Evaluation

This is a evaluation of my documentary which was made about video game violence. In it I aimed to give the audience more information about video game violence. To do this I conducted a survey in which I told the audience some of the results. I also gave them information in the form of interviews in which some of my friends. Shared their views giving their opinions showing how some people would think. The reasoning behind this was to get a more in depth answer to why people think this.

The content in the documentary is very well suited to the documentary as it relates to the topic of the documentary. I have decided to use gameplay from different types of games, the reason behind this would be to show the audience the variety there is within the games industry. As well as this the documentary has been filmed in a very simplistic way that way the audience will pay attention to what is being said not what is happening.

The techniques I have used in this documentary are interviews, filmed footage of games and presenter led as I controlled how the interviews went. The documentary is mainly interviews with people who have some experience with games one being someone who sells them as a career. This filmed footage will be telling the audience that not all games are the same. The presenter lead part of it will mean that there's some order to it meaning it doesn't get out of hand.

I feel the documentary looks very well made and that the quality of it is very high. The cuts in the documentary are few so you can hear their point but also used at the right time so that it can keep on moving forwards making sure the pacing doesn't slow down. The visuals of the film itself aren't overly exciting however I feel that they can show the differences with people. Such as to games there are lighter and darker times in its history as well as the opinions of people about them.

The sound of the documentary has been chosen specially as all of the music are from video game sound tracks. As well as this the voice over has been added that way it gives the audience know what is happening. Choosing to have the music be from video games will make more connections to the inspiration and themes of the documentary, as well as demonstrating the use of music in games. The music will hopefully also show the audience that the music in games can also be to a high standard.

The film isn't what was originally planned, this is due to the fact I hoped there would be conflicting opinions making some contrast within the film. Even though this happened I still was able to show some opinions of people within the film which was in an overview planned. I feel I completed the main goal of my film which was to give the audience more information on the subject. I also wanted to use a wide variety of music from games. An example being rip and tear from Doom (2016) but an issue is that the music didn't go well with the pacing of the documentary.

Ideas for Social action documentary

A social issue I could investigate would be do video games cause violence. The purpose behind this is to see if people feel there is a link between the two. It's often thought that they are linked and that due to people being exposed to this may cause them to become violent and sometimes murderous individuals. I hope that the documentary will do many things some of these being to raise awareness on the subject and also to provide information. I hope this will have a strong impact on everyone who's apart of it this being me who's making it, the people who I interview and also on the audience who watch it. People I may interview about this would be those who feel games have a negative affect on people and those who feel that they have no affect on people.

Another issue I could work on would be violent films as well as they are also considered to cause violence within people as well. People have been thinking this for a long time an example of this would be the columbine massacre as some had felt that they were influenced by violent films. I hope that this documentary will show people the different opinions on the subject. Making this I hope to impact people by providing information on the subject.

Facts about violence and video games.

Secondary Research:

Facts

This is a pdf about the sales within the game industry and also some of the habits and opinions of people who play games during 2015

http://essentialfacts.theesa.com/Essential-Facts-2016.pdf

A debate with facts and with research to whether games are good for people

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/is-video-gaming-bad-for-you-the-science-for-and-against/

A report on violent video games throughout the years

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/09/do-video-games-make-children-violent-nobody-knows-and-this-is-why

News storys

A news story about how serious some people may take video games

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7771505/Video-game-fanatic-hunts-down-and-stabs-rival-player-who-killed-character-online.html

A story about a former senator who campaigned against video games while importing guns

http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/24/11105232/leland-yee-sentenced

The story of Jack Thompson

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/09/15/the-rise-and-fall-of-video-gamings-most-vocal-enemy

If this film was to be distributed a good place to do this would be youtube as youtube already contains a lot of videos of violent games such as it's most successful creator posts videos of games. It would be interesting that when posted people would be easy to see what these people are playing and make a quick comparison. Another place where the film could be distributed could be cinemas as one of the other places people throughout cause violence was films and it wouldn't be a bad place to again make comparisons.

Someone who could fund the film could be the BFI as apart from having a large amount of records they also like to support smaller films. I feel that I would be able to use their help that way I would be able to give more accurate information and at the same time more information at the same time.

Primary Research:

Recently I had made a survey comprised of 8 questions about the topic. It has been out for about a week and I have received at least 10 responses.

1) Do you agree with the statement "Violent games make violent people?"

2) 48 games have only sold at least 15 million copies apart form that being a large amount what amount of these are rated 15 and 18+?

3) Sort these into what you thin makes the most money? (Avatar:2009, Titanic:1997, Star Wars the Forced Awakens:2015, Grand Theft Auto 5:2013 and World of Warcraft:2004)

4) What's your opinion on children playing games they aren't old enough for?

5) Do you think that companies who make these violent games are responsible for the violence these people do?

6) As games aren't the only form of media out there which of the other media forms do you think cause violence?

7) Do you feel that some of these games are teaching people to kill people in real life?

8) If these video games companies aren't to blame for the violence within people the what else could it be?

The results of the questioner told me that. The vast majority of people who done the questioner feel that violent games don't make violent people. This tells me that there will always be people who feel that games will cause others to be violent. When asked how many of the games had been apart of the top 48 games of all time were rated 15 and 18+ most people had answered correctly with the majority of them being rated this high with none of the people thinking that none of the most successful games were all rated 15 and 18+.  When asking what had more between films and games the one that people had assumed had made the most money was the film Avatar (2009), while in reality it was World of Warcraft (2004) which was tied with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) telling me that people feel films still make more than films. When asked about how they feel about children playing games they aren't old enough for the response was mixed with some being against while others saying if their mature enough it's fine, I take this with an overall feeling that they still shouldn't be if they aren't mature enough.

When asked are the companies who make these games are responsible for the violence they cause people had said mostly no while a small majority felt they are, just like the first question it shows a small amount of people will think they cause violence. When asked if they feel that other media sources may cause violence films had been most voted while being closely followed by online videos and television with books being the least likely, this shows me that people feel that when they are shown how to do these acts it can make them more violent. After that I asked if they considered these games are teaching people how to kill while the majority again said no more had however said yes to them teaching people how to kill. Following that I asked if they felt there could have been something else what could lead to these people causing violence the feedback I have received is vastly for parenting, metal health issues and a combination of two causes however these are most likely parenting and mental health issues. This tells me that people feel very strongly that other issues can come into play as no one had selected the option of video games are the only cause.

When it comes to making the documentary I feel that my target audience would be people who have strong views with violence within people. I hope that it would be able to make show people with these views arguments from both sides of the spectrum as I believe it 's good to understand other people's opinions. When I make it I will probably make it presenter lead with allot of interviews from people who have differing opinions so I could see how they feel then cut it to an opposing it'll be similar to having a debate in the film.

Undefeated (2011) & Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Undefeated is a documentary from Daniel Lindsay and T.J Martin. The film had only made about $500,000 and about $120,000 domestically. The structure of undefeated is made up of filmed footage and very brief interviews. To aid these clips the use of music is very prominent throughout the film. This often is used to not just to classical music to make the more human moment s of the film more impactful but to also it uses some of the commentary from the actual games themselves making which would also which would be breaking up the usual voices being heard but also tell the audience what is happening but also making the games seem to have a larger amount of importance. The film focuses mainly on three people these being Bill Courtney (The Coach), O.C Brown and Montrail 'Money' Brown. All three of these people are facing different issues for example O.C is attempting to get into college however the issue for him is that he doesn't have the right grades to get there. Giving the film more structure as it has high and low points within the film giving them a more traditional structure.

The film does use a wide range of film techniques within the documentary. Such as interviews, filmed footage, music and editing. The interviews for this were mostly brief however they did get them to talk about what's happening and becoming more use to them. The benefit of this to the audience is that it means that the people in there are going to become more natural with them giving out more personal information helping the film make better human bonds with the audience. All of this film uses filmed footage this would be filmed from only two people however during the games they also use some of the footage recorded by the high schools at their games as well. The music used within the film is used sparingly however when it used it does improve the film as it emphasise what is happening so when someone within the film changes to a strong emotion some music will begin to play. The affect this has on the audience is that it makes them feel as strong as they do, another benefit of using it sparingly is that the audience will know when to feel. The editing within this film is used to demonstrate two different types of perception. When the team is playing a game they start to use faster cuts to make it seem fast paced and hectic like a normal game. This works perfectly as latter on around the mid point there is a montage where these fast cuts work hand in hand with the editing. However in contrast the cuts can become allot more rare such as when the team is being addressed. The reason for this would be to show the contrast between the team playing and learning as when they start learning it becomes slower and more personal as sometimes they may cut to someone if what's being said will affect them so the audience will know who it's aimed at.

This documentary had set out to show a local school's football team which has never performed well. However I feel that film would have brought about allot of change. I feel that this would have affected the places across the world as it could have been any school doing any sport but he message would have been the same. This would have made people realise that sports in schools are more than enjoyment and exercise that it helps bring the character out of them. As well as changing those attitudes it also would have made other schools who are better off see how fortunate they are. The town in which the team is from I think would have had an impact on it's community spirit, making it grow allot more now meaning that the community spirit would have been raised allot and been made stronger.

Bowling for Columbine is a documentary from Michael Moore . The film had made about $21,000,000 from it's $4,000,000 budget. The film is made up from all kinds of footage, interviews, found footage, filmed footage which is all presenter lead by Michael Moore. Music within this film is both used to not only convey information and messages but also do show some of Michael's views and to make the film more impactful with the audience. The film follows Michael Moore as he delves into the world of gun control all around America with the film focusing on the Columbine School incident in it's second and third acts.

The film does use many different techniques to tell it's story and give it's message. With the film being presenter led it means that during the interviews the questions asked would be more opinionated instead of them being more factual as there would be a face that these questions are coming from which could be answered to. With it being presenter led a voice over can be used to tell the audience what the presenter is thinking during the interview showing the mindset that he would be in. It would also is used to help lead the audience into the next scene or location as it would give a bit of background information about them. A technique which is used is found footage while most of the documentary is filmed some of it is found this being used to show some of the work the people within the film have done and to also show some of the events what have happened such as footage from the Columbine incident. The vast majority of the filmed footage within the film is led by Michael Moore as he goes conducting interviews for the film asking very difficult questions about gun control. Music in the film is used to improve the viewing experience by forcing the audience to feel in special and particular ways. The use of camera in the documentary in this is mostly closeups when conducting interviews the use of this is to put the interviewee in a awkward position meaning that the cameras would be able to get every little detail on their face to show the audience what their emotional response is to what they are asked. The editing in the film is used at different speeds within the film it's use faster cuts when talking about the same subject that way the audience would stay engaged and pay attention as Michael would still be talking but in contrast slower and fewer cuts would be made when they are transitioning from one topic or subject to another. The film is mostly shot during the day with there being little artificial lighting but this would be to show the audience that these are the real opinions of these people. In one of the sections of the film there is a brief animated scene which does a brief history of America this is done straight after an interview with one of the creators of South Park an animated TV show which gives the audience the idea that they had made this for the film (However they actually hadn't and were annoyed Michael Moore had done this).

The purpose of the film is to try and find some information about gun control within America and the opinions of the people who have either been affected by it or want to defend it. I feel though that the film does want to create some change though with this film without it saying so. It wants to bring a national change by changing the gun control laws within the country which would impact allot of people. By doing this it hopes to change the attitudes of people to impact them in a way in which they would start to look at their guns in a far more negative way. The film does attempt to bring information which may impact the audience as when presented it's done with allot of emotion so that it'll be more impactful to the audience and hopefully become more memorable. It does aim to campaign against gun control as throughout while trying to provide information it does it in a very negative light it's attempts to impact the audience to go out and do it themselves. As well as being agains gun control it also throughout has many attacks at the president of the united states George Bush as throughout he often critiques him hoping that others will agree and change how they vote next time so they don't get another person like him.

Both films in my opinion are very entertaining and both have clear subject themes. Undefeated was about High School Football and what it's like for schools in poorer areas however, this had grown to cover more than that and had actually would of had a large impact on people from many different places. While Bowling for Columbine had set out to have a bigger impact from the start and had made sure to leave no stone un turned by asking all sorts of questions. They both may have different styles and use different techniques but they are both very impactful and have strong meanings.