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Canada1637 Posts
Hi folks.
For anyone unaware, I was doing all the observing for the main stream for day3 of the MLG Winter Arena. I just wanted to post a quick blog requesting any feedback people might have. This was more or less my first time doing this, I've been the type of caster who's always tried to put some emphasis on observing well so this was pretty natural for me (and making sure a build can be perfectly mimicked after watching a VOD, incase replays aren't available) and I just wanted to check in if people had any feedback. I did a bit of searching and found 3 comments of people being somewhat critical, and when I PMed them, they didn't really have much to give me, so I just wanted to reach out and see if any people had specific things they saw that they want different.
Overall I kept it pretty tame, only zooming/rotating during player intros (cept for one instance of MKP hiding marines, and DRG w/ 2 misrallied drones) and I never really removed the UI, I'd like to continue to get fancier with this kind of thing assuming I am still able to do dedicated observing (I really think its the #1 thing holding foreign tournaments back from GSL level production/casting) and move towards the level of ST_Legend, and perhaps beyond (he is of course somewhat held back due to the language barrier between him and the casters). So please feel free to post any feedback, brutally honest is fine by me. I'm also curious in general of how much people think having a dedicated observer improves a stream, if people have thoughts on that.
Any thoughts about my casting is always welcome too!
Cheers.
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You were great! I wish MLG had had PiP so that when multiple drops were going on or something that we could've seen everything, but that's obviously really hard to implement in realtime.
Overall great though. Better than Tasteless at least lol.
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Didnt realize, but it was great as far as i recall (mkp winning and being very drunk @ barcraft could have helped), but i was enjoying it immensely.
Not any real criticism, other then the fact of major battles (especially in pvt, where the 1 engagement seems to end the game 95% of the time) you should probly hide the ui, but tbh it doesnt REALLY matter... but its kind of a nice touch.
That being said, youre one of my favorite casters, ever since i saw you casting some 2v2 tourney, keep up the good work!
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I think you did a great job and it really improved the Center stream when the observing was removed from the casters :D
I am not sure if you heard what the casters were saying (though it seemed so) but some more communication between the observer and the casters would be nice, many times the obs tries to highlight something (like a missing upgrade or forgotten units etc. etc.) and the casters completly fail to pick up on it. If you are within hearing distance (or even better have a microphone as "3rd caster") you could speak up and point that out then.
On the topic of dedicated observer, well it honestly depends on how well the observing is done beforehand  Some casters fail pretty badly, miss drops, production buildings etc. As much as i love Tasteless and DJWheat they are not the best observers in existance to be honest. Others like you and Tumba for example manage better (though i am not sure if Tumba did the observing or his co caster did), but it is still hard to split your attention properly.
I think high profile streams (like tournaments) would improve a lot, if a 3rd caster was added whose job it was simply to observe during the games. After the games he can talk and add all his input, but during the game one person should focus completly on what the players are doing, not what his co-casters (or even he himself) are saying.
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Bah, you'll never be as good as Hot_Bid!
Just kidding, still waiting for the VODs so I can't comment specifically (yet) but generally it's like Tula said above, communications. Were you in the same room as the casters? Were you able to signal them when you wanted them to highlight something?
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Usually observing is very important for me, I watched the main stream but don't remember (I guess that's good for you). Posting sooner or asking in the LR thread would have gotten you a better feedback imo.
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Your observing was actually top notch. I'm usually the one at the front of the line bitching about the production tab not being up enough, or critical drops being missed, or someone focusing on the wrong fight. I had absolutely no complaints on Championship Sunday. Very well done.
The only possible addition I could suggest is on the larger fights (I remember specifically one fight that was about a screen and a half long because of the humongous arc) that you can hide the UI to maximize the viewing area, but that's so bloody minor that it would be nitpicky. If you changed nothing about it, it would still be one of the better jobs I've seen. Fantastic work.
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I did not watch the vods yet, but observing is my number 1 reason why I will shut a stream off or not watch at all. I can ignore bad casting but nothing angers me more then someone who misses drops constantly or misses battles. Something to remember is that good observing will always be under appreciated but bad observing is incredibly obvious and annoying so if you only found 3 negative comments you must have done a pretty good job. Anyway, I really appreciate that you are focusing on this aspect of your cast!
Also, I'm not sure if you do this or not, but a small piece of advice for you is that if you turn the terrain off it is a lot easier to see red and green on the minimap (so that you don't miss any drops!).
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Canada1637 Posts
On March 01 2012 09:43 MrCon wrote:
Usually observing is very important for me, I watched the main stream but don't remember (I guess that's good for you). Posting sooner or asking in the LR thread would have gotten you a better feedback imo.
Yeah, been a hectic few days, thanks MrCon!
On March 01 2012 09:58 ArcticFox wrote:
Your observing was actually top notch. I'm usually the one at the front of the line bitching about the production tab not being up enough, or critical drops being missed, or someone focusing on the wrong fight. I had absolutely no complaints on Championship Sunday. Very well done.
The only possible addition I could suggest is on the larger fights (I remember specifically one fight that was about a screen and a half long because of the humongous arc) that you can hide the UI to maximize the viewing area, but that's so bloody minor that it would be nitpicky. If you changed nothing about it, it would still be one of the better jobs I've seen. Fantastic work.
Spiffy thanks~!
On March 01 2012 10:11 ThisIsJimmy wrote:
Also, I'm not sure if you do this or not, but a small piece of advice for you is that if you turn the terrain off it is a lot easier to see red and green on the minimap (so that you don't miss any drops!).
Hmm, good point, but because its the direct feed, that will probably irk some people.
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Anything is better than tasteless not paying attention half the time 
Or that guy who would flip the screen 34983 times every single battle......
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United States22883 Posts
It was definitely better than Tasteless's. You still don't need to zoom or rotate, though. Occasionally rotating is useful for showing gaps in walls and very, very rarely when a battle is larger than the screen, but changing orientations also bothers many viewers. And zooming is just useless. You cut down on those things from Robin and Tasteless, plus nothing was really happening during the player intros either. Still, it's a small complaint but I'd rather them not being used at all, even if nothing was going on.
I thought your casting was good though.
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Well, I did answer you at MLG. But again, you did a great job. Theres not really too much feedback that can be given.
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It was ok. It was distracting hearing Tasteless consistently asking "can we get a shot of...<whatever>". Generally I hate the concept of a third person being involved. Seems unnecessary/weird. But if you're asking if you put the camera in the right place, yeah..most of the time.
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Canada1637 Posts
On March 01 2012 12:20 FXOBoSs wrote:
Well, I did answer you at MLG. But again, you did a great job. Theres not really too much feedback that can be given.
There is always room for improvement, I'm a perfectionist, I am interested in shit like when to select HP bars, and what other people thing, for example if 20 lings engage 10 marines and a single medivac, do people want to see every hp bar? what about 10 lings vs 5 marines? Probably not for 60 lings vs 30 marines? And so on... I have my opinions about all this stuff, but if its not what the majority wants, then I shouldn't do it (an extreme example is I'd rather obs w/ all low graphics on and hp bars on always, heh)
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I prefer HP bars always on, But you are questioning things that you will never satisfy everyone.
The main things to take into account are 1) Drops... missing drops is like eww 2) Battles that the casters arent talking about. Make sure you are viewing all battles even if the casters are ranting about something else and 3) never leaving the game in 1 spot for an extended period of time. You should always be moving if there isnt a significant event happening.
From my viewing you pretty much nailed the 3. Gimmicky changes are all I would make, like zooms and twists and bends.
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Hey man, can you please start streaming again? It seems like I never see you stream anymore...
And your casting was great. <3
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I'll echo Jibba's statements about zooming and rotating being distracting and unhelpful. I thought you did a great job overall, though, and have no real complaints.
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I watched a lot on the first day and all of days two and three. I can honestly say that the observing on the main stream was a noticeable improvement on Championship Sunday thanks to you, Adebisi. It wasn't ST_Legend or HeavenDom, nonetheless, your observing made the stream considerably better. My only concern is that I also enjoy your casting, and I know that casting/observing at once can detract from both. I look forward to when MLG can afford to have dedicated observers to every stream as that will only improve the production! Thank you again Adebisi.
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Go for a 1 month boot camp with ST_Legend.
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You'd wrote the guide on obsing. No complaints from this end!
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EPT
