Week 11 - Forefront Friday: Promotional Video Research

In preparation for next week I have been looking at promotional videos of real time game environments created by other artists, so that I can examine them and make my video stand out. To clarify, I am not looking at game trailers but videos designed to showcase an environment within a game. I have chosen these examples because they are all recent and were posted within a few months of each other, making them a good indicator of the competition I am facing as I publish my work onto the internet.

I would say that not all of these videos are at the forefront. I believe they are mainly adhering to an established standard for showing off game environments. I think that being aware of what is expected from the industry is a crucial skill and I want to make sure that my work is conforming to this standard.

Rob Linssen:
 "Válenfall" - 7 days Ago

This is a stylised environment showing off the large scale of the location. Lots of sweeping shots give it a good sense of scale.

Joseph Armour:
"The Pale Elk" - 2 Months Ago

https://vimeo.com/274110496

This is a more kinetic video with some movement within the shots. My own video will most likely be much slower paced with less animation.

Emma Drew:
"Abandoned study" - 3 Months Ago

https://vimeo.com/269523304

This is an interesting project for me because it is similar in theme to what I am going for. I like to see how others have executed the same concept. She has shown off a lot of the foliage in this video which is something I want to do as well.


Vistorovschi Victor:
"Torrens Gallery" - 6 Months Ago

This video is really professionally made. The editing is very well paced and does an excellent job showing off the environments details.

My thoughts on these examples:

I have tried to select a range of artists across different skill levels. Whilst the quality of the videos may vary, all of these environments have let the visuals do the talking. I will be choosing to do this for my promotional video as well because I feel that if I try to explain my project it will come off as looking amateurish in comparison. Besides that, one of the primary objectives of my project was to tell a story through visual means. It would be antithetical to my goals to explain the plot and concept when I have intentional left those as a mystery for people to solve.

One thing I have noticed is that music they have chosen is very understated and in some cases is mostly ambient noise. I think this is a good idea because the visuals are the focus. I have a particular song in mind that should enchance the mood I am wanting to create and not compete with the environment itself.

Shot Inspiration:

I have also looked at this video of the Winchester mystery house because I feel it has some eerie shots that will lend themselves well to my environment:

A promotional video of the Winchester mystery house.

ARMOUR, J. (2018) The Pale Elk. [Online Video]. June 8th. Available from: https://vimeo.com/274110496 [Accessed: 03/08/2018].

DREW, E. (2018) Abandoned Study. [Online Video]. May 13th. Available from: https://vimeo.com/269523304 [Accessed: 03/08/2018].

HKDEUS (2018) Torrens Galley. [Online Video]. January 27th. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIeohE6i0h0 [Accessed: 03/08/2018].
 
HOUZZ TV (2018) Winchester Mystery House POV Fly Through. [Online Video]. February 3rd. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S5505SeNLA [Accessed: 03/08/2018].

PROJECT R0LIN (2018)"Válenfall" - Stylized Environment Flythrough. [Online Video]. August 1st. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26jUcpYosBw [Accessed: 03/08/2018].