It has been nominated for: Outstanding Main Title Design
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn • Machinima.com • 343 Industries in association with Microsoft Studios
Heiko Schneck, CG Lead
Fabian Poss, Producer/Animator
Csaba Letay, Compositor
Jan Bitzer, CG Lead/Editor
-Sal
You know her from Forward Unto Dawn, the Halo miniseries that premiered in October, 2012. She played the leader and senior cadet of Hastati squad, April Orenski. It is my pleasure to bring you a HaloFanForLife.com exclusive interview with Enisha Brewster.
(If you represent another website, please only link back to this article, do not copy/paste in whole or part. Professional courtesy, please. This is my exclusive.)
And now, on with the interview:
HFFL: Hello Enisha, thanks for agreeing to do this interview with me.
Enisha Brewster (EB): My pleasure.
HFFL: According to your IMDB profile, you’ve been acting for 3-4 years now. Is that the case?
EB: I’ve been acting since I was 10, but I began my film and television career just 3 years ago.
HFFL: Is there anyone in particular that motivated you to go into acting?
EB: The first person to put a script into my hands was a sweet woman named Reba Kendrid in Houston, Texas. I was hooked from that day forward. A couple peers in college motivated me to pursue a career in acting well before I’d made that decision for myself. And a casting director in Atlanta encouraged me to consider a career in TV and film before I’d even given it a thought. I am ever grateful to each of them.
HFFL: Who in your life, famous or not, is an inspiration to you, and why?
EB: I am inspired by humanitarians like Kerry Washington, and great women like Phylicia Rashad, and great artists like Geoffrey Wright. My family inspire me every day of my life.
HFFL: Family can definitely inspire!
HFFL: You played “April Orenski” in the Forward Unto Dawn mini-series. Have you done mini-series in the past? If so, which ones? Were any sci-fi related?
EB: Forward Unto Dawn was my first mini-series and my first sci-fi project ever.
HFFL: Forward Unto Dawn was shot in Canada. Was that your first time acting in a production outside of the United States?
EB: Yes. We shot Forward Unto Dawn in Vancouver, a lovely city with even lovelier people.
HFFL: With Forward Unto Dawn being a hit, are you aware of your now lifelong association with Halo? Would you like to reprise your role as Orenski if offered that opportunity?
EB: That never ceases to excite me! I would be happy to reprise my role as April Orenski given the opportunity!
HFFL: Where/What would you like to see Orenski become?
EB: A loaded question 🙂 I have some ideas, but I’m going to defer to the creative geniuses at Microsoft on this one.
HFFL: I have some ideas as well. Admiral Orenski!
HFFL: You recently were nominated for an EMMY for your role as Orenski. How and when did you find this out and what was your reaction? (By the way, congrats and I truly hope you win!)
EB: The official nominations will be announced on July 18th, 2013. It would be a huge honor to be nominated. At this stage I have been submitted to be considered for an Emmy Nomination–which itself is a huge deal!
HFFL: Are you at all like Orenski? If so, how, and if not, what separates you from her?
EB: I think April Orenski and I both have a strong sense of duty, commitment, and responsibility to the things and people we hold in high regard, but April is far more stern and way less empathetic then I am. She is military. As much of a tomboy as I once was (and still am in some sense), I love a little beauty, a little glitz, a touch of glam every once in a while.
HFFL: Are/Were you a fan of Halo? Did you know of Halo before your work on FUD?
EB: Honestly, I wasn’t very familiar with Halo before being cast. I had to get the scoop from my brothers. I didn’t start to understand how huge an opportunity and franchise Halo is until I heard their excitement.
HFFL: Are you a Gamer? If so, have you played any of the Halo games? Before your work on FUD?
EB: No, I can’t say that I am a gamer. But I have a sneaking suspicion that will change very soon.
HFFL: Well, I hope you do get into gaming and feel free to add me as a friend on XBOX when you do. My Gamertag is: HaloFanForLife1
HFFL: Did you have any surreal moments on the set? If so, please expound upon this. For example, seeing Master Chief for the first time.
EB: Seeing MC for the first time was indeed a surreal moment! Daniel Cudmore, who embodies him in Forward Unto Dawn, is himself a tall man with a great presence. Seeing Daniel in full armor as Master Chief for the first time was like meeting a superhero. My heart started racing and my eyes must have been a mile wide.
HFFL: What projects do you have up and coming?
EB: I can be seen in the 12th and 13th episode of Perception this season, back in uniform and barking orders! The episodes air in September on TNT.
HFFL: Thanks again for your time Enisha. It continues to be my honor to talk with you. I wish you all the best in your future acting career. Should you win the EMMY, don’t forget we little folk who are pulling for you!
EB: Thank you, Sal!!
You can find news of Enisha at her official website: enishabrewster.com
As well you can follow her on twitter at: @EnishaBrewster
-Sal
The following article was sent to me by the writer himself: (As per requested, I’m removing the bulk of the article and replacing it with a synopsis of the article. To read the whole article, please go to the source link.)
Microsoft’s experimental Halo live-action miniseries Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn has received over 50 million views since airing online last year. The five ‘webisodes’, produced by 343 Industries and directed by Stewart Hendler, were shown on MachinimaPrime’s YouTube channel and are now available on DVD/Blu-ray.
In one sequence from the series, Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 assists the United Nations Space Command in fending off a sniper attack. The attack was filmed at the Simon Fraser University Library, a location, like others in Forward Unto Dawn, that Arc measured and photographed extensively.
In some locations, such as the forest seen in the later episodes, photogrammetry proved difficult with the complicated tree surrounds.
Production filmed the sniper attach based on detailed storyboards and previs.
“The rule of thumb was that the good guy’s weapons were treated as if they were typical gun powder weapons, the bad guys were more sci-fi looking.”
A military advisor on set also proved extremely helpful. He referred to Master Chief as a ‘weapons platform’ and suggested that Chief wouldn’t fire indiscriminately. …those subtleties really make a difference.”
Not so welcoming wagon
Arc’s environment work included shots of a space elevator, and its destruction by Covenant vessels in one of the eps. Interior shots for the elevator were made of greenscreen hallway plates and CG geometry, with exteriors rendered as matte paintings and set extensions. …when the elevator actually fell apart we turned the piece off in animation and effects took over to trigger the crumbling.
One of the creatures brought to life by Arc for Dawn are Elites, Covenant warrior aliens.
Even more imposing creatures were the fierce Hunters in a fight against Master Chief. On set, an 11 foot pole stood in for the Hunter to provide camera and actor eyelines.
In only a few shots, Arc was required to create a CG Master Chief. A live action practical suit built by Legacy Effects was used for most shots.
…capturing the majority of that material in camera goes towards the believability of the digital work…
End Copy/Paste.
Wow, that was a cool article. I love to see how things are made. Thanks again to the writer of the article for the link, Ian Failes.
-Sal
I want to thank readers “Will” and “James” for offering pics of their respective statues. Turns out, I didn’t need them after all…I was surprised beyond belief to receive one. The detail on how I received this will remain a secret (let the conspiracies begin…lol). Point is, I got this from UPS the other day and WOW is it a beauty!
Without further ado, here are the pics!
See, what did I tell you? Just AWESOME. Detailing is amazing, paint applications is superb. The heft of the piece is apparent. Given the VERY limited nature of this piece, I’m EXTREMELY happy to have one.
This is sure to be a Holy Grail of Halo. There are already people selling these on eBay for upwards of $700 and people are buying them for that much. WOW… I’m NEVER going to sell mine. If I had to sell off my collection, this would be one of two pieces I would forever keep.
I give this an emphatic 10 out of 10 medals. Even with the slight issue of two of the spikes, it’s still nearly perfect and for that it deserves a review score reflecting that. (Oh, I forgot to note that the two top front spikes aren’t as securely fastened as the others since they do not have metal pins to keep them in place like the other spikes do.)
-Sal
I have been asked by several readers about creating an easier download for the Forward Unto Dawn graphic novels. I’ve had it ready for awhile and was going to post this over the weekend. However, something came up that accelerated those plans.
So without further ado, here are each Forward Unto Dawn graphic novels in PDF form, AND if you want them ALL in one PDF, click and save the last link. Right click and save as always.
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 1
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 2
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 3
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 4
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 5
Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel 1-5
I would ask you not to repost these, but rather link back to my blog. Should you repost, please give me credit as: Designed by Sal Salerno of halofanforlife.com
Enjoy folks and look for the Forward Unto Dawn graphic novels in PDF form in just a few short minutes as well!
-Sal
Now I present the last of the episode graphic novels, episode 5. There will be a six novel. That will be in December though. It will have the extras as seen on the DVD/BR as well as some other goodies from the series.
Feel free to download these as they are FREE. If you repost this anywhere, PLEASE give me credit as: Designed by Sal Salerno of HaloFanForLife.com
And please link back to my original post here.
This has been a fun endeavor for me. I’ve enjoyed making the graphic novels and I hope you’ve found some entertainment from them as well. Through this process, I’ve learned a bit about making graphic novels, picked up a couple of new tricks in Photoshop, and had some fantastic feedback from you good folks as well as cast and crew of the actual production of Forward Unto Dawn. My SINCEREST Thank You to all!
Now to the graphic novel. Click on the first page. When the new window loads up, click the image to get to the next page, etc…
Graphics are complete. Text is written. Just need to put them in text bubbles and the graphic novel will be done.
I know I said I’d get it finished. Apologies folks. Busy day elsewhere.
Stay tuned though, it’s 60 pages! Biggest of them all.
-Sal
Fan-made Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn Graphic Novel: Part 4
Woot, featured right on the homepage! Thanks VERY much to BS Angel for posting this as well as the first 3. Would you believe I’m not done with episode 5 yet? See there was a little something that happened earlier in the week that kind of took my time away from finishing the graphic novel. I’ll give you ONE guess what that is…
So, to make sure I finish this, I’ll be working on episode 5’s graphic novel today and have that available on the blog.
Thanks to all that have said good things about the graphic novels. I’ve enjoyed doing them and will complete the series today. Then it’s on to Spartan Ops the graphic novel. I just wish we had theater for Spartan Ops as I’d LOVE to be able to include gameplay pics in the graphic novels.
-Sal
I was honored to be the guest on Podtacular tonight. We talked about the last episode of Forward Unto Dawn. We were just a smidge rushed as we both were getting ready to go to our local Halo 4 launch events, still some good stuff at the link. Enjoy!
http://www.podtacular.com/media/podtacular-330/
-Sal
For those that missed out on ordering this statue (it’s sold out now), here is about the next best thing, the official pics from McFarlane.
Small consolation I know…
Isn’t this a beauty though! Great detailing and paint application.
If any of you did manage to order this, when you get it, take a bunch of photos and I’ll feature it here on the blog.
-Sal (HFFL)
I’ve got the images edited. Now need to lay them out in the graphic novel and then add text and text bubbles.
I pared down the 429 images to exactly 343…(Just worked out that way) Though I may decide to delete others along the way, so that total may not be accurate at the end.
Anyway, with less than one day left until Halo 4, I’m racing to get this done. I’ll be working through the night to get it as done.
This one is likely to be even bigger than part 4’s graphic novel was.
-Sal
I’m working fervently to get this done by tomorrow. I’m about halfway through editing the graphics. I’ve got more then 400 this time around. Most of any of the graphic novels.
I hope you good folks have enjoyed them thusfar. If you’ve missed them you can check all my Forward Unto Dawn coverage here. https://halofanforlife.com/?cat=33
There you will find my reviews of each episode, exclusive statues, and of course the graphic novels.
-Sal
Okay folks, here’s your chance to own a McFarlane figure of Master Chief as seen in Forward Unto Dawn.
You must be 18 or older to enter. You MUST be a registered member of the BLOG. (Sorry Twitter and Facebook folks…this is a benefit for those registered on the blog)
If the winner is within the lower 48 states of the USA I’ll pay for shipping. If outside of this area, then I ask the winner to pay for shipping.
Now here is the contest.
Be the first to correctly name the titles I gave to all 5 below:
Forward Unto Dawn episode 1: Part 1 review
Forward Unto Dawn episode 2: Part 2 review
Forward Unto Dawn episode 3: Part 3 review
Forward Unto Dawn episode 4: Part 4 review
Forward Unto Dawn episode 5: Part 5 review
The first to reply via the blog (NOT by e-mail) correctly wins! Contest will remain open until 5pm Monday or when someone answers correctly, whichever comes first.
Just copy/paste the above bolded section and then include your answers within each line.
Good Luck!
-Sal
Wow, the UNSC Infinity. Yeah, you kinda had to guess we’d see her. And BAM there she is. Does that Frigate look TINY against her or what?!
The Infinity heads into Slipspace with an absolutely MASSIVE fleet of other UNSC capital class starships! What an amazing sight to behold! And here I thought she was a lone vessel headed to intercept the Forward Unto Dawn‘s distress signal. Looks like Master Chief and Cortana are about to get a LOT of company!
The imagery of the fleet heading off into slipspace reminds me heavily of the scene in Return of the Jedi where the Rebel fleet has amassed and enters hyperspace to attack the Death Star. Intentional or not, it’s a VERY cool comparison, IMO.
Quite a warning Cortana is getting. She hesitates to awaken Master Chief from his Cryo sleep… Doesn’t she just look BEAUTIFUL though? An amazing job of CG here and as mentioned previously she’s patterned from Mackenzie Mason the actress who did the physical work for her in Halo 4. She’s quite pretty herself, don’t you think?
And we end (or is it begin?) with where we left off at the end of the Halo 3 Legendary ending. Master Chief in his cryo tube with Cortana peering at him, reflected upon the glass.
Spine tingling!
While the series ends here, I ask that you take a look at one last “review” of Episode 5: Part 14 the end credits.
There are a lot of people who put some hard work and hours into this production. I want to honor them here and I hope you will too.
Now about that Forward Unto Dawn contest…..
Okay, what’s cool here is that when we were introduced to Lasky this is the shot we saw. This brings things back full circle.
We can see the scars of battle and experience here. Not only does Lasky still carry Chyler’s dogtags, but he still bares the Cryo wounds. Some even look fresh. Did he get proper treatment for his condition or has he found a way to live with it?
Time to go to sleep….zzzzz
This is a good segue from the past to the present. The transition is smooth and gets us back into the events that are to come (in just a few short days….)
Next review of Episode 5: Part 13, Infinity and….