By John Walker on December 8th, 2011 at 2:17 pm.
It’s official – I can no longer tell the difference between fan film trailers and Hollywood trailers. The extraordinary snippet of film below is a teaser for a soon-to-be-released fan movie of Left 4 Dead. But I challenge you to spot the joins here. I mean, unless they’ve a person stood on someone else’s shoulders, holding a third man upside down by his trouser legs, it seems like they have a crane. Are you still a fan film if you’ve got a crane? Surely you’re just a film at that point? In other words: wow.
Apparently the full film will be out “soon”. It’s directed by Adrian Picardi, and seems to be made with the support of the scarily serious folks at Airsoft. (I used to write a gaming column in Airsoft Magazine. I’m still not quite sure how that happened.) And it’s damned impressive. Take a look.
Admittedly it doesn’t show any vocal acting, which is obviously pretty key. But I’m properly looking forward to seeing the whole thing. (Oh, and quick tip guys – you might want to add a “thank you” to Valve somewhere in your credits.)
08/12/2011 at 14:28 Panopticon says:
Nice production and amazing quality however only the characters got barely the L4D feel. I also didn’t like the feeling of Zoey being a teen or pre-teen? She’s an awesome woman in game so make her kick ass in the movie as well.
This seems way too serious and Dead Island-ish (pointing at the map as if in a quest in Dead Island, and the whole emotion style of that game)
Left 4 Dead series got more black humor and underlying hidden comedy than horror and sadness.
08/12/2011 at 14:37 sneetch says:
Zoey is supposed to be a teenager in the game too. I believe when the outbreak occurs she, her father and her mother are arguing about where she’s going to go to college and what she’s going to study.
Edit: actually, no, she’s dropping out of college, that’s what they’re arguing about… someone think of the children!
http://www.l4d.com/comic/comic.php?page=64
08/12/2011 at 14:46 bear912 says:
I was under the impression that she was a college student who dropped out because she spent more time watching zombie flicks than studying. I’m not sure where I heard that, so I could be wrong.
Edit: Apparently sneetch knows!
08/12/2011 at 14:46 TechRogue says:
Actually she’d just dropped out of film school, after one year I believe. She’d spent the whole time watching zombie movies.
08/12/2011 at 14:48 psyk says:
“Zoey is referred to as ‘teenangst’ in the Left 4 Dead’s game files. She is called ‘teengirl’ in Left 4 Dead 2′s game files.”
Ahh google is there anything you can’t find
http://left4dead.wikia.com/wiki/Zoey
LMAO connect the usernames ;) hope you have strong passes
08/12/2011 at 15:24 PoulWrist says:
A pre-teen? Wat?
08/12/2011 at 16:42 Chalky says:
Yeah, I’m not sure that makes any sense at all.
08/12/2011 at 14:52 db1331 says:
It looked like the person those zombies were eating had insides made of chocolate cake. If people were made of chocolate cake, I think I would be a zombie too.
08/12/2011 at 16:09 sneetch says:
That ain’t chocolate cake… let’s just say ol’ Bill had some… let’s say problems… prunes and bran flakes… well… they’re hard to get during the zombie apocalypse.
08/12/2011 at 18:30 Salt says:
That’s the terrible secret of the zombie outbreak. It didn’t actually make people into zombies, it just turned everyone’s insides into delicious chocolate cake.
Only those with terrible gluten intolerance could resist the urge to rip open their friends.
08/12/2011 at 18:37 The Colonel says:
Hold still… I’ll heal ya!
08/12/2011 at 14:59 Dinger says:
Cool! look forward to seeing what they do when they cast Bill!
And knock it off with the fake film streaks and dust. Related question: do they still do lens flares in 2011 games, or did that stop in 2001?
08/12/2011 at 15:04 abigbat says:
well lens flare is a real thing, however it really shouldn’t be appearing unless the protagonist spends his like looking through a camera. I prefer the HDR approach which is pretty ubiquitous these days.
08/12/2011 at 15:06 WhatKateDoes says:
No, its much worse now.. now we have dirt, grime and glints on our camera’s a-la Battlefield3.
So long as it doesent reach JJ Abrams realms of stupidity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqjmlM3kxs
08/12/2011 at 15:22 Big Murray says:
Isn’t Bill dead? That’s why Zoey is stroking that cap … it’s Bill’s cap, she’s mourning his death.
08/12/2011 at 16:46 Gnoupi says:
Not only is it Bill’s cap, but this is Bill in the previous scene. Dead, eaten by zombies. See the green jacket, the rifle next to him. The beard could be better, true.
But the transition between this scene and Zoey holding the hat, mourning, leaves little doubt about it to me.
08/12/2011 at 19:19 jrod says:
Don’t forget the bloom!
08/12/2011 at 19:33 Goomich says:
There is another L4D movie and they have only Bill in trailer: http://youtu.be/xwV1Ewvchvk
08/12/2011 at 15:02 jimjames says:
I’m sure I won’t be the first one to think this out loud but I have a hunch Air soft GI had a part to play in the funding.
Then again, It might of been a group who are in some kind of club that put it together and go under that banner. But a quick google shows its a store.
Either way they are getting some pretty good views off the back of L4D and a whole bunch of advertising. It will be interesting to see if Valve will start drawing a line as to what can be done with their IP’s.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fan films. This one is particularly great!
08/12/2011 at 15:03 abigbat says:
Really stunning. Thankfully no CG which makes for a distinctly more palatable fan film effort – looking forward to seeing the final.
08/12/2011 at 15:10 Inigo says:
Finally, my bridge-selling business has found the perfect initial customer.
08/12/2011 at 15:20 Okami says:
I’ve never seen the Infected in L4D eat human flesh.
08/12/2011 at 15:39 JB says:
That’s because they’ve stomped you to death by the time they get hungry.
08/12/2011 at 16:45 StranaMente says:
I was thinking the same thing. I thought they were the fast moving, rabies infected kind of zombies. The one that kicks and punches but doesn’t eat human flesh.
But probably JB is right… :-)
08/12/2011 at 16:48 Gnoupi says:
They like their flesh tenderized, obviously. The tank was a cook.
08/12/2011 at 15:40 S Jay says:
Awesome.
08/12/2011 at 15:40 JB says:
Much as believe that shambling zombies>fast zombies, this is L4D. I hope the horde do actually move faster in the full movie.
Looking very nice so far, I look forward to seeing the full deal =)
08/12/2011 at 15:50 Siimon says:
In L4D, they are rabies-infected people who thus are “prone” to violence… Not flesh-eating zombies.
08/12/2011 at 16:41 spice_rack says:
The quality of this isn’t bad, but calling this a not-for-profit project is bullshit.
I just don’t buy into their disclaimer. Ironically, that’s what turned me against this video. Saying this is “for the love toward gaming and airsoft” is a pretty thin veil. This is for profit, otherwise Airsoft GI’s logo wouldn’t be on it. Airsoft GI is a very successful airsoft retailer in the US. This is really just a trailer for a longer commercial to sell airsoft guns.
Don’t get me wrong, Airsoft GI is a great company. They do a lot to inform customers about safety and the preservation of the politically-incorrect hobby, but I’m going to have to call shenanigans on this one.
I wish John had mentioned this in the piece, because I really feel like Valve has a completely legitimate reason to shut these guys down. I’d rather Valve not look like bad guys if/when they send a cease and desist.
08/12/2011 at 17:06 LennyLeonardo says:
Overreact much? Airsoft probably just gave them a cheap deal on fake guns in exchange for displaying their logo. That sort of thing happens all the time in films, NFP or otherwise.
08/12/2011 at 19:59 spice_rack says:
@LennyLeonardo That’s fair. I may have made a snap judgment. I suppose that when I saw the AirsoftGI logo I assumed that this was produced by them. If it’s an actual fan film, then I’m all for it.
08/12/2011 at 16:47 StranaMente says:
My main nitpick is that they used the sounds from the game, which I don’t particulary like and feel a bit akward in the clip.
08/12/2011 at 17:05 diebroken says:
A camera crane? All you really need is one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE_RnFi6YhY
;)
08/12/2011 at 17:11 Muzman says:
Hmm. It’s ok I guess. 2 minutes in a real trailer is the big, theatrical, ‘movie’s coming out soon’ trailer. And they usually show you half the movie. OK, that’s a bad thing. But here there are only two scenes depicted. In which time they aren’t even slightly interested in showing off any real acting or dialogue or story for that matter.
That doesn’t usually bode well, is all I’m saying.
Do they have a crane? It’s certainly possible. The first high angle is so simple it could be shot from the top of a ladder though. Which is a bit odd. It could be they used a remote control helicopter for the second one (actually I hope that’s it because it’s kinda cool. )
09/12/2011 at 01:17 Slim says:
As I understand it, helicopter shots are incredibly difficult to do well. Assuming they don’t have a trained RC operator and they rented either A a crane or B a helicopter, I would say crane. Cheaper and easier to rent, don’t require a full time operator for use.
09/12/2011 at 05:08 Muzman says:
Yeah the fact that it rises, tilts and turns a bit in a crane-ish fashion does lean that way. But the fact that it tracks forward and pivots almost on top of itself makes me wonder. That’s a hard move. It’s also a hard move for an RC, but seems more readily available to one perhaps.
Cost and availability wise RCs’ve become quite common in the last couple of years. And Mercalli is pretty mighty so I wouldn’t rule it out
08/12/2011 at 17:58 felisc says:
eurk the awful music ruined it for me. i definitely would like to see the finished movie though.
08/12/2011 at 18:22 MajorTomG says:
That trailer was very emo
08/12/2011 at 18:56 Hatsworth says:
Will it dethrone Left 4 Head though?
08/12/2011 at 22:32 T4u3rs says:
Google “xvideos left4head” ;P
08/12/2011 at 22:39 TomEllinson says:
Grabbin Puke!
08/12/2011 at 22:47 Robbeasy says:
Woah there – Old school Quake link….
The music is by ‘How To Destroy Angels’ – Trent Reznor of NIN fame’s new band – check the free music on Spotify….awesome…..
09/12/2011 at 00:10 Ryn Taylor says:
Even without any lines, the acting didn’t seem promising to me. Both the Zoey and Francis characters looked visibly uncomfortable on screen.
09/12/2011 at 01:18 Slim says:
agreed. That’s a big problem with folks who’ve learned how to edit and do sfx online, but haven’t actually done films. If you can’t direct, and you don’t have decent actors, you’re screwed, regardless of technical know-how.
09/12/2011 at 01:34 dorianGREY326 says:
I have a degree in internet that says you are wrong, and that your opinion must be invalid due to your lack of degree in the internet.
09/12/2011 at 03:45 Hastur says:
The ‘Bill’ Trailer at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCbZC59W3IE&list=UU5iTMsF_Ffk21yc9vV4Rx8w&feature=plcp
features a tiny bit of dialogue (monologue, actually). Non-native English speakers unfortunately.
09/12/2011 at 03:57 Chemix says:
The cake is not a lie, it is you
09/12/2011 at 04:02 Fumarole says:
I hate fan films.
09/12/2011 at 06:44 hypercrisis says:
This is actually a TF2 trailer
we see the girl has finally traded enough hats to get her first Bills Hat, and the sad feels she has when she realises the emptiness of digital headwear
09/12/2011 at 10:01 Gira says:
Disliked this intensely. Mind you, I dislike L4D’s mindless take on the zombie genre, too, so it’s unsurprising. (Bring on Dead State, seriously.)
Remember when horror films – even subpar fan versions of them – had a bit of class? Less than a minute in and you’re looking at fake human viscera being tossed around. Hitchcock didn’t need that crap to freak you out. Hell, Romero didn’t, either. I mean, he used it, but it wasn’t a crutch.
09/12/2011 at 12:22 plugmonkey says:
As someone who played Bill through countless L4D campaigns, I really wish people would stop killing him. It’s like how they killed Hicks between Aliens and Alien 3. Monumentally disappointing.
In my experience, Zoey, Lewis and Francis tend to die just as often. It rather removes the tension if people decide it always has to be Bill, and the team dynamic doesn’t really work with just 3 of them.
09/12/2011 at 14:18 Pinky09 says:
Well, one of those zombies tossed a piece of meat… you’d think zombies would eat anything they could find