To start, I have decided on the below question for my essay...
In adapting a novel the adaptor inevitably infringes the integrity of the original text - discuss with reference to at least one text adapted for broadcast on television.
The text I have decided on is the memoir book Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman, and it's adaption into the American tv series Orange Is the New Black.
This is a very recent text to choose, as the book was only published in 2010, and the series was released in 2013, so I'm aware there's not a large amount of history behind it. However, it's based on life in women's prison, so being an extremely fresh, modern and intense topic, as well as being based on real life, I think I have a lot to work with.
Piper Kerman, the author and reason for the show and book, is in support of the show, so she serves an argument against the opinion that adapting the text for television infringes it's integrity. However she provides good topic for discussion with the fact that she says "when you watch the show, you will see moments of my life leap off the screen ... But there are other parts of the show which are tremendous departures and pure fiction." (NPR, 2013)
Bibliography:
NPR (2005) 'Behind 'The New Black': The Real Piper's Prison Story' In: www.npr.org 12.08.13 [online] At: http://www.npr.org/2013/08/12/211339427/behind-the-new-black-the-real-pipers-prison-story (Accessed on 29.09.15)
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Monday, 28 September 2015
Digital News Production: Brand
With the help of our previous research, we've managed to begin creating our brand. The first thing we did for this was start work on a name/title.
Name/Title
This began with researching typical gaming words and writing them down. Including...
Demo
Beta
Game
Console
Controller
Level
Joystick
Noob
Quest
This then lead to throwing ideas around for titles between us, including...
Console Yourself
Gaming Daddy
Consolitus
I gave my opinion that these were slightly too pun-based. As we don't want to confuse our audience with what our channel is based on, titles such as Console Yourself could be seen as self-help related, or Consolitus could been seen as medically related. I wanted our title to be intriguing, yet quite blunt. So I researched gaming terms online and eventually found something that stood out to all of us:
Game-Over
As we all thought it sounded brilliant and perfectly relate-able to our channel, we then researched copyrighted names. While Game Over is heavily copyrighted, Game-Over is not. There are also no professional gaming channels with this name, so this brand name shouldn't cause us any issues.
Tagline
I suggested to the team that a tagline could make our branding stronger. So after staring at the name Game-Over for a while and what we want it to imply, I thought up 'Now It Begins'. We all agree that this fits the title extremely well, as the point of the name Game-Over, is to imply that now that we're done playing, it's time to have our say about it.
25 Word Pitch
Lastly, for our written side of the brand, is our 25 word pitch for our audience to understand our channel. Piece by piece, we came up with this...
"The game's over, now it's time to review. We take gaming to a new level as we have our say about this week's top picks."
Bluntly but stylistically, this gets across exactly what Game-Over is about in just 25 words.
Colours
Game-Over's colour scheme is red, white and black. This is due to the retro theme we're playing off. Game-Over is quite an old term in gaming, and with the help and inspiration from the image below, we feel that red, white and black is not only striking and bold, but fits the gaming and retro theme fantastically.
Below is both our spider diagram that shows our work of both general planning, and our brand planning...
List of Illustrations:
Figure 1. Game-Over (2014) [Journal Image] At: http://myfatherdaughter.com/love-wins-game-over/ (Accessed on 25.09.15)
Figure 2. Waters, M. (2015) Spider Diagram [Photograph] In possession of: The author: Maidstone.
Name/Title
This began with researching typical gaming words and writing them down. Including...
Demo
Beta
Game
Console
Controller
Level
Joystick
Noob
Quest
This then lead to throwing ideas around for titles between us, including...
Console Yourself
Gaming Daddy
Consolitus
I gave my opinion that these were slightly too pun-based. As we don't want to confuse our audience with what our channel is based on, titles such as Console Yourself could be seen as self-help related, or Consolitus could been seen as medically related. I wanted our title to be intriguing, yet quite blunt. So I researched gaming terms online and eventually found something that stood out to all of us:
Game-Over
As we all thought it sounded brilliant and perfectly relate-able to our channel, we then researched copyrighted names. While Game Over is heavily copyrighted, Game-Over is not. There are also no professional gaming channels with this name, so this brand name shouldn't cause us any issues.
Tagline
I suggested to the team that a tagline could make our branding stronger. So after staring at the name Game-Over for a while and what we want it to imply, I thought up 'Now It Begins'. We all agree that this fits the title extremely well, as the point of the name Game-Over, is to imply that now that we're done playing, it's time to have our say about it.
25 Word Pitch
Lastly, for our written side of the brand, is our 25 word pitch for our audience to understand our channel. Piece by piece, we came up with this...
"The game's over, now it's time to review. We take gaming to a new level as we have our say about this week's top picks."
Bluntly but stylistically, this gets across exactly what Game-Over is about in just 25 words.
Colours
Game-Over's colour scheme is red, white and black. This is due to the retro theme we're playing off. Game-Over is quite an old term in gaming, and with the help and inspiration from the image below, we feel that red, white and black is not only striking and bold, but fits the gaming and retro theme fantastically.
 |
| Fig. 1. Game-Over (2014) |
Below is both our spider diagram that shows our work of both general planning, and our brand planning...
 |
| Fig. 2. Spider Diagram (2015) |
List of Illustrations:
Figure 1. Game-Over (2014) [Journal Image] At: http://myfatherdaughter.com/love-wins-game-over/ (Accessed on 25.09.15)
Figure 2. Waters, M. (2015) Spider Diagram [Photograph] In possession of: The author: Maidstone.
Digital News Production: Planning
Already getting ahead, our planning and decision making is extensive. Thanks to the research we've conducted, contacts we've made and our working together to develop our idea, we're moving along very quickly.
Story (Angle)
As previously mentioned, our angle is...
"Are games being released unfinished?"
So, both our package and OB will focus on the topic of video games (mainly focusing on Assassin's Creed Unity) being released with too many bugs, flaws and imperfections and how it's affecting fans and customers. Getting different perspectives by taking a look at comments from the production company Ubisoft, the knowledge of an animations lecturer and the opinions of fans, we'll be discussing how on edge and pessimistic some of us are becoming about Ubisoft's upcoming release: Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
Package Features
Below is our plan and thought process of the key features of the package, and the chronological order in which they will be presented.
- Presenter intro/coming up in front of green screen
- OOV consisting of Unity bug game footage, Syndicate trailer footage, and sequences of generic game play (such a C/U of hands playing with a games controller) as the presenter discusses the topic
- While cutting back and forth between the presenter in the studio, screenshots of both fan and Ubisoft tweets/comments about Unity and Syndicate will be shown with a presenter V/O
- Back in the studio, the presenter will say a line most likely to be along the lines of "Today I visited [lecturer name] to discuss [topic]..."
- Cuts to presenter holding an interview with the animations lecturer on location (most likely their workplace)
- Interview segment most likely including a sequence
- Back to studio for presenter to sign off
This is a very professional and typical construction of a gaming channel's package. I think it's going both look fantastically realistic, but also draw in the audience and hold their attention with how varied it is.
OB Features
Below is the plan of the key features of the OB.
- Reporter appears to be live on location at Game, Bluewater
- Reporter introduces self, discusses where they are and what the event is
- Reporter approaches queue of people waiting to buy the game and discusses topic with them
- Back up (if people in queue are unwilling): Talk to a shop assistant after the launch about the topic and the launch itself
- Reporter signs off 'back to the studio
This is going to be the 'big event' of our channel, not only will it relate to the topic perfectly, but would (in the real world) be likely to get viewers tuning in with excitement.
Summary of Who is on Camera
Presenter (package): One young male
Reporter (OB): One young female
As the gaming world is varied, and both genders are equally as excited about and interested in games, we will be using both a male and female for our presenting of the channel. They will both be young due to our target audience.
Package interviewee: Animations lecturer, Dave
Apparently a very bubbly and knowledgeable character, he will be a fantastic interviewee for our topic.
OB interviewees: 3 Syndicate purchasers/queuers
As we need something to take place in our OB as well as needing direct opinions from fans themselves, the Assassin's Creed launch is the perfect time to get their perspective. 2-3 interviewees will fit our allowed time.
OB back-up plan: Shop assistant/s of Game
If we find that no or too little queuers are willing to talk or be on camera, we will wait until after the event of the launch, and discuss the news topic and their perspective on the launch.
Lastly, we will use an anonymous person for generic gaming sequences (no face shown).
Target Audience
We will be targeting an audience of a young age, approximately aged 15-30 and of both genders. The obvious main target audience is game enthusiasts, due to the nature of the channel.
Equipment
With the plan of shooting on the 19th, 20th and 23rd of October already in place. We have booked out most of our equipment in advance...
- Sony camera
- Tripod
- Fig rig for OB, allowing smooth manoeuvring
- Clip mic for presenter, reporter and interviewees
- Lighting kit for package
- GoPro for package footage of OB launch (personal GoPro)
We will also be booking the green screen after our workshop.
I think for just one week of work, we're already make amazing progress, and are in full swing of pre-production.
Story (Angle)
As previously mentioned, our angle is...
"Are games being released unfinished?"
So, both our package and OB will focus on the topic of video games (mainly focusing on Assassin's Creed Unity) being released with too many bugs, flaws and imperfections and how it's affecting fans and customers. Getting different perspectives by taking a look at comments from the production company Ubisoft, the knowledge of an animations lecturer and the opinions of fans, we'll be discussing how on edge and pessimistic some of us are becoming about Ubisoft's upcoming release: Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
Package Features
Below is our plan and thought process of the key features of the package, and the chronological order in which they will be presented.
- Presenter intro/coming up in front of green screen
- OOV consisting of Unity bug game footage, Syndicate trailer footage, and sequences of generic game play (such a C/U of hands playing with a games controller) as the presenter discusses the topic
- While cutting back and forth between the presenter in the studio, screenshots of both fan and Ubisoft tweets/comments about Unity and Syndicate will be shown with a presenter V/O
- Back in the studio, the presenter will say a line most likely to be along the lines of "Today I visited [lecturer name] to discuss [topic]..."
- Cuts to presenter holding an interview with the animations lecturer on location (most likely their workplace)
- Interview segment most likely including a sequence
- Back to studio for presenter to sign off
This is a very professional and typical construction of a gaming channel's package. I think it's going both look fantastically realistic, but also draw in the audience and hold their attention with how varied it is.
OB Features
Below is the plan of the key features of the OB.
- Reporter appears to be live on location at Game, Bluewater
- Reporter introduces self, discusses where they are and what the event is
- Reporter approaches queue of people waiting to buy the game and discusses topic with them
- Back up (if people in queue are unwilling): Talk to a shop assistant after the launch about the topic and the launch itself
- Reporter signs off 'back to the studio
This is going to be the 'big event' of our channel, not only will it relate to the topic perfectly, but would (in the real world) be likely to get viewers tuning in with excitement.
Summary of Who is on Camera
Presenter (package): One young male
Reporter (OB): One young female
As the gaming world is varied, and both genders are equally as excited about and interested in games, we will be using both a male and female for our presenting of the channel. They will both be young due to our target audience.
Package interviewee: Animations lecturer, Dave
Apparently a very bubbly and knowledgeable character, he will be a fantastic interviewee for our topic.
OB interviewees: 3 Syndicate purchasers/queuers
As we need something to take place in our OB as well as needing direct opinions from fans themselves, the Assassin's Creed launch is the perfect time to get their perspective. 2-3 interviewees will fit our allowed time.
OB back-up plan: Shop assistant/s of Game
If we find that no or too little queuers are willing to talk or be on camera, we will wait until after the event of the launch, and discuss the news topic and their perspective on the launch.
Lastly, we will use an anonymous person for generic gaming sequences (no face shown).
Target Audience
We will be targeting an audience of a young age, approximately aged 15-30 and of both genders. The obvious main target audience is game enthusiasts, due to the nature of the channel.
Equipment
With the plan of shooting on the 19th, 20th and 23rd of October already in place. We have booked out most of our equipment in advance...
- Sony camera
- Tripod
- Fig rig for OB, allowing smooth manoeuvring
- Clip mic for presenter, reporter and interviewees
- Lighting kit for package
- GoPro for package footage of OB launch (personal GoPro)
We will also be booking the green screen after our workshop.
I think for just one week of work, we're already make amazing progress, and are in full swing of pre-production.
Digital News Production: Gaming News Channel Research
Before moving forward with idea development, it was agreed that we need to research gaming news channels for inspiration. We made a list of known channels and reviewed them individually.
Focusing on both the structure and the brand of the channels and packages, I took notes on how they could each influence our own structure and branding...
Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming?
(Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming? - FAQ Podcast, 2015)
This podcast/video focuses on many broken and imperfect games. It's mainly a source for FAQ's, so we're hearing fans call in and give their opinions as well as ask questions to the presenters. The whole theme of this video being about hearing directly from the fans/customers, gave me the idea that we could use real Twitter screenshots in our package to strengthen it. Here's an example of a real tweet about Assassin's Creed Unity that could be included...
Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems - The Know
(Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems, 2014)
I found that this video was the best for motivation for our news channel. It shows how strong using a presenter in front of a green screen to introduce the show can be, especially for the style of news being given.
We're also taking inspiration from this video by deciding to use the presenter's V/O over game footage of both Assassin's Creed Unity's bugs, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate's trailer. We can't simply talk about a game and it's sequel and not show any footage, so this way we'll be building up our package by discussing it at the same time as presenting it to the audience.
Thinking ahead, I also thought that similar to the way the game footage is presented on this channel, that we should put our own brand's twist on it by framing it and using our branded colours, rather than just filling the screen with the footage and nothing else. So that the audience is constantly aware that it's all coming from us and our channel.
For the future building of our brand, I took notes on key features of The Know's brand...
- Use of lots of geometric shapes such as hexagons
- Colours consisting of metallics, greens and blues
- Casually dressed female presenter, young
- Techno but average paced introduction music
- Use of technological-themed graphics in introduction
- Simplistic but modern font
The above fits extremely well with the target audience and news channel theme, so we'll be sure to use The Know for inspiration.
Batman Broken! - The Patch #110
(Batman Broken! - The Patch #110, 2015)
This video differs quite a lot from what we'll be creating, as it's more of a talk show. However I still found interesting things to focus on that relate to our channel. Of course, the atmosphere on The Patch is very upbeat and light-hearted, as ours needs to be, we need to remember that while the topic hits a nerve with fans, it's still not life and death, and needs to stay fun and casual.
I also found that there's the use of a lot of décor and props on set, including game memorabilia, an hourglass and a pixelated style mug. When it comes to holding an interview in our package, placing quirky items on set could benefit us by adding to our theme.
As for more notes on branding...
- Use of blacks, reds, blues and purples both on set and in the introduction
- Logo has a bold block font in metallic, with neon game controllers and gaming symbols behind
- A short but sweet intro with average paced techno music
Ginx - Videogaming Television Brand
(Naughty Dog Walk a Tightrope in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, 2015)
As Ginx/s YouTube channel is mainly structed with all OOVS, there's not much to get inspiration from other than the brand, however it's a fantastic brand to focus on. Below are my notes...
- A powerful but short introduction
- No music in the intro, just a computerised-sounding voice saying the name 'Ginx'
- Use of graphics: pixelated 3D blocks turning into the circular brand logo - very memorable
- Tagline: Ready to play. This made me consider using a tagline, as it could make the brand more unique and stand out
- Use of green and white in the logo, black 3D art behind
- Graphics at the end of the video: the logo turns into animated shapes of a race car, a gun, a retro game controller, a brain, an electric guitar and a football. This is a fantastic way of representing the areas that the channel explores.
We're building up a lot to work from when it comes to designing our brand and figuring out our structure. The above research is already helping to shape our channel and turn it into reality rather than simple ideas.
List of illustrations:
Figure 1. Twitter screenshot (2015) [Screenshot/Tweet] At: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AssassinsCreedunity&src=typd (Accessed on 28.09.15)
Bibliography:
Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming? - FAQ Podcast [television programme online] YouTube Funhaus (2015) 58 mins 1 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6NoHkSwZXg (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems [television programme online] YouTube The Know (2014) 1 min 20 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUsEj7-C1c (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Batman Broken! - The Patch #110 [television programme online] YouTube The Know (2015) 1 hour 47 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq8LAV0FI5A (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Naughty Dog Walk a Tightrope in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [television programme online] YouTube Ginx - Videogaming Television Brand (2015) 4 mins 41 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz8BNEv3HRE (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Focusing on both the structure and the brand of the channels and packages, I took notes on how they could each influence our own structure and branding...
Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming?
(Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming? - FAQ Podcast, 2015)
This podcast/video focuses on many broken and imperfect games. It's mainly a source for FAQ's, so we're hearing fans call in and give their opinions as well as ask questions to the presenters. The whole theme of this video being about hearing directly from the fans/customers, gave me the idea that we could use real Twitter screenshots in our package to strengthen it. Here's an example of a real tweet about Assassin's Creed Unity that could be included...
 |
| Fig. 1. Twitter screenshot (2015) |
Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems - The Know
(Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems, 2014)
I found that this video was the best for motivation for our news channel. It shows how strong using a presenter in front of a green screen to introduce the show can be, especially for the style of news being given.
We're also taking inspiration from this video by deciding to use the presenter's V/O over game footage of both Assassin's Creed Unity's bugs, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate's trailer. We can't simply talk about a game and it's sequel and not show any footage, so this way we'll be building up our package by discussing it at the same time as presenting it to the audience.
Thinking ahead, I also thought that similar to the way the game footage is presented on this channel, that we should put our own brand's twist on it by framing it and using our branded colours, rather than just filling the screen with the footage and nothing else. So that the audience is constantly aware that it's all coming from us and our channel.
For the future building of our brand, I took notes on key features of The Know's brand...
- Use of lots of geometric shapes such as hexagons
- Colours consisting of metallics, greens and blues
- Casually dressed female presenter, young
- Techno but average paced introduction music
- Use of technological-themed graphics in introduction
- Simplistic but modern font
The above fits extremely well with the target audience and news channel theme, so we'll be sure to use The Know for inspiration.
Batman Broken! - The Patch #110
(Batman Broken! - The Patch #110, 2015)
This video differs quite a lot from what we'll be creating, as it's more of a talk show. However I still found interesting things to focus on that relate to our channel. Of course, the atmosphere on The Patch is very upbeat and light-hearted, as ours needs to be, we need to remember that while the topic hits a nerve with fans, it's still not life and death, and needs to stay fun and casual.
I also found that there's the use of a lot of décor and props on set, including game memorabilia, an hourglass and a pixelated style mug. When it comes to holding an interview in our package, placing quirky items on set could benefit us by adding to our theme.
As for more notes on branding...
- Use of blacks, reds, blues and purples both on set and in the introduction
- Logo has a bold block font in metallic, with neon game controllers and gaming symbols behind
- A short but sweet intro with average paced techno music
Ginx - Videogaming Television Brand
(Naughty Dog Walk a Tightrope in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, 2015)
As Ginx/s YouTube channel is mainly structed with all OOVS, there's not much to get inspiration from other than the brand, however it's a fantastic brand to focus on. Below are my notes...
- A powerful but short introduction
- No music in the intro, just a computerised-sounding voice saying the name 'Ginx'
- Use of graphics: pixelated 3D blocks turning into the circular brand logo - very memorable
- Tagline: Ready to play. This made me consider using a tagline, as it could make the brand more unique and stand out
- Use of green and white in the logo, black 3D art behind
- Graphics at the end of the video: the logo turns into animated shapes of a race car, a gun, a retro game controller, a brain, an electric guitar and a football. This is a fantastic way of representing the areas that the channel explores.
We're building up a lot to work from when it comes to designing our brand and figuring out our structure. The above research is already helping to shape our channel and turn it into reality rather than simple ideas.
List of illustrations:
Figure 1. Twitter screenshot (2015) [Screenshot/Tweet] At: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AssassinsCreedunity&src=typd (Accessed on 28.09.15)
Bibliography:
Funhaus: Broken Games are Coming? - FAQ Podcast [television programme online] YouTube Funhaus (2015) 58 mins 1 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6NoHkSwZXg (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Halo: The Master Chief Collection Multiplayer Having Problems [television programme online] YouTube The Know (2014) 1 min 20 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUsEj7-C1c (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Batman Broken! - The Patch #110 [television programme online] YouTube The Know (2015) 1 hour 47 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq8LAV0FI5A (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Naughty Dog Walk a Tightrope in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End [television programme online] YouTube Ginx - Videogaming Television Brand (2015) 4 mins 41 sec At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz8BNEv3HRE (Accessed on: 23.09.15)
Digital News Production: Contact
On the same day as deciding on our angle...
Are games being released unfinished?
We researched video game release dates and found the perfect game and date. Assassin's Creed Syndicate will be released on 23rd October 2015 (Game, 2015). It's a fantastic coincidence that this release date falls right in the middle of our shoot week.
Even better however, is the fact that Syndicate is the follow up from a previously extremely bug-filled game, Assassin's Creed Unity. It's a well known fact that this game was released without being fully completed, as "the conversation has been almost entirely about how many bugs it's got and how broken it is in certain areas" (Kelion, 2014). This allows our topic for the new game to be about the controversy on whether it will be as flawed and unfinished as the last.
Realising how strong this topic is for our news story, our next move was to find out if their was a midnight release event for the game. Discussing possible locations such as Maidstone and Ashford, we decided the best option would be Game at Bluewater. This is due to...
- The size and popularity of the location, as it's more likely to attract a lot of attention and customers
- The natural lighting provided by a shopping centre rather than outside in the dark (where we have no outlets for stage lighting)
- Weather conditions not being an issue
- The convenience of the centre not being far from us
Hesitant on whether we would stand a chance in getting to shoot at that location, our tutor encouraged us to start at the top, and if we fail then work our way down. We took the advice, looked up the contact number and got in touch with Game at Bluewater on the same day.
Thankfully, they were very open, professional and friendly (as were we) and told us that there is in fact a midnight release of the game. Following this, they told us it's very likely that we can film the launch, and they will confirm and get back to us soon. This gave us the green light to go ahead with planning and developing our idea further.
Bibliography:
Game (2015) Games Released In 2015. At: http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=183669&articleId=183671&storeId=10151 (Accessed on 22.09.15)
Kelion, L. (2014) 'Ubisoft apologises for Assassin's Creed Unity bugs' In: Bbc.co.uk/news 27.10.14 [online] At: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30226586 (Accessed on 28.09.15)
Are games being released unfinished?
We researched video game release dates and found the perfect game and date. Assassin's Creed Syndicate will be released on 23rd October 2015 (Game, 2015). It's a fantastic coincidence that this release date falls right in the middle of our shoot week.
Even better however, is the fact that Syndicate is the follow up from a previously extremely bug-filled game, Assassin's Creed Unity. It's a well known fact that this game was released without being fully completed, as "the conversation has been almost entirely about how many bugs it's got and how broken it is in certain areas" (Kelion, 2014). This allows our topic for the new game to be about the controversy on whether it will be as flawed and unfinished as the last.
Realising how strong this topic is for our news story, our next move was to find out if their was a midnight release event for the game. Discussing possible locations such as Maidstone and Ashford, we decided the best option would be Game at Bluewater. This is due to...
- The size and popularity of the location, as it's more likely to attract a lot of attention and customers
- The natural lighting provided by a shopping centre rather than outside in the dark (where we have no outlets for stage lighting)
- Weather conditions not being an issue
- The convenience of the centre not being far from us
Hesitant on whether we would stand a chance in getting to shoot at that location, our tutor encouraged us to start at the top, and if we fail then work our way down. We took the advice, looked up the contact number and got in touch with Game at Bluewater on the same day.
Thankfully, they were very open, professional and friendly (as were we) and told us that there is in fact a midnight release of the game. Following this, they told us it's very likely that we can film the launch, and they will confirm and get back to us soon. This gave us the green light to go ahead with planning and developing our idea further.
Bibliography:
Game (2015) Games Released In 2015. At: http://www.game.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/HubArticleView?hubId=183669&articleId=183671&storeId=10151 (Accessed on 22.09.15)
Kelion, L. (2014) 'Ubisoft apologises for Assassin's Creed Unity bugs' In: Bbc.co.uk/news 27.10.14 [online] At: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30226586 (Accessed on 28.09.15)
Digital News Production: Original Ideas
The Team
Myself, Wez, Jordan & Harry.
Due to our abilities to work well both on our own and as a team - as proven in previous units and workshops, the four of us have teamed up for our digital news production. We've all got brilliant work ethic and have very similar interests, so we can trust that we'll work extremely well together.
The Starting Point
We all understood that we wanted a human interest story. We're easy-going characters, so we can relate to a more light-hearted side of the news a lot better than a 'doom and gloom' story.
The topic of gaming proved to be not only our first sparked idea but the strongest. As especially I, Jordan and Harry have a very high interest in video games. When Jordan and Harry mentioned creating a gaming news channel, I could see it working fantastically.
Initial Idea
While taking notes during our lecture, I had an idea come to mind. As video games are usually associated with a younger generation, I thought we could deal with the mood effects of playing violent and aggressive video games. Below are the rough notes I made...
Package:
- Interview/s with parent/s and their opinions/experiences
- Video game footage, either requested from Youtube or potentially recorded ourselves
- Discussing examples of violent video games
OB:
- Reporter holds interview with a 'gaming nut' teenager on location at their house to get their opinions or experiences
- Reporter plays a violent game on camera
- Then talks about how their mood is affected
This originally seemed like a strong idea, however after discussion with the team, they pointed out that the topic and story seems too broad for a short package and OB. I realised that we could be taking on more than our broadcasting and production time would allow, and that it would be unlikely to finish strongly. So the idea was written off.
Idea Development
Sitting down as a group, ideas were thrown around. It was pointed out that video games seem to be full of 'bugs' now days, yet they're still being realised without being fixed. Seeming like this topic could explore a variety of areas, we went in depth.
Then our strongest idea came up. We decided that if possible, we could base our OB on a reporter attending the midnight launch of a game. So we researched what games were being released around the time of our shoot week and found the perfect game. Assassin's Creed Syndicate is being released within our shoot week, this turned out to be the perfect game to focus on, as the previous Assassin's Creed game was released with a lot of flaws. Now all we needed was to find a midnight launch event and the OB would come together.
Leading from this, we knew we could have a very strong package on the topic of games being released unfinished. After discussing what could be included, for the package, we roughly decided on...
- Using bug footage of 'Assassin's Creed Unity' (Syndicate's predecessor)
- Talking to an expert for their perspective
- That we want to use a green screen for part of it
What's Next...
- Discussing our idea/topic with our tutor and getting feedback
- Research on local Assassin's Creed Syndicate midnight launches
- Conducting research on gaming news channels
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