What's In The Box?

Hectic Glenn

Hectic Glenn

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Who knows what is in the box, and this may be nothing but an amazing video has popped up on youtube using Half-life sound effects as well as many other Combine / Citadel like references (and LOST music). See the video below, but if you want to join the internet investigation it starts with the What's in the box? website, and this picture has been found.[br]Looks like most other viral websites, kotaku has done further snooping behind the scenes but no one really knows yet. Even if it isn't much interesting, the video below is superbly done.[br]
<object ><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IU_reTt7Hj4&hl=en&fs=1]</param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IU_reTt7Hj4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" ></embed></object>​
 
Saw this yesterday on RockPaperShotgun, its pretty clever, I love the helicopter.
 
we have about 5 threads on this but i imagine you didn't know that yet. regardless its an amazing video
 
Am I the only one who thinks it's not interesting at all?
Just another amateur Youtube video with some homemade CG effects and overused HL2 sound files.
 
Warped said:
we have about 5 threads on this but i imagine you didn't know that yet. regardless its an amazing video
Click to expand...
I've read through them, yet many people haven't due to the 15 messages on Steam I have from people who have just stumbled across it, so it's put up as news so more people can see it.

Most half-life fans seem to be enjoying it Polaris, so worth highlighting.
 
Very creative and well done...but I would say it's definitely fan/student made. The effects are good, but not pro (I'm mainly impressed by the 3D tracking).

Also, there is a masking error near the end - the birds in the sky go behind the building, and then can be seen in front of the building.
 
Obviously fan-made, no sense in arguing it...

But pretty captivating to say the least.

5 secrets, 1 oran- i mean 'secret' box
 
Like video states, it's "work in progress", not final version (you should update your news post).
 
Polaris said:
Am I the only one who thinks it's not interesting at all?
Just another amateur Youtube video with some homemade CG effects and overused HL2 sound files.
Click to expand...

Jesus, way to be a cynic. Yeah, it's probably homemade CG, but what you try to imply with that is bullshit, as it's very well done. This is excellent.
 
I really like it. Good use of music and sound effects. Well done :smoking:
 
Fan made or not, it's still an awesome video. The setting makes me think of the initial invasion of the Combine. 7 Hour War anyone?
 
Cool stuff. The camera angle was a bit annoying at times, and the guys in suits were all slow and dumb which made the chase less intense than it could have been :\
Effects are great though.
 
[Dragoon] said:
Fan made or not, it's still an awesome video. The setting makes me think of the initial invasion of the Combine. 7 Hour War anyone?
Click to expand...

This isn't associated with Half-Life at all, from what we know so far. Similar effects and sounds, but that's it.
 
This has JJ Abrams written all over it.
 
Downloaded the flash file from the website, http://www.whatsinthebox.nl/, and decompiled it. The text that flashes below the cube: (doubt there's any importance in it)

var bullshitArray = new Array();
bullshitArray.push("0001");
bullshitArray.push("WSAD");
bullshitArray.push("134G");
bullshitArray.push("ASDF");
bullshitArray.push("123A");
bullshitArray.push("1234");
bullshitArray.push("5223");
bullshitArray.push("QWER");
bullshitArray.push("FASG");
bullshitArray.push("4213");
bullshitArray.push("UUUU");
bullshitArray.push("READ");
bullshitArray.push("FAST");
bullshitArray.push("JFSD");
bullshitArray.push("2123");
bullshitArray.push("BOXR");
bullshitArray.push("SAGA");
bullshitArray.push("JFSD");
bullshitArray.push("2123");
bullshitArray.push("6335");
bullshitArray.push("2347");
bullshitArray.push("2678");
bullshitArray.push("7856");
bullshitArray.push("1111");
bullshitTxt = "0003";
_root.nextAction = "loop";
Click to expand...
 
Corp. Sheepo said:
This isn't associated with Half-Life at all, from what we know so far. Similar effects and sounds, but that's it.
Click to expand...

You can see a reference to Black Mesa in the news ticker near the beginning. Also, the Citadel appearing.
 
PvtRyan said:
Jesus, way to be a cynic. Yeah, it's probably homemade CG, but what you try to imply with that is bullshit, as it's very well done. This is excellent.
Click to expand...
CG effects are nice, sure. Rest is boring and random like hell.
Dan said:
This has JJ Abrams written all over it.
Click to expand...
Mystery boxes, check.
Cloverfield shaky-cam, check.
Lost music, check.
HL2 "references", check.

I love JJ, still it doesn't work for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjVgF5JDq8
 
Corp. Sheepo said:
This isn't associated with Half-Life at all, from what we know so far. Similar effects and sounds, but that's it.
Click to expand...

"Largest single collapse in history since Black Mesa" scrolls across a few times in the ticker. Still, it looks more like a fan project than anything official from Valve.

The guy who made it is from the Netherlands, Tim Smit I think. Some people think it's just a demo reel, made to show off his effects abilities and whatnot (note the title of the video on YouTube, which ends with "Test Film 2009" [Edit: and also in the bottom left of the video]). It also appears to be incomplete, as evidenced by the text "Character audiotrack missing" in the top left corner (no footsteps, heavy breathing, etc from the character).
 
I'm 100% positive its a fan made project and nothing official to the series. Theres so many reasons, it would take forever to list them all. one of them being, why would the official site be '.nl'? it would be '.com' or is valve all the sudden only interested in their small dutch audience; despite that other people can access it...

it also resembles the purchase brothers video on a huge amount, which we know is fan filmed. You dont have to work for hollywood or have millions to make something of this quality, just afford a decent 3d effects program and a high quality camera and lots of time and your all set.

One thing is, i dont understand why this guy is trying to go viral. Viral is usually used when a movie is coming out, and the marketers try to get a lot of people to see it (cloverfield) or a game or album. but we have no idea what he is getting at, whether he is going to make a full-length film or trying to sell us something, it doesnt make sense. Seems more like just an attention getting stunt over the interwebs, which is probably going quite well for him...
 
two cool movies came out this year with HL2.

Purchasebrothers +whats in the box.

can't wait for more longer version of the same action.
 
Im in awe.. I created a "similar" video a few months back with not as ambitious goals as this, but I can see that these people really know how to motiontrack in with moving cameras.. its freaking hard, this must have taken months to do.

I loved this..
 
Copied from previous thread:
Good enough. I hope it's not intended to be a Half-Life fanfic because the story doesn't fit into HL at all. It's well done, but everything just seems so random. Where is everyone? Why did they all leave their stuff behind? What's with the soldiers? It doesn't leave the whole thing as mysterious so much as annoying. "Computer Brain Interface" is cheesey, as is the overly tense music. Tense music stops being tense after the first two minutes, and the music in this isn't particularly good. Also, as it's almost the only sound at the beginning it overpowers the what's on screen rather than building on it. It's like the filmmaker shouting THIS IS TENSE.
Click to expand...

If this is supposed to be tied in with the HL story they didn't think it through very well as it doesn't fit in anywhere.
 
Well I think it works best when viewed as a slightly alternative version of the HL universe; maybe a little further in the future, with events happening not quite as they did in the games, whatever... Certainly a lot of the elements are a bit too incongruous to gel easily with what we know of the Combine story. That doesn't make the vid any less impressive IMO. I think the HL link is more of an homage than anything else.

The Computer-Brain Interface was a good idea, well implemented. You see it in the guy's shakey hand and within a few seconds you know exactly what it's purpose is. The HUD is slickly done and is a handy mechanism for silently conveying info to the viewer. It's hardly an original idea, but although I've seen it pop up dozens of times in books, it's not often I've seen it done well in film.

I agree on the music though. It's overdone and not particularly well chosen. The 'character audio track missing' makes me think that the music might only be a placeholder though.
 
I'm tempted to come up with a ****-field nickname but the best I can come up with is "containment field".
Anyone have better ideas?
 
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but "Dial" on the hud when he's dialing the first phone is misspelled and says "dail"

But this is really cool. Major props to the guy, I kinda liked the look of it... maybe Valve should hire this guy and have their writers come up with a script for the HL movie :-P
 
This movie is most certainly Half-Life related. There is proof. Watch the video on full screen and HD. At 1:22, after the character has activated the CBI, there is a newsreel in the underside of his vision. Pause the movie and look at the words. It reads "Largest single collapse in history since Black Mesa". So There...
 
Of course we know it's HL related, have you been reading the posts in this thread? All you have said has already been said by other people
 
I don't know how to do any of those effects, so I was very impressed.

SgtSpamBoy said:
Also, there is a masking error near the end - the birds in the sky go behind the building, and then can be seen in front of the building.
Click to expand...

Not true, if you're looking at the same part I'm watching, about 8:21, the birds appear to fall or be sucked downwards and to the left in front of the builing, not behind it.
 
As you all know youtube video was related to www.whatsinthebox.nl

After recently solving password there people have found www.babel-research.eu

Notice down the bottom of the screen logos for aperture science and the black mesa research facility...
Makes me think this is related to HL in some way.
 
It's "please". What's wrong with you, never watched Jurassic Park films?
 
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