Technologies Used

During the construction and research of our documentary the main pieces of technology which we used were the internet and many pieces of software such as:

* Adobe InDesign CS3 - We used this to create our double page spread.
* Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 – We used this for the editing of our documentary and also for the director’s commentary.
* Adobe Photoshop CS3 – We used this to make the magazine article, newspaper advertisement and various graphics used throughout the documentary itself. This was also used to help enhance and develope the background and pictures on the Double page spread.
* Audacity – This was used to record the director’s commentary and other narrative parts of the documentary.

For the research we used the internet and websites such as YouTube to look at various other documentaries so we could analyse them on our blogs. We also used other websites to be able to research media theory and find extra information on other productions similar to ours.

Audience feedback

We showed this to a controlled group consisting of gamers and non-gamers, and generally speaking, the feedback was positive. The relatively unbiased outlook was admired, but most non-gamers did see a slight hue towards sympathy for gamers. Also, it has to be said that, despite the explanations of some of the key technical terms within the film (such as the brief description of the term ‘LAN Party’), the language was slightly difficult for some to understand. This was not a major concern however; as usually the dialogue was backed up by footage straight after allowing the audience to a better understand.

The comments which were made by the control group, as sstated earlier, were mainly positive. One, non-gamer, member of the control group commented on the documentary, “It made me realise the appeal of not just PC gaming but gaming in general and also the social, rather than anti-social aspect of gaming”. This shows that the documentary, although not creating any ground-breaking conclusions, has had an impact on some non-gamers which was its objective to open peoples’ eyes to the world of PC gaming.

(SEE ABOVE POSTS ON ANCILLARY MATERIAL FIRST) How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary products?

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary products?

Our main product and the ancillary texts, such as the newspaper article, ‘Radio Times’-esc and double page spread are very well suited to each other- and as a result, produce an effective means of advertising our documentary.

The two texts that we produced have been themed in such a way that they best match the style of our documentary: done in a quite ‘computer-gaming’ feel and relating to a lot of the terms used in the actual film itself. The newspaper article is done in a similar way- putting across the style of the documentary in its use of language. Both of these help advertise our documentary to not only our specific audience (PC Gamers) but also everyone else who may have some sort of involvement with computers.

Double Page Spread - Final

This is our final double page spread. The colours used were what we believed to be specific to desktop backgrounds and application windows. To make it relate to our video even more, we added pictures from our Documentary and used the title background as the desktop background. We added the time in which the documentary would be shown and the logo of the channel it would be shown on. Overall this added to the feel of a double page spread and made it look more realistic.

We used Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop to create our final Double page spread. By using more advanced programs we were able to make the overall piece look more professional and realistic.

Double Page Spread - Planning

We then made rough plans on how we wanted the page to look.





As you can see we decided that as our documentary has a computer based theme, so would our double page spread. If it is designed in this way then we believed it would appeal more to our specific audience.

RESEARCH - Double Page Spread

We were also asked to design a Double page spread for our documentary. To begin with we looked at a few examples of what double page spreads actully look like.





Both of these have different styles. We chose to do ours in the same style as picture one, as we wanted to talk about our documentary and give readers a slight preview into what they would be watching.

Newspaper Advertisement - Final

We did the Newspaper Advertisement in the style of a review, but instead telling people what it involves and what they can expect to see. We made sure to keep it brief and to the point.

Newspaper Advertisement - Planning/Creation

We first had to do research into what newspaper advertisements looked like and how they were presented before we could start making our own.

Here is an example of one:



After viewing some of these we decided to take a picture of a newspaper and then cut a bit out of it where out advertisement would go. Then we blurred the background as shown below.



We then put our advertisement into the cut out section of the newspaper.

Finished Piece - PC Gaming: The Forgotten Platform

After undergoing all of our research and finding out the forms and conventions of documentaries we were able to create a documentary which both used and challenged these forms and conventions.



This is our finished documentary. As you can see we have tried to keep CGI to a minimum and instead used a range of different cuts, voice overs and images to keep people entertained. Fst cuts and different images keep people focused on the video and allow them to enjoy it more. We used the specific music to make the documentary more cheerful due to the fact that some people may class the subject of 'PC gaming' as boring. It also makes the viewer listen to what the presenter is actully saying enabling them to take in all the information he is putting forward. Also because of the fact the music is calm, it allows the viewer to actully think about what is being said and come up with their own views on the matter.

Opening Sequence

Once decided on the fact that our opening sequence would be short with minimal effects, we simply used a basic background, consisting of moving imagery and pictures related to computers, and put the title of our Documentary over the top.

RESEARCH - Opening sequence

When we started planning how our opening sequence would look, we decided that we would keep CGI (computer generated imagery)to a minimum to save complications and the fact it may not all relate to the subject at hand. Also we decided to keep it short and specific to the subject rather than long and over-dramatic.

A specific example of a shorter opening sequence is that of Newsnight's:

Planning - Dialog and updated Storyboard

Updated Script Concept:

Intro Speech:

(Walk forward)In today’s society the media plays a huge role in entertainment, allowing the videogames industry to boom. With the Playstation and Xbox gaming has become much more socially accepted. But why is it then that PC gaming, the original form of gaming has become such a social taboo. How can one gamer can play a game on a console and another play the same game on a computer but be branded as a nerd? Today we’re going to investigate. (Walk off shot)

After intro:

Stafford has over 4 games stores, each hosting a variety of different games on all different platforms. But just how many games are sold on PC and how is there popularity justified if this is the case? Especially considering that PC gaming has become somewhat of a social taboo.

Voice Over 1:

I asked the owner of one of Stafford’s leading game stores just how well PC games were selling, and whether he thought any decline was due to technical issues or any stereotypes which come with PC gaming.

Voice Over2:

So what about those people? The people regarded as nerds or outcasts? The ones who play computer games. Is it wrong that there hobby should be classified as taboo? As if there doing something wrong? I’m going to find out and where’s the best place to start? A LAN party. A LAN party or Local Area Network Party is no normal party. This is a social gathering of computer enthusiasts who all get together and link their computers up on a network and play games."

Based on the original storyboard, we decided that it may be best to produce a more detailed one to the orginal.

RESEARCH - Location and Presentation

After deciding what the documentary would be on, we then had to decide on what specific locations we would film in, how it would look and be presented. We decided on using secluded locations for shots where the presenter (Joseph Stanley) would be speaking. This is due to the fact that PC gamers or 'Nerds' are not seen to be very sociable with the outside world.

These are a few location shots of places we went to. As you can see they are generally secluded places. The use of Joseph as the presenter was also a good choice, as he is very enthusiastic about PC gaming, he is seen as a 'Nerd' but also as a 'normal' teenager. This was good because if he had been perceived as just a 'Nerd' then the documentary may be seen as biased. The documentary was presented in a formal way so that it would be taken seriously rather than seen as a mocumentary.



This picture is of the LAN party. We took a camera to a LAN party which was held at a friends house. We aimed at portraying all the people there as 'Nerds' but also showing that to them, what they are doing is fun.



This is the location that we chose to do our interview, a local, small games shop in town.



We chose this spot for the second place where the presenter would speak to that audience. This is due to the fact it is yet again another secluded place where there are no distractions.



This is where we chose to do our introduction dialog, because it is a secluded spot which helps the audience to view the presenter as being 'lonely' or 'unsociable'.

Overall we watched a number of different documentaries ranging from, Bowling for Columbine, Supersize me and a few different variaties of historical documentaries. This enabled us to see how presenters present documentaries and gave us a variety of ideas of how ours would eventually be presented.

These are a few examples:





These are the introductions to "supersize me" and "Bowling for Columbine" but they also allow you to see the way in which the presenter puts forward the necessary information to the viewers.

RESEARCH - Technology

We used a variety of technology to aid us with the production of our Documentary. The camera and tripod were basic and as a result easy to use and setup. we were easily able to set it all up in the required positons and shoot in the required time.

The editing software we used was that of which is used by alot of in major TV centers and therefore required us to look up alot of ways in which it can be used. As we were doing this we started to generate ideas on how our documentary would look. Most documentaries dont use alot of effects, instead they use quick fast cuts and voice/image overlays to make series more entertaining to watch.

Also music plays a massive part in capturing the attention of the viewers and backing your side of the argument/discussion. So we had to decide carefully what music was to be used. To do this we went through a series of pieces of music and discussed what sort of mood it emits, and whether it would fit with what our documentary is about.

Main Task Brief

We were given a variety of different options about what we would like to make (Music video, Documentary ect). After a while we finally decided on doing a documentary as we knew of a subject we could do it about that we knew alot on, Video Games.

We were required to produce the opening section of a Documentary (approx 5 mins long) and two of the following:

- A Radio trailer for the documentary
- A double-page spread from a listings magazine focused on the documentary;
- A newspaper advertisement for the dcumentary

After we had seen the brief we decided on doing the double page spread and newspaper advertisement due to the fact it will enable us to show our creativity.

Planning - Main Task

To begin with, we came up with various rough ideas about how we wanted our documentary to look, and a few bits of dialog planned out so we had an idea about what was going to be said. We developed it as it came to actully filming so that it sounded and looked more like a documentary. This is the basic plan for the openning scene of the first part of our production.



This is the rough story board of the opening part to our documentary.




This was the intial dialog for the opening sequence. It was planned to be synchronized with the storyboard above.

RESEARCH - Documentary

Before coming up with the ideas of designing and producing our documentary we looked at various other documentaries which have already lay witness to the public eye. This enabled us to get the idea of how a documentary should be layed out and shown, for example, it may involve interviews to see other peoples (normally specialised in the subject)views. This helps develope an element of debate. Some of the Documentaries we looked at include "Charlie Brooker's Gameswipe" which we focused on the most as it envolves the same subject (Video Games) and has elements in which we would focus on in our documentary.




The way Charlie Brooker has put forward his ideas in this documentary has given viewers and inside look into how games have developed over the years and how they are portrayed. Although put forward with a very unbiased attitude, the fact of video games being violent and upsetting is shown to the audience at the very start with the clip from a news channel where a news reporter, who clearly doesnt know anything about the subject being spoken off, openly criticizes the game "Grand Theft Auto". The music used behind these clips and all of Charlie Brookers witty remarks help strengthen the views being given. The use of humor to aid the points that Charlie Brooker puts forward, creates a sense of superiority over the, apparantly less intelligent, audience. By making the audience laugh, they learn to trust his views alot quicker without looking at the situation from more than one point.

With our documentary we hope to put forward an unbiased view where the audience being able to make there own decision over what they believe and think about the subject at hand.

"A Documentary is a broad category of visual expressions that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to 'document' reality". Which meant we made sure that the topic we used was a real life issue, and something we knew alot about. This would then make filming our sequence alot easier for us.