Glasgow, UK, December 5th 2012 — Axis, together with 343 Industries, is pleased to publicize a brand-new, story-driven voyage of Halo 4 – Spartan Ops: Season One. A fresh addition to the Halo franchise, Spartan Ops is a CGI-episodic adventure that immerses the player with dramatic storytelling, high-quality cinematics and action-packed gameplay to ultimately deliver an unparalleled sequential experience.
Explained throughout a weekly progression of cinematic episodes, Spartan Ops tells the ongoing story of the UNSC Infinity, following the events of Halo 4. The series began on Nov 6th, after the release of Halo 4, and will have 10 animated episodes, more than 30 characters, 23 sets and 1200-plus shots.
These cinematic episodes supply players a backdrop for the weekly Spartan Ops gameplay missions, with five new missions each week, exploring the corners of Requiem and help uncover the secrets of the mysterious Forerunner world.
Axis co-founder Stuart Aitken, who is known for creating high-profile game-related work, such as the award-winning Dead Island announcement trailer is the lead director of the Spartan Ops series. Aitken with Axis Producer Debbie Ross worked with Halo 4 developers 343 Industries to create all the first-class content in game from casting, scripting and more. They promise to deliver the same high standard when it comes to Spartan Ops Season One.
“Spartan Ops was an absolutely unique project, with a unique schedule and unique challenges,” said Frank O’Connor, Franchise Development Director at 343 Industries. “Axis stepped up to those challenges with imagination and energy, and more importantly, a wonderfully collaborative vision of the story we wanted to tell. Working with our writers, our cinematics team, and a dizzying plethora of tools and assets, they became a seamless extension of our narrative group – and we look forward to continuing our relationship and creative partnership in the future.”
“What makes this such an incredible opportunity is that this is full CGI movie-style storytelling and character development within the rich and exciting world of Halo,” said Stuart Aitken. “We’ve collaborated at every level with 343 Industries throughout the process to create a truly immerse cinematic experience.”
The Axis team aim was to create every Spartan Ops episode to to be as engaging as a best feature film or television drama. They built a layout and editorial team that shot and edited episodes in a way closer to live action than typical CGI. After the motion capture was complete, Axis would create a performance edit from the reference cameras at the shoot. The layout team then shot the CG cameras providing coverage for all scenes, allowing editorial to have as much flexibility in shot selection as possible.
For more information on Axis, check out their web site at: www.axisanimation.com
Want to find Developer 343 Industries? Their web site is at: http://www.343industries.org/news
To access more information on Spartan Ops: Season One, including trailers and more visit http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us
