Galloping Ghost Arcade - ID# 218
Maine West
Natural Audio News Package
Entry Description
This news package is about the preservation of classic arcade cabinets at the Galloping Ghost Arcade.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
- 4/19 10:02 am - Opening shot of sign was ok, I know you can’t control the weather but the snow caught my attention more than the sign, then you just jumped into a close up, I would have loved an establishing shot of all the machines when you walk it to get an idea of the size and amount of machines in this place, instead you just jumped to a close up. At 35 seconds you had this nice big shot, it should have just come earlier. Also I would have shot the sign first and then pan down to the doors, you went up to the sign (away from the doors) as opposed to subconscinsly drawing your audience into the arcade) Small detail, you might disagree, I am just saying the way I would have done it, you could have reversed your clip for the effect, but then the snow would have fell up. Great interviews, they really build your story as they go on. I thought they were intentional, and each had purpose as opposed to feeling like a sound bite was cropped out of a bigger / longer interview. I am guessing they were good, because you asked specific questions that led them in the direction you wanted them to go. Good Job. Don’t be afraid to put a little B-roll in between interviews/ideas especially when you are changing the subject. This pause helps the topics stand out and gives your audience a chance to digest what they just heard. For example at 1:09 the owner talks about preserving / sharing these machines, and then Jewel suddenly is talking about connecting with people. Stories should always be about people, if you are trying to tell me how much people enjoy coming to the arcade show me the joy on their faces while they are concentrating/enjoying a game. The only faces I feel like I see in this piece are the interviewers. After a while the B-roll all looked the same hands on a joystick and computer game screens. Last interview seemed a little out of place, maybe it would have fit better after the owner talks at 1:09. Because she finishes talking and then suddenly the story is over. I will be honest I was expecting the cliché game over sign at the end even before I got to the end, but was disappointed it was not more obvious, the words game over take up like 1 percent of your screen, make it more obvious. Great topic, lent itself well to this category, I just would have loved a little more intentionality to meet the potential your choice offered. But I really enjoyed this story. Great job
- 4/16 1:36 pm - Great first sound byte from the owner to set the stage for this story. Great job using the natural audio from the game and the natural audio from the person playing the game to help tell the story at the beginning and then before the 2nd sound byte. Do that throughout the story too - in between the sound bytes, let’s hear more of the natural audio from the games themselves. Nice job with the “Game Over” ending shot!
- 3/6 2:35 pm - This story was unique and I love how you had a wide variety of interviews from patrons and the owner. The points made about preserving cabinets for their social aspect was really interesting. I would suggest raising your tripod so that interviews are all shot at eye level. You did an excellent job aligning b-roll to your interviews. When talking about old and new games, you showed them! That makes your story clear and easy to follow. I loved some of the audio examples of games played throughout and how I could hear "friends" playing with each other in the background. Overall, there were some great nat audio examples recorded but I wanted to hear more throughout.
Judge 1
Positives: I like the tight shots on people using the buttons on the machine. Nice variety of shots. Great sound throughout the story to make you feel like you're in the arcade experiencing it first hand.
Improvements: I liked the introduction nat sound, but didn't get the outside shot. It would have been better to see someone playing an arcade game to go with the sound. Hide the microphone wire.
Judge 2
Positives: Blue video, while typically is a mistake, works well for a technology piece. Good to old school hear game sounds.
Improvements: Need to see faces of people not just their hands. That would be a good way to show reaction. We never see the owner doing anything besides the interview. Need to activate the subject. Unmotivated camera movements. Out of focus images.
Judge 3
Positives: LOVED the natural sound of the arcade games and the tight shot of the hands at the beginning. It really put me right in the moment. The owner is a really compelling character. Great choice for an interview. Narratively the interviews flowed together really well and told a story.
Improvements: Audio mixing for the interviews could be improved. Either bring the person being interviewed to a quieter area or make sure to use a mic that will not catch all of the background noise. It was a little loud. Robin's interview is not framed properly. If he's looking off to the left of the frame he should be positioned to the right of the frame, so he is staring into the empty space. I would have loved to see some tight shots of faces as well as hands. A shot of a face ecstatic that they just won, or really sad that they just lost. It would have added to the b-roll that was used.
Judge 4
Positives:
Improvements:
Judge 5
Positives:
Improvements: