Before I describe my complaints about the format of half-frontal shooting in game video journalism that has become popular on YouTube among reviewers or bloggers, know that this is just my subjective opinion and just my thoughts out loud. I don’t make any specific claims against anyone or anything else, this is just an opinion. Of course, what a person says is more important than how his camera films, and yet I believe that the choice of one or another review format can sometimes really speak about the person himself and how sincere and honest he is with his viewer.
The semi-frontal shooting method, usually taken against a green background with a right half-turn, is used not only by all former members of the Igromania team, but also by many beginning video bloggers who tell other people their opinions about a particular video game. The format itself was born, God knows when, and I’m too lazy to search on the Internet who introduced the fashion for it, particularly in gaming journalism. Yes, this is not so important, because I will write about today’s days and give examples of gaming journalists and bloggers filming their reviews today.
The format itself obviously came from television. The style of shooting in a sitting position with a right half-turn can be seen, for example, in Vladimir Posner on our television or on American television this format was used by Roger Ebert.
This manner of filming by the narrator has a certain psychological effect on the viewer. He looks somewhere to the side, hiding his gaze, completely focusing on the object of discussion, which gives him more self-confidence and helps him speak smoothly and correctly, without being distracted by thoughts about how he looks. This style of shooting, in my opinion, helps a person to concentrate well and compose sentences as detailed and interesting as possible and create a smooth manner of speech. In other words, it is in this format that the narrator feels most comfortable.
Of course, you can talk nonsense while https://cupcakebingocasino.co.uk/games/ looking directly into the camera, but it depends on the person.
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You see, it’s not about the narrator’s opinion and how much I agree with the person, but about the fact that I don’t see his point of view. This makes it difficult for me to understand whether a person is honest with himself first and only then with the people for whom he is reviewing the game. After all, when you look directly into the camera it is more difficult for you to hide what is in your soul and thoughts. Let’s take other formats as an example. Let’s call them “formats of sincerity”.
Do I agree with these people in all cases? No, of course not! I often do not agree with the opinion of novoeoldovoe, I often do not agree with the opinion of AngryJoeShow, but the person looks into my eyes, and I see that he is expressing his opinion. This is his opinion. I don’t feel like he’s hiding something from me, I see that he’s honest with me and with himself. I enjoy the fact that a person is addressing me and not his editor/cameraman. Conducts a dialogue with me. I see his joy, anger, delight, disappointment in full. This builds trust in that person. I may not agree with this person’s opinion, but I am pleased that he addresses me while looking into the camera, gesticulating, expressing emotions on his face, looking straight into my eyes.
Ridiculing the format of shooting in a sitting position with a right half-turn.
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Of course, we got to this point. You didn’t even doubt it when you started reading my wall of text, right?? True, in this case we are talking not only about the format, but also about the “businesslike” manner of presenting the story. However, I am of the opinion that the format matters and was chosen for a reason.
You see, the method of shooting half-front with a right half-turn not only helps the storyteller concentrate and tell his opinion in an interesting way, but, unfortunately, lies to his viewer. It’s not easy to tell a lie, but at the same time look important in front of the audience, confident in yourself and your opinion. It’s easier to be insincere in this format, simple psychology. Believe it or not, it’s true. When you look into the camera it is more difficult for you to express your sincere emotions. This is also one of the reasons why many players use the half-frontal format to appear funny or scared when they play video games. When you look the viewer in the eyes, it’s harder to pretend, and it’s also harder to look smarter.
I believe that the choice of shooting method really says something about the person. Of course, this is just my subjective opinion. I’m curious what you think about this. I’m interested to know if you’ve thought about such a thing as a method for filming a narrating author in game video reviews? Write your opinion, I will be very interested to read it. Name your examples. What do you agree with, what do you disagree with??