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The Visual Style of 'The First Video Game'
🕑 Added 2019-09-13 15:01:00 +0000 UTC
I've always been fond of the analogue domain. From the footage dubbed onto VHS for Polybius, to the direct-from-CRT shots of Flatline, there's something about the impefections of the real world that can't be simulated authentically. Naturally, for a video about the first ever video game, I wanted something equally evocative of an era past - nostalgic mid-century tech.
Luckily, I had a slightly rusty overhead projector to hand - originally acquired for 'Behind The Lines' in 2011, it was never used, and spent most of its post-academic career in my shed. However, after a thorough clean and check-over - I decided that FVG was this OHP's time to shine (forgive the pun).
I had the idea of preparing printed acetate sheets for my graphics, and filming the placement and removal of such sheets on the OHP. With a touch of editing, I could sync everything up - and even have two slides overlap on screen at once, if necessary.
However, rather than the traditional dark-on-light approach, I wanted to mirror the light-on-dark screens of early games - so I designed my graphics in negative, with the raw acetate footage looking something like this:
Then, we can invert the image, apply some level adjustment/colour correction - and we end up with this:
Which looks distinctly more asteroids-y. Of course, I could have just saved out clean digital versions of the graphics and skipped filming entirely - but then we would have lost out on those desirable analogue traits.
Even in stills, these qualities are apparent: the sharp edges are blurred, with a touch of (all-natural) chromatic abberation imparted by the less-than-perfect fresnel lenses. While I've designed all the slides as black and white images, the results show hints of colour at the fringes - if we boost saturation we can see this more clearly:
Also notice the rogue fingers (model's own). The odd fingerprint, mote of dust or spill also turn up on some slides - there's even an errant moth drawn in by the OHP's lamp.
A quick note on type: I decided early on that I wanted a strong mid-century feel (i.e. 1950s/60s). Something slightly retro-futuristic to reflect the post-war era, but not to lose the sense of technological impulse.
Helvetica is the poster child of the late 20th century, but it was a bit on the nose for this video (I tend to reserve it for Iconic Arms, anyway) - so I considered another neo-grotesque typeface: Monotype Grotesque. It's similar to Helvetica, but in a not-quite-there sense that carries along with the midcentury feel.
I've attempted to include original documents wherever possible in this video, as not only are some of them interesting (and relevant to the topic of the video), but the original design and typography help contribute to that 'feel' of the video: as though you're viewing these documents on a microfiche viewer in a dusty corner of a library, circa 1983.
Somewhere between a school presentation and fevered research deep down some rabbit hole: Printing out hundreds of acetate sheets may not have been the most practical idea, but it is definitely a process.
Comments
its.lee.dude
Hey I just became a patron and I wanna say your editing style is totally unique! Keep up the amazing work!
Thomas Fuchs
Hey Stuart, how did you film it, off a projection screen? Or directly from the mirror?
I had the suspicion of that you've used some like this. The result is stunning, and I can't imagine the documentation process. Congratulations!
Buffet Time
The video was magnificent, one of the best videos on YouTube for sure. The execution of the projector really did work out
Eric Granata
Bravo! Came here hoping there was more info on the production of this one. You never disappoint, Stuart!
Neil Hessian
Well worth the wait! Thanks stu!
Just wanted to say from the video I absolutely loved that you pointed out others that had come to the same conclusion before you! And I didn't read this post going in and my initial thought was that this was all hand done projection capturing (at least until my cynical, he could have used effects side kicked in) So glad to see my gut instinct paid off!
Thomas Fuchs
Can’t wait
KMS
This is the kind of legendary Stu content I am here for
Mark
Read this hearing Stu's voice in my head. It was almost as good as an Ahoy video. Almost.
Bring it on, I'm excited to see all this acetate in action.
