Documentary Editing Analysis

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.