Producing speech package 

My speech package will be about the video games industry. Specifically the pre order culture that is going on now in the games industry. My speech package will be informative and will offer advice to the common young gamer. The aim will be to hopefully save people money and to encourage skepticism with new tripple A tittles. 

Secondary research 

My secondary research will consist of the opinions of professional youtube personalities who are very involved with the state of the games industry and what goes on around the industry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y

The user TotalBiscuit talks about current pre order culture in the industry and examples from 2013 (when the video was released) He also talks about dlc culture and how that effects the current pre order culture. He also talks about the different pre ordering platforms such as steam and gamestop and why they have negative effects for the consumer. He talks about the different platforms and their different refunds and which ones don't offer refunds. He talks about how marketing is leading consumers astray and getting hyped to only be let down. "Dead Island was in a different solar system of quality compared to its trailer". He talks about review embargoes and how game publishers are getting worse with these embargoes by only releasing them on the day of release or even after that to post pone criticism and drive sales. I used this user because he is a well know figure in the industry for his honesty and reliability. I chose him because he always presents the information as honestly and straight forward as possible so there is no misunderstanding.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7zxKMSSM4U

The user Boogie2988 talks about the risk of pre ordering games as a waste of money as well as it not having the incentive to pre order anymore "It used to be that the incentive to pre order a game because 15 years ago there may not have been enough copies to go round in the first week maybe two two weeks. But those days are gone." He talks about how chunks of the games are being taken out to persuade you're pre orders. I chose this user because he always tries to look for the positives in different issues but couldn't for this topic, underlining how bad the issue has gotten.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm4JCFONptk

Thew user Jim Sterling talks about "how pathetic pre order culture has begun ." stating that this "content should be packaged with the game instead of being ripped out and sold as some sort of bonus." He talks about how pre odering is to much of a risk, and is rendered "pointless". He talks about retail store such as gamestop. Talking about how they are "clinging on in a digital age by using exclusive pre order bonuses. He said that "exclusive downloadable content gives retails a sense of relativity." Jim Sterling talks about how "pre orders are no longer consumer friendly and only serve to benefit the publishers and retail shops." I chose this user because he has quite an aggressive stance on the subject and gives his opinion on the subject in a straightforward manner.

The title of this article is very bold in its statement. The sub title then details what it is that's killing the games industry. The picture then depicts something being killed in a video game to drive the point forward into the readers.

In this screenshot of the article it talks about the effect of downloadable content on pre order culture, I will be using the points in this article to talk about how dlc is effecting the customers purchases of their games. I will be making use of the part talking about "Missing out on something whether it's dlc or bonus content, both physical and digital."

Script 

The tripple a games industry is getting increasingly less trust worthy with its sketchy business practices. So can you trust these companies anymore? Should you pre order games from the tripple a publishers? Where going to have a discussion about whether or not you should put you're trust in these games. 

More and more games are coming out with less and less content or innovation in the tripple a market. Some games aren't even complete, and example of which was Aliens Colonial Marines which advertised in game content which wasn't in the final product as well as promising intelligent ai which turned out to be false. A more recent example would be Assasins Creed Unity which is a massive mess for the pc platform making it virtually unplayable. The way to prevent this is to be skeptical about every pre release footage which is advertised. Wait until reviews from trusted sources are out so you can get a clear idea of what the game is actually worth the 60 pound price tag.

I'm here with .... to talk about whether you should trust publishers enough to buy the games the sell before the official release date.


I went and asked people on the streets about what they think about the current price of games and if they have been effected by shady business practices.

I encourage you to do some research and be skeptical about games before they are released so you don't waste your money on games that are unfinished or that you wont enjoy."

Documentary assignment 

My Idea/synopsis 

A week in the life type of documentary with my music teacher showing what other type of musical stuff he does, such as gigs, lessons, and writing music. I have a few ideas for little interviews questions like what bands he’s in, what kinds of gigs he does, what kind of writing process he goes through. I will interview some people.  I will be interviewing people who are taught by Pete for some more information about him and what people think of him as a teacher as well as a musician. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWjZ9Ow6FIk

Eves music video which I think I will use clips of for my introduction I will start the video at 10 seconds so it skips a part of the introduction but it is closer to when the focus person is playing. I would have gone further to get a better focus on the main person but that would have messed the audio up and it wouldn't have started at a logical start. I think that the blue filter would fit best on its own at the start instead of mixed with the other videos which don't have any noticeable color filters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmyK5tWtGis

I will use this as a sort of timeline of the band as this is one of their earlier music videos (2012)

I picked this music video because it is an earlier music video and can be compared to their more recent music showing the viewer how the band has developed. I will start the video at 25 seconds because that is when the music starts as well as when Pete is in the main focus of the camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n9vE5Dutig

This will be a follow up clip as this was a year after the previous video (2013)

Being their most recent music video this will be the last one that I use 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QZWTJyX-8Y

When talking about Clandestino (His most recent band) I will mix footage of him and this music video with the music running through the background.

I will start using this bands music when he starts talking about the band Clandestino. I will do this because it will create a sense of structure going through the different bands he has been in up to what has been the most recent release.

I will be using a collection of different of different audio, whether it be music from the listed music videos or some of the singles.

Music video footage

Photos of bands he is in as well as some songs for the background.

Locations

Alexanders house

Pete Mcdonalds mini studio

25/2/15

Getting permission for interviews and locations.

Getting clips, pictures and sound bites for the documentary.

Write questions for Pete and side interviews.

26-29/2/15

All of the pre production stuff.

Risk assessment

Contacts list

Equipment list and booking

1/3/15 

Primary research

Interview Pete

Capture footage of instrument playing.

 

Primary research

I went out and talked to some local people who are involved in the local music scene and go to see local bands and love to listen to local artists.

"I think that the local music scene filled with talent and there are many upcoming names with the potential to become huge, I also think that when you support a local artist you can see the effects of what happens. This is contrary to when you buy a major brand song where as when you buy a local artists EP you have a major effect."

"I get taught by Pete and I think that he is a very talented musician as well as a good teacher because he has gig experience with a wide range of instruments which provides a better understanding of all forms of music and gives me insight on what i have to think about when playing my instrument, whether it be notation, timing,  dynamics and theory."

Show bible 

The format I have chosen for my piece of factual program is the documentary format. My documentary will be about a musician I know and what he does every week to make a living from the different musical jobs and events that he does. For content I will be using a mix of interview footage that I will take personally and music video footage that I have gained permission for from Pete Mcdonald to use in my documentary  I will put tags saying the name of the song and the band name to give credit to the artists. i had to consider the legal complications of using the music video footage for some of his songs. I have to make sure that all of the people in my documentary are okay with being filmed and being in the documentary. I have to make sure that I have gotten permission to use all of the music in my documentary.

I plan on shooting my main interview on the 8th of march. I will be shooting for about an hour with hopefully about half an hour worth of interview footage as well as some footage of playing instruments.

My main target audience are local young musician. My aim is to tell people about Pete and to get a little insight on the local music industry as well as his experiences with the local venues and the local recording studios. This documentary will be aiming to encourage people to make music and get more involved with the local industry and supporting local bands.

in terms of narration I have no plans of any because the main focus of the documentary is the music so I wouldn't want to talk over. Seeing as the doc is made up of interview footage and music video footage I thought it would be better to put the attention on the music and Pete instead of talking over either of them.

I had the idea of using a go pro on the top of a guitar or on the body of the guitar for a cool shot of a playing guitar. I used this video as research for how I would mount the go pro on the guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4hqBsCwvEk

Interview questions

1) When and how did you start to get into the local scene and make music as a living?

2) How did you meet the people who became the members of you're different bands?

3) Give us an idea of a week in the life of pete.

4) What part of you're working life pays the most?

5) What is you're favorite part of you're work style?

6)  What are you hoping to achieve next?  

Production diary

16/03/15

I had a problem with the scheduling of the interviews because of the clients availability. I also had problems with booking the black magic camera because only one could be hired out at one time. Because of this I had to move my schedule back about a week. However I now have all of my footage and audio and I am ready to start the editing phase.

Days of the shoot

The day of the shoot went well, I had no problems with time or setting up the equipment, the same goes for the second day of the shoot, apart from some times being switched around I had no problem capturing both the footage and the audio for my documentary. Everything went to plan.

Editing phase

During my editing I had a few problems, the first of which being that my video files where only playing the audio so I went and did some research on the topic and found out I had to install quick time player on my machine so all my clips would show the video. Along the editing process I researched a lot of different ways to edit my audio such as compression and audio gain. I did this because my interview audio was quite but my music was very loud so to balance the two more effectively and create a better mix. 

Regulatory bodies in the media 

In this assignments I will be talking about the different regulatory bodies, their purpose, what they do and the different issues surrounding each of these regulatory bodies such as the ASA, BBFC,IPSO and Offcom. Each of these bodies regulates a different sector of the media by putting ratings on the different forms of content. They have the ability to for the producer to make cuts off take certain things of the air if they deem it harmful to audiences.

BBFC

The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are responsible for the censorship and regulation of the film industry. To regulate the film industry they attach a ratting to films and on some occasions restrictions such as cuts so that is suitable to the audience. The BBFC's main goal is to prevent harm and offence and to make sure the right audience is watching the appropriate content for their age. The BBFC rates films with several ratings such as, U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18, R18. The problems surrounding the BBFC is the issue of whether you are preventing freedom of speech and freedom of expression.

http://dailydead.com/the-human-centipede-2-blu-ray-release-confirmed/

The human centipede two was banned until it made three minutes worth of cut, it was said that the film was too indecent which means that it violated the obscene publications act.

The bunny game is another example of a banned film, the film was released in 2010 but was banned in 2011 for "extreme levels of sexual violence as well as  as well as the excessive endorsement and eroticisation of sexual violence deemed the film to be unacceptable for its potential for being highly harmful under the video recordings act"


ASA

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority)  are in charge of regulating advertisements. They are in charge of deciding whether a advert should be taken off the air, whether it should ever be on the air or what time it should be aired to prevent harm and offence to minors. The ASA tries to prevent harm and offence, misleading content as well as direct marketing and sale promotions. As well as taking the advert off air the ASA will warn the advertisers to not do the same thing again or use the same methods so advertise their product. Not all adverts are taken off the air if they are found to violate one of the regulations put in place some will be altered to prevent any of the offences above, however this is decided on the severity of the offence. The ASA bans the use of pornographic content as well as the condoning of both drugs and alcohol.

http://mle.mbro.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-785946-dt-content-rid-2114054_2/courses/2014-VP303F1/ASA-%20Advertising%20CAP%20Code.pdfb Here is the full list of the ASA's regulations.

Recently and advert on facebook advertising a cigarette phone case lighter was banned for condoning smoking which comes under the offence of condoning drugs. The com plaint said "It made smoking look appealing" this violates the rule of condoning drugs.

This is what the ASA said about the advert “We considered that the combination of the image of the lit cigarette and the encouragement to ‘Tag someone who can use this’ presented smoking in a positive light,” said the ASA.  

Here is the link to the official page showing the advertisement and the complaints the advert got.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/11/facebook-cigarette-lighter-ad-banned-for-condoning-smoking


Another banned advert was a tv advert for the Kazam tornado 348. The advert advertised the phone as the slimmest phone in the world, however the phone wasn't banned because of a violation of  the advert being misleading but instead was banned for "Objectifying women" the complaints mentioned things such as "Sexually suggestive". It was deemed that it was "Likely to cause serious  offence to some viewers".

Here is the banned advert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJja5SUdzY4&ab_channel=GamePundits

Ofcom

Ofcom (Office Of Communications) regulates both the tv and radio industry like the other regulatory bodies they make sure that as little as possible harm and offence comes to the audience. Like the other regulatory bodies they take complaints in and examine the program to see if it violates and of the rules put in place by. Ofcom can impose lots of different punishments for offenders of the rules. Ofcom can fine the producer (depending on the severity will decide the amount) repeated or severe violation will could result in a suspension or in a very severe case their license being taken away. 

Ofcom prohibits things such as religious biased, Product placement, violation of privacy, showing crime and drug use in a positive light.

The official link to their broadcasting code http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/

An example of a program tackled by Ofcom was the sachsgate incident. The sachsgate incident was when Russel Brand and Jonathon Ross did a pre recorded interview with actor Andrew Sachs, however he wasn't at the phone so they left some messages on his answer phone. Things got out of hand because of Russel Brand and Jonathon Ross leaving several inappropriate messages about Andrew Sachs and his daughter. The producer chose to broadcast this which turned out to be a big mistake because of the massive backlash from the public. Several high up people were calling for Russel Brand and Jonathon Ross to be either banned or to no longer be funded by license fee.

IPSO

The IPSO (Independent press standard organisation) replaced the PCC and now  regulates the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK instead. They regulate the newspaper industry with the editors guidelines. The editors code makes sure that accuracy is met as well as peoples privacy being upheld and as little as possible harm and offence is caused to the audience. The IPSO takes complaints on board and checks the legitimacy of the complaint and makes a decision on whether the publishers should be punished or not.

Here is the IPSO official website https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/index.html

Here is the IPSO'S rulling on a article https://www.ipso.co.uk/IPSO/rulings/IPSOrulings-detail.html?id=8 The article was about a teachers unprofessional behavior towards her students, however the article was deemed to have had some facts which weren't entirely true, the article claimed that the teacher had contacted more than one pupil on multiple sites which was not exactly true. The fact was that it was one student in particular that was contacted. This violated the misleading part of the editors guide.

 PCC

The PCC (Press Complaints Commission) used to regulate the newspaper and magazine industry, however it has now been replaced by the IPSO. The PCC was disbanded because of their failure to regulate Rupert Murdoch. The multiple releases of private information from certain celebrities phones (Known as the phone hacking scandal). The PCC was quoted to be "Inadequate", "toothless" and as "Well meaning- but a joke" by several MPs as well as the current prime minister David Cameron. Earlier than the phone hacking scandals other criticisms where leveled at the PCC saying  that it wasn't as proactive, strong and didn't represent the public's wishes, Clive Soley, a labour MP was quoted saying "There are no consumer rights people on the PCC and that is a major failing.". 

Ethical problems with the regulatory bodies

The ethical problem with these regulatory bodies is censorship and how an argument can be made that freedom of speech is being restricted. The aggravation not only comes from the creators. A lot of complaints from the audience complaining that their freedom of choice has been taken away from them. So not only are the creators aggravated, claiming its censorship. The Consumers claim that their consumer choice has been taken away from them.