Halo: Reach Animatic

[Kat]

Why hello again. Figured I could get myself out there a bit and announce that I am working on a Halo Animatic for one of my final projects at college.
It's focus will be Kat (I wonder why)

Now, I am wondering if my animatic in itself (It's content/theme) will upset fans of the Halo universe. I've been told many thoughts and theories on the Spartan thought process, but in my head, at the end of it all, Spartans are still human.

I say this because my animatic will have the theme of discipline. It will show how Kat (as a young adult/child) attempts to bury her personal feelings and opinions in order to show the discipline she needs in order to finish training and receive the title of Spartan, This may make more sense I just post my entire synopsis, which is practically frame by frame, but I thought I would wait to see if anyone even pays this post any mind.

I just don't want to put a bunch of work and love into something that the rest of the community will think is stupid or unrealistic for the world.

 

[mblackwell1002]

Yeah, that will be cool! I do hope to see that!

 

[Dirtdives2424]

Go for it.

 

[Kat]

It doesn't seem stupid at all?

 

[PerniciousDuke]

If you understand and know (have read other books and such) of the Halo universe and then go and put your love and attention into fan fiction that adds to it, that would not be stupid. That is wonderful.

 

[Kat]

If you understand and know (have read other books and such) of the Halo universe and then go and put your love and attention into fan fiction that adds to it, that would not be stupid. That is wonderful.

Haha Well that's great then. Fandoms I've been a part of in the past have given me absolute HECK about creating my own content if it strayed too far from their ideas of Canon

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I can understand why people would feel this way. You're touching something they LOVE. They are not going to let you do that without scrutiny. I think the main concern to keep in mind with this idea of contributing fan fiction... Add to the universe, don't take away from it. Know your time line, know where the characters are at that point in the universe. This is one thing that I loved about Star Wars books. Lucas Arts had to approve every Star Wars books (I don't know now with Disney). But what that meant is that for a good 10+ years and Hundreds of books not a single one contradicted another. They all worked together to paint a grand portrait. But, you're not being paid either so people should give you some slack.

Also, it is easy to confuse debate with anger. Sometimes people just want to question you and understand why you chose to do something, but it feels like they are upset with you. That is not your problem, it is their lack in communication skills. You can choose to enlighten them or you can choose to walk away. But, I would recommend avoiding trying intently to change their minds less you'll fall victim to anger instead.

 

[Kat]

Title:

Reaching for the Stars


Premise Statement:

Kat, a soldier training in a futuristic world, is enduring her training as a young woman (a minority in her field) after her father was killed in battle, her mother died of cancer, and her grandmother died in the attack on her homeworld. She needs to bury her emotional struggles in order to pass through training and achieve her goal of becoming a Spartan and avenging her family.


Twist:

A child, who seems to be traveling with her through all of this, is revealed at the end to be the personification of her personal feelings.


Theme:

The mental damage done to one’s mind in an attempt to discipline themselves as a child to become a soldier.


Synopsis:

A young woman is seen in a military office. There is no dialogue actually voiced, but insinuated. We do not see her face, only the back of her head. It is shaven, and it is hard to tell that she is a female at all. She looks up at the general before her and silently leaves the room.


After a transition we see Kat, now with a helmet on (to continue to hide her face) as she enters a long room full of bunk beds. Sitting on a footlocker is a small child with delicate features and long black hair. Kat looks at her, then lifts her up to the top bunk. The child looks at her, confused, then lays down and curls into a ball. Kat removes her helmet just as the light goes dim and shuts off for the night.


In the morning, we see that shackles have appeared on the child’s wrists, chaining her to the bed. She struggles to free herself as Kat is seen getting ready for the day.


We see then a montage of Kat training over days (this lasts for a very short time) along with other young soldiers. Within this montage is also scenes of the child, as Kat walks past her. The chains and shackles are seen growing heavier and heavier.


We see Kat walking down a hospital-like hallway and into a room with a strange device. Her face is still not shown to it’s full extent, but once she lays down on the table we see her eyes widen in pain as her eyes turn from brown to a bright blue.

She stands, and walks toward her new armor. The child is sitting on the ground beside it, curled into a pathetic, weeping ball. Kat ignores it as the scene transitions once again.


Kat is older in this scene. She has lost an arm, it is replaced with a prosthetic. She is in a Warthog, her armour dirtied. The Warthog pulls up to a base, and she hops out, jogging inside. She jogs past her room of the base, catching a mirror from the corner of her eye. She stops, steps back, and enters the room. She walks up to the mirror and removes her helmet, showing her face for the first time. She holds the helmet down near her stomach, and in the reflection of the helmet the young girl materializes. This is the first time that we see the face of Kat, and it becomes obvious that the child was Kat the entire time. The child gives a final struggle to escape the helmet. She has a ghostlike effect. Kat begins to react in response to the child’s actions, giving a small chuckle to herself. The child’s chains fade a bit as Kat and the child move in sync to close the door.

 

[Kat]

The above reply is the rough synopsis of the story, for reference.

 

[mblackwell1002]

So you are retaining that "abducted at 6 years old theme, correct? I think that would be cool to include, some of her life when she was younger before abduction. And also note that she wouldn't know her parents. She was abducted and has no contact with her past family; her squad is her family now. She probably doesn't even remember her family well, if at all.

Just a little bit of fact-check for you. I'm not trying to scrutinize, I'm just helping this fit into the lore.

But for the most part, your script seems legit. It will definitely have a darker, more mellow tone; Which I like. Just be sure to give her a good personality, and feel like a real person. Show her emotional strengths and weaknesses. Obviously, her past is her weakness, but what is she least sentimental about? I'd imagine (from Reach) that she is thick-skinned, just stay correct to her personality.

Well, good luck!

 

[Kat]

So you are retaining that "abducted at 6 years old theme, correct? I think that would be cool to include, some of her life when she was younger before abduction. And also note that she wouldn't know her parents. She was abducted and has no contact with her past family; her squad is her family now. She probably doesn't even remember her family well, if at all.

Just a little bit of fact-check for you. I'm not trying to scrutinize, I'm just helping this fit into the lore.

But for the most part, your script seems legit. It will definitely have a darker, more mellow tone; Which I like. Just be sure to give her a good personality, and feel like a real person. Show her emotional strengths and weaknesses. Obviously, her past is her weakness, but what is she least sentimental about? I'd imagine (from Reach) that she is thick-skinned, just stay correct to her personality.

Well, good luck!

Abducted at 6, maybe, but training at around the age of 13 in order to show contrast between her and the "child". See, the thing is that I'm doing this for a college class. My professor is aware that I do not own the character and world, but I also have to keep in mind that he, and other members of my class, likely do not know/understand the lore of Reach/Spartan III's.
I have to make it with the thought of both fans and newcomers in mind, lest it become confusing. If I make the animatic with the assumption that everyone knows what is happening then it will likely result in confusion.

 

[lemontree]

confused. Can I see this online?

 

[Kat]

confused. Can I see this online?

You will be able to when it it finished, yes.

 

[Reclaimara]

mblackwell1002 Kat wasn't abducted lik S-IIs, she's a Spartan-III, not Spartan-II. Only Spartan-II candidates were kidnapped at age of six.

Spartan-III program was a much different program when it came to candidates.

And she did know her parents. Her parents were killed, then her grandmother was raising her and only after she was killed she, like many other orphans (orphans because of war) from Outer Colonies, she was a candidate for Spartan-III program.

Spartan-III program is much different than Spartan-III program. The S-III program was producing much more cheaper Spartans... like a cheaper line of mass production of Spartans, unlike S-II program which had very few candidates and each of them cost the ONI a fortune.

 

[Kat]

mblackwell1002 Kat wasn't abducted lik S-IIs, she's a Spartan-III, not Spartan-II. Only Spartan-II candidates were kidnapped at age of six.

Spartan-III program was a much different program when it came to candidates.

And she did know her parents. Her parents were killed, then her grandmother was raising her and only after she was killed she, like many other orphans (orphans because of war) from Outer Colonies, she was a candidate for Spartan-III program.

Spartan-III program is much different than Spartan-III program. The S-III program was producing much more cheaper Spartans... like a cheaper line of mass production of Spartans, unlike S-II program which had very few candidates and each of them cost the ONI a fortune.

I appreciate it!
When I first started the project and made the post, I was still doing research. I found this article (among others) and updated my own knowledge, but the same basic story synopsis stands. The information really wasn't the point of this animation.

 

[Reclaimara]

Kat, it was more to Mblackwell who wrote that Kat was abducted at age of six and she didn't know her parents or grandmother because of that, which if false because it applies to Spartan-IIs only.
Your premise is good - Kat's father was killed, her mother died of cancer and she was raised by her grandmother who was a retired Army General, so afterwards she wanted revenge, like many other orphans who were candidates for Spartan-III program.