Rob covered a few things I wanted to say - He mentioned that we haven't read "Vintage Games" yet. Reading that book would give us some perspective and direction for gathering our thoughts and ideas on a documentary. Rob also mentioned that we are in the dark on this one. I keep returning to the top of this blog entry and asking myself, "what *exactly* are they doing again?"
I am not sure if you guys are aiming to make "Vintage Games, The Movie. Starring: John Moschitta, Jr." I would assume that you will draw quite a bit from your book, and I recommend you continually ask yourselves, "How can we use video to help better communicate the points we wish to make?" What does the video let you do in a few seconds that may have taken many words in the book?
On a more specific note, I would recommend you try and answer the question of "why?" when making the documentary. I've seen many documentaries in recent years on various things. These were mostly behind the scenes type content on DVDs. These productions will oftentimes simply state the obvious in a well-edited and narrated matter. While that makes for a professionally made DVD extra, it neglects the two important things I want to experience when taking the time to watch a documentary - Insight and simply "getting to the heart" of the manner.
Take Super Mario Bros. I assume you guys are going to cover this. You would most likely mention Miyamoto, and I figure you would also mention composer Koji Kondo. You might mention a small bit of history, the video game crash in America, its inclusion with the Nintendo toaster-VCR console that took America by storm - I don't know. What I would consider an important part of a documentary on Super Mario Bros is asking and explaining "why" the game worked so well. You guys know the facts in addition to your own opinions. I'll interject my opinions here as an example to how I would answer this "why" question.
The most intangible aspect of videogames that cannot be easily described in words, on paper or in a video is ironically that which is most tangible when experiencing the games firsthand - The controls. Super Mario Bros took the Famicom/NES pad along with the music, physics, and overall simplicity and created a gaming experience that could be shared by many. A player could work at their own pace. Hold the B button down the entire time or take it slow by inching forward with the D-pad? Jumping speed was variable. Mario's jumps had a bit of hang time, and that gave the player some precious "oh no!" seconds so he could correct a mistake. I am only scratching the surface of some topics here, not explaining in great detail, and certainly not pairing it with a video containing SMB footage and a narrative. Most people that watch the video are going to know of the plumber in overalls, the Mario Mania of the day and other such things, but the juicy details are what will hold interest. Perhaps the play control of SMB is one of them.
So long as the video has good flow to it between the points, details, footage, and narration, I think you guys are going to create something that is absolutely dynamite. If I may make one last suggestion, try to be aware of when it is necessary to explain something as a person in front of a camera vs. narrating on video. I believe a person's ability to listen and cogitate is drastically altered when he is listening to someone standing in front of the camera talking directly to him vs watching video while listening to someone explain a concept. If you were to explain how to play a certain "scene" in a game, something like Matt Chat works quite well. However, if you are going into detail about controls, physics, etc, it might be best to give a brief explanation of something you are about to show off by talking to the camera before you do it so you do not lose your viewers. It's too easy to get caught up in eye candy and completely miss the point the video is attempting to make. "Was he talking about physics or something just now? I was watching the goomba walk across the screen." It sounds silly, but it happens.
You guys can obviously judge the best way to do things - narrate over video here or do a brief introduction before showing footage? It's a decision based upon the subject at hand. Having a good synergy between multiple styles of presentation for your games as well as knowing a good way to segue between each will help keep your viewers interested. You have plenty of quality games to talk about. Just remember that it isn't only about what notes you use, it is also about how the orchestra plays them that helps create success.
Rob covered a few things I wanted to say - He mentioned that we haven't read "Vintage Games" yet. Reading that book would give us some perspective and direction for gathering our thoughts and ideas on a documentary. Rob also mentioned that we are in the dark on this one. I keep returning to the top of this blog entry and asking myself, "what *exactly* are they doing again?"
I am not sure if you guys are aiming to make "Vintage Games, The Movie. Starring: John Moschitta, Jr." I would assume that you will draw quite a bit from your book, and I recommend you continually ask yourselves, "How can we use video to help better communicate the points we wish to make?" What does the video let you do in a few seconds that may have taken many words in the book?
On a more specific note, I would recommend you try and answer the question of "why?" when making the documentary. I've seen many documentaries in recent years on various things. These were mostly behind the scenes type content on DVDs. These productions will oftentimes simply state the obvious in a well-edited and narrated matter. While that makes for a professionally made DVD extra, it neglects the two important things I want to experience when taking the time to watch a documentary - Insight and simply "getting to the heart" of the manner.
Take Super Mario Bros. I assume you guys are going to cover this. You would most likely mention Miyamoto, and I figure you would also mention composer Koji Kondo. You might mention a small bit of history, the video game crash in America, its inclusion with the Nintendo toaster-VCR console that took America by storm - I don't know. What I would consider an important part of a documentary on Super Mario Bros is asking and explaining "why" the game worked so well. You guys know the facts in addition to your own opinions. I'll interject my opinions here as an example to how I would answer this "why" question.
The most intangible aspect of videogames that cannot be easily described in words, on paper or in a video is ironically that which is most tangible when experiencing the games firsthand - The controls. Super Mario Bros took the Famicom/NES pad along with the music, physics, and overall simplicity and created a gaming experience that could be shared by many. A player could work at their own pace. Hold the B button down the entire time or take it slow by inching forward with the D-pad? Jumping speed was variable. Mario's jumps had a bit of hang time, and that gave the player some precious "oh no!" seconds so he could correct a mistake. I am only scratching the surface of some topics here, not explaining in great detail, and certainly not pairing it with a video containing SMB footage and a narrative. Most people that watch the video are going to know of the plumber in overalls, the Mario Mania of the day and other such things, but the juicy details are what will hold interest. Perhaps the play control of SMB is one of them.
So long as the video has good flow to it between the points, details, footage, and narration, I think you guys are going to create something that is absolutely dynamite. If I may make one last suggestion, try to be aware of when it is necessary to explain something as a person in front of a camera vs. narrating on video. I believe a person's ability to listen and cogitate is drastically altered when he is listening to someone standing in front of the camera talking directly to him vs watching video while listening to someone explain a concept. If you were to explain how to play a certain "scene" in a game, something like Matt Chat works quite well. However, if you are going into detail about controls, physics, etc, it might be best to give a brief explanation of something you are about to show off by talking to the camera before you do it so you do not lose your viewers. It's too easy to get caught up in eye candy and completely miss the point the video is attempting to make. "Was he talking about physics or something just now? I was watching the goomba walk across the screen." It sounds silly, but it happens.
You guys can obviously judge the best way to do things - narrate over video here or do a brief introduction before showing footage? It's a decision based upon the subject at hand. Having a good synergy between multiple styles of presentation for your games as well as knowing a good way to segue between each will help keep your viewers interested. You have plenty of quality games to talk about. Just remember that it isn't only about what notes you use, it is also about how the orchestra plays them that helps create success.
Chris Kennedy, Editor
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Email: chris@armchairarcade.com