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.