Hello everyone, and welcome to Halo Spotlight. The place where we shine a spotlight on Halo community creations. This piece is a Halo Creation Q&A, so we’ll be asking some questions regarding a specific Halo themed creation.
The Q&A
The Writing Spartan spoke with the team on the fan made Halo live action, Halo: November Black. After sending some questions over and getting responses from different members of the team, we’re happy to share their answers below.
Any questions marked as general questions were answered by one member of the team, usually the director of the project, Joshua Walls. The Individual questions were answered by multiple team members. (Please note this Q&A does not include all team members working on the project).
Individual question: What is your name / alias, and what is your role on November Black?
Joshua Walls: Director and Cinematography.
Anthoney Moore (MooreShots): “My name is Anthoney Moore. I also go by MooreShots on social media. My role for November Black, I help out anyway I can Depending wherever I am needed or most useful for the team. But my biggest hat would be PR and marketing.“
Darryl Kemper (Off Earth 3D): “I’m 1/2 of the prop and practical effects team. I also came up with the rough story outline for the film.”
Deb Ehrman (Quartet): ODST Actress.
Individual question: How and when did the team meet?
Joshua Walls: “I met Larry during a cosplay photoshoot in a winter storm in Cincinnati whilst he was wearing ODST cosplay he customized. We even joked about making a film. Later we created a halo cosplay and general interest group base off our region, which brought all the members together. I met Moore through Instagram as I do Toy Photography, and realized he lived in Ohio as well.”
Anthoney Moore: “I first met Josh on Instagram through toy photography last year. We ended up being local and I met up with him to do a collab and do a photoshoot with a EOD spartan cosplayer (yogi_ratava). Shortly after that I met with the rest of the group and it was like Larry would say, the planet’s aligned. We all wanted to make a live action short film and here we are now. It all started hanging out at Larry’s place having fun throwing what if jokes, to then bringing it to life and putting 120% into this film.”
General question: How long has November Black been in production?
Joshua Walls: “We started (production) about 8 months ago.”
General question: What made the team decide on an ODST story, rather than another area of Halo?
Darryl Kemper: “We wanted to focus on a more human story. So using ODST’s was a pretty simple decision. Plus, every one loves Helljumpers!”
Individual question: What was your favourite memory during the production of November Black?
Joshua Walls: “That’s hard to say. Probably the Suit Reveal trailer we released in march. Seeing everything come together, and the hard work paying off, as well as the energy from all members.”
Anthoney Moore: “My favourite memory would be filming our reveal trailer. That was our first time putting everyone’s skills to the test. From Darryl and Larry spending months hard at work on the suits and finally being camera ready. Josh and I constantly learning and experimenting with cinematography techniques. Seeing everyone naturally get into their roles. Josh being a solid director with a clear vision in how he wants to film the scenes. Everything just went great that day and really excited to begin filming again.”
Darryl Kemper: “My favourite memory was seeing all 4 costumes finished!”
Deb Ehrman: “It’s not an individual memory, it’s an ongoing experience. I enjoy spending the time with existing and new friends building something new and watching it develop.”
Individual question: Would there be anything you’d change looking back on the production of November Black?
Joshua Walls: “Not really.”
Darryl Kemper: “If I could change anything, I would have planned more. Overall, nothing specific. It’s a massive undertaking and planning goes a long way!”
Deb Ehrman: “No, this is a new process for all of us, we keep learning and growing as we go.”
Individual question: Do you have any advice to other Halo fans regarding creation of live action projects?
Joshua Walls: “Find good people near you if possible, especially prop makers costume/design, and if you have to learn on the fly be willing to put in the work.”
Anthoney Moore: “Don’t try to run a project that big solo. The stress will overwhelm you quickly. Work with a group of friends you trust. Make sure your communication is strong And everyone understands their roles on the project.
It’s a lot of fun. But there will be stressful moments. Remember those moments are temporary. if everyone knows their roles, Works together. Strong communication and puts in the hard work and dedication. You can achieve it your goals as a team. Understand your teams strengths and weaknesses and put them into projects where they excel at. And again communication with the team.”
Darryl Kemper: “My advice is take your time, and do something that you’re ultimately proud of! Don’t make concessions for others. Do what feels good to you!”
Deb Ehrman: “Have a goal and a timeline and flesh it out from there. Hold yourself and others accountable to that”
General question: When is the planned release for November Black?
Joshua Walls: “TBD. Aim is late fall, but that may change.”
General question: Is there any additional information you’d like to share about November Black before its release?
Joshua Walls: “November Black is a Short film based on a crack squad of ODST’s hand selected by ONI to conduct Clandestine missions across the galaxy. They rapidly deploy into a location, and handle things such as HVT extraction, and intel gathering etc. Some call them ONI’s hitmen.
The film is prior to official records of Human contact with the Covenant. Tensions with The UNSC, Earth, its Inner Colonies, and Outer Colonies are at an all time high. Outer Colonies are angry at the UNSC for its over governance, lack of protection provided, while the Inner Colonies reap the benefits of their labor, and receive the protection the UNSC provides
Our film fits perfectly in Canon, and our props are inspired by Halo Reach the game, concept art, books, and occasionally Halo Combat Evolved.”
General question: Where can people go to find updates on the project?
Anthoney Moore: “For everyone who is curious where to find our content. We are on YouTube and Instagram.”
You can find the November Black YouTube channel here, and the November Black Instagram Account here.
A massive thank you to the team working November Black for taking the time to chat with us. If you’re interested in checking out the individual team member’s socials, you can do so at the following places.
You can check out Joshua Walls over on Instagram, Anthoney Moore is also over on Instagram. Following the pattern, Darryl Kemper can be found on Instagram here, and Larry Hastings, the other prop maker for the project, can be found here.
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