Tara Babcock Casting Practice #1! - Page 3

On August 09 2012 21:53 Kickboxer wrote:
Are those babies real?

On August 09 2012 22:08 Sinensis wrote:
I like that we could see your boobs in two different places on screen at once, pretty clever. Also clever covering the poster with a Steelseries ad.

Overall just left me feeling confused. I mean obviously you're advertizing but it's a pretty weird way to do it.

On August 09 2012 22:21 KawaiiRice wrote:
reading all these stupid hate comments is seriously depressing especially the one saying Tara doesn't play sc lol
good luck with commentating~~

On August 09 2012 22:21 KawaiiRice wrote:
reading all these stupid hate comments is seriously depressing especially the one saying Tara doesn't play sc lol
good luck with commentating~~

On August 09 2012 20:54 yeint wrote:


You don't say? It's almost as if your casting is a way to promote your career as a "glamour model", what with the address to your paid site being plastered all over your youtube page, along with "glamour photos".



That's what you wear to funerals? That's what you wear at the library?

No one is criticizing how you dress when doing your day job as a model, or in your private life. What we're criticizing is that you're purporting to be interested in casting SC2, when you're obviously selling a "glamour" brand and paysite.

If you're attempting to create a one-stop shop for SC2 casts and casual masturbation, more power to you, but don't get all huffy when women gamers everywhere roll their eyes something fierce.

On August 09 2012 23:25 Rannasha wrote:
Regarding the cast. People have already commented on the actual talking part of it, I want to give a few comments on what was visible on the screen (DURING THE GAME!).

- The menu in the top left should be hidden, it just takes up space. There's an option for that somewhere. All you need to remember is that F10 = Menu and you won't need the visible menu bar anymore.. The achievements and help hotkeys aren't really needed.
- The replay timer should be hidden, so that the viewer doesn't know how long is left in the game. You can collapse it or put an overlay in front of it. To make sure that a game-time-clock remains visible, enable the game-clock that appears above the minimap in the options.
- General observing was very jittery. There were quite a few small screen movements that weren't very smooth and the mouse cursor bounced all over the place. This is a natural thing to do when watching a replay, but during a cast it can be distracting. Aim for slower, decisive mouse movements to locations where you can indicate something and find out which scrolling method gives you the smoothest screen scrolling. The observing from ST_Legend in the GSL is pretty much the gold standard to aim for, so make sure to check it out.

On August 09 2012 23:39 Morfildur wrote:
I skimmed through it and the casting wasn't as bad as i expected it to be, though the general tempo was off several times. As an example you tried to do analysis when there was an exciting attack, e.g. when Stephanos banelings were breaking into Keens mainbase. The timing and tempo will come with more practice.
You also have to know what you are good at. From what i read in this thread you are gold league, so don't go for analysis, don't try to give hints to viewers, you'll end up being wrong most of the time. Just cast the game and focus on what you know. A caster like TotalBiscuit is a good example for that, he can convey great excitement and only does the exact amount of analysis he is actually capable off.

Also, preparation key combo whenever you open a replay for casting:
P (Pause)
T (Back to start)
Ctrl-T (Hide replay timer)
Ctrl-N (Names. You already did that)
D (Production tab)

After a hundred casted games i started doing that as a reflex whenever i opened any replay :p


On a personal note, for the overall video - while i in general don't have a problem with women showing their "attributes", i work in the adult industry after all - when i want to watch a game of starcraft i want to watch a game of starcraft, not a woman "shoving her breasts into the camera". I know you want to market the Tara Babcock brand, not just the caster/esports person, but in the future it would be nice if you would just leave the parts before and after the casted games out. If you want to tell people something you can do it in the first minutes of the game where you usually end up grasping for anything to talk about anyways. Maybe just add an overlay with your cam into the unit portrait field on the bottom if you want people to see you.

On August 09 2012 22:53 Saechiis wrote:
On one hand I respect that you've got your own style and aren't afraid to show just that. On the other it conflicts with your goal of getting serious casting gigs in the future.

It's impressive that you've been able to combine a career as glamour model whilst being a genuine girl gamer, but it still puts you in a position where people are going to question the person behind the boobs. Casting isn't about the casters at all, it's about telling the stories of the people that play the game, the pictures they paint with their mouse and keyboard, their efforts, quirks, rivalries, expectations, emotions.

The brand you've created depends heavily on yourself being spotlighted, whereas high level SC2 casting requires you to tone yourself down to make others shine bright. For a majority of the time you'd just be the sum of your words, totally reliant on your knowledge of the game, its players and your ability to convey these things eloquently.

I'm not doubting that you could handle that intellectually, but it does really conflict with your current image.

On August 09 2012 23:47 meteorskunk wrote:
I remember you from livinpink’s stream!

I did a commentary just to myself once and I was so bad, so I can say youre decent. I agree with most of the people who have offered constructive criticism.

- I dig the voice. Nice tones. Kinda sexy and expressive sometimes. Could be used better if you are less sc2 roboty/parroty and show more personality (I think goofing would make you more comfortable and less serious but I don’t know you)

-You’re aware of what player decisions to talk about ( like the somewhat unusual thor) but you do not expand on it enough sometimes. 2 examples:
1. “his opponent is zerg so the wall is safe” can expand to “early zergling play is easily defended with a wall that keeps lings out, but stephano fast expanded so this does not matter.

2.“Foreigner hope” – to some, stephano represents the chance that non-koreans may one day compete at the highest level that is currently dominated by Koreans, as he’s been defeating Korean players like MC in tourneys.

- talk about the threat of attack. The baneling attack was a growing threat like a storm on the ocean and it kept getting worse. You didn’t talk about it even when keen was screwed.

-goodjob talking about the scary economy of stephano but you need to talk about the army advantage it affords him.

-the decisive battle for keen’s fourth at the center you called an “interaction”. Interaction is a cool word to use.. like if the armies both decide not to fully engage, but they engaged.. so its an engagement.

-during the battle you said there were fungals but I think they were infested terrans. You gotta make fungals epic when they do happen(search playgu on youtube for a Korean workshop). also attention to detail during battles is important especially during battles. klazartsc from the BW days used to shout like every unit being picked off..

-I don’t see why you did not present the best work you're capable of by trying out multiple commentaries first.

Anyways, I am a noob so dont listen too much. I could critique any caster like this so don’t take it too hard either. Gg gl yo

On August 09 2012 16:18 MrBitter wrote:
As a gamer who is a dude, I like boobs.

Tara,

Energy is very important to a good cast. You seem to lack it. A lot. Go watch a couple of Husky's casts. Seriously. He's one of the best in the world (maybe the best) at conveying excitement in his broadcasts.

You ranted at the beginning about how much you love this stuff. Let it out in the cast.

There's great weight, and great strength in silence... If used correctly. In your case, it just feels like a lot of down time.

Best way to fix this is to improve on your knowledge of the game, so you've got more to talk about.

This dead space is also a great time to fill with stories you have about interactions with different pros or people in e-sports you might know.

Keep it up.

People like you doing this kind of stuff is a great gateway for people who don't know Starcraft to get involved. I'll check back on practice cast #10 or so to see how far you've come.

On August 09 2012 20:41 BabyToss! wrote:
This is exactly what is what gives women in SC2 community the bad name of attention seeking, wanting to sell themselves by the looks alone and the fact they are a hot female. I'm not going to say she can't be a good caster, if she persues the venture and genuinely learns her way around that, but I really think she needs to cut on selling her sex so much. Sure, it sells, but again, think of other women who work hard to try and bring something else, other than their sex(appeal), to the scene.

On August 09 2012 21:01 Kleinmuuhg wrote:
2. This is some sort of marketing trick -> She will fade away , nobody has to care.