell you is I'm looking forward to using Avalanche for the Soldiers of War finale.

Epic Films released out first podcast a few weeks ago, with it coming in at just over 30 minutes. Be sure to watch the humorous "commercial" KickButtUnngoy also put together with some of the funny moments from the first podcast. Both can be found here on the Podcast Page.

As usual, the trailer for Infiltration was released a bit early, but that's not to say it won't be released by early summer. The acting is about halfway done, but not so much of the filming part for editing is recorded because of technical problems. Thankfully, acting can be saved in the Halo 3 Theater for recording later, so the film is taking shape nicely. Voice acting, however, is barely started. With experience from Sandwar, a great cast is being organized for the multiple speaking roles, two of whom may soon be joining us.

The website itself has undergone a lot of cleaning up and reorganizing in the past few weeks to make viewing movies and information easier. Make sure to browse around. ;)

Personally, I have stepped into the real world and got myself hired at a cool job. Upcoming tests like the SAT will also take away from free time, but usually I can get things organized quickly if friends and members are online. Once school gets out in mid-June, Infiltration will be close to completion if not already released.

Thanks for reading,

QuickTactical
-5.1.08

Work on Infiltration is underway (see then newspost below for the trailer), and it's coming along quite nicely. I can't say for sure when it'll be out, but work on it will continue.

A couple of members were working on their own movie projects, but I'm not sure what happened to those. BLOODMONEY seems to have dissappeared from radar. The podcast is actually being worked on, though, so that'll be interesting to see where it winds up. Hopefully not in my recycle bin.

I would like to once again point out that the bulk of our movie hosting is not on Mythica.org anymore since it shut down last February. If you check out the action and comedy movie pages, you'll see we have a host of flavors for streaming or downloading movies. Take your pick!

The Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack will be released next week on the 15th, and like we mentioned before, Soldiers of War the series will probably be finished on Avalanche. The other two maps look fantastic for gameplay and machinima as well. Check them out here on Bungie.net.

-QuickTactical
4.6.08

In case you somehow missed it, check out Bungie's unveiling of one of the new map's to be released April 15th! The map looks and sounds spectacular, but there is a more personal reason for my joy about it.

In 2006, Epic Films' series Soldiers of War suddenly halted production because of casting issues. The series ended on episode seven, on the Halo 2 map Containment, and since then I've received a message here and there from people who'd like to see the series finished. Well, it looks like Avalanche is going to offer just that oppurtunity.

Stay tuned!
-QuickTactical, 3.19.2008

As usual, can't say much is happening. I am sorry to announce that the 2nd Annivesary Vid has been cancelled since it was slow going, and it's been a long time since our actual annivesary - back in November. I feel bad about that, but not so much since it seems I'm the only one alive around here. I can say we have a few movies in the works, at least one being action and another a comedy.

On the movies page, new banners are up, reflecting our work in Halo 3 machinima.

I'd also like to point out the below poll once again; we're still considering what way (if any) to embed YouTube versions of EF movies. The first poll option is a custom player with all moves on that page like here, on the Action Movies page. The second option of the poll is for each movie to have its own player, like this movie here; the downside to this is things may get a bit cluttered, but I'd like to see what you guys have to say.

Until next time, happy gaming.

-QuickTactical, 3.8.08

After completing Sandwar, I've taken a bit of a break from movie making. However, filming of our long overdue 2nd Annivesary Video has begun, and that will hopefully be ready soon. It may be time to break out Sony Vegas!

BLOODMONEY321 and R M Slay3r (Alkelix) are working on some new projects that can hopefully have light shed on soon. So far, from what I've seen, they look great.

Not much else is going on, but I should again note the movie hosting problem as seen below. Mythica.org, an essential movie hosting site, is shutting down this month. From now on Epic Films movies will be hosted on three sites: Halotube, Filefront, and YouTube. Both Halotube and Filefront allow for downloading, and Halotubing streams in full size quality. This info will be posted on the movie pages as well.

Our first Halo 3 video, The Halo 3 Beta: A Noob's Guide, has passed 140,000 views on YouTube! It continues to receive hundreds of hits each day, but our videos on YouTube have not nearly as many views, oddly enough. If you are reading this because you have seen our website in the credits of the movie or found a hyperlink to here, please feel free to check out our other movies!

I've added another poll for this month; would you, the fans and viewers, like to have streaming videos embeded here on the EF website? The first option is like what you see on the action movie page here. The second option is like what you see for this video.

Enjoy the shortest month of the year,
QuickTactical - 2.6.2008

Mythica.org has had the greatest impact on the Halo machinima community compared to any other video hosting site. For six running, it allowed unlimited number of uploads at no cost, dedicated solely to Halo movies. But now the lone site administrator has posted an update explaining that the website will be shut down next month due to high costs. This means a bit of a change here at the Epic Films site.

Because we rely mostly on hosting from Mythica (for people to download, at least), all of the videos we have here will be uploaded on new sites. The top choice for now is FileFront.com; don't groan if you've heard bad things about it, because now it has fast streaming and very simple downloading. The videos will probably be hosted from now on on a multitude of sites, which will be announced here. For now, get all of your favorite movies downloaded from FileFront.

YouTube has been a great place for people to view our movies, and if you haven't noticed yet, you can find all of our movies there as well. To get instant updates when a new Epic Films movie is posted, subscribe to my profile.

QuickTactical,
1.27.08

After three months of waiting, Sandwar has finally been released. Thank you to everyone, no matter how small a role played, who helped finally complete this film. The basic premise of the movie is about Spartan Team Delta, who is sent on a thought-to-be short attack against a crashed Covenant supply ship. However, it turns into more than just a short operation. For downloads and to view (if you're watching on YouTube, make sure to watch both parts), CLICK HERE.

-QuickTactical
1.8.08

Happy 2008! Hopefully the year will be a good one. Sandwar, obviously, is taking forever to finish, but pending the work of a few voice actors, the movie will be released this month. We do have a few ideas in the works, and they're looking good. When production starts (one in particular will actually be filmed by another clan member...when was the last time that happened?), more information can be released about those projects.

There's not a whole lot that's been going on around EF lately. We might try the EF Podcast again (once a week - ha), but of course we'll see how things go. One thing I've been curious about, however, is site visitors and how many people actually read these updates, so I've created a new poll down the page that people can vote on. Thanks to anyone who does that.

- QuickTactical, 1.5.08

Happy December, community! I'm proud to announce the release of the trailer for Sandwar, our first Halo 3 action movie. It's actually created from excess footage from the actual film and it doesn't reveal much in plot, but I'm sure you'll like it. It should be released in one to two weeks. Check it out on the action movie page.

As noted in the below newpost, the second anniversary video will be delayed - although now it looks like more than a few weeks. It's definately a project that needs to be done, just for the sake of it, so sooner or later, it will be delivered. Also, since it's the holiday season, a Christmas video might be in order. As some older fans may recall, we made one in 2005 but didn't in 2006.

Not surprisingly, many Halo 3 players (and clan members) have dropped from the radar due to new, critically-acclaimed games such as Mass Effect and Call of Duty 4. It seems that releasing the map pack this coming Tuesday is going to do exactly what the game developers want; people drawn back to the game. The three new maps look amazing and will be an excellent addition to Halo 3 machinima, opening up new possibilites for EF as well.

However, as revealed earlier this week, Bungie doesn't seem to intend to integrate weapon lowering into Xbox Live. It wasn't implemented in the first place for online use because they felt the time needed to test it for bugs was not ecnomical. This is a huge setback for the community, as many machinimators use Xbox Live for their filming purposes and weapon lowering is a key part of movies, especially dialogue scenes. Epic Films, of course, is limited as well, and so hopefully we can find a way around this difficulty.

Within the clan, there isn't much to report, seeing as how most members are off playing other games. As if they're cooler than Halo 3. However, I do appreciate the guys who have been helping out with Sandwar, which looks like it's going to turn out to be a great movie.

Happy Holidays from Epic Films!
QuickTactical, 12.2.07

Today, Novemember 9th, 2007, marks the second anniversary of Epic Films! We started off in Halo 2 with our first movie In Memory, and since then have made a bit of a name for ourselves in the community.

I've made a lot of Internet "friends" over the years, and there are countless random people that have helped us make our movies. But along with them have been long established clan members, and of course old friends who have moved on, some sadly forgotten or lost touch with.

As some may recall, one year ago (it doesn't feel that long!), we released our One Year Anniversary Video. This year, I hope to to do the same. But, because I'm already tied up with experimenting on our first Halo 3 video, our second anniversary video will probably be delayed a few weeks.

In closing, I'd like to thank everyone who's supported us, and add that hopefully Epic Films will live on for many more years.

-QuickTactical
11.9.2007