How to make a Halo fan film

If you want people to take you seriously, build a Warthog. When there's an assumption that you might be a fly-by-night bunch of jokers who just got over-excited after a pub conversation... well, nothing says "no, we really mean it" like stripping down a Land Rover to its bare chassis and rebuilding it into a shockingly convincing replica of the Xbox's most iconic vehicle.

There's a lot of distracting language surrounding Operation Chastity. The phrase "Fan Film" comes pre-loaded with connotations of amateurishness. But almost everyone involved, from the actors working for nothing, to the guys volunteering their services for the visual effects - are experienced members of the film industry.

It's a collaboration borne from goodwill, and the desire to be part of something cool. Writer and director Peter Cooper has found himself at the helm of a craft that's gently gaining interest and speed. The YouTube comments on his latest Behind The Scenes video - which hit 100k views in two days - are as positive as you can realistically expect YouTube comments to be. That is to say, they're quite positive.

Where are we at? The Behind The Scenes video is out. The teaser trailer has been filmed, and is going through the post-production process that'll transform it from a three day trip to the relatively apocalypse-free Dunstable Downs, to a battle on 26th century Earth. Complete with drop ships in the sky and pyrotechnics, Peter and producer Nicola Instone are hoping it'll be an emphatic statement of ability and intent.

None of the actors have read the full script - this remains with Cooper. A fan of the Halo series since 2002 (and yes, he's aware that it came out earlier in America), he was always struck by how it'd work as a movie. "The game itself is so completely cinematic," Cooper enthuses. "Even ten years on, you play that game, and it's still epic in scale. Still the kind of thing you can easily imagine as a movie."

Plot Point

So, where does Operation Chastity happen? "Our story is set at the very end of the human war, in February of 2553, four months after the Covenant invaded. So it's the end of the war, and everyone involved knows it. This particular story revolves around these recon marines who're still performing dangerous missions behind enemy lines. While this stuff has got to be done, the last thing they want is to die at such a pointless stage in the war. I've approached Operation Chastity as a closing statement to that whole conflict."

Will there be Covenant and Flood appearing in the film? Cooper shies away from spoilers, but confirms that Covenant will be appearing. It's not, in other words, going to be a bunch of humans just walking around. There'll be battles.

As well as his work in the film industry - Cooper worked on special effects before taking on this very personal mission - he's a military historian by education, which means he's taken to Halo's timeline with the research and curiosity of an academic. Which is good news - there's no-one more likely to spot a tiny mistake than a million fans.

Until 2007, the official movie still seemed optimistic. "The shorts being made by Neill Blomkamp were being released online, and I was completely enamoured with them. He had a really good visual style, and he was taking the world down a fantastic route. When they announced later that year that the Halo movie wasn't going to happen, it was devastating." Devastating, but motivating. It wasn't long after that he asked his friend, Daniel Carey-George, about building a Warthog.