[The setting - A bus with wifi, and two hours to kill] This past weekend, I enjoyed some time back in New York to cast IEM with the ESL crew. This was the first time I'd covered an offline event in the States, and was a very positive experience on the whole. Throughout the course of the event, however, many people asked me about my plans, current situation, and what I really thought about the state of SC2 as a game.
Right now, I've reached that point where I know people and feel confident in my work but have difficulty actually finding it. With WCS dominating the StarCraft scene it's very difficult to find actual employment, as doing one-off events doesn't pay anywhere near enough to live in even a small apartment (I currently live in a hometown friend's spare room). Personally I'm hoping that WCS does much better next year not only because I'd like steady work, but with things as they are I've already started looking into casting other games on top of Starcraft. It really hits me hard when the common response to a work interest is that without knowing WCS plans for next year it's too risky to bring me on solely for StarCraft. I intend to look into other games, but still hope that the work available increases during the next year.
As far as doing events go, this IEM was very different from my last offline event (Dreamhack Summer earlier this year), especially with the production setup. Of course we had a desk and camera, but the change from in-ear pieces to actual headsets created a few comical situations such as pushing my hair up at the analysis desk. Of course that was its own beast to conquer, since we weren't sure if I'd be doing analysis at the event before it started and I actually didn't take part in the rehearsal for it :D Production did a great job behind the scenes, and downtime was kept to a minimum except when players needed extra time to set up or use the restroom. The ESL crew was responsive to my concerns about things like which host would be doing an interview for a player that speaks English (you may have heard a few awkward handoffs from me because of this, with me only being told that the interview was ready and not who was conducting it!). Aside from that, they of course had plenty of water to keep my shouting throat from going dry.
As for the casting itself, I felt there were a few great moments and some devolvements throughout the show. I hadn't casted with ToD since my very first day during RSL back in February, and working with him in person was a very different experience. At several points I would talk through a long engagement and try to let him speak, but he would wave his hand to signal that he'd analyse what happened after the fight and to not let the hype drop. He really knew his stuff well, and filling downtime with him was almost like writing a thesis on TvP with the back and forth we had going. Another unique situation was my first ever cast with Kalaeris, a ZvZ that had very slow beginnings. I don't typically cast with other play-by-play guys, but it was a great way to keep the energy up in what was otherwise a difficult matchup to watch. We discussed quite a bit on how to balance out where each other would come in to keep things interesting without seeming annoying, and the the final ZvZ we did for Life vs Curious really let that shine. As someone that plays Terran and Protoss I understand that the analysis might not have been up to par with my other casts but I didn't personally have any complaints. Funnily enough, I think I casted the fewest amount of series at this tournament with Apollo, the only caster I had worked with live before. I didn't have any problems casting with him but I feel like our tempo was really hurt by the delays and internet drop that the venue experienced. I can't say it was the best cast I did but he seemed bummed as well that we had most of the problems while we were casting, particularly in the Flash vs Curious series. Outside of the duos, I think the only hiccup was the San/Taiwan thing. It was mostly upsetting because I had a hard time recalling/saying the team name even after seeing it (Yoe Flash Wolves), so I was told to just say "The Taiwanese team player" or something like that. I decided at the last minute to just not say that awkward mess, and it kept coming out as "Taiwanese player" when I introduced him at the start of the series. I think experience will keep me from fucking up things that like again but still a small lesson in how much people will criticize mistakes. Overall casting experience, 10/10 would cast again, but I think I will do a bronze to masters with Zerg just to make sure I'm not missing things on their side.
As for the immediate future, I have maybe one or two more events this year. I'm mostly upset that no NA company is willing to ask me to cover events, as I feel like I've spurned the scene by only doing EU content/coverage. Either way, with things going as they are I'm doing my best to stay involved with Acer Teamstory Cup and other community streams for events like Dreamhack and IEM. I just seem to have more luck with EU orgs liking the content I put out. Also big shoutout to EG for being one of the fastest-responding companies I've casted for, I'm really hoping there can be another SC2L so I can finally cast American players again
I can't really think of too much more to say so I'll stop for now, thanks so much for reading and supporting me, I constantly seek constructive criticism and QXC gave me some great pointers at IEM so if you also follow my personal stream I should be achieving Grandmaster soon ;D
TL;DR: There's not much casting work so I have to look at other games, especially moving to EU. Enjoyed IEM but still many things to improve. Will get pro coaching while I learn Z and also stream/vod it <3
On October 15 2013 04:18 Rainbow Cuddles wrote: What other games are you thinking of getting into?
This, the question on all our minds. I think you did a great job personally, and have really enjoyed watching you on your personal stream. Look forward to hearing more from you hopefully, if things develop as they should :D
On October 15 2013 04:24 tofubeans wrote: When you cast for stuff online like ATC, how much of the stream revenue goes to you?
I get all of my own stream revenue, but unless I get over 5k every time I cast on my channel (rarely ever happens) I will never make more than 1 thousand in a month from total ad rev
As for other games I'd cast, I'm honestly scared to say because the only reason I believe I deserve to cast SC2 is my decent ladder rating for a non-pro. Unless there's an announcement of my hiring or I achieve a similar rating for the games I'm now learning, I probably won't say much for the same reason that Totalbiscuit permanently keeps his chat in sub mode.
All I can say is whatever game I do, I'll put just as much effort into it as I do for Starcraft right now.
It was nice meeting you toward the end of the event. You prob don't remember, but I'm the Asian guy who's friends with Philip and we discussed Carmac's interview about calling his peeps bitches.. lol
Anyways, you bring excitement into casting and your voice is very unique, something that is very necessary in our scene currently. I hope that someone does pick up on your casting style and realize it's not the same boring voice as some others that I can think of, which shall remain nameless.
Keep up the good work and work through the struggles. I think it's only time before you get your fame, just get the exposure from wherever you can!!!
You're definitely making a name for yourself man. I am really starting to enjoy your casts. It was weird, especially with this event, having so many different casters I liked in one place. I found myself going into it a little sad when the combo wasn't one I was used to or overly fond of because of the excellent selection, but after one or two games with you casting I became a fan. I'm glad you got to cast as much as you did because I started looking forward to your casting and wasn't let down by a lack of it. Your play by play is top notch IMO, and your analysis isn't really a weak point for me, I quite liked the ToD/Nathanias duo analysis/cast style that you highlighted.
10/10 would watch you cast again my friend.
[edit] clarity, typos from stupid phone's autocorrect.
Great blog man! You're definitely an inspiration for being a hard worker.
How does your future end ideally for you though? I can definitely understand wanting a stable casting job and have noticed that you actually end up casting WCS EU Challenge league every so often. Do you wish WCS NA had a seperate casting pair for Challenger vs Premiere like GSL does with Tasteless and Artosis doing Premiere and Wolf + Khaldor for Challenger? Basically, what kind of changes do you want to see in the WCS caster availability to make things sustainable?
On October 15 2013 04:57 feardragon wrote: Great blog man! You're definitely an inspiration for being a hard worker.
How does your future end ideally for you though? I can definitely understand wanting a stable casting job and have noticed that you actually end up casting WCS EU Challenge league every so often. Do you wish WCS NA had a seperate casting pair for Challenger vs Premiere like GSL does with Tasteless and Artosis doing Premiere and Wolf + Khaldor for Challenger? Basically, what kind of changes do you want to see in the WCS caster availability to make things sustainable?
My dream scenario is that at some point next year I can work full-time for WCS and only focus on creating the best Starcraft show in the world. The ideal non-WCS setup would be with a large organization like Dreamhack's TV studio, if WCS condenses enough to allow them to broadcast SC2. I have zero contacts in Korea right now so I don't really look over there too much, and NA WCS scene is a bit rickety overall. The best part about EU is that most of the organizations cover several games so even in the long run I could securely add on other games as eSport interests develop
The San mixup is understandable since he kind of fell off the radar for a while and now plays for a relatively unknown team. I was hoping for him to do well in the tournament too, but it seems like something was just off with him in is games against naniwa, especially after seeing him play sOs.
Anyway, I really hope you can find some steady work, and I'll continue watching your stream and whatnot when I can! Good luck getting GM... I feel like you and qxc would get along pretty well because you're both a little bit Terran biased.
I was there at the venue and really, really impressed by your casting - I really don't see you any differently than the other top tier caster in terms of quality. I think in another time or place (perhaps if you had managed to break into the scene a year or two earlier) you'd be right up there with them in terms of popularity or exposure, but that's how things go.
While I don't particularly like the shoutcasting style (I just wish you'd allow some pauses), your work ethic is damn impressive. Good luck to you man.
You did a really good job man, keep it up. It might be cliche, but your excitement for the game makes your casts much more enjoyable than those that have been casting for a few years now, since they sound like the game is just routine and not exciting anymore.
I hope you can find a reliable source of income by casting starcraf and keep at it!
I think you're one of the best play-by-play casters there is, partly because you - just like TB - know how to cooperate with an analysis guy. The interaction etc flows smoothly. I'd love to see you cast more with ToD!
EPT
I was hoping for him to do well in the tournament too, but it seems like something was just off with him in is games against naniwa, especially after seeing him play sOs.
