DOCUMENTARY EVALUATION

Here is my 3 Minute Wonder - Gaming with The Cattee's. 

This Documentary is about how gaming runs through our family and how we feel (as a family) about it. I admit, it unintentionally changed a little bit from my first proposal as the shooting went on but I think this is better. 

My Documentary Style was more interactively based. I wanted the audience to be able to hear my voice asking the questions to my family, it had more of an informal atmosphere to it because of all the laughing and giggling. I wanted to make it this style so I felt less nervous and so my family did too. I also like this style of documentary as you get a proper idea of relationships with the interviewee's and the interviewer. 

Gaming means a lot to me. It has since I was a child and it will probably stay with me (as long as the Legend of Zelda series continues) for a very long time. I was influenced by my family with gaming because I know each of them are just as interested in it as I am (maybe a little less). I liked the idea of finding out how my parents grew up with gaming and how it was with them and how much they think it's progressed. My older brothers were the first people who I watched playing games so I was eager to find out a little more on Andrew's experiences, although he was a little blunt at first. I enjoyed finding out and playing Mario Kart with my family again. Beforehand I did want to investigate into the argument "are video games bad for children" but I couldn't actually do it because there isn't a resolved argument - it would be a one sided documentary about my personal opinions which wouldn't have worked with the intended style.

The use of camera was very static. I used a tripod that the college had provided and kept it in one place, occasionally zoomed in on my parents. I personally don't like a moving camera, I want something that the audience can focus on so that is why I kept the camera on a tripod throughout the filming. During the sequences with all of us in the living room, the camera was in a position where some unwanted space was in the shot. The top of the screen just had all of this space that wasn't going to be used so with help from Sean, I was able to zoom into the shot whilst editing - but it looks like I forgot to do it for the first scene as you can see from this picture.

Sound wasn't an issue when recording. I didn't use any fancy microphones I just used the microphone that was built into the camera. When editing I added some backing music that had a comical element to it so it would fit the atmosphere. Other than that the sound was very basic along with the use of camera. I think it worked effectively leaving it very basic. The only problem with sound is my mum was quite quiet when she was speaking so I would have to change the music levels so we would be able to hear her speak, which caused a bit of issues and it sounds a little unprofessional.

Editing was probably my favourite part of the production. I had about 2 hours worth of footage of my family playing Mario Kart and it made me laugh selecting and discarding certain clips that I would want in the documentary. When it begins with myself explaining what I want this documentary to include and how gaming has influenced me, I wanted a couple of clips to juxtapose and back my point up. For example within the first 23 seconds I explain how I liked watching my brothers interact with each other when they were playing games then it cuts to a clip of my family laughing at something my mum had said (she was a little drunk so she slurred that's why it's difficult to hear) but regardless, it made all of us laugh. I thought cutting in between shots would be an effective way to transition to next sequences, it's very quick and you're not distracted with wipes/fades. I also liked breaking the clips up into one or two bits and putting other clips before/after it etc so lots of conversations were going on at the same time. I thought it created a comical effect, especially when my parents are talking about how long they have played games and my dad cuts in with "why 30?" and we cut to Andrew. I thought the editing was very effective in most parts, I only wish the documentary was longer than 3 minutes. 

Mise-en-scene is quite important when filming, it's basically everything that's in the scene. I thought about my Zelda posters that were hanging on the wall and I thought standing in front of that would look somewhat effective, so the audience will be able to see the gaming merchandise that I've got. When choosing a place in our home for the family gaming part, I did think about my bedroom at first but it was horrendously messy with clothes everywhere that I just assumed the living room would be effective. The audience can then feel up close and personal in our house. Other than that I didn't really think about anything else that I would need to put in the shots.

I was very happy with the outcome of this documentary. I really did have a lot of fun filming, editing and rewatching with the rest of the class. The feedback was very fair and if I had the chance to redo it, to change the little hiccups I most definitely would. I also picked up on some criticisms that I didn't even notice during the editing - so I have learnt. Some of the feedback included:

• "Love the quirkiness of Sam and her family"
• I looked at the camera when I wasn't supposed to - not during the interview part
• "Brilliant"
• Juxtaposed the shots well
• My dad was the main character
• More cuts/less fades
• Great angle on gaming - with the family, it's positive
• During the interview I was staring more at the screen (at myself) rather than the lense.
• "Very funny"
• "Funny when Sam choked on the drink"

I had some very positive feedback which I was very happy to receive and any of the criticisms were taken and I will learn for next time. I'm very happy with the way it has turned out and I'm glad that people had laughed when we were watching it as that is what I wanted to achieve. I hope I can work on something like this again because I really had a good time doing it!