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The best caster DUO I have ever come across would probably be Day[9] and Chill. Day[9] has been on a long search for a good co-caster for a lot of events, and Chill manages to stay coherent, interesting, on the ball, and insightful all the way through. They also trade off really well.
TotalBiscuit is sort of interesting to listen to, but his anti-cerebral approach to casting bores me after a while. He could be great with just a pinch of the philosopher in him!
HD and Husky bring tons of awesome content, and I love them for it. They do miss a lot, though. More importantly, HD is verrry hard to listen to -- his English is awkward in the extreme sometimes, not to mention littered with cliches and a boatload of "actually". Husky is much more reliable. I actually think Husky should find a new partner.
I think TheGunRun is underrated. He should get more exposure! He's also funny because he clearly learned English from the Internet, so all his heavily accented "baller" comments make me giggle. He's cool and coherent, though, so props to him.
...Edit: I had high hopes for Gretorp. I loooooove his stream. Love it. But he is not a good caster. A caster must be, first and foremost, nimble with words. Gretorp is not. He also can't think of things to say when he needs to. His T analysis is spot-on, though, so maybe he'd be better for analysis than for casting.
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I have updated the first post with links to the casters mentioned in this thread
Feel free to send me a PM with your details if you want to be included (and this way we will hopefully get rid of the self-promotion in a thread about casting in general).
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I've watched hundreds of Beta games. The most constructive thing I would say is for the casters to watch professional sports. The chore, at least in North America, is almost divided into a play-by-play caster and an analysis caster.
In SC2 its pretty clear the play-by-play guy should be vigilant about watching for battles and skirmishes and any meaningful unit movements. The play-by-play guy can interupt the analysis whenever there is action because it takes priority.
The analyst is there to explain strategy, past battles, and background during the lulls. The macro game would generally fall to the analyst as well. The analyst is generally prepared with background knowledge of the players, too. One thing in SC2 is all the stats are at his or her fingertips. They can be vigilantly checking out the tabs while the play-by-play is going on and bring anything important to people's attention.
And the best broadcasters of course entertain during lulls.
The thing I see about HD and Husky, mentioned before, is they both do the exact same job as play-by-play and analysts and hand things back and forth. I think they would be best served if one guy was chosen as play-by-play for the match and the other guy can do the analysis. They are both capable of doing both.
With Day 9 and Grettorp you have two guys prone to analysis. Day can do a good play-by-play but analysis is his fortee. I personally think they both could use a play-by-play caster to call the battles and add some smoothness. Grettorp also has to learn to step in during the lulls and be proactive about analysing things.
Specific constructive criticism for each caster.
HD--don't guess so much at what units the person will come out with. You are wrong way more than you should be, lol. "Its an early gas--I bet he's going mass air!" Its better to just say what some of the options are, and what that player has done in past games. In addition some of your "I don't like that moves" are a bit off. Maybe simply state the pros and cons of what you see rather than your opinion. Your enthusiasm is awesome.
Husky--man you talk so fast, lol. My biggest thing would be tighten up your use of language, if you can. And talk a little slower when nothing is happening. Amp it up when the action is coming. Apart from that, I think your play-by-play and analysis are excellent. The biggest thing is coordinating with Husky and not just randomly alternating "your time to talk".
Grettorp--step into the lulls. Maybe have a check list of 5 things you could talk about and when there is no battle just start talking, instead of waiting for a prompt. One nice thing is when you do say something I listen because its not just verbal spam. I've seen you call games in the two minute mark and be right.
Day 9--move to the analysts chair. Your play-by-play is pretty good, but with the right play-by-play nerd you'd be right in your wheel-house. Overall, you are my favorite commentator.
Generally...use replays if its not a live cast. Have the analyst then speak and break it down, even at a slower speed, if needed. It is easy to note the replay time when the battle starts. Edit the video if you have to. Also use your instincts as to when its time to amp things up or step back and analyse.
That's my two cents. I'd mention TotalHalibut but he killed my wow gold farmer (actually he has the best overall feel, voice, and personality for casting, but would have to back -off the humor a bit if he wanted to take it to the next level) .
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omg, so much text! i finished page 2 ~_~
seems like i need to do more english commentary. Most of the german viewers flamed me for my bad english so i decided to stop english casts. But well, i guess i do some YouTube Videos and start a poll...
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thanks xtfffc, would be nice to receive feedback..
check my show match games guys, heres a link to one.. therapist (Z) v Horoboro(P). if you're interested in bashing me ^^
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Day[9] is easily the best caster when it comes to having a cast full of good knowledge.
HD and husky are fun to watch, but husky is just a clown some times.. so I unno.
I like watching some of the "smaller" casters for their own nuances, and I think I pick up a lot.
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On June 28 2010 03:17 Forsti.henning wrote:
omg, so much text! i finished page 2 ~_~
seems like i need to do more english commentary. Most of the german viewers flamed me for my bad english so i decided to stop english casts. But well, i guess i do some YouTube Videos and start a poll...
I enjoyed watching your english live casts and really, your english isn't bad.
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The thing is that if you are German and speak in English, German people will notice their own accent and simply hate it. It's the same with me - I'm a Bulgarian student in England and I can't stand listening to other Bulgarians talk in English, even though a lot of people have even told me that they find my accent charming. At the same time I don't mind accents from other countries at all.
P.S. bakedace, you were already on the list.
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On June 28 2010 03:17 Forsti.henning wrote:
omg, so much text! i finished page 2 ~_~
seems like i need to do more english commentary. Most of the german viewers flamed me for my bad english so i decided to stop english casts. But well, i guess i do some YouTube Videos and start a poll...
Germans are (in)famous for flaming their fellow countrymen, if you don't do things perfectly! Even if your English accent is top notch, you have still done something wrong. If only the germans are flaming you, then you're doing it right!
This comes from a Norwegian living in Germany 
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In general I think there are way too many that has just jumped on with this casting trend that really should have done something different, as in not casting. A lot of them lack the knowledge and terms of the game and are consistently pointing out "X should have done this" etc when it is dead wrong.
Hope we get to see more of Chill + day9 in the future
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Chill plus Day9 are amazing.
I can't stand Husky anymore, and I like him so I feel bad about that. I just don't think Husky has a "radio" voice. Husky and HD need to learn alot more about the game and stop trying to predict what happens, because they aren't of these players level. They could get better, but I think they will always be AAA casters and not Pro like Day9/Chill.
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On June 28 2010 03:17 Forsti.henning wrote:
omg, so much text! i finished page 2 ~_~
seems like i need to do more english commentary. Most of the german viewers flamed me for my bad english so i decided to stop english casts. But well, i guess i do some YouTube Videos and start a poll...
Personally thought your english was fine and your approach to the games was very nice to watch. Much as I love the easily excitable commentators I really appreciate listening to a relaxed cool calm and collected commentator as well.
How much of that was you having to wake up really early and not being awake is anyone's guess ;p
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On July 02 2010 23:36 MonkeyKungFu wrote:
In general I think there are way too many that has just jumped on with this casting trend that really should have done something different, as in not casting. A lot of them lack the knowledge and terms of the game and are consistently pointing out "X should have done this" etc when it is dead wrong.
Hope we get to see more of Chill + day9 in the future
I'm sure a lot of them will drop off after a while. Hell, I might, but as of now I just hope to get better with constructive criticism and practice. Having subs doesn't hurt either.
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Every caster needs to start using a thesaurus. Its incredibly annoying when every mistake is a "blunder" which is only modified as a "little bit of a blunder" or a "huge blunder". Seriously some games, each player seems to end up making 3-4 blunders.
The first building to be put up is always "an early..." even if its at 14-15 food - that's not early.
If you don't do something crazy from the start like TLO, your build is "standard." Unless your doing replay build analysis like a Day9 Daily, describing a player's build during a tourney as "standard" or "normal" just makes me, as the viewer, unexcited and uninterested.
My last criticism is when a caster calls the game (or a match up) for Player A way too early because, for example, Player B's fast reaper totally failed. From an analytic standpoint, you're probably right, but it takes the viewer out of the game's drama completely. Think of a professional sports broadcast, even if a team takes an early, massive lead, they will hardly every call the game until the closing minutes because they want you to think you're still going to see a great game (so you don't change the channel)...but it makes for better viewing.
keep up the good work tho casters!
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Day[9] and Chill (sometimes gretorp) are the only people I listen to, when I see an interesting game and it's not one of the listed above commentating, I feel like I am getting worse by listening .. I play it safe and mute the volume.
Edit: Sometimes orb is alright to listen to too. Not sure of the other's skill level to really bother listening to.
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EPT
