Halo: The Fallen

Halo: The Fallen is a planned non-profit fan film set in the Halo universe. The film focuses on a Marine of the United Nations Space Command, who is a veteran of the Human-Covenant War whose life eventually leads to the Battle of Installation 04. Many of the film's crew members are veterans of their field, including both special effects and actual military.

On October 28 2013, the crew finished shooting all live-action footage, moving into post-production.

Previews
In preparation for the final film, the crew of The Fallen released several preview shorts relating to the film. These include The Crucible and Prologue.

Prologue Prologue takes inspiration from the Believe advertising campaign, in that it features a veteran soldier reminiscing about his experiences in the Human-Covenant War. The short contains a few canon discrepancies, including Reach and Earth being battlezones since 2525, a Spartan's helmet other than Master Chief's containing an AI chip, the helmet being implied to be Noble Six's (which actually lay abandoned for more than twenty years), and army troopers being aware of the classified deaths of Spartans. Unlike the final film, Prologue centers around Army troopers, not Marines.

''Fade in to a soldier's boots, entering a dark room. Cut to his hand holding a piece of paper.''


 * Chris Kraemer: We'd just finished setting up base in the outlands of Reach.

''Cut to an elderly bearded man. He's wearing glasses and in somewhat formal attire. Caption: Sgt. Chris Kraemer; UNSC Army (ret.) Active duty: 2523-2558.''


 * Kraemer: At that point, we'd just only heard of the Covenant. I remember Lieutenant Vargas giving us orders to go the remains of a Spartan that was MIA, as they put it.

''Fade out from elderly Kraemer. Fade in to a desert. Pan across the sparse bushes and rocks until reaching a Mark V[B] helmet.''


 * Kraemer: It seemed like an easy mission. "Light load out", he said.

''A few soldiers search in the background. A boot steps near the helmet.''


 * Soldier: Hey Sergeant. I think I found it.

''The soldier picks up the helmet. He hands it to a young Kraemer.''


 * Soldier: Private.

''Kramer pulls a chip out of the back of the helmet. A beep is heard as he grabs it.''


 * Young Kraemer: Got it.

''Kraemer pockets the chip, and holds his assault rifle. He walks away with his men.''


 * Old Kraemer: When our pickup arrived, we thought: Mission Accomplished. Just like every other mission we'd been assigned.

''The elderly Kraemer pauses, his throat tight with remorse.


 * Old Kraemer: We were young, we were ignorant, and we were certainly not prepared for what came next.

''Cut back to the past. The sergeant raises his hand and motions for his men to drop into a firing stance. They all do so as their pickup Pelican arrives.''

Cut to a Hunter's assault cannon, charging with plasma energy as the Hunter sneaks towards the men.

''Cut to the outside of the Pelican's cockpit. The pilot inside looks around as he lands, but is suddenly engulfed by a blast of green plasma.''

''Cut to a charred piece of paper, being held by the elderly Kraemer. He sighs as he examines it.''


 * Old Kramer: That was the worst day of my life.

He looks up sadly, as audio from the past begins to play.


 * Soldier: Contacts! Four o'clock!

''Cut to a Covenant lance. Two Hunters plod forward, along with a Grunt and a running Jackal. The troopers run for cover as plasma bolts come from the right. Two Elites fire their plasma rifles towards the men, and their Grunts run past them.''

''A plasma shot kills one of the men. Another soldier turns and fires his battle rifle. He kills two of a file of three Grunts. The last one charges his plasma pistol and fires. The soldiers reach some rocks for cover. One of the soldiers turns to fire at the aliens, but the charged shot hits his head, bursting it apart.''

An Elite roars and then motions for his Grunt to advance forward.


 * Elite: Wort wort wort!


 * Grunt: Yip yip!

''The soldiers jump over the rocks and hide behind them. Kraemer activates his COM.''


 * Young Kraemer: Echo Base, Bravo Three. Immediate evac, my coordinates. We've got a Priority One pickup!

''The soldier with the battle rifle throws a grenade, killing the third Grunt. He then begins firing over the rocks at the Covenant.''


 * Soldier 1: Fuck them [unclear]!

''He shoots another Grunt in the head. A Jackal next to it returns fire.''


 * Soldier 2: [Unclear], get your fucking head down!


 * Soldier 1: Fuck you, motherfucker, I've got this bitch.

''The Jackal steadies its particle beam rifle.


 * Soldier 1: No! Fuck you!


 * Soldier 2: Get your fucking head down!


 * Soldier 1: [Unclear]-

''The soldier is suddenly shot through the head by the Jackal Sniper. Blood trickles out of a hole on his head, some of it splashing on his fellow soldier. He hurriedly whips it off, Kraemer watching nearby. He shakes his head sadly.


 * Young Kraemer: Fuck.

Cut back to the elderly Kraemer in the present.


 * Old Kraemer: We fought for another fifteen minutes before we were rescued. Corporal Ross was never the same. Poor bastard. Stayed behind when they glassed the planet. As for me, I was transferred to Earth. For the next twenty-seven years I fought alongside men and women I never knew. Yet they became my brothers, my sisters. It was the will of true soldiers that helped win this war. And I'm proud to call myself a trooper.

Fade to black, then to end credits. The Crucible The Crucible is a second preview, showing the training of the protagonist while in the UNSC Marines. It adheres more closely to the plot of the film than Prologue, which is its own self-contained story. Watching the film on YouTube with the annotations on lets the viewer read behind-the-scenes commentary on the filming of the scene.

''Cut to a canyon, in which two Pelicans fly past. Cut to Pvt. Garrison sitting inside one.''


 * Pvt. Garrison: I, being of legal age, of my own free will...

''Cut to Garrison during his training in Marine boot camp. The trainees stand at attention. One of the sergeants inspects them then runs up to Garrison.''


 * Sergeant: What is this, princess? Your little friendship bracelet?

Other sergeants join in and yell at Garrison.


 * Pvt. Garrison: Without coercion, promises, or inducement of any sort...

''The trainees run down a desert path in exercise. One of them begins to tire and fall to the side. Garrison helps him back up.''


 * Pvt. Garrison: After having been having been thoroughly advised, and warned, about the meaning and consequences of this earth...