BACK TO PROJECTS
I had previously experimented with using video game footage with �Vice City: A Day in the Life of Tommy Vercetti� in which I followed a day through night structure and edited together like a music video of sorts. With the release of the follow up to �GTA: Vice City� � �San Andreas� � I started thinking of something I could produce. Responding to the recent negative press surrounding this title (due to the �Hot Coffee� modification) I decided to produce a promo video, similar to the trailers shown on television, but focussing solely on the mayhem you can cause throughout the game. I reviewed a selection of trailers which had been released for �San Andreas� and chose to use �Welcome to the Jungle� by Guns n Roses as the background music � this track is featured in the game and has appeared on several trailers. I felt this track really captured both the era in which the game is set, but also the sheer defiant and brutally clever nature of the title. I edited the track down to just over a minute, the edit transition is a bit rough � but it�s a surprisingly hard song to cut down. I�ve edited a number of tracks for various projects I have created, some edit well and some don�t. But despite the couple of rough edges to my promo � e.g. no in-game audio, the odd tip of text noting your location � I�m proud of what I�ve put together using non-professional means.
A new addition to �San Andreas� was the free-roaming camera, which allowed me to set up various angles on certain shots. For example, a short sequence details CJ (the protagonist) carjacking several individuals, I quickly cut between a number of angles � low and high � so you can see the victims being thrown out of their vehicle from above or towards the camera. Editing down the footage I originally shot was a big part of this project, starting out with 40-odd minutes of raw material and whittling it down to the best bits and then the very best bits. Shaving mere frames off at a time I was looking to keep the editing fast and to follow the beat of the music, not strictly like I have done in earlier shorts, but enough to bring audio and video together. We start of relatively slow by observing the cities from the air, then falling to street level before the music kicks into full swing and a succession of violent confrontations pass by us.
Originally I intended to make the �bad press as a selling point� angle very obvious, I was going to end with a title card asking �After a hard day�s work wouldn�t you like to come in for Hot Coffee?�, but I decided to refrain from this route and focus on creating a somewhat more traditional promotional trailer.
