Working on the VFX for aHalo TV showis a bit of a headtrip . You ’re taking the imaging of asset made for over 20 years of one the most dear shooter franchise around , translating them into the practical , “ tangible ” world of makingmodern TV , and then bring them all back digitally to make the show ’s bighearted laid part and foreign enemy come in to life . But as wild asHalo : The Seriesgot , that VFX work was always cool to see in action .
io9 talk to Pixomondo VFX supervisor Phil Prates — presently working on Halo ’s second season — over email to see more about Pixomondo ’s employment on the serial publication so far , from geeking out over Halo to the workplace it takes to translate the gambling dealership ’s creatures , vistas , and technology from video games , to TV , and back again to digital imagery . But before you read that , check out the full Pixomondo VFX Scottish reel for Halo : The Series below , making its debut here on io9 !
James Whitbrook , io9 : Completely out there first question . I love that you lay out this reel to Halo 3 ’s “ One Final Effort . ” Can you talk a little about putting together employment reels like this , and how you select medicine to show off your work ( why a caterpillar tread from the game , rather than the show for example ) ? Is it a chance to geek out a little minute about the stuff you ’ve done ?
See how Chief goes toe to toe with the Covenant.Gif: Pixomondo
Phil Prates : This one is easy ; we have some crack fans of Halo on the team and we had many schmooze about how iconic and epic the euphony from the game is and we want to pay off homage to the original source textile that our work was based on . We spent nearly three years on this task from the early character development to our last shot delivery so just seeing the claim of this song “ One Final Effort , ” it felt like a great match .
io9 : 343 Industries was a close partner on this project . When it come to VFX , what was that relationship between Pixomondo and 343 like ? What was it like sharing resourcefulness and assets with the people directly behind Halo while exercise on the show ?
prate : 343 was a great resourcefulness to have on this undertaking when design role , arm , vehicle , and environments ; they always had a hatful of counsel and backstory for every asset we were create . This information was crucial for infer the world of Halo and making sure our VFX feel like it was part of that same world .
Screenshot: Pixomondo
io9 : A handsome challenge for Halo was balancing what we knew of the enfranchisement ’s esthetic from 20 years of video games , and make something for a contemporary cyclosis show . What was it like translate the Covenant brute excogitation we see in this bobbin from the path gamers have see them move and face across all the preceding Halo games ?
Prates : The Covenant creature design were a joy to operate on , we had so many references from all the games and the process was more about balancing the elements from those 20 age of video game author fabric with the world of the show . We maintained a lot of the original characteristics and look to make trusted you could recognize all the signature characters and weapon , toning down some of the more vibrant video game vividness into a pallet that fit this macrocosm .
io9 : When it came to portray the physicality of the Covenant creatures , how much of your invigoration oeuvre leaned on attempt to emulate what we knew of their characterization in the games vs assay something that made those alien designs experience actual as part of this live - action mechanism earth they were now in ? What was the balance like there ?
Prates : We use apparent motion seizure , the actors emulate the movements from the game , then our invigoration squad work on top , add together the subtle difference for each coinage . Our Brutes were made to look gravid with obtuse but muscular movements , jackal were given a dopy , boo - like movement , while Grunts were stalkier and more fun ; we even contract to do a very game - inspired catch some Z’s Grunt in the show .
io9 : Obviously part of your work is also translating physical airscrew from the series into digital assets as well . Can you tell me a little bit about your process and relationship with the production team when taking thing like weapons and vehicles like the Warthog that had a strong-arm component on curing , and digitally quicken them ?
Prates : A good deal of elements had both fully strong-arm human body , like the warthog . They had on - set practical and to the full digital builds , for these we would just recreate what was built on set . We could then dynamically could switch from one to the other based on action and also all create additional elements that were never there . Some object did not have a practical portion , these were design free-base on concepts cater , like the Brute spiker and hammers . Also , a heavy parcel of weapons , characters , vehicles , and environments were just small pieces of the entire physical object to allow the worker to interact with and the rest was recreated digitally , like the Pelicans . We would remove or extend the stand - in airplane propeller and replace them with our digital builds .
io9 : A major part of your work we see here is translating Jen Taylor ’s mocap execution on - set to the digital Cortana hologram . Talk me through the process of working with Jen and 343 on fetch this version of Cortana to life , as well as your approach to presenting her in this way of life “ alongside ” the other characters on the show .
Prates : Cortana was a fantastic asset to work on and it was so cracking to have such a unfeigned - to - game performance from Jenn as our base for her iconic performance . We build up the Cortana holograph with over 850 + intermix human body to allow a broad variety of facial public presentation as well as dynamic pilus sims to give her life . We retargeted Jen ’s on - set facial performance with a serial publication of tracking marker , allowing us to pick up the subtle details that she would emote . She would execute in a movement capture suit , alongside her carbon monoxide - stars allowing good eyeline and more realistic interactions . We would then remove Jenn from the images and total her digital adaptation as Cortana . Her hologram would conform to its environment ’s firing as she moved around , while still maintaining the more subtle puritanical tone of her smell in this show . Her hologram was made up of an regalia of photons that are connecting and disconnect with energy . As she appeared and disappeared , these photons would discontinue apart or number together to form her finished body .
io9 : What was a peculiar chronological sequence or conniption Pixomondo was really excited to crop on ? Is there a standout moment or episode you ’re most proud of ?
Prates : We had a fantastic shot in the net episode , Master Chief give-up the ghost to aid Riz after she gets thrown against a pillar and we being to go into a long one - take crack as he fights his way of life through an attack of Brutes . This shot was a very tenacious action mechanism with so many characters and moments , it was a huge amount of work but also a lot of fun . We pop out obstruct it out in a rough invigoration at first , pip the desired moments and story . After the news report was there , stunt role player used this animation guide to do the stunt in motion capture suit and then we retranslated this mocap back to our view . With this base , we began to build up the power and secondary point to ensure the Brutes move like towering beast . Also , the whole picture took position on the Raas Plateau , so in a Brobdingnagian Baroness Dudevant pit for them all to fight in .
Halo ’s first season is now streaming on Paramount+ .
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