The Purchase Brothers are a pair of independent filmmakers and commercial directors whose online short, Escape from City 17, premiered this weekend and is the first in a series based on the Half Life computer game. On YouTube the short has already reached almost one million views, and the film's production values on what they say is a $500 budget are quite impressive.
From their website:
The Escape From City 17 short film series is an adaptation based on the Half Life computer game saga by Valve Corporation. Originally envisioned as a project to test out numerous post production techniques, as well as a spec commercial, it ballooned into a multi part series. Filmed guerilla style with no money, no time, no crew, no script, the first two episodes were made from beginning to end on a budget of $500.
Additional Notes:
Valve flew the team out to Seattle last year, and the brothers have been in communication with them since.
David and Ian Purchase are commercial directors represented by Sons and Daughters in Toronto. They are working on an unannounced feature film. Not HL related.
They have been huge fans of HL since the days of "ivan the space biker'
Watch the short below.
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posted by Scott Macaulay @ 2/15/2009 08:25:00 PM
Comments (1)
Interesting. From time to time I'll see digital shorts or series online that have impressive FX and production design. But invariably the writing is terrible. The acting is terrible. And the direction is terrible. But it looks pretty good. #posted by Anonymous @ 2/16/2009 11:40 AM
