Underrated Montage of the Week #7 - Dutchy's Final Halo 3 Montage

Gameplay by: Dutchy

Edited by: Dutchy

Date of Original Release: 9/28/2010

Current View Count: 27,798

Well, is an introduction really necessary here? This video's by Dutchy, and it somehow doesn't have 75 bajillion views. That's really all I have to say here. Oh, and I saw renders of this before it was released, making me super awesome. /bragging

Gameplay: As usual for Dutchy, the gameplay is ridiculous, as you can also tell by the "AMAZING" I put in the title of the video. All of the "run-of-the-mill" multikills are top-notch, like the overkill mancannon snipe and any of the "duck hunting" exterminations. More importantly though, there are a bunch of clips that stand out due to their uniqueness, like the 360's and 2 for 1's for somewhat high to high multikills, and of course, the micro-whip killtacular no scope on Guardian for which Dutchy grenades himself from bottom mid in order to get an angle on the guy top mid, which is incredible because a kill like this was barely seen prior to the release of this montage, and still hasn't really been replicated to this day. This just goes to show that while Dutchy is the master of the "formulaic" social multikills, he also knows how to mix it up every once in a while and stun his fans with some ridiculous innovation. There are a lot of memorable clips in this montage to make it stand out, which includes the "falcon punch" beatdown at 1:30. As far as variety goes, this montage does a pretty good job keeping the footage from being monotonous, though it definitely is slanted towards social. And as much as I love my bloopers, I have no problem with my credits being chock-full of sick clips as well. On a final note, I found it pretty ridiculous how there's a section full of 2 for 1's for triples and overkills, which also has a 3 for 1 in the mix, and a section full of 360 snipes as well. Most people would be lucky to get just one of each of those clips in their entire lifetime, yet Dutchy has a ton of each one and is able to casually jam them all together. Damn it Dutchy, you're too good at this game.

Editing: The editing in this montage may not be nearly as good as what Exus did for Dutchy's 2nd Halo 3 montage, but it's still quite good. Montage superstars known for their gameplay almost never edit their own footage, making the good job Dutchy did with this video even more impressive. This is another case of great laid-back editing. There aren't any over-the-top, fancy effects; they're fairly simple for the most part, and the primary focus clearly is the syncing. The color correction matched the atmosphere of the soundtrack quite well, and as much as I dislike the recycling of ideas, the shaky cam reminiscent of Dutchy's H3M2 for the Snowbound killimanjaro was very well done and a nice addition to the montage. This montage had a great flow, and the laid-back style really allowed for the clips to shine. Clip placement was great too. The MLG killtrocity is an insane clip and is a great way of starting off the video, and the spinning overkill was nasty as well. However, I prioritize originality incredibly highly, so I really think that the Guardian killtacular would have served as a better finale.

Flaws:

- Like I've said several time before, I really don't like kills on stationary people, and this montage definitely had its fair share.
- Some of the cuts made the clips feel choppy in my opinion, though this effect was lessened by the fact that they were always done to set up sync points.

My theory is that this montage didn't get nearly the amount of attention it deserves because Dutchy's 2nd Halo 3 montage sort of dominated everything after it came out (it IS a contender for greatest Halo 3 montage of all time after all), and more importantly, because it was released smack-dab in the middle of Halo: Reach fervor. I'm good friends with Dutchy, and like many of people in the Halo community I've gotten to know, it's been amazing watching Dutchy progress as a montage maker, especially as an editor, because people who get their own gameplay and edit it themselves is such as rarity nowadays. This montage is incredibly underviewed at the moment, and if you haven't seen, definitely give it a look-see. And if you've already seen it, watch it again; it's still worth the watch, and hey, maybe you'll notice something new about the montage that you missed before or revisit some incredible clip that you've totally forgotten about.