Thanks to alffla, KizZBG, and the rest of the TL graphics team for the sweet banner.
Attention! The TL Commentary Contest has stopped accepting further entries, and the judging portion of the contest will begin.
Commentary on our favorite Brood War games has always been the stuff of fairy tales and legends for foreigners. Every so often, we get spoiled with a gem from one of the legendary Plott brothers, not to mention the occasional peep from Nony amongst the deluge of Day[9] analysis.
Aside from that, English commentary is still only a flicker of hope. Tasteless's petition to commentate the OSL finals live from Korea crashed and burned because Korean broadcasting corporations are too dumb to endorse a fucking magical idea, despite the heavy support by us (thanks Kennigit for correction). Right now, the torch is carried by superiorwolf, the 14-year-old who has provided commentary for nearly 70 videos.
However, superiorwolf's commentaries have popped up in several threads on TL for all the wrong reasons. His commentaries are ridiculed for being both annoyingly forced and characterized by a lack of game understanding.
On top of that, a controversial set of screenshots has surfaced, viciously destroying his image as the innocent youngster. Has this monopoly on commentaries gone to his head? Or were the words "i will fuck your ass so bad that it will bleed to death" taken way out of context?
superiorwolf, in a tearful confession, has agreed to check into rehab. Tying his anti-semetic slurs to an alcohol and drug problem, he apologizes profusely to anyone offended by his statements. "I really didn't mean to get so out of control, so I just have to ask for forgiveness on that part." superiorwolf has agreed to seek professional help and rehabilitation in an exchange for the forgiveness of the public.
Whatever the case may be, it has left many TL members with desires to make their own commentaries, myself included. Ever wanted to show off your stunning game sense, or even better, the volume of your voice? Want your commentaries to be marked by their humor, even inspiring a Best Quotes video?
Here's your chance.
Introducing the TL Commentary Contest 2007! Anyone wanting to do commentary on a Brood War VOD can and should submit it into this thread. At the end of the contest, the commentaries will be voted on and the winner will get some sort of special prize which I haven't thought of yet.
More importantly, anyone who submits a commentary to this contest will be interviewed to be part of the TL Commentary Team, which will commentate not only for released VODs but also, if the mood is right and we can get it set up, and also if anyone even cares to listen to an English commentary team, shoutcast over live streams of big games.
As for how to take part in the TL Commentary Contest 2007, just pick a VOD, any VOD. If you feel like the only thing that deserves your epic commentary is the Pringles 2 MSL Semi-Finals Savior vs Nal_rA Game 1 on Peaks (I think), feel free to do so.
(Originally, the idea was to have everyone commentate on one game and compare them, but I realize that some people have better understandings for certain matchups, and doing multiple games will make this contest more productive.)
If anyone is unclear on how to commentate on a VOD, I'll update this thread with several tutorials.
Drowsy brought to light another option. If you would rather commentate a good replay, that will work just as well, as long as you record an fpvod of the replay and combine it with the audio file for ease of viewing.
Also, if anyone doesn't feel comfortable commentating alone, team commentaries are welcome. However, try not to use more than 2 or 3 people, since any more than that will probably be pretty hectic.
I'll also update with a guide on how to do a team broadcast with Teamspeak or Ventrilo as soon as I figure it out myself.
On May 31 2007 08:08 Klaz wrote: Here are my first set of commentaries! I've decided to pick the OSL Season 3 Semi-final matchup between Savior and Iris, because I think it was a great match. Obviously I'm not a gosu who knows all the indepth strategy so bear that in mind please. The style does tend to vary a bit between some of them so let me know which one you like.
Also please note, I tried to do these in 'live,' style in that I haven't seen these vods in a while, so I tried to not watch them b4 doing the commentary to add to the freshness/excitement of it. Which also means mistakes are more likely.
This is my first attempt and it's pretty noob. The commentary starts about 1 minute into the video. Again this one is just a basic play by play with some analysis and is not that good so you might wanna skip it entirely.
A great game and since this is my fifth commentary hopefully the quality is better than earlier tries also.
I really had fun doing these and if anyone is intersted i'd be happy to do more. I'd appreciate any advice/comments about style/content etc. but would prefer positive criticism that will help me to improve!
On May 31 2007 15:31 Superiorwolf wrote: Klaz I really like your commentaries and the insight you go into: just make sure you take out a little bit or lower the background sound, and and and and and and and and I think that you're doing great
edit: Wow, the last one was really good. I think you are good in incorporating midlevel strategy and enthusiasm as well. If anyone was to win this, I would say it is you, and I'm not joking.
edit edit: this is the only thing I have to offer Sea.Leta vs StOrk
On May 29 2007 15:01 Excalibur_Z wrote: I'm in support of this. Some advice I learned from AfterBurn (who used to be a commentator for TSN and was training me to do the same):
- Always keep talking. You never want dead air, ever. Dead air is bad. It's okay to have dramatic pauses which you can use to collect your thoughts, though. If there's nothing really happening, you can talk about the players, the league format, previous games on the same map, what's at stake, there's really no end to what you can talk about. - Some babbling is okay but be careful about repeating yourself. One common mistake casters make is they'll say "the zealots of Kim Dong Soo" "the dragoons of Kim Dong Soo" "the probes of Kim Dong Soo" etc. - Don't constantly mention units by their full names. While it's somewhat okay to say "Ultralisk" when you could shorten it to "Ultra", don't say "Zerg Ultralisk" please. This is my own personal input because AfterBurn used to do this and it drove me nuts. "And there goes the Protoss Probe of Kim Dong Soo!" - Another hard part is commenting on what is actually happening during a battle. You have to be able to notice and react to little things the players are doing. "You can see how Kim Dong Soo is targeting the center of those Zealots with his Reaver for maximum splash damage, great play!" is a good thing to say. - When battles heat up, intensify your voice. Part of the magic of commentators is they have the ability to amplify the effect of what's happening on the screen. If a huge battle is happening and you're not enthused, most of that magic is lost. - Periodically take the time to identify strategic changes and adaptations the players are making. Something like "Kim Dong Soo's Dragoon numbers are slipping, it seems he's saving up resources to switch to Carriers". - Excitement is top priority. You can provide insightful commentary but it must never replace the excitement factor. I don't know if I personally agree with this but for the average person it's better to have Um Jae Kyung talking than Kim Dong Soo.
yubee's Guide to Windows Movie Maker Commentaries - + Show Spoiler +
Thank god. i cant wait for something awesome to come out of this.
also - just fyi, i made that petition and there was tons of contact info. It was dead from the beginning because ITG said the only way it would happen was if the Koreans brought him over and visa versa...but enough off topic. I hope this brings out some commentary masters :D
On May 29 2007 21:33 Kennigit wrote: Thank god. i cant wait for something awesome to come out of this.
also - just fyi, i made that petition and there was tons of contact info. It was dead from the beginning because ITG said the only way it would happen was if the Koreans brought him over and visa versa...but enough off topic. I hope this brings out some commentary masters :D
"On top of that, a controversial set of screenshots has surfaced, viciously destroying his image as the innocent youngster. Has this monopoly on commentaries gone to his head? Or were the words "i will fuck your ass so bad that it will bleed to death" taken way out of context?"
As I said, I am extremely sorry for those. I was very immature in my actions at that time. I'm just a regular kid, we all have tantrums (I just have a bit more than others ) I really didn't mean to get so out of control, so I just have to ask for forgiveness on that part.
commentary is an undervalued aspect of bw, methinks. my curiosity in the bw progaming scene was piqued when my college roomie happened to be watching some vods. savior raping iloveoov (the vods were from cyon msl), plus the sheer hysteria of the korean commentators all added to the experience. these vods led me to search for progamer replays, leading me to the well-loved pimpest plays editions, gosugamers.net (i remember wondering to myself "wtf is this nal_keke dude that keeps on having reps posted"?) and then tl.net. i especially appreciate the nuggets of info english commentators contribute, for eg. day's ideas about larvae spending for zergs. oh yeah, and tasteless' light hearted commentary definitely gives those koreans a run for their money!
gl to whoever takes part in this, you're doing us a great service.
Wow cool, great idea man. Does it have to be a vod or can it be rep+mp3? I really liked the style Chill had with the fpvod+rep+mp3 file of commentary, his were really insightful.
On May 29 2007 21:53 Drowsy wrote: Wow cool, great idea man. Does it have to be a vod or can it be rep+mp3? I really liked the style Chill had with the fpvod+rep+mp3 file of commentary, his were really insightful.
i agree that the rep + commentary is an excellent idea, since a good portion of TL will have not been exposed to the replay, which is the opposite for vods. so more power to you!
edit: though you do mean to combine the audio and your fpvod of the replay into one video, right?
On May 29 2007 23:37 micronesia wrote: What is the best way to 'share' the entry? They will be video files of significant size.
you have a choice between youtube and google video. i'm not sure if google video has a time limit, but i know youtube does. you could also use rapidshare or megaupload or whatever to upload the video, and our resident youtube gosu VioleTAK might be able to upload them to his account, since he has no time limit.
Newb question, is there anyway to capture video + commentary we are doing live while watching. What I mean is, say I watch the sc2.org stream for a game tomorrow, how can I record myself commentating on it along with the video? I personally think it would be great to actually record a 'live,' commentary along with a video because that would give more excitement to it, but have no idea how to technically achieve this.
What kind of commentary are we looking for? Are you judging based on Best Introduction to a Professional BW Game for a Newbie, Best Introduction to a BW Game for Someone Who Has Never Played BW, Best Mid-level Analysis of Professional Games, Deepest Understanding of the Game as a Whole, or what? Like, should we be explaining why we wall in TvP or not? There are unique markets for each kind of commentary, and it's important to differentiate what you're looking for, since you can't possibly cater to all of them.
On May 30 2007 07:39 Klaz wrote: Silly question, can we enter more than one video?
Newb question, is there anyway to capture video + commentary we are doing live while watching. What I mean is, say I watch the sc2.org stream for a game tomorrow, how can I record myself commentating on it along with the video? I personally think it would be great to actually record a 'live,' commentary along with a video because that would give more excitement to it, but have no idea how to technically achieve this.
Well, one thing that you could do would to be use a audio recording program (I can't think of any PC ones right now, but sound studio for the MAC) and record as you are watching the game. When the VOD is available for download, put it into WMM or w/e program you like and then put in your recorded commentary instead of doing the narration shown in the Tutorial.
To the best of my limited knowledge, this is the easiest way to do it without buying some expenseive programs that might not do what your looking for.
Edit: I believe the commentary should be a team, with one person being more knowledgable about BW and the other person as sort of a character. But you know, they both have a good understanding of the game.
I'd really like to attempt at doing something liek this, because I think i've heard that kid, superiorwolf, was it? The kid that has the annoying voice that doesnt know much about the game, that ALWAYS makes pointless comments, all the time! Seriously once he said something: "Ok, since this is PvT we're prolly going to see the toss go dragoons and we'll prolly see.. umm, we'll prolly see goons v metal" <--- god, go scout rush!!
I wish I had a microphone and some saved VODs to comment on, it'd be great to commentate some nice games. Perhaps in the future =[ GL Looking forward to some nice Korean games w/ pro-gamers w/ English commentaries.
btw does anyone know what the best way is to capture vods as you are watching them? not necessarily with audio comentary but just to save the video as it streams.
On May 30 2007 07:39 GrandInquisitor wrote: Questions:
What kind of commentary are we looking for? Are you judging based on Best Introduction to a Professional BW Game for a Newbie, Best Introduction to a BW Game for Someone Who Has Never Played BW, Best Mid-level Analysis of Professional Games, Deepest Understanding of the Game as a Whole, or what? Like, should we be explaining why we wall in TvP or not? There are unique markets for each kind of commentary, and it's important to differentiate what you're looking for, since you can't possibly cater to all of them.
Plus, how much is humor weighted?
best mid-level analysis, i'd say. anyone could gloss over the game by describing what's happening on screen, so do your best and try to give a little more strategic input. we want to know why a player does something, his possible options, his mistakes -- just use your best judgement. i watched a superiorwolf game commentary last night and he made notes about which buildings could build which units, but we are definitely going to assume the viewer knows that much.
also, being funny, being super excited, being cool and collected... all of them can be interesting. humor makes it much more fun to watch, but try not to make it a stand-up bit synced up to a game of brood war.
the most important rule here is to use what works best for you. if your game sense isn't strong enough to really process the game flow, and all you can do is point out a few things, don't risk making yourself look bad by spouting tons of bad information (though a little bit of mislead info is not going to kill you, nobody's perfect). if you can't be excited without sounding awkward or forced, don't do it. if you just straight up can't be funny, don't do it.
anyone got any links to earlier english commentary vods?alot of talk about day/plott brothers etc here would like to hear some of those if they are still around
ya, most ppl just do a play-by-play analysis of the game.. which any one can do. "ok purple is attacking now.." "oh man, he's getting killed by blues tanks, he'll have to retreat or he'll lose his units" Thats about what most commentaries will consist of. Sure, that's part of the commentary, but it's not all! Every commentator makes good use of what's happening live and past history and experiences. Like in wrestling, they'll call the moves as they happen, but they will also talk about what the wrestler did in the previous match, what they did last week and what they're talking about doing in the future.
Likewise in competitive BW - u should annouce whats going on in the match, but also what each player has in mind, what they've done in similar situations (if they're being contained by lurker/scourge/ling) and what the upperhand-player can do to finish the game etc.. The Korean commentators are always talking - it's hard to believe that they're just calling play-by-play, when theres 3 of them there talking. Surely they're talking about aspects of the map, the different players who just played in similar matchups, previous experiences of the player who's playing at the moment and what will happen for this player if he succeeds in that game.
That kid, I guesss who is SuperiorWolf, ONLY did play-by-play.. and was very bad at that.. I swear hes so bad at commentating. Situation: P makes robo fac commentary: Oh we might see some reaver drops
To all those asking specific questions about rules and content and styles... relax it. This is just for fun. Create something that reflects your style and put it up. There is no money on the line so just enjoy it.
On May 30 2007 13:36 Sosha wrote: ya, most ppl just do a play-by-play analysis of the game.. which any one can do. "ok purple is attacking now.." "oh man, he's getting killed by blues tanks, he'll have to retreat or he'll lose his units" Thats about what most commentaries will consist of. Sure, that's part of the commentary, but it's not all! Every commentator makes good use of what's happening live and past history and experiences. Like in wrestling, they'll call the moves as they happen, but they will also talk about what the wrestler did in the previous match, what they did last week and what they're talking about doing in the future.
Likewise in competitive BW - u should annouce whats going on in the match, but also what each player has in mind, what they've done in similar situations (if they're being contained by lurker/scourge/ling) and what the upperhand-player can do to finish the game etc.. The Korean commentators are always talking - it's hard to believe that they're just calling play-by-play, when theres 3 of them there talking. Surely they're talking about aspects of the map, the different players who just played in similar matchups, previous experiences of the player who's playing at the moment and what will happen for this player if he succeeds in that game.
That kid, I guesss who is SuperiorWolf, ONLY did play-by-play.. and was very bad at that.. I swear hes so bad at commentating. Situation: P makes robo fac commentary: Oh we might see some reaver drops
The Korean commentators, after early game discussion (usually about history, match importance, pressure, styles) are usually talking about what both players need to do to win the match or swing it in their favor. It's actually amazing how accurate they are-- usually, the pro gamers end up doing exactly what the commentators say they should, or they make a mistake and lose the game. A lot of it has to do with the timing of pushes or attacks, and since I'm spoiled by the Korean commentators, I'm going to look for really good English ones ;P.
Here are my first set of commentaries! I've decided to pick the OSL Season 3 Semi-final matchup between Savior and Iris, because I think it was a great match. Obviously I'm not a gosu who knows all the indepth strategy so bear that in mind please. The style does tend to vary a bit between some of them so let me know which one you like.
Also please note, I tried to do these in 'live,' style in that I haven't seen these vods in a while, so I tried to not watch them b4 doing the commentary to add to the freshness/excitement of it. Which also means mistakes are more likely.
This is my first attempt and it's pretty noob. The commentary starts about 1 minute into the video. Again this one is just a basic play by play with some analysis and is not that good so you might wanna skip it entirely.
A great game and since this is my fifth commentary hopefully the quality is better than earlier tries also.
I really had fun doing these and if anyone is intersted i'd be happy to do more. I'd appreciate any advice/comments about style/content etc. but would prefer positive criticism that will help me to improve!
On May 31 2007 08:08 Klaz wrote: Savior vs Iris OSL S3 Semi Game 5 - Neo Araknoid
i only quoted that one because i havent listened to anyone of them but I really found you to be great^^ i listened to the first.. i lied. great improvement in no time was nice.
Klaz I really like your commentaries and the insight you go into: just make sure you take out a little bit or lower the background sound, and and and and and and and and I think that you're doing great
edit: Wow, the last one was really good. I think you are good in incorporating midlevel strategy and enthusiasm as well. If anyone was to win this, I would say it is you, and I'm not joking.
can someone please apply for radio itg for starcraft? i'm starting to see them on tv and if we have talent for this stuff, it could bring sc to the surface. kthx.
yubee, I was wondering, since this contest will spawn ~10-30 commentaries, maybe we should compile them at the end and put them all in a huge package for people to download. It would be organized, fun to have a record of and also helpful for anyone who wanted to have commentaries
I was gonna just improv - sing about everything that happened. I guess it wouldn't win, so I'll do it another time when I'm free.
lolol just gave this a shot with a random VOD on my hard drive.
"Probe from 2 keeps movin' along Commentator talks as I sing my song. Found the SCV, Terran's in shit. His proxy's screwed if he can't defend it. Thanks to proxy, P goes 10/12 gate. micromanagement determines fate..."
Then I stopped rhyming because it was becoming too difficult =P
On May 31 2007 22:03 Superiorwolf wrote: Making a new VOD for the contest tomorrow.
yubee, I was wondering, since this contest will spawn ~10-30 commentaries, maybe we should compile them at the end and put them all in a huge package for people to download. It would be organized, fun to have a record of and also helpful for anyone who wanted to have commentaries
It would be cool if a respected player did a few moments introduction and a few minutes of commentary for each of the individual commentaries.
The contest is still on. I will contact yubee via email and pm and if he doesn't reply then I guess we will use the Central Audio Commentary Thread to judge who wins (Klazart)
the contest has ended, but since not many people posted their commentaries here, we'll be using sr18's thread as a resource for the new thread. though i have to ask that everyone pick a single commentary for judging.
i'm sure your entry will be counted zalfor as it should be since you actually made it and posted it up on the commentary thread b4 the contest deadline
EPT![[image loading]](http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/9919/tlcommentaryv2lv2.jpg)
Sea.Leta vs StOrk ![[image loading]](http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9707/wmm1cu7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1729/wmm2zh8.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9417/wmm3gk2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/6749/wmm4tv7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1765/wmm5zk1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/1377/wmm6mx2.jpg)
) I really didn't mean to get so out of control, so I just have to ask for forgiveness on that part.
