Hey, so you probably don't know who I am but I wanted to this project and thought I'd post it even if nobody cares. It's only H3 montages since I was never into the H2 montage scene or anything past H3 (except a few Reach tages I suppose). If you're looking for a list full of old school montages, you're going to be disappointed. This list is personal opinion, not a greatest list and I pick montages arbitrarily. Editing, gameplay, flow, atmosphere are all things I look for. Anyway, here's the first 20.
100. Communitage 3 edited by Manni
I just put the whole thing here, but the particular version I like most is the Director’s Cut. Because of the method of assembling clips (I believe they come from a channel that uploaded any clips that were sent in), there are some awful ones but it kind of gives it a more unique appeal, but there are some really sick clips in this montage as a result, too. The first song of the full version is a bit too fast paced and the gameplay suffers a lot. The second track is much more fitting and the editing that goes with it is well done (the Valhalla mongoose snipe comes to mind). The best part about the second song is how it ends and leads into the Kings of Leon track which is definitely the best part of the video. The song is perfect for montages and Manni nails it with great syncing and great effects, though you could argue the weaker gameplay is more noticeable with a slower track. I also love the last song, so somber and melancholic and it really lets the gameplay shine (the top few clips in the montage are in the last section). Overall, I think some of the editing is overdone and there are a few errors that nag at me (the angle on Logic’s clip in the last song where he’s reloading and standing still for example), but overall this is an underrated job on an ambitious project.
99. The Wake Up (Dutchy, Nabes, Piano Frenzy, Stobs) edited by Local
I feel like The Wake Up got way worse of a reception than it should have, though I can kind of see the problem with it. It feels like Local ran out of time and wasn’t able to make it quite complete. Either way, there are far too many angles in this thing. That being said, there are still so many things to love about The Wake Up. First off, the intro is wonderful (even if it feels a little weird showing off the great montages of Dutchy, Piano and Stobs and then having kind of just some gameplay for poor Nabes). I love that Local put Nabes part first because, not being a household name, it gives his gameplay the shine it deserves whereas having it at the end might have it get forgotten. Nabes’ clips maybe aren’t majorly flashy, but they make up for it in ability. He looks so collected and confident. Local’s editing here is strong, letting the clips stand out but using the song to give them a little extra push (the Mickey Mouse piano part is gold). Piano Frenzy’s part is probably the best. His gameplay is always so fun to watch and I always get the feeling the guy skips when he walks anywhere in real life. His clips are fun and innovative, but he’s also capable of hitting dirty multis and it all shows here. The upbeat nature of the song really sets the tone for the third part, not to mention setting it up with that disturbing MLG over to end it. Dutchy’s part is pretty standard Dutchy material. How he has manage to assemble such a quantity of ridiculous footage is beyond me. The term is used so often, but he really is a robot when it comes to clips and I like the use of Going Back to Cali. Sadly, I don’t have much to say about Stobs part. It kind of feels like the montage has run its course for me and having that upbeat song kind of makes you hate morning people, if that makes sense. It’s a shame because I do believe Stobs has severely underrated gameplay, but with the overall in your face nature of Local’s editing, four parts seems a bit too much and that’s what keeps this one down on my list. Sorry, Stobs.
98. Fire F14 H3M1 edited by Fullscope
Editing isn’t everything. I know that this montage got a lot of hate for the editing from Fullscope, but I honestly don’t think it was that bad. Sure, the song has been used more famously already and there are some weird parts, but I always chalked it up to inexperience and for the most part the editing doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay, which is phenomenal, even though I’m pretty sure Fire F14 is a dick. Actually, re-watching this, the gameplay is mostly just good with a couple of absolutely ridiculous clips. The Narrows Jaro is one of the dirtiest MLG clips of all time and the overkill looking up at R1 following it is also outstanding. There are a ton of clips on here where timing and luck are on his side, but to his credit he hits just about every shot so cleanly. I don’t really feel the song much and that takes away a bit for me, but overall this is a somewhat hidden gem.
97. Fantasy & Fearless edited by Local
The biggest issue with this montage is that the audio is muted on youtube. Only 4 montages in and this the second one I’ve chosen with editing from Local. I actually think it’s Local’s editing that makes this montage. I really love his editing to the first song because he has a kind of gritty style that makes the gameplay seem more significant. On slower songs like this, his impeccable angles really shine and as always he uses the song to enhance the clips. The gameplay in this is mostly really good. There are some filler clips, but even then they are all 50 high MLG so it still impresses. Obviously Fearless has a couple of famous clips in here, the whip no scope killtac and the spinning triple, both on Narrows, come to mind. Fantasy has a few gems in here as well. Sadly, it had been a while since I watched this and with the audio muted, I don’t recall the rest of the montage as well as I do the first song, but what I do remember from it is wonderment.
96. Erikkvo’s MCC Montage
I have a love-hate relationship with montages like this because I hate seeing people with far better snipers gameplay than myself. Another thing with the snipers community is that it’s pushed further and further towards players “needing” to be at a high sensitivity (I played on 6, so I’m a “low-sens nerd”). The result is a lot of gameplay that looks sloppy but is somehow impressive to people because it’s high sens. This isn’t the case with Erikkvo. Yes, he looks like a fucking gopher tweaking on meth with his 14 sens sniping, but it’s smooth, it’s calculate and it’s clean. He hits such insane shots, but it’s also not the classic “hit one flashy snipe and call it a sick multi” style. Some of these clips are jaw-dropping and the way he hits them you can tell he knows when his shots are on point. This is probably my favourite MCC snipes tage to date.
95. Boss Syrup H3M1 edited by CJ
This is listed on Youtube as Boss Syrup Final, but it’s really his first of 3 montages, edited by CJ before he became a flashy, amazing Reach editor. I might be a bit biased because I know Syrup. He’s one of the OGs of H3 team snipers and was definitely one of the best in the playlist when this montage came out. While the rest of the snipers community would catch up to him and many would surpass him, he always had a knack for hitting dirty, high level clips that I’m a little jealous of. This one is my favourite of his because of CJ’s editing. There isn’t much to it, but he creates a wonderful atmosphere that I think fits nicely with the gameplay. He doesn’t cut out missed shots, which is fine because everyone misses here and there, even in the dirtiest clips. Instead, CJ focuses on highlighting the ends of the clips, more syncing the sound of the sniper to the music than syncing the music to the clips (if that makes sense). I also like the inclusion of some of the sicker triples because so often people throw out triples because the medals dictate the approval rating. Weirdly enough, as much I’m impressed by CJ’s technical skill, I think this might be my favourite edit of his.
94. Buttery H3M1
Some montages are all about feel and Buttery’s first is one of those. The music and the presentation make it feel like a classic social montage except the gameplay is largely MLG. The editing is very simple with a few well done pieces to utilize the music, like stopping or slowing down clips before the money shot (lol, buttery). Again, the gameplay stands out. Buttery’s penchant for hitting dirty no scope triples is impressive and it always looks like he fully expects to hit his shots. Having a few non-MLG clips spices things up a bit and gives you a couple extra maps and that’s a nice touch. Overall, it’s a very simple but very well put together montage.
93. Vitality edited by ThumbsUp
I’m not going to pretend that using a Sigur Ros song didn’t help Vitality grab a spot on my list. It also helps a lot that ThumbsUp is a painfully underrated editor. I also love the concept of a community montage and it doesn’t hurt at all to have gameplay from guys like Tranq and Most Dope at your disposal. As much as I love the gameplay, I like Vitality more for the atmosphere and the editing. I’m more used to ThumbsUp having an upbeat, fun editing style (such as Energy, which is also an excellent project of his), so it’s great to see him find success with a grittier style. The gameplay is set so well to the music that it gives it this impression that every bit of it is so significant. And who doesn’t love the floating globule of sperm that shows up throughout the montage?
92. Collapse the Box by Spudmonkey
This is my kind of jump montage. Pulling this shit off in matchmaking, social or not, makes them seem practical and relevant and something I can buy into. One of the things I love about this montage is that it always inspired me to go into multi-team and try to troll kids with jumps like this but then I’d remember they are actually really hard to do and then I’d just give up. I also love the vibe of this, the straightforward, chill song with simple, effective editing techniques. One could argue that there are too many angles, but one could also fuck themselves, too. Spudmonkey uses angles expertly. More specifically, he uses story telling angles (like the shots of the kid crouching out of Froman or the Banshee, flown by a typical douchebag who likes to run everyone’s experience by getting in a fucking banshee). Aside from being good ideas, his angles are actually really well done (the first ninja over and the Valhalla angle where warthog comes exploding in after the triple for example). If there is one thing that bothers me, it’s the first and last clips where he doesn’t get the first beatdown. But that’s nitpicking. But really, the last one. I hate when that first assassination doesn’t count.
91. Synthesis (Qubic, Ruxs, Touchfire) edited by Ruxs
First of all, I’m not sure how I feel about the intro with Qubic looking all nonchalant, Touchfire smoking a dart and acting dead inside and Ruxs staring out the window, listening to Adele and contemplating past loves. What I do dig is the first song. That’s the style of music that I think best suits Ruxs as an editor, something kind of bassy that has quieter verses and picks up perfectly for sinking or highlighting particular clips. The gameplay doesn’t really need to be talked about. We all know Ruxs gets dirty clips like it’s nothing and the same goes for Qubic, though I’m not quite as big a fan of seeing reused clips from montages that I consider to be better (I can overlook it on the grounds that they are nasty, I guess). Touchfire’s clips were used sparingly, but his are also top-notch. He’s kind of the Nabes of this montage, but then later on made us all realize he’s a filthy, filthy sniper with his MCC clips. One of my favourite parts is the Guardian clips where JagCB drops from camo and Ruxs snipes some other kid and JagCB totally expects Ruxs to have forgotten where he went somehow. The atmosphere of the first song is wonderful, something more dark and severe. I don’t like the mood in the second song as much as it seems to clash with the style of the intro and the first song, but thankfully and expectedly, the gameplay remains pure filth.
90. Glopn H3M1 edited by TranQ
I know some people don’t like it, but those people are wrong – the intro is amazing. The buildup is sensual and the song itself just makes you know shit is about to get epic. As for the montage itself, I think we all love Tranq for his dirty, dirty gameplay but he’s also one of my favourite editors. He gives the gameplay a light touch on this one. His song selection is interesting, but it works with the Brand New song reminiscing a little of old school montages, but giving him a couple different tempos with which to work with. The second song being a lot more fast paced but somehow still fitting in with the montage as a whole. Tranq’s editing stands out in a few sections – where he syncs Glopn’s missed shots so nicely on the Pit exterm, where he uses twixtor (I’m assuming) to sync with the slow section of the first song, the transition where he zooms in on the scope and where he uses the fade out of the song to sync to the last shot for the over on the Pit. Glopn’s gameplay is really solid. There are a few triples in here that don’t wow me, but his snipes are on point and there is a selection of nasty clips. The first triple, the whip triple on Guardian, the Pit over right after, the carbine over on Construct and basically every clip during the second song standout. And one of the telltale signs that this montage is well done is that it feels like it’s only a 3 minute montage.
89. Cinema (Phurion, Rhis) edited by SillyGoose
It’s not very often that you run into a montage where Phurion’s gameplay gets outshined, but Rhis certainly pulls it off here. Considering the amount of tages these two have been involved in, it’s stupid how good the gameplay still is in this thing. There are way too many stand out clips in this, but my absolute favourites are Rhis’ Narrows clip where that one kid gets in the way and then gets spawn killed twice in a row for the Jaro, Phurion’s no-scope Jaro on Guardian and Rhis closing no-scope tast. Aside from stellar gameplay, SillyGoose brings it with the editing. There are few, if any, editors out there who can match Silly when it comes to high energy montages. His angles are amongst the best, but his attention to detail and his effects that only last for a second (such as the medals on Rhis’ Epitaph tac or the overshield around the scope on Snowbound for example) are always sexy. And the space shit is cool as fuck.
88. Diablo (Listomania, Phuzion, ScytheZ) edited by ScytheZ
This is a relatively recent montage, but it still finds its way onto my list. I’ve always felt ScytheZ was underrated as both an editor and in the gameplay department but hopefully not after this effort. The intro is only a dozen seconds long, but is still creative and effective while letting us get right into the gameplay. As far as heavy editing goes, ScytheZ does an exceptional job keeping the gameplay going with effects that only add to the experience and some quietly good angles. He has a tendency to overuse certain editing techniques (the film reel effect for example), but he still has his own unique style. The atmosphere he builds on both Mac Miller songs is excellent and his use of the lyrics into his editing is pretty damn solid, though I’m not sure how I feel about the guy sitting there with a 40. The gameplay is also fantastic. I mentioned ScytheZ and everyone knows Listomania is insane, but Phuzion has some surprisingly nasty clips, too. His Foundry tastrophe at the start really sets the tone and stands out as one of the best clips on here, though there are too many to point them all out. The last song kind of loses the feel that the first two had, but it’s still solid enough and the gameplay doesn’t disappoint.
87. Brother, Goodbye by TranQ
I was gonna sum up this montage by saying :’(. While Into the TranQ was his last big montage, Brother, Goodbye felt like, as the name would suggest, TranQ’s goodbye. I’ve always love TranQ as an editor, and he really hits it here. He couldn’t pick a sadder song and the way he edits he always brings the emotion of the song and it transcends into the gameplay. It helps it along a lot that the gameplay, while sick, is 0% (I think, could be wrong) MLG. I recognize some of it as 50 high snipes, but for the most part it’s just the kind of nasty shit we all expect to hit when we play social but aren’t able to. On top of that, it’s a mix of dirty multis and a few lower multis that are just beautiful to watch. TranQ has always been a master with his social gameplay of hitting aesthetic clips instead of scrappy naires or pocs. And given the sheer volume of work he’s put out, it’s crazy to think how he was still getting such nastular clips late in 360 H3. Also look out for that plasma rifle clip. Shit is so good. Brother, goodbye indeed.
86. Dale’s Final edited by OrphanSlayer
Yeah, I’m a little surprised to see this on here, too. Part of the reason for that is that the gameplay isn’t stellar. I’m not talking shit, Dale’s clips are almost all better than anything I could ever get at 50 high MLG, but the community standards are just too damn high. Even then, the editing isn’t exactly taking a page out of Mattisson’s book of holy shit effects. This montage certainly wins in feel, though. I’ve said it a bunch already, but editing to the tone of a song is so important and that’s what OrphanSlayer does here. It’s not that he isn’t able to do anything fancy, but the focus on hitting the simple sync points and just helping the gameplay along makes this montage. While the gameplay as a whole isn’t spectacular, there are a few dirty clips. For example, every time I watch that whip double on the Pit and then see Dale decide to just soar through the air like a mythical beast to hit that (perfectly synced) triple, I get all hot and bothered and the spawn over exterm on the same map is also just mmm mmm mmm. And I have this weird fetish for montage where the credits appear in sync with the chorus coming in where you’d normally expect more gameplay. Idk why.
85. Remnants (Crossfire) edited by MK
When I was in my first year of college, one day I was sitting at the back of class watching some H3 video or whatever. After class, my fellow student walks up to me and goes “did I see you watching Halo 3?” At first I was all awkward and shit, feeling like a nerd. But it turns out the guy was big into H3 himself and went by the name Crossfire, someone who I had previously talked with on this very forum. It was kind of weird, but it’s one of my favourite stories surrounding this game. Crossfire, or Kourt, didn’t move on in my program past year one, but all of our classmates still fondly remember him as one of the funniest dudes we’ve ever met. Enough personal bullshit, once I found out who he was I said to him “so you’re the guy who hit that 180 2 for 1 exterm on Guardian?” Undoubtedly that clips is what he’s most famous for, but he has a few other gems in here including a dirty blackout exterm, a snazzy Narrows MLG quick scope trip and that beautiful man-cannon 2 fer. There is also a variety of interesting clips, giving it a fresh feel. As you’d expect, MK brings it with the editing. I feel like I’ve already said this so many times already, but the tone of the montage is driven by the song and to me that’s the biggest thing with good editing. We all know MK as a flashy, creative and talented editor, but on Remnants it’s a lot less evolved. There are a couple of amazing bits (the first Guardian transition and the ring around the ghost on Zanzibar), but it’s mostly just story telling angles and little nudges that make the gameplay sync up with the tune. And again, one of those montage that ends in the climax of the song going into the credits. Mmmmmmmm.
84. Believe (Dkahre) edited by OurFallenHero
This one is here for the gameplay. I actually usually like OFH’s editing, but this one just doesn’t do it for me (though iirc it was released without being truly finished). At the very least the first song is upbeat but not too casual which I think works well for what is largely social gameplay and the editing doesn’t hinder the ridiculous gameplay. I really like his decision making in his clips and his lack of fear for going for style points high up in clips. The result are clips where he pulls out the shotgun and before I can complain about him ruining the clip he throws a sticky instead or that ungodly 360 tastrophe at the end. I like that there are a couple of lower multi clips in here instead of everything being jaros and above plus the one or two “funtage” clips that make their way in so that it isn’t just the same looking multi team clips that some social montages end up with.
83. Outcome edited by WhaTime
Another montage that I’m sure many people will be questioning. This one is just about the opposite of most that I’ve listed so far as it is highly, highly overedited. Of course it doesn’t help that WhaTime would crack and become a delusional psychopath one day, but oh well. Right from the very intro the editing in this just hits the spot for me. The music synced to the shots with the slasher flick effect. The montage itself is really good, too, even though it feels like it wants to be a CoD montage with the dubstep and the quick cuts. Still, despite the fact that the editing almost completely distracts from the gameplay, I really like how it’s done. It’s surprisingly well synced and there are cute little effects riddle throughout the thing (my favourite being the triple kill medal on Construct near the end). The gameplay it’s self is somewhat… suspicious, either with a few not so genuine clips or with the old editing technique of making the HUD go away so you can’t see the medals, which almost always makes one think the clip wasn’t in time or what have you. There are some gems in this one, like the no scope tac on Valhalla or the last four clips which are just stupidly good clips.
82. 4/14 (Sandman) edited by SillyGoose
This one might be a little iffy to put on because it’s pretty much half Reach, half H3 but it’s too good to leave off. As far as SillyGoose’s edits go, this is right up there as one of my favourites. He syncs this song so amazingly well and truly uses it to give the gameplay an extra push. Not that it really needs it since Sandman has ridiculous clips. But just to name a few sections where SillyGoose blows me away here – the effect when the sticky explodes for the first trocity, the syncing with the hammer on Guardian and the loading reticule on the Pit killtac. I even like how he’s edited the Reach clips which is saying something because for one reason or another I can rarely get into Reach gameplay. The clips themselves are strong, but I always find myself enjoying the editing on this one far more.
81. The Revival by Ruxs
I’m a little bit mixed on this one because I don’t really like Ruxs’ edit or song choice. I know he was going for that old school feel and that’s cool, do what you want with your montage, but I just don’t enjoy it myself. The gameplay on the other hand is fucking insane. One thing about Ruxs is that he’s a chameleon. He can get clips in any playlist and that shows here. True, for the most part this is an MLG montage but I love seeing some nasty multi-team and snipers clips thrown in here, too. A lot of montagers are really clutch at hitting that final shot in a clip, but I always felt Ruxs shines in the middle of clips. Not to say he doesn’t hit nice over shots, but his doubles and triples are generally fantastic. Picking standout clips is next to impossible, but the Pit clip where he starts on his own S2 and finishes the clips off the other team’s training, the Construct Jaro, the Narrows bank triple, the Pit snipers tac, the Narrows back-to-back no scope killtac exterm and above all the Construct no scope exterm on Gripz and Rhodez are absolutely ridiculous. I do wish Dream finished editing this, though.