Postcard Test Shots

These are the test shots for our controller based post card. We took pictures from multiple angles and different focuses to see which look the best. We will make a final decision when we make our actual postcard.

Shot List

Website Homepage Drafts

This design is a mixture of the more traditional website page and one with a more of a innovative touch.. This one was designed by me.

This design is supposed to reflect the main menu of of a video game, with links to more traditional webpages. This was designed by Youssef Zine.

This si the most traditional webpage, with all the information on the screen and easily accessible. This was designed  by Faaiza Feroz.

Postcard Draft

This is the first draft of our Postcard, with the basic concepts of a close up of a Nintendo 64 controller and the positioning of the title, tagline and credits. This is not the final draft but an initial idea that we want to work off of. (Idea by myself)

The postcard idea drew some inspiration from Indie Game: The Movie with the idea of having a controller as a symbol. This controller will also be a theme in the short film. We made sure to both use a different controller and different angle on the controller to show that we were inspired by Indie Game, not plagiarizing it.

This is the image the postcard is based off of, but we will use a picture we will take slightly closer up and at a slightly different angle for our final postcard.

Another idea was to have our main character with the reflection of the screen in his glasses, showing the link to Video Games while emphasizing it is a character driven short film. (Idea by Youssef Zine)

The concept of this one was to show the character in a dark room with the TV, playing games, connoting the negatives of video games with the idea of drawing in an audience to find that while these negatives are discussed in the first half they are refuted in the second. (Idea by Faaiza Feroz)

Website Map

This is the site map of the website we will create for our short film. It is laid out to be as intuitive and informative as possible without getting the viewer to bogged down in data.

Narrative Analysis

Every story has a universal structure, which is the following:

Beginning/Exposition: Introduces the audience to the premise of the story and where it is set
Complication: The balance of the original setting of the story is disturbed
Climax: The disruption of the balance come to a head at this point in the story
Resolution: Balance is restored to a new (or previously existing) normal

This premise is also existent in documentaries, as even they form around a basic premise or story. The following is this structure shown in Indie Game: The Movie as one of the 3 stories that are followed:

Beginning/ Exposition: Phil Fish and his game, Fez, are introduced. His work environment, personality and vision are all introduced.

Complication: It is explained how his old business partner left on bad terms and still has not signed over the rights to Phil Fish, and so the potential for lawsuit is great if the game is to be shown at the Penny Arcade Expo, where showing it will greatly help the game gain traction and popularity before release.

Climax: Phil Fish is forced to go to the Expo without getting permissions from his old business partner due to the necessity of the game gaining popularity. He risks everything by showing it after great contemplation at home and even as late as in the hotel room before the expo.

Resolution: Phil Fish's business partner eventually shows up to sign over the rights, eliminating the risk of having shown the game at the Penny Arcade Expo and as icing on the cake Jerry Holkins, the man who runs the Expo, perosnally compliments Phil on Fez and says he looks forward to its release (a huge confidence boost to Phil and a great endorsement for the game's eventual release).

Editing analysis

"Free-to-Play" uses editing to great effect in its opening to build tension and intrigue in the audience.

This track's simplicity opens the film with ease, slowly giving the impression of discovery and hints synthetic sounds give sneak peaks at the digital world of this gaming competition. This track works perfectly in sync with the shots and information on screen to lure the audience into interest and then exploding with enthusiasm and showing the stakes and tension in these competitions. 

The opening of the wide landscape shot gives the viewer time to adjust to the content of the documentary. The content of the documentary is smoothly layered in through text, and the lack of the theme of "videogames" being prominent in the shot allows viewers who are unfamiliar or even alienated by the concept to ease into it. The sped up shots and the speed at which they switch from one landscape to the other give a subliminal sense of tension right off the bat, slowly introducing the audience to the rest of the documentary instead of creating a facade of the tone.

The introduction of shots with large crowds gives the sense that this competition is something big, and not just trivial even if the audience has never heard about it before. It also shows us the diversity of the people and how the fans of this game and competition act from a distance. Before even introducing us to the players, we get an idea of the personalities involved in this documentary. 

The documentary cleverly cycles through all the characters that it focuses on in their hotel environments. From the first second we meet all of them, we see them in a personal environment and see them prepare for the day, something every single audience member can relate to in some way. At the same time, the personality differences of each subject are also made very clear, giving the audience someone to root for, but not necessarily being the same person for each audience member. The integration of their names and usernames over the shots let us quickly learn to identify them as well as shows a clear link between their online and real life personalities.

The final part of the opening is seeing them get ready for the game. The tension between each member of the team and the team vs. team dynamic is emphasized by the increase in volume and richness of the music. The rooms feel crowded, and you really feel like the eyes of the world are upon them. This creates stress and shows that the stakes are high. The close up shots emphasise the ideas of feeling crowded and under pressure.

The final and sudden blackout and title screen is minimalist and shows us the focus of the game, the simplicity of it despite all the tension. A stark contrast from crowded and stressed to simplicity and emptiness intrigues the audience and creates immersive interest. This is echoed by the music dying out.

Storyboard

The rough storyboard for our short film with the essential shots and plot elements:

Conventions of a Short Film Website

http://www.mulberrychildmovie.com/
http://www.sausagefilm.net/