"Lambda" A mini series set in the HL universe

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#1

Friends and I are currently working on a film project, about a newly escaped citizen and his journey through the resistance.
Here are some photos taken doing the Filming of part 1







Our goal is to capture the feel of the Half-Life universe, so please give us criticism on everything that could be improved, and things we did well on

So with all that said, please excuse minor (and major) imperfections with the Half Life 2 Fan Film titled “Lambda.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H__5gOz0cQ

#2

chill with the blue color correction.

HL2 isn’t a very blue game save the citadel.

Maybe your actors should move quicker and with more urgency also.

#3

I actually liked it better than beyond black mesa. I literary lol’d at that CP “SHIT!” moment.
The only things I didn’t like were the ‘scary moment music’ starting a second before the metrocop appeared behind the dude, the second rebel looking all Al Qaeda and the combine backup appearing out of nowhere instead of making an entrance.

[EDIT] I also agree with ninja.

#4

very nice, but you seriously need to sort out the CP’s costumes, no offence.

#5

Pretty good and yes it’s better than Beyond BM so far, just as long as you don’t switch out Headcrab Zombies with cliche movie zombies like they did it’ll be great.

#6

Thank you all for the critique, we shall take all your suggestion into consideration. I know this is no excuse but the masks were made only in three days due to real life conflicts, but we will be remaking them for part 2. I would also like to say that we will be implementing somethings in part two that we are sure Half life fans will like, but you’re just going to have to wait till it’s released, and no it’s not zombies :slight_smile:

#7

Production of Beyond Black Mesa was way better obviously(time and equipment)… but I too think that this is better than BBM. One thing… Clothes are too clean… dirty them up big time, next time.

#8

Number 1 problem with what could be an awesome film. Get better movement. It looks awkward and sometimes your face needs to be scared and surprised like in real movies…

#9

Your costumes are better than BBM, however, something is way too bright with the civil protection face mask, it need to be darkened in the back and some in the front.

Also you need to put a little more realism in, think, what would they do in real life if this was happening? could they really do this if such and such did this or what ever.

This has a lot of potential btw, and this is pretty awesome.

#10

I also think that the “Border World Films” logo lasts waaaaaaaaaay too long… you/they/whoever should speed it up at least 10 seconds.

#11

Not bad, better than BBm in my opinion.

#12
  1. what camera are you using?
  2. film on “flat” settings. When you do, you’ll have a lot of detail that you can use in post,
  3. wouldn’t go with that color correction. Contrast + curves + levels -> that’s all,
  4. yeah, clothes are too clean,

The rest is based on what camera you’re using so I’ll wait for that info…

#13

We used a Canon HFS10, And we’ll be sure to dirty up the Citizens/rebels.

#14

some of the scenes feel a little bit long, especially near the end, where the protagonists are running from the metrocops. quick “action shots” would probably be better and convey more a sense of urgency. the camera angling could use a bit of work, don’t be afraid to experiment a little bit. some of it is a little bland, simply showing the characters from a head on, or side view. the weapons could use some messing up a bit. the close-up shot of the MP7 looked a little too much like airsoft, which you want to avoid. find a way to keep the viewer from noticing things like that.

a little lighting couldn’t hurt. overall it was good, but a few of the clips had some not too good lightning.

i did really like it though. other than those complaints (which are pretty minor), i loved it. would definitely like to see more and i wanna thank you for doing a project like this.

i tend to focus a lot on cinematography for some reason.

#15

Ok, so here we go :wink: .

  1. film in 1080/24p but edit in 720p, you don’t need the resolution to be that big, you won’t stress your soft too much and it’s good to have a larger reference when cropping or stabilizing motion,
  2. never ever use automatic gain/shutter/f-stop,
  3. the camera’s optics won’t give you that “soft” look so try lowering the shutter (1/24 or 1/48 if it’s too blurry) so that the image isn’t as crisp. Remember that it’ll make it harder to track though,
  4. when you have a pretty static camera, try going back and zooming in on a target. It’ll give you narrower DoF which you can then manipulate to your liking. f1.8 will work best in such cases,
  5. always set up proper white balance before shooting,
  6. teach your friends not to run like woosies ;P.

PS. When it comes to lighting (like the scene when a CP appears behind your character) go get a white sheet and something to hang it on. It will be enough to bounce the sunlight which will prevent you from boosting gain hence lower noise.

#16

looks like a terrorist (no offense terrorists)

but the film is good, and captures the atmosphere great. good job :wink:

#17

Germany’s game censorship ethic.

#18

that’s because he IS one. one person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist. chew on that for a bit.

#19

There is nooo way the combine consider rebels and refugees terrorists. With Doctor Breen’s smiling face, I am never Concerned!

As for the movie, I like it way Better then BBM, and I want to ask something…

Does the movie happen in and around City 17, or another city? I’m asking this because the Cops have C-17 uniforms.

#20

I agree with everything that has been said here. It had great potential. The only things that really get under my skin being how incredibly clean and bright the CPs look and the blue color correction. It’s great though and I enjoyed it far more than BBM

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.