Last weekend I was invited down to the ABC studios at Ultimo (Sydney) to do an interview regarding Starcraft and my career as a progamer. I was asked down by Nicholas Jordan and Vivien Lu two journalism students who did the story on Starcraft II in Australia for SBS online news several months back. I asked should I wear my uniform? Would I need to bring any gear or anything to show them and asked for a list of questions ahead of time (I've learnt that this helps alot so you don't get put on the spot and answer a question really stupidly only to realise 5 minutes later what you should have said) and also what program it was for.
Nick told me it was for ABC news 24 and that they'd email me the questions the night before and pay for my cab to and from the studio, also wearing my uniform would be great. Well I didn't get any questions but I guess busy news studios tend to forget stuff like this. So I rocked up in my uniform on the Sunday morning somewhat assuming we'd spend up to say an hour filming interview questions, perhaps doing several takes and then they'd edit it and chuck it in as a story segment.
So the guy (producer-organiser guy-not quite sure what his exact job is?) comes out shakes my hand, 'Bennet' I think was his name. Seemed really nice. and proceeded to explain that first they'd air Nick and Viv's story then me and Nick would just go on and sit down with the 2 presenters of the "weekend breakfast" show during a break and then do a live interview with some standard questions about the game, the money, career paths, growth in Australia etc etc.
"WAIT what I'm gunna be on live TV? "
That was the first thing that jumped into my head and I got pretty nervous! I quickly called Dot and woke her up once I found out and told her "turn on the TV to ABC 24, I have to go on live TV now, bye babe"
Luckily I think the experience with other interviews has served me well and I handled myself ok but was a little worried that I didn't really give SC2 or eSports the best representation I could as I wasn't prepared and just went on auto-pilot. I just received the vods and uploaded to my youtube and I feel I did a pretty good job.
Nonetheless I want feedback from you guys! When I and other players/casters/personalities have future media opportunities what do you think are the key things to talk about to give the best representation for esports?
What could help:
a) make esports seem interesting b) Dispel images of antisocial people in basements c) accurately describe and answer the questions that are asked, or even steer them towards better questions?
Are there any other suggestions on how esports personalities should communicate with mainstream media?
In answer to your questions, I think the biggest thing is, like you said, the whole image of the overweight, unfit gamer kind of thing which needs to be broken first. I think that's the first thing that needs to be dealt with. After that, it's just more competitions everywhere, and building the competitions both in the skill level and also the accessibility to people who might not have played as much.
Good job on the interview! The intro video was well presented too, but that's why it's ABC and not a major network. They're too busy telling us about neighbours from hell and other important topics =P
I love how the news reader dudes actually seemed to take it seriously. I've seen a number of things, eg: pro wrestling for example where it's clear the interviewers have zero respect for the industry they're discussing but these guys were respectful.
Really nice interview. You should be proud for helping the scene :D
Now, for the question:
On June 04 2012 13:08 PiGStarcraft wrote:
What could help:
a) make esports seem interesting b) Dispel images of antisocial people in basements c) accurately describe and answer the questions that are asked, or even steer them towards better questions?
Are there any other suggestions on how esports personalities should communicate with mainstream media?
a.) BarCraft b.) BarCraft
Well, I think you can give an example more on BarCraft, or elaborate a little bit more. There's a lot of good BarCraft all around the world that can be used as an example.
c.) I think you can tell them more a little bit about how much you exercise (like 2-3 hours to stay fit) and how much you socialize with your friend for the question about the stereotypes.
Very good job, man. You really handled yourself well and gave eSports a good image, especially considering for most folks that watch that segment, it'll be the first time they've heard of such a thing.
On June 04 2012 13:18 FirmTofu wrote: I loved watching the african-australian lady nod as if she understood and sympathized the plight of the stereotypical gamer.
afaik she is not african also we tend not to ad prefix the name as in america rather it refered as more of a suffix e.g. Australian of irish background/descent/origin
You did a great job. I thought you were very professional and answered their questions quite well! I can't wait until big SC2 competitions make their way to Australia so I can have another excuse to visit!
On June 04 2012 13:18 FirmTofu wrote: I loved watching the african-australian lady nod as if she understood and sympathized the plight of the stereotypical gamer.
Thanks for the feedback guys this all helps me for the next time I get an opportunity like this.
I really agree with all the the advice:
1) Dispelling the image of the unfit overweight gamer and I'll try to focus on the fact that I do work out a few times a week and know other progamers who come from backgrounds in competitive sports, and diet, workout regularly 2) Make it seem interesting. Thanks for pointing this out Delete, it's really key to not just explain but also bring across my passion for the game whilst explaining what about Starcraft makes it so great to both watch and play 3) Definitely talking about barcraft and perhaps comparing it to going to watch the Football (soccer) world cup to explain the excitement at these events is also something that I'll be doing in future.
As for big events coming to Australia in the near future for you guys abroad we have quite a few upcoming LAN events in the next few months: ACL melbourne -$2K prizepool + the best stream production Australia has seen Gigabte Esports Winter Clash: $4K prizepool WCS Australia - $6K prizepool WCS Oceania - $12k prizepool
Might have that last figure slightly wrong wrote this off the top of my head! Both WCS australia and Oceania to be held in my hometown of Sydney w00t!
Starcraft in Australia is really on the up at the moment I'm not even going to try and list all the weekly and monthly online tournaments we have going! Guys like me just need to start training harder so I can come over and actually beat some good international players so it isn't just moonglade as our lone soldier! Look forward to getting over to an MLG later this year
On June 04 2012 14:49 PiGStarcraft wrote: Thanks for the feedback guys this all helps me for the next time I get an opportunity like this.
I really agree with all the the advice:
1) Dispelling the image of the unfit overweight gamer and I'll try to focus on the fact that I do work out a few times a week and know other progamers who come from backgrounds in competitive sports, and diet, workout regularly 2) Make it seem interesting. Thanks for pointing this out Delete, it's really key to not just explain but also bring across my passion for the game whilst explaining what about Starcraft makes it so great to both watch and play 3) Definitely talking about barcraft and perhaps comparing it to going to watch the Football (soccer) world cup to explain the excitement at these events is also something that I'll be doing in future.
As for big events coming to Australia in the near future for you guys abroad we have quite a few upcoming LAN events in the next few months: ACL melbourne -$2K prizepool + the best stream production Australia has seen Gigabte Esports Winter Clash: $4K prizepool WCS Australia - $6K prizepool WCS Oceania - $12k prizepool
Might have that last figure slightly wrong wrote this off the top of my head! Both WCS australia and Oceania to be held in my hometown of Sydney w00t!
Starcraft in Australia is really on the up at the moment I'm not even going to try and list all the weekly and monthly online tournaments we have going! Guys like me just need to start training harder so I can come over and actually beat some good international players so it isn't just moonglade as our lone soldier! Look forward to getting over to an MLG later this year
It would be my dream to see televised games on sbs or something
On June 04 2012 13:18 FirmTofu wrote: I loved watching the african-australian lady nod as if she understood and sympathized the plight of the stereotypical gamer.
just an idea, maybe tell the reporter to do a follow up after WCS Oceania - interview who qualifies and then follow up after WCS finals later in the year. more coverage for e-sports the better.
"the eSports scene has exploded" and they show baneling drops on tanks. Had a good laugh oh and also that was quite the pleasing interview, well done =) and nice hosts
Nice interview! I usually watch abc news breakfast but must have missed it on that day . Anyway it is good to see esports get some positive media coverage, I hope there will be more of it
I think that you should have mentioned live-streaming as well as coaching as a viable means of earning revenue, but other than that, it takes a lot of guts to say that kind of stuff.
Also next time anyone asks about Pro-SC teams, you can say that companies such as Samsung and LG sponsor teams coz they realize its something the Korean public likes to watch, and that they view it as a worthwhile investment.
Great job thanks so much for getting the word out there. One dumb question, any way to alter the aspect ratio for the interview segment? Want to show it to friends but aspect ratio is a problem!
On June 04 2012 13:18 FirmTofu wrote: I loved watching the african-australian lady nod as if she understood and sympathized the plight of the stereotypical gamer.
I've never heard of 'african-australian' before. You're adorable.
I think the most important thing is just to make SC2 seem like something worthwhile yet fun to get into. If people are interested in it, and you see people like Day9 and Husky being so influential here because they rope people into the scene, they'll start exploring it online, maybe talking with friends and hopefully playing the game! So if you can inject your passion and enthusiasm into how you present yourself other people will take notice of it :D
Nice one! I am SO glad that the journalism in Australia is not so insanely flawed as it would be in Germany as there is the boulevard-press trying to get everyone to be the most nerdy there could be
On June 04 2012 21:14 AsymptoticClimax wrote: Can someone tell me how big this TV channel is in Australia?
It's a government owned station. Australia has 5 main channels and a bunch of smaller (digital) ones. ABC 24 is a news channel dedicated to news (duh) and current affairs and is one of the smaller, newer, digital channels.
On June 04 2012 21:14 AsymptoticClimax wrote: Can someone tell me how big this TV channel is in Australia?
it's like the national channel. every TV in australia has access to it. it has no ads, usually has the best news, and in general it caters more towards older people 30+ years old (more family oriented shows, no american sitcoms)
It was very positive. Happy that E-sports in Australia is getting some recognition. All we need to do is help develop it further to make E-sports mainstream.
In regards to the "didn't get questions" thing. It's not uncommon to not send questions beforehand. People tend to think so much about their answers that they will just write down and learn something and therefore sound unnatural, like a robot or answering machine.
That's why you will probably never get your questions except if you're talking about highly difficult political matters (where exact wording of phrases/terms may be of utmost importance).
What they want to show on TV is natural people in a natural conversation, not somebody spitting out answers in perfect writing language.
In regards to steering questions: Usually, if they're only half-experienced with interviews, they will not let you do that. Interviews, be they live or on tape, usually have a strict time schedule. So the journalist will prepare the appropriate amount of questions that they think will fill that time frame. Maybe they'll have one or two additional questions prepared in case your answers are too short.
Rule #1 for interviews is you cannot ever let the interviewed dictate the pace and/or direction of the interview. In your case, you should rather try to include what you want to say embedded in your answer. Or hope to talk to inexperienced guys who take the bait!
Background: Been working as a TV/radio journalist for 8 years now.
It was really good. You guys addressed barcraft, team houses, progamers needing to eat healthy & exercise, and the money involved. Those are the most important things to show that esports is legit. Streaming instead of coaching would've been a better way to show ways to get consistent money w/o winning, but that is just a nitpick thing.
I think it's important to show people that loving and watching SC2 isn't equal to being an antisocial basement dweller that plays the game a lot himself. I don't play (just once per month or two) and I watch SC2 a whole lot. Also it's important to figure out the simplest ways to explain the game without them losing interest. I think the game will become more interesting as people become better with the game though. Events like BarCraft and such are SOO important to the growth of E-Sports I believe, and we should try to think about that kind of stuff to give exposure to e-sports (doesn't have to be a bar, but anything you use/go to often and can show e-sports related things) Then, with more exposure and new kinds of initiatives it gains more media exposure then it could explode again.
I'm Nick, the reporter who co-put together the segment on eSports. I was the other guy getting interviewed with Jared. I just wanted to say thanks for all the support. This is something I'm very passionate about and I appreciate the feedback. Also cheers Jared for posting this.
Thanks for doing this PiG, I enjoyed it greatly I think you represented E-sports quite well, I think you could have touched on the emotional level a bit more. How people can sympathize with certain individuals going through struggles (see MVP and his wrist injuries) and things that strike a person on more than just a 1 dimensional level.
On June 05 2012 12:14 MateShade wrote: Lol ease up on the African Australian comment guys, it's not like he meant it disrespectfully.
Great job jared and nick
I don't think anyone's picking on him, just having a laugh at seeing US conventions used in a situation where they don't really apply. In this case, I believe the female presenter is Aboriginal, so no African background.
Not bad at all. The interview felt very superficial, but that was more the fault of the 5 minute timeframe and the presenters not being familiar with the subject.
whoa so many Australians here we have never seen before
if you guys wanna learn more about pig check out his biography page, he also does coaching and you can check out lots of his past coaching vods he puts up for everyone to see http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=3227
we also organise a ton of barcrafts, held 6 all around Oceania 2 weeks ago. would be great to see you guys there in our next one http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=4737
EPT
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