Age: 13 - 18
Gender: Male and female
Race: No specific race
Nationality: No specific nationality
Interests: Technology, video games, social impacts revolving around video games/technology
The intended audience would perhaps be able to relate the theme in the short film/documentary, which would be the positive social effects of video games.
For example, they help people with dyslexia to train their brain's attention system and they also act as an escape away from the "real" world. A lot of teenagers feel the pressure and stress of being in school and being constantly nagged by their parents so being able to escape is a significant and massive stress-reliever for them. On the aspect with dyslexia or any other special needs that video games aid with, they help people to improve with their difficulties in their every day routines/lives. For instance, if a dyslexic student takes English as a subject and has to constantly read tedious novels throughout the year, he/she will struggle, especially if the novels are boring and long. However, in video games there are not many words, making it easier for them to learn and remember what those words are.
The results of the questionnaire below show a majority of people want the topic of focus to be the addiction to technology with the subject of the documentary being a socially awkward student. Due to popularity, we are taking the results into heavy consideration, but this strays from our desire to show the positive effects of video games/technology. The character within the short film may vary, but not to a great degree, however, it will not stem too far from what has been suggested by the respondents. The demographic is mostly females, who are between the ages of 12 and 18, which was not what we expected our audience to be, as video games/technology are usually geared towards males. Although, gender should not affect our short film/documentary greatly as it should equally be enjoyed by bot genders.
The first piece of audience research will be done by gathering a focus group and videoing them. The questions will solely be based on the participatory documentary that we will create. The intended audience will be from 14 year olds to people in their late 20s, therefore we will choose our focus group accordingly to match who the intended audience will be. Here below is the video of the focus group. Adrian, Yousef and I equally contributed towards coming up with the questions, videoing the focus group and compiling the entire video together.
Evaluation:
We will use this information to decide what topic our short film/documentary should be about and what style it should be. We took into account the opinions of each member of the focus group so we can effectively capture what our target audience wants.
The soundtrack of Indie Game: The Movie is iconic to the documentary film, and is one of the driving forces in creating empathy with the subjects of the documentary. The soundtrack begins with an ambient sound over shots of the exterior of one of the developer's houses. This simple note eases the viewer into the documentary, letting them slowly establish an understanding of what this documentary is about and what viewpoint it is trying to make them see.
Above is the extended opening score.
A simple ambience is heard over the opening shots.
A chime is heard when this information is presented on the screen to convey significance, and make sure the viewer is paying attention.
The music grows in intensity when the audience realises something is wrong and it is amplified by the distress of the subject, who has not been given a formal introduction yet.
As the intensity of the scene increases, the volume and tempo of the music remains the same. Instead of increasing the tempo, the soundtrack increases the number of varying instruments being introduced. This, along with the dialogue of the subject, enables us to feel as if we are gradually putting the pieces of the puzzle together and building a better understanding of what is happening.
The soundtrack is an integral part of the emotion conveyed in the opening scene. Without it, it would simply be an unknown man complaining for some unknown reason. Instead empathy is created straight away, despite the total lack of knowledge of what is devastating the subject.
The genre of music is very specific in that it is a mixture of classical instruments with an electronic sound over it. The idea of this is to create a simple sound to connote with the seemingly simple development and product of independent games, with a modern sound to it that conveys the idea that these are the first few developers of a style of development that is growing with a new sense of popularity.
This track plays after the title screen and the theme of the documentary as different, but similar variations are played throughout the documentary.
A new tune is adopted during the opening credits, with a voice over of an experienced developer explaining exactly what an "Indie Game" is, and what separates it from regular titles. The simple piano melody shows the charming side of the development process and it helps us to understand what drives these developers, This alternation between a more dramatic tune and a more simpler one is used to emphasise both the enjoyment of pursuing the dream while contrasting it with the difficulties following this dream presents.
Every story has a general structure, which they follow (Todorov's Theory):
Exposition/Beginning - Introduces the audience to the story and where it is set (location).
Complication - The balance in the story gets disturbed.
Climax - The disruption of the balance is at a peak at this point in the story.
Resolution - The balance in the story gets restored to either a new normal or the previously existing one.
The following structure shown below is of Indie Game: The Movie.
Exposition/Beginning - Phil Fish and his game, Fez, are introduced to the audience as well as his work environment, personality and vision.
Complication - It is explained how his previous business partner left on bad terms and has still not signed over the rights to Phil Fish so, the potential for a lawsuit is high if the game is to be displayed at the Penny Arcade Expo, where showing it will greatly help the game gain traction and popularity before it gets released.
Climax - Phil Fish is forced to go to the Expo without getting permission from his previous partner due to the necessity of the game gaining popularity. He risks everything by continuing to show the game even after great contemplation at home.
Resolution: Phil Fish's business partner eventually shows up and signs over the rights. This eliminates the risk of having to show the game at the Penny Arcade Expo. As an added bonus, Jerry Holkins, the man who runs the Expo, personally compliments Phil on his game and says that he looks forward to the release of it.
The track's simplicity gradually gives the impression of discovery. The synthetic sounds used in the documentary give sneak peeks into the digital world of this competition that takes place in the documentary. This track effectively works in sync with the information and shots on the screen to lure the audience into interest by showing them the stakes of the competition and giving them a first-hand experience as the tension builds up.
The opening of the wide landscape shot gives the viewer a sufficient amount of time to adjust to the content of the documentary. The content of the documentary is smoothly layered in through the text and the lack of the theme of "video games" 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 another give a subliminal sense of tension straight away, gradually 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 large and not just trivial. This also shows the audience the diversity of the people and how the fans of the 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 second that we meet all of them, we observe them in a personal environment and see them prepare for the day ahead - something that every single audience member can relate to in some way. Simultaneously, the personality differences 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 enable the audience to quickly learn and identify them as well as showing a clear link between their online personalities and their real life personalities.
The final part of the opening shows each player preparing for the game to begin. The tension between each member of the team and the team versus the team dynamic is emphasised by the increase of volume and richness of the music. The rooms feel crowded and you truly feel like the eyes of the world are upon them. This creates tension and anxiety as the stakes are high. The close up shots emphasises the ideas of feeling crowded and under pressure.
The final and sudden black out and title screen is in a minimalist style and shows us the focus of the game, the simplicity of it despite all the tension. A stark contrast from crowded and high tension to simplicity and emptiness intrigues the audience and creates immersive interest. This echoed by the music fading out.
