Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn BTS
 

So I finally got around to watching Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, and while all the weapons in the actual film were just cast resin replicas (which were cool in their own way) it appears that they actually used real QBZ-97s for a boot camp they put the actors through. I thought it was odd, A) the weapon choice, and B) they actually had actors practice firing weapons even though they'd only be using cast replicas in the actual film.

http://www.imfdb.org/images/1/1f/Halo4FUD_QBZ-97_01.jpg

http://www.imfdb.org/images/a/aa/Halo4FUD_QBZ-97_02.jpg

http://www.imfdb.org/images/0/06/Halo4FUD_QBZ-97_03.jpg

Well this show was made in Canada. It actually isn't that old considering the primary weapon they used in the show is a bullpup rifle.

Where did you find these?

Using a bullpup makes sense, but the QBZ-97 is still a bit out there.

These were part of the Special Features on the DVD, one of the behind the scenes featurettes.

If you look at the second image, you can see that the guy's finger is off the trigger. So they taught these kids good trigger safety... to use a prop that doesn't have a working trigger. But then again, the more people who know gun safety, the better.

I thought the QBZ-97 was reclassified as an illegal weapon in canada.

I guess this might actually be the reason that they turn up in Canadian TV/Films (and possibly only Canadian depending on where that scene in Inception was shot), as I assume that theatrical armourers would be exempt from a ban if they were blank fire guns, meaning that they could buy up a large number of them for a good price when the ban came in.

To all except people who uses them as props for movies. People who owned one pretty much were threatened to either give them to the government or sell them to movie prop guys who would put them into better use, one of them not being Stargate Universe...that show was stupid.

Also, I think a better weapon for them to use would have been an F2000 because it shares the similar overall shape and bulk of the Assault Rifle in Halo.

Teaching actors trigger discipline and how to handle a rifle on screen makes it more believable. Even though the rifles they actually used on screen were props and didn't shoot anything.

Looks like in the 3rd screen cap, they were teaching the kids about switching shoulders when shooting the other side of a corner. Though I wished they designed the future body armor and vest with provisions for storing extra ammo. I don't see a mag pouch anywhere on those outfits.

It's also kinda funny that the Assault Rifle in the Halo series does not have any iron sights whatsoever or rails to mount an optic.

As for the third pic, it looks like she's forced to expose her whole body to shoot around the corner. I'm guessing the QBZ-97 only ejects to the right.

I think the Master Chief had some targeting system built into his helmet, but I never understood how anyone else aimed the MA5. It's been in at least three Halo games, and no one ever addressed that.

Looking at the image, I was wrong. It was kinda a weird forced perspective that made me thought the kid was switching shoulders. The QBZ rifle can only shooting to the right and has no brass deflector for lefties.

Well, it looks like they've established further in the show that even regular troops have some kind of visor that projects a crosshair for them to aim.

According to the canon (as far as I can see), the MA5 and MA37 series still has flip-up iron sights in an emergency (that are somehow completely flat and flush with the top of the rifle....), but it's meant to be used with a HUD of some kind for crosshairs.

I actually really like that they put their actors through this training. It's important that they not only know how to use their guns properly, but what it's like to really fire an assault rifle in these kinds of tactical situations. That's why you always at least take the guys out to a range and have them pop off rounds at some paper targets before filming.