I decided to write my impressions of the E3 2002 DVD only if I could be completely honest with myself and everybody else. That could be a difficult task to accomplish, so it’s important for me to try to mentally disassociate myself from my involvement and focus on what matters the most to the people that will be picking up a copy of this DVD.
My involvement in the project was business and long-distance technical assistance. I had no involvement in the shooting. I had no control over what footage was filmed, nor did I know what was filmed, or how it was filmed. I also had no control over the editing or DVD-building process. In fact, I wasn’t even at E3 at all. So that perhaps makes me a little bit better as a judge of the DVD’s contents and what I get out of the experience.
Aside from the trailers we have been leaking as time progressed, I had no other specific knowledge of what was filmed or what awaited all of us. When I pop the DVD in my DVD player, I am going into the experience as blind as a bat. I don’t know what to expect, but as someone with certain involvement and technical knowledge of the project, I expected the worst.
Yes, I expected the worst. As all video and DVD productions go, there are issues, snags, and bump after bump along the long road of production that end-consumers never hear about. Though these situations are expected, no matter how many problems you solve along the way, nothing gives you any satisfactory assurance that the end result will be something you can be proud of. I couldn't help but fear for the worst.
With my fair share of trepidation, I popped in the DVD for the first time and powered up.
What’s this? Our editor Adam Kontras (on our staff, and 4TVs.com mastermind) made a parody of Nintendo’s GameCube bootup sequence, with the rolling cube creating the form of the PGC logo. Quite a funny, yet appropriate way to kick off the “E3 Experience” that we sought. From there, the main menu of Side A boots up.
The main menu is a simple, yet intuitive layout. The image is of the front of the LA Convention Center, with a mock banner across the entrance reading “PLANET GAMECUBE E3 2002 DVD.” The options are as follows: Play, Chapters, Billy’s Pictures, and Credits.
With “Play,” obviously, you can start watching the video from the beginning. “Chapters” breaks it down into multiple submenus with MANY chapter listings. Under “Billy’s Pictures” you’ll find dozens of pictures that were taken during the event. You may have seen a couple of the pictures on the website already, but on television they are surprisingly crisp and colorful. Under “Thanks” you will find the extensive list of people, places, and things we thanked for their involvement, no matter how small, in the making of this feature. Not to mention the usual disclaimers regarding the forgone conclusion of ripping your heart out if you try to replicate the disc. We know where you live. I returned to the main menu, and with one hard swallow, I hit Play and began Side A.
The footage was shot with multiple digital cameras, so the quality is about what you would expect it to be. Right off the bat, we join those in attendance waiting for the Nintendo Press Conference to start, just as people all over the world were via their internet feeds. Only now, I’m viewing it for the first time on my television screen in high quality. The opening video montage is intermixed with a compelling remix melody courtesy of OverClocked Remix. Their extremely cool and often amazing music selections have been dispersed all throughout the PGC E3 2002 DVD. The Press Conference then officially begins with words from PeterMac.
I’m not going to run down the entire contents of the DVD or spoil the experience for you by filling you in on all of the funny and creative intricacies. Suffice to say, our video shooters and editor remained true to their word of focusing on experience, experience, experience. PGC had a number of cameras operating on the Conference floor, allowing us to use a picture-in-picture video technique that show the distinguished panel on stage as well as the video and slideshows that were being shown on the video screens at the same time, making the entire presentation much easier on the eyes. The video footage shot from the Press Conference’s video screen is exceptional considering the lighting conditions of the room.
DVD Screenshot
Once the Press Conference is over, the rest of Side A is dedicated to Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. Side B is dedicated to many, many more games as well as a number of candid moments with Planet GameCube staff.
As stated, I won’t go into great detail of the DVD’s contents, as that can already be found on our online FAQ. The small, funny intricacies that make the presentation all the more enjoyable are done in classic PGC-style that are best experienced on your own. The editing is entirely professional grade from the fades, transitions, and cuts, to the high quality OC Remix soundtrack that plays in synch with action on the screen. Don’t worry; in-game music is present as well when possible or appropriate.
The double-sided DVD contains a lot of direct feed B-roll footage that is placed immediately before the respective game’s show floor footage. The direct feed throughout is high quality. You can see some of this footage on the internet in compressed, low-resolution form, but there is NO way for you to truly appreciate GameCube’s lineup until you see it in full size, full resolution on your television screen. The footage of the games on the show floor, where PGC pointed their cameras directly at the video monitors, is quite solid considering that shooting TV monitors is a task that generally has mixed results.
If you choose to view the video by Chapters, they’re divided conveniently down to each game’s playable stage. For example, if you want to skip the Mario Sunshine B-roll footage (why, I don’t know), you can hit the skip button to jump right to the show floor footage. Want to jump to the second Mario stage? Hit skip again.
If I had to pick one thing about this DVD that I really appreciated and enjoyed the most, it wouldn’t be any particular game or moment. It would be the quality of the entire package… the pristine video, the stereo soundtrack, and the creative editing.
There have been other E3 videos in the past, including from PGC last year, and there will be other E3 videos from others this year as well, but none of them are as well-edited or as well-packaged as Planet GameCube’s offering. Having sat on my couch and pressed the Play button expecting the worst, I couldn’t help but be very satisfied with the final results. Planet GameCube has set a standard.
As someone that could not attend E3 in person, I ejected the DVD honestly feeling like I had just experienced the best of what E3 had to offer, wrapped into a very neat little package. I am extremely proud of Adam and PGC for their patience, persistence, and incredible work to get the PGC E3 2002 DVD filmed, edited, produced, and shipped to each and every one of you.
