Experiment 01 Review of exemplars

Custom Machinima

Jeffrey Aguas
Seriously?

David Butterworth
Davids custom machinima was successful for numerous reasons. His video had a narrative which engaged the audience with the video and message being communicated. Beginning with a panning camera view, it introduced the layout of the experiment in GMOD well. In some scenes he split the screen into different viewing boxes. The advantage of this was being able to show more of the scene at the same time given the scale of his experiment in GMOD and the short 30 second timeframe for the whole video. Compartively, when David used the full screen for his video, it was of his main explosion which centred the users focus on the scene, highlighting its importance. Additionally, there were a number of different camera angles viewing the explosions which brought more perspective and observation of effects. Following the assessment critera, there was a good mixture of different sized objects used in his experiment. The font size, colour and style were suitable throughout the entire 30 seconds. Transitions were smooth and there was sufficient time to read the text being shown. It was nicely ended with the final statement and message "a new porosity". It was my original understanding that one of the requirements of the assignment was to use the 2d grid which was not seen in Davids experiment. However, his video combined numerous techniques that made it most successful nonetheless.

Found Machinima

David Butterworth
Davids found machinima was successful for similar reasons as to his custom machinima. His video played out chronologically with textual components directing the video and users attention. Use of conversational language, such as asking the user a direct question is ultimately answered with the video action rather than a textual answer. The music fitted well with footage of the video. The use of low tempo music augmented the video of the nicely rendered houses as it captured that sense of relaxation and tranquility. Additionally, the fast rock tempo music went well with the fast transitions of destructive explosions. The sudden shift in tempo of the video generated a contrast which heightened the impact of the videos message.

Danny Nguyen
Dannys found machinima was successful because of the simplicity of it and its order that gave it structure. Text directed the audiences attention. For example, stating "take notice". Taking notice of the "debris" was the main point of the video and this was displayed with three different video examples, thus, providing the audience with a broader perspective on the matter. Despite using the default text of Sony Vegas, the text Danny used was clear and easy to understand. Stating before each footage of found machinima was played the words "Explosion 1/2/3" respectively, the video had a structured order which made the video easier to follow and understand.