Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a 2.5D real-time strategy computer game by Westwood Studios, which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. I could not find any specifics of the pre-production of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, but it is assumed that it followed the same processes as most other games. They first do their market research through the use of surveys and questionnaires, mostly online. They also look at other popular titles and their reviews. Through this they can tell what parts of a game are particularly good or bad and so what kind of material to include in their game. They then move to the ideas process. Here they brainstorm and discuss ideas from the research they have conducted. They make very rough sketches and concepts, making visualisations of what the game could look like. They have to consider what content will be included in the game and how it will be viewed in society. The game contains violence and war themes. The game was released quite a while ago. The certificates where much more strongly enforced at the time of its release. It got given a 15+ rating, if it were released today I doubt it would get more than a 12. This game contains real, camera shot footage of actors and actresses as cut scenes. This was done a lot more commonly around the time of its release due to the lack of processing power computers had. The video was quite heavily compressed to reduce its size, meaning the video quality and audio quality were not up to todays standards. Although the acting displayed in the cut scenes was at best atrocious, the techniques used were quite professional. There were a lot of scenes that made use of green screen technology. I also enjoy the use of pan shots and interesting swipe transitions.
Marvel’s The Avengers (DVD FILM)
Marvel's The Avengers or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. The Avengers used an interesting style of development. In 2005 the studio announced that The Avengers was being made, but first they wanted to release a separate film on every member of the superhero team to enhance their character and add depth to the plot. Again, market research is done through the use of surveys and questionnaires, whilst looking at other films of the same genre. First, the script is written. This is a lengthy process, which can take months of work to get perfect. The casting process then goes underway, with the director picking the best roles to suit the character. This is done by auditioning the actors and actresses that have applied through agencies. During this pre-production process they consider the legal and ethical implications. The Avengers is an entirely fictional world that contains very little offensive content. It contains mild violence in the fight scenes and some strong language. For this reason it has been rated 12. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) give films that are being released in the UK their rating.
After pre-production the filming begins. They film all the raw footage required for the films scenes. In this film there is a wide use of different filming techniques. They work a lot around camera angles and depth of field. They use a lot of low camera angle shots, especially around the team, to make characters seem heroic. Once all of the raw footage has been filmed, post-production then takes place. Editing of the footage begins. The Avengers is very 3D graphically heavy, so the post-production was a very important stage in the films development. The DVD menu for The Avengers is considered very well done. The main menu isn’t a static menu; it plays clips from the movie in the background of the menu along with music from the film. This sets the tone of the movie well as it emphasises that it is an action packed film. It contains several other menus that can be accessed by buttons found on the main menu. It has a bonus features menu. This contains extras such as deleted scenes, footage behind the making of the film and interviews with the directors and actors. There is a menu for scene selection. Here you can start the film from selected scenes. There is also a set up menu, in which you can choose what audio language you wish the film to be in (the choice is usually very limited), whether you want subtitles displayed and what language the subtitles will be in. Due to the size of the film and all the extras involved, The Avengers has been burned to a single sided, dual layered DVD. Most DVDs these days are printable DVDs to allow a graphic to be printed directly onto the disk. The Avengers is no different. Most professional DVD menu's are created using software called Scenarist, although there are cheaper alternatives that are available to prosumers in a home environment. The graphics of the menu are usually created using an external program. 2D graphics are created in a digital image editing software package such as Photoshop. 3D graphics are created using a 3D art package such as Autodesk Maya. When the graphics are created, the files are usually imported directly into the DVD menu authoring software. The menu's buttons can be created in multiple ways. The graphics themselves can include layers. These can be used to create layered menus, allowing the easy change of graphics depending on what option is selected on screen. The other option is to use the authoring software itself. The software usually includes special text tools and special effects to create the desired effect. A DVD menu can also include interactive media in the form of a link to the films website, although this is not the case with The Avengers. There are a lot of limitations involved with a DVD menu in comparison with a game for example. DVD menus are controlled by a TV remote, which drastically restricts the control the user has when interacting with the menu.
YouTube (VIDEO SHARING WEBSITE)
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos. The company is based in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos. Individuals produce its featured media; every person would have a different style of development, depending on budget and time. The styles of videos that are uploaded are extremely varied. There fully professional films that use a full range of techniques such as different lighting, depth of field, focus, colour balance and varying exposure. They can use professional camera work such as using a wide variety of camera angles and framing. On the other end on the scale, there a clips that have been shot of a 3 megapixel phone camera with absolutely no post-processing or editing what so ever. YouTube features a massive amount control and variety. With a DVD, once the DVD is burned it cannot be changed. It cannot be edited, extended or removed. With Games, they offer a little more control, with save games and customisable options. Often the game can be modified and improved upon (Updates, Add-ons, DLC) but the CD/DVD writing has the same limits. YouTube offers a massive amount of customisation and control to the user. They allow you to upload, edit, remove, enhance and change the details of your video at any time. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding YouTube and its legal and ethical implications. The videos are user generated, which means that they could contain a number of ethical and legal issues. The Copyright Law is regularly broken which has lead to a number of scandalous lawsuits and heated debates. Racism and Sexism are often displayed in videos, lots of the time with a sole purpose to cause offense. Fortunately, the control that YouTube offers can greatly combat these offending videos. They can be removed and the user can be banned from posting them again, but unfortunately not all videos have been dealt with due to an extreme number of users and uploads. The interface changes depending whether you have an account with YouTube or not.
Below is the default home page for YouTube. No account has been logged in. The interface is lacking in control. You can view videos as much as you'd like, but there is no option for uploading, editing and streaming your own content. There are also no options to save your preferences and personal options.
Below is the Video Manager page of YouTube. This time an account has been logged in. The interface all of a sudden has a lot more control about it. Uploading, editing and streaming your own content is now available. Things can be added to your media after uploading, such as effects, captions and annotations. Settings are also available. Here preferences can be saved, such as automatic video playback quality. This account is also partner with YouTube and is running the Adsense service, monetising their uploads. This means the videos can earn money depending on how many views and advert clicks they get.
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