Wednesday, 4 June 2014

2 Day Project Waggle Dance

Waggle Dance......The very name conjures up some strange images. But in reality the Waggle Dance name comes from a very real thing and makes an awful lot of sense. Its the kind of name that would be funny to the majority because of just the name but to those who have knowledge of bees will know that its a very calculated and well thought out inside joke. Anyway enough about the name. Whats amazing is how well thought out the game is. Don't get me wrong the game is as complicated as it gets, but we could just be being thick. After looking blankly at the instructions for an hour....or two....or more we eventually figured out how to play the game. The end result is a really fun and strategic game that makes a lot of sense and even has the ability to make players wage war with each other over pollen.

So when it came to making the video we had to try and compress the main game play basics into a short a video as possible while explaining how it in enough detail to make sense. Having prior knowledge to the game made compressing it so very much easier. But choosing each little bit to explain took some time but overall I think the video ended up being a relatively good representation of how the game is meant to be played and gives detailed information on the crucial parts of game play.

Video Story Board

(1.https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t1.0-9/10385606_485747144860423_2707509845989947518_n.jpg)
(2.https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/10440833_485747164860421_6671113982782861718_n.jpg)


When it came to choreographing all the points we wanted to showcase, in the video, we had to choose a theme or a style of video that we wanted to do. After a little bit of searching around the internet at guides and how to's I suggested we look at a video by a production company called PES. This group of animators/photographers really enjoy specifically making incredibly smooth animations that to me become hard to differentiate between video and Pixelation. So that's where we took our inspiration from. Add some Timelapses, Voice Overs and some Writing and you get our creation. The brain child of Me and Joe Callaghan Lynch was helped created by the rest of our group during production. The editing of the film was split between me and Joe....mostly Me but everyone gave input to how it should look.
                                        http://media.salon.com/2013/01/pes_qa2-620x412.jpg

When it came to shooting for the video we rented out the photography studio so we could house everyone involved and have space to maneuver everything we were using. The filming process that we were doing required a fair bit of attention to detail and precision as we wanted the Pixelation to look as professional as possible. The filming and photography was divided up between Me and Joe for the duration of the practice while the rest of the group either worked with the lights or were involved in moving and placing the pieces of the game. It was all a good bit of fun and was enjoyable for all but Me and Joe who spent the majority of the time trying to make the video look as good as possible, but in reflection we needed people to be serious and get it looking good and it was still kinda fun.

Overall I enjoyed the production and editing of the video. Its one of the videos and work set that I really enjoyed. It was good fun to make and produce as a group. I hope our video gets chosen by Grublin Games inc but if they choose another that is superior to ours then I am perfectly happy to congratulate the winners.

Saturday, 17 May 2014

Review of ‘My Recurring Dream’ directed by Andre Chocron

1. Start by writing a overall review of this video, discussing your personal viewpoints regarding the
video.

When watching the 'My Recurring Dream' video you can see that so much planning went into each and every transition,scene and movement was planned with care and attention to insane detail. The very video focuses on just making everything look good while maintaining a one shot video look by crafting a transition style that uses a link to each sequence as a beginning and the end for every clip. Its something I have not seen in many forms of film or anything else for that matter but if you are looking for examples, look no further.
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTqEdGq0h-pdFfN5KpKtb7ZVyuB1hK7wabKl-4lHYPhXQ7bxjt1)

The tone of the video I believe was and is designed to be all about the quirky and unexplained things that appear in the video. The Director Andre Chocron I believe takes us on a journey through all of these different locations in a way that is certainly a lot different to anything else I have seen. The combination of shots that are both reversed footage and normal forward shots is something that doesnt happen without immense planning and attention to detail and it is definitely something that works very well in the overall aesthetic of the film and is definitely the bread and butter of the video.

The way the music fits the the video is probably my favorite thing about it so far. The music doesnt need to be in sync. The video tells enough story that the music almost becomes secondary in my eyes. But it also wouldn't be the same without it. The music is a great compliment to the video as it just adds to the way you feel as you watch. I personally think that the music itself is great and deserves credit as well.

(http://www.juliusdesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dream1.jpg)

Out of all the Transitions that appear in the the video, my personal favorite has to be the TV transition in the stairwell.The way they used the older fashioned TV as the transition to a train looked great. The effect  of moving through a TV into the Train is just something that appealed to me because its a clever mechanic that to me was great for the stairwell that looked somewhat old fashioned. The TV effect, that I cant seem to pin a name on just makes the transition look better and stand out as the camera dives into the TV and then clears up to follow the women in the yellow dress. All in all its just my favorite transition because it just flows so well between shots.

So lets get to the 3 words that I would use to describe this video.
1.Precise (like hitting a bulls-eye ehh ehhh)
2. Planned
I choose Precise in conjunction with Planned. Purely because its the truth. Everything about the video screams precision and planning because of just how cleverly portrayed and filmed it is. The way the scenes and the actors are coordinated shows how much they really cared to plan and make sure that they are not out of place or a distraction from the scenes destination. Taking care over everything that is seen is the reason why I have picked these words.

(http://keenetrial.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/precise-evidence-e1392352782163.jpg)

(http://www.silentradio.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/carefully-planned.jpg)
3. Inventive 
How can you say the video isn't inventive? You cant, to me everything I see has obviously has been inspired by something. But everything they are inspired from is worked with  to make it their own, from the water pouring from the painting to the static on the TV screen. Its just clean, quick and visually intriguing. Something Andre Chocron seems to be an expert at, like his other video Havoc.    
(http://www.parking-net.com/Upload/ContentManagersPictures/InventiveIT/inventive-it-2013.jpg)

Floor Plan


Link to My "Recurring Dream" (https://vimeo.com/95960796)

Monday, 12 May 2014

FOLEY RESEARCH

1. Who exactly is Jack Donovan Foley? Well to state is simply, the pioneer behind the Foley technique named after him. The movie business was already using and adding in sound after recording scenes thats no myth. So what does Jack Donovan Foley so that was so pioneering? What Jack Foley did was tailor make  sounds for each scene so that each sound was unique and felt much more real then using generic and often bland sounds. Its a line of work that until his death was never credited. He was never featured in the credit of any film he created sounds  for. The foley industry has become massive and there are awards given to films for their sound effects and other sound related arts. But to think it all really started from one man thinking about making something just sound better. Its amazing to listen to just the noises of a film and realise how a silentfilm looks just so out of place.
 (Picture Right http://filmsound.org/foley/foley.jpg)

2. The technique that Foley created was and still is a way of creating sounds after filming to be edited in after. One example that seems to be very prominent in his career was working on the film "Spartacus". This is a quote from http://filmsound.org/foley/unsung-hero.htm "Director Stanley Kubrick wanted to reshoot the Roman army marching to battle because the location sound was no good. Foley ran out to his car and retrieved a large ring of keys, which he then jangled in sync to the march step, creating the rhythmic "ching" of the armour and saving production the expense of a two-day shoot with soldier extras."As an example of what foley is, this cant get any better. Using everyday objects to create sounds for a film is basically as simple as it gets. Many people who work in the business have their workshops full of hundreds of different objects to create unique and varying sounds for many films. Its a form of work that I view myself as a form of art and I think could be very enjoyable to do.



3. When it came to creating the Foley technique it was done under a bit of commercial pressure. When he was at the age of 23 he was working with Universal Studios in 1914. He worked with them on some of their silent films but when the world of film decided its time for sound made its entrance he and a sound team were brought in by Universal studios to make their silent musical Show Boat a fully sounded film. Due to the fact the Microphones could only just about record voices and singing Foley and a team were given the task of creating the sounds for the rest of the film. This is possibly the first film to unofficially use the Foley technique.
(Picture Right http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Broadcasting_a_radio_play_at_NBC_studio.jpg/330px-Broadcasting_a_radio_play_at_NBC_studio.jpg)

4. To me the reason Foley is still used is because its just so darned effective. I mean watching any film behind the scenes has evidence of it being used, but there is no way you could tell that the sounds were added in after, its something that never occurs to a viewer until told about it. Like I mention above I believe its a great form of art and is very much ingrained into film making itself as a key component. I don't think any great film that has been out in the last 20 years would be the same without the hard work that goes into each and every sound recorded by a Foley Artist. Is there any doubt that it shouldn't be replaced in my mind. No is the simple answer. The work is amazing and its a essential part of every film and if done right can make or break a film. Thats why to me it is a crucial part of film culture and deserves to be part of it for as long as we create films.

(All quotes http://filmsound.org/foley/unsung-hero.htm)



Wednesday, 30 April 2014

HAVOC (Director Andre Chocron, 3m34s, Norway, 2013.)

When it comes to watching Andre Chacron's havoc I get the sense they are looking to try and show Havoc like chaos. (For example "that tornado was causing havoc") When watching the video for me I would have preferred that the actions and movement of the actors, stuntmen and the dance be more precise and in sync but taking in account of the title i can see how its not supposed to be in time with each other. To me the work Havoc bring to mind the thought of chaos and destruction. Which the video does show very well considering it was all filmed in 18 seconds at 300 frames a second. At a snails pace like it is it shows all the movement coinciding with each other. The flames, the dancer, the stuntmen and the popping of the balloon show a good representation of the term Havoc to me.

If I was organizing and directing this music video I would have chosen to have a very unorganized but organised chaos. Having everything in the video look in time but still chaotic at the same time. Because of the nature of the film itself being 18 seconds long in film time but 300 frames a second make it all about what you can get in during that 18 seconds. Trying to pack enough into 18 seconds that translates into a 3 minute video and isn't boring is very interesting and required a lot of planning and rehearsal to get everyone running in the time zone.

When the final result was shown to us I couldn't help but not like how some of it seem to be off at certain points. One such example that bothered me was when the dancer seemed to take up more of one side of the shot then the others and lacked overall symmetry. While I feel like that's the intended purpose I think it would have shown off more of what was happening in the background and made it look a little better. Having one side blocked I think was a bit of a mistake in my eyes, but that's just me and it could have been a conscious decision by Mr Chocron.

 The 2 steps to figure out the speed of which the film was slowed to.
1.    25 ÷ 300  = 0.083

2. 0.083 x 100 = 8.3% of the regular speed.

Steps to fugure out how long the footage is?
1. 300 FPS x 18 seconds of footage  = 5,400 approximate frames.  

2. 5,400 ÷ 25 FPS = 216 seconds of resulting footage.
1
When it game it came to filming our own group Havoc video the group was led by our course leader Tim Dickinson. He gave us all direction but allowed us the creativity and freedom to do what we want, within reason. The group was really a kind of clay, Tim managed us to make sure each of us was given a reasonable time on camera to show off our tricks, movements and most importantly our bubbles. When it came to practicing for the final run through it was mainly about getting the timings right, like switching or doing your piece correctly. It was just about making sure the final run-through is as good and it could be for the edit and hopefully to be used in the music video.

One of the main things we used in this production was the Camera Dolly. Camera Dollies are used to film something moving or in our example to move around a set location. Its often used specifically to capture moving objects, cars and people. One of the biggest uses I know of outside of the film business is the use in sports. Specifically I know of in Rugby. They use it to run up and down the touchline following the ball and the players as they run. Its becoming an increasingly useful  for sports and films as they allow cameras to move at speed up to 18 feet per second (Cheetah Dolly http://pacificmotion.net/cranes-and-dollies/cheetah-dolly ) There are different varieties of Dollies, ones you sit on and ones that are programmable for instance.

(http://www.aceeast.com/cam_images/TrackRunner2.jpg)





Saturday, 26 April 2014

Zombie Movie

When it comes to zombies there is nothing I like more in films. Especially when mixed with comedy, like ZombieLand. Zombie films and Zombie survival are something that comes to my mind on a daily basis, what can I do with that golf club, when would this song be good in a zombie film etc etc. I love the ZomCom genre with a passion and its the type of film that I want to be making as a fully fledged director.  Below is my copy of the film edited by me.

https://vimeo.com/92718591
 Getting dressed up as a zombie was great fun for the day as  its a great way to have a laugh and to see the public's reactions when walking around is great. I have to say I felt bad for the young kids who didn't particularly know how to process a zombie walking through the city. But it was a good sign that the make up was at least effective to make people have to give some of us a second look.

Reviewing the footage I was able to picture the way I wanted  to set it out the film. Like that of the original Zombie films like that of "Night of the Living Dead". The black and white effect in Zombie films I think is a very classic way to go and can make a film with gore look great. The footage I was given at the end of the day to edit was good but I feel like if I had been with a group of people I knew well that I would have been able to help create some more shots for the film and add to the general aesthetic of the film.

I would have liked to have been more involved in the film production and directing, but being a zombie meant I couldn't be a director. I could put my ideas forward but not being close with anyone within the group I felt a lot like an outsider and that I had no power in the group.  To have so many ideas and no one who was willing to listen killed my enthusiasm for the day even if zombies are my favorite genre. At the end of the day what I came out with was a decent edit of some decent footage. I feel the day would have gone better in a group of people I know and I can talk to as colleagues and discuss things without being rebuffed as happened.

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

Final Documentary Items and Review

Storyboard
In this sequence I have shown in the drawings the beginning of each shot. This does include the video I put in as at the end of the shot its shrunk down leads to the opening of the next shot.

Location Release Forms



Review

Filming this documentary was a fairly easy process as it required very little movement, equipment and technological experience. We had a very simple day of filming that lead to a relatively easy time during the editing phase. The only problem I had during the filming was just getting the lines right but that was easily over come by taking a few takes to get it right and then picking the best take of those.

As far as editing it was easy to create fairly good looking with what we had. Making the clips flow was very simple as we only had a few basic shots to put in order and a few other clips to show as examples.

The clips of The Walking Dead I used where a good choice as they are my favorite and are described as the very best examples of great Story Telling. "From the very beginning, The Walking Dead sinks its teeth in and never lets you go. It's a journey in the truest sense of the word, replete with tragedy, heartache, tension, fear, and even brief moments of catharsis. Calling The Walking Dead a work of entertainment almost seems like a misnomer, considering the heavy tone and general lack of sentimentality in the writing."(http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/the-walking-dead-a-telltale-games-series 26th March 2014)

When it came to Filming this documentary it felt great. For once I got to finally got to talk about something that is very connected to who I am. Being able to make a documentary about something that you know first hand has such a great feeling. Its like unloading a heavy weight from your back. I did also very much enjoy having total control over the editing of the project. But Looking back at the project I feel like its not as good as I made it out to be in my head. I am in general feeling like the documentary could have been done better.


Tuesday, 25 March 2014

FOX NEWS/CNN

When it comes to Fox News and The Right Wing Agenda  they go hand in hand, pocket in pocket. Rupert Murdoch the owner of Fox News does like to use the station to his own whims by distorting news to try and gain supporters through lying and deceiving to those who watch fox news. Well that is what people claim anyway. "http://www.freepress.net/rupert-murdoch-scandal  25th March 2014" While I cant make my own opinion on this topic, as I have very little knowledge of American Politics, but I can say that it could be totally plausible,to alter the News to help your cause if you own the station and ultimately own the News.
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Rupert_Murdoch_3576.jpg

One thing I can talk about is how they present the News.They often use the anchors to try and explain something in a way that appeals to those who cannot think for themselves. That is what tends to happen in interview based news when they ask questions and try to distort someones words into something else. Anyone with half a brain can see how they do it but they try to aim those at those who don't like to question someone smarter then them.

http://foxattacks.com/ is a great site that has many examples of how fox news has edited peoples information in the past few years.

They are in the long run doing it for the profit. This is where they differ from something like the BBC which is essentially a publicly funded company paid for by the taxes of British citizens. The Fox News has in the past distorted the news to gain either public interest or political interest. Both of these are bad for the people watching as they never get 100% real news. The BBC is different to this in the sense that they have no motive to alter the news for profitability. They get a fixed amount of money no matter what they do but they can an try to affect the political views of the viewers by showing certain stories but they are less prominent much less frequent. The Newspapers are what tend to alter peoples political views.

Fox News certainly is a controversial thing in the world. Is it fair? Certainly not, they show what they want to show and will exploit others to get what they want. Are they balanced? who knows, but they are definitely on the wrong side of the line with how they treat information. But at the end of the day its described as being right wing for a reason and does tend to show what they want and what they have to earn more money and better of the company on the whole. Its a very lucrative business and has made many people involved unparalleled in wealth. That is what I think drives them, money and not getting the news that slanders their political view to the public. Its disgusting to think they sacrifice the information to earn more money but that's what a business does.

NEWS ANCHORS

When it comes to news anchors of the recent years and how they have changed since the ones of the past it becomes a big topic on its own. In simple terms when someone watches the news of recent years, especially in American news, the anchors are not only there to provide the news but to also try and entertain the viewers as well. In the past it was about being formal and getting the news across as effectively as possible. In the next few paragraphs I am going to explain the past and the present in news anchors.

Bill O'reilly A Fox News Anchor

In the past when it came to getting the information to the public it was mostly done with rough paper cutouts and slides for the public to read and the anchor to explain. The emphasis on the facts was much much higher as that's what they created the news specifically for. Due to how the news was on a tight schedule to get the news across it was often a lot more blunt and to the point, giving the viewers all the necessary information and not much else so they can get as much as possible in the time they had. They couldn't waste money following a case like they do now,like vultures, so they focus on what they have and giving it as best as they can with the rudimentary tools they had.


One News Anchor that has stood out in recent years over in America is Bill O'reilly. He himself is a very imposing man to look at and in an interview with the son of a 9/11 victim showed something that was very dark. He Proceeded to badger the poor Jeremy Glick to try and distort his words against him. He seems to have taken it upon himself to try and make Jeremy seem unpatriotic and thus ensue that he is then seen as a bad person in the eyes of the public. Its horrible to see something like this as Jeremy has a right to say whatever he wants but he has that taken away from him in this interview.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IwIRNM5noY Uploaded on May 9, 2007 )
This is what has become of the news over in America and I hope it stays there personally as it has no place in modern news in my opinion.

In recent years the News has become a little warped in the way it is giving the information itself. The News anchors have started to become a form of celebrity themselves and have started to take over the News themselves as the star and not the actual News. That is not only how the news has changed in the recent decades. As technology became  more and more affordable and easy to use the News animators learnt how to create things digitally and create things not seen before to try and emphasize something else which can make us distracted by the actual points. Its a sad thing when the News becomes as fake as the animations they use but that's where its heading, especially over in America where Fox News can alter information to get their way in the world.



Scratch Video

When it comes to describing a scratch video its very simple. Found footage and found sound. What i mean by that is to take something that isn't yours but use it to create a video about a particular topic by mixing it with other footage and maybe a speech taken from another video. There are really endless opportunities on how to make a scratch video for either comedic ways or to prove a point.


One scratch video that is known by many people on Youtube is "The Bloody Apprentice" where the creator Casseteboy takes many of the Apprentice boardroom scenes and mashes them together to create a video that mixes and matches sentences and speeches to alter their meaning. "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3LLUQo1Ga0    25th March 2014" Much in the style of the Duvet Brothers and their videos.

Space Is The Place

When it came to the location of our choice, which was the Plymouth marina, what made an impression was how clean and cultured the area seemed compared to some of the other places around Plymouth. To me that is what gave the video the impression that Plymouth is a place for the upper middle class and rich when in reality its a very close mixture of the lot. Its mostly outweighed in my opinion by lower class and lower middle class but the marina is something that would say otherwise.

The shots that we recorded that day did seem to be very dark and dreary because of the weather that particular day. As much as I wanted the weather to be bright and sunny it just wasn't. None the less the shots that we recorded still seem to show how nice Plymouth can be. I think that's just the place showing itself off without the need for the sunny weather.


When it came to shooting the shots of the marina the main concern for us while we recorded it was to try and show it off in as good a light as possible. Many shots were often static showing off its natural beauty while some were panning shots to display what people bring to the marina. Boats, mostly boats. Even then the boats being a key thing for the marina it helped show off the area in a nice light.

One of my personal favorite shots was the bike leaning against the railings that I think really shows off how trusting some people in the area are. I never noted weather the bike was chained up or not but it showed a trust you wouldn't find anywhere else in Plymouth. Only in the marina can you find people sitting outside of a cafe, bar or restaurant drinking and feel comfortable to leave a bike unattended. Of course this is only my interpretation but there are many ways to look at it. I think the marina is a place in the city that is sometimes forgotten when compared to the whole city and understandably so.

When it came to the soundscape we had to be creative. There was a bit of construction work that day which left it sounding pretty naff if I can say so. The idea to put in a quiet music track i think is what saved it from sounding like a construction site. We where able to keep a few parts of natural wild track by changing its volume so only the parts that sounded good stood out. We had to choose a song that felt like it could advertise the place really well and fit in naturally with the wildtrack while disguising the rough noises.

Links to My Videos.

Space Is The Place
In this montage of footage taken around Plymouth we tried to Document some of Plymouth's nicest parts and display them as best as we could. But this being the South West we had to compete with some very frequent rain showers and in general some grey and moody weather that didn't help in the video one bit. But In general the footage fits nicely together as a unit and does show Plymouth off in a nice but gloomy light.
https://vimeo.com/88066200

Graham and His Hat
This was the work that we were set to do individually about a picture that we were given. This I believe was to show us how easy it is to create a story from nothing more then a picture and claim it as real. The task itself was incredibly simple, Take a picture, create a story, record that story as the person in the picture and then overlay that on a video.
https://vimeo.com/88243591

Scratch Videos
The concept behind this video task was to create a video out of found footage from websites and mash them into out own video explaining either a topic or showing something happening. When it came to choosing a topic I decided I would do a comparison of Rugby to Football based on how players react to the impacts of tackles. While I can say I favored the rugby side when looking back the video it does show very clearly the differences of the players between Football and Rugby in a montage video that's funny and cringe-worthy.
https://vimeo.com/89898685

Wet Wok News
The task set for this video was to choose a certain topic that we would deem somewhat news worthy and then go and film a news story about it following a specific guideline of shots to make it seem as close to a real news report as possible.
https://vimeo.com/89899740

Make Something Dull Cool
The Take Something Everyday and Make it Interesting Project was a particularly hard task. The object that I had chosen seemed to have no real world value, no special reason of being made and in general had nothing about it other. Making it so hard to actually make something factual so I opted to create a mockumentary for it because it had not interesting history to it.
https://vimeo.com/90007739

Its All About The Presentation
When set this task we were told to create a fake interview and then edit it to get rid of the "waffling" and show only the good parts while including some Noddy shots to break down the footage. We created two different videos, one with everything left in and another with it cut down to the best parts without umms and ahhhs.
https://vimeo.com/87660758
https://vimeo.com/87660716

HOW ‘REAL’ IS DOCUMENTARY?

For me, my initial thought to whether documentary is real is that it is real. A documentary is a documentation of something that has happened or is happening. That's what I see it in my own eyes. I mean of course Mockmentarys have even a small sense of reality to it to make it seem real but do either remain as something of comedic use. There are Fly on the Wall Documentaries like "Benefit Street" that do follow a group of people in an attempt to show others who are outside of that situation the lives that those people live.

(http://debater.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Benefit-Street.jpg)

The main factor in deciding if something is real or not is to look at how its shot, what they are explaining/showing and what purpose they are attempting to achieve. "Benefit Street" for example aims to show the life of a group of people who are currently living on a street that is primarily inhabited  by people on benefits from the Government. The idea ,I think, of this documentary was to show people the lives of those on benefits in an attempt to highlight issues that are normally swept under the rug when it comes to politics and elections. Its an educational thing for everyone that hasn't had the experience of being on benefits or knowing anyone who is. Its a particularly touchy subject that is very controversial in politics of recent years and it caused quite the stir.
"Despite provoking hundreds of complaints and being slammed as “poverty porn”, Benefits Street has been a huge ratings hit for Channel 4 and has got the whole nation talking about an issue that is so thorny, you can end up arguing with yourself about it."
(http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/what-time-benefits-streetbenefits-britain-3155637#ixzz2wy4hDVAa 25th March 2014)



One of my favorite Mocumentarys is a Fly on the Wall comedy "Modern Family". Its one of the most popular shows still running of its type. The comedy behind it is based of what the writers know happens in day to day life for dysfunction but functioning family's.  The way the show is shot is in form of a documentary style like that of the Big Brother show with interviews with the characters. The show does seem to break the forth wall at time with characters directly looking at the camera gives that the sense they are looking to the cameraman.  When you watch a normal Documentary you listen and you watch as a story is told to you about something happening either now,soon or in the past. This is what makes this show so good is that the documentation seems entirely real with the characters but also completely made up but factual at the same time.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Modern-Familytigtlecard.jpg)
John Grierson was the very first person to "coin" the term Documentary to a factual film or video in a review. When he decided to come up with the name he also wrote "The First Principles Of Documentary" which is a study into how documentaries are documentaries. John Grierson is featured here because of the term he created "Creative Treatment Of Actuality". Its a brilliant statement that means so much in such a short sentance. What he is saying is that no matter how true the things you use are how you document them is of your own creation and thus it can never really be 100% factual.

Saturday, 15 March 2014

“Life in another's shoes”

A Documentary Explaining and Showing Why Gamers of Recent Years have Started to Become Attached to Characters in Games.

Research and Ifluences

Influence
Factual Documentary's are just the general type that has influenced the style of the Documentary  but as for its topic I was influenced by a YouTube documentary called “XP: The Life of a Video Game Addict” that focused on someone who had become addicted to gaming. Our style will be fairly similar to this documentary and will mix found footage with a talker who will try to explain attachment to characters between clips. 

Research
When looking online for information on the emotional attachment to game characters I came across a research paper that goes very into how and why some people end up growing attached to characters in games. (http://ndbowman.info/documents/CharacterAttachment.pdf) They conclude that a few of the reasons are linked to "Four distinct components: Identification/friendship, suspension of disbelief, control and responsibility." so I asked on my questionnaire for people to write their reasons for caring for some characters. For the next question I asked if a their reasons matched the few I listed.

 For the question "Have you ever felt emotionally.."  Below I have chosen an example of a good answer. 

Below linked is the percentages for the question "What Emotions Do You Feel When A Character You Care For Dies"

Here are the statistics for the 14 answers we received on the question "Do any of these match your description of why you are attached to them?"

Target Audience

My main target audience?
Its a fairly wide parameter that encompasses a lot of people. I can say that the key audience would be teen gamers aged 13-17 who have an interest in gaming and a small part of psychology.
What would you like your documentary to achieve?

I would like the documentary to just be able to educate a few people about how gaming
affects peoples emotions and can even form bonds to characters that are not real through
good scripting, stories and art.
How do you want people to perceive this?

I hope that when people watch this they see it as opportunity to learn about a culture that is normally shunned and put down as something that has no meaning and makes no sense getting attached to where as in actual fact it is.

Problematize and solutionate

Problem= Copyright

Solution= Disclaimer

Tagline

"They are not any old pixels"

Tuesday, 11 March 2014

Synopsis of "A Life In Anothers Shoes"

"We choose to play games not because we have no life, but because we choose to have many." A quote that has floated around the internet for a few years starts to ring truth with many gamers around the world. In recent years games have taken to making very in-depth stories with well developed characters that seem to have captured gamers hearts and some feel physically attached to them. Much like those who attach themselves to movie characters. In this short Documentary we plan to show you and explain how people get attached and care for the characters they play.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

How Real Is it? Story.

Hi there, Im Graham Rown. When I was a young boy I had always dreamt that I would own my own hat. A year ago today that dream became a reality, when the picture was taken. It was not as I expected it to be, the hat is itchy, it makes my head hot and the women just don't like it. Possibly it was just the choice of hat that is the problem, but I will never know now because I spent all my life savings on this hat. I think the TV sales channel lied to me when they claimed it to be the best hat in the world and worth the $10,000. They wont give my money back and they keep mocking me about being an old man when I ask. Im so old :(.

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

What are Documentaries?

 ‘There is no absolute definition of documentary, they come in lots of different forms, for example'
Documentary's on a whole are all about showing off something to the masses that people wouldn't necessarily learn about on a day to day basis, That can be anything you deem worthwhile for others to know, people,animals and very commonly historical events. Documentaries are great ways to get information to the masses that necessarily don't have the time to read books of information. "often includes narration of written documents from a historical period, with music and images shown on screen to help the past come alive for the audience."-(http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-documentary-film.htm 25th March 2014)

To me Documentary's are a form of education first and a form of entertainment second but they tend to excel in both senses. Some of my favorite Documentary's are from my childhood, For example Walking with Dinosaurs while not strictly real and mostly CGI they combine the animation feel with lots of information about the dinosaurs the world around them that educated those who watched it. They use the CGI to reenact some examples that younger audiences might not have gotten through just verbal explanation. "music and images shown on screen to help the past come alive for the audience."-(http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-documentary-film.htm 25th March 2014)


Different types of documentary range from the purely factual to the almost completely fake Mockumentarys like that of The Office that are for entertainment only and hold very little education information. Historical Documentary's are pretty much self explanatory. It teaches the viewers about specific bits of history or a general frame of time etc the 17th century or the Crimean War. A documentary is something that's so broad that you can virtually do anything as a subject. People, Time, war, animals...the list goes on, If you can make it interesting you can make a documentary on it. Its that simple.