• 31Aug 09

  TOTS not just a delicious treat anymore

  First and foremost I'd like to say that I'm in no way a film professional. I have done some amatuer stuff in the past with some extensive video editing (like a 13 hour stint to create a 2 minute light saber battle). Any comments I make are based on watching too much TV, formerly working at a movie store, and having a strong opinion and what I consider a good idea of what is believable and looks good to viewers when watching a show.

  That being said, I'm very impressed with the direction Today On The Spot (TOTS) is going. I had gone back several months ago and watched an episode of On The Spot hosted by Ryan MacDonald. I have said it several times before in E3 comment sections but Ryan MacDonald horribly overacts when he's on stage. His hands are going WILD as if he's afraid to stop them for a second or else they'll go Idle Hands on him and start murdering people. This, to me, is agimmick that people try to teach their actors in order to keep them from looking too stale or boring, or getting bored themselves: "move your hands and people will think you're interesting." Again, all of this is my opinion, hence why it's in MY blog. The way to be interesting on camera is to be, well, interesting. The content of your story or the writing that you're going from is crucial to being an interesting camera. By all means, flourish with your hands and what not, but not in a situation where you wouldn't normally. If you're forcing things, like hand motion, people are going to notice it and it's going to subconciously turn them off to what you're saying. People won't feel like you're really delivering and believing what you're saying, all because you're too worried about what your hands are doing. This is one place where TOTS is making huge strides. It is only in it's infancy and the crew is already taking great strides to try to break some of the bad camera habits that they taught their camera personalities before. Case in point: Chris Watters, who I have come to know well from The Hot Spot, has hosted a few shows. In the first one or two episodes that he hosted, he was everywhere with his hands and his words came out as jankity and forced, all because he wasn't acting naturally. On the August 27th episode, Watters had calmed down some, talked with his hands as he would if he was speaking naturally, and added some humor (which I know he has in him) and some excitement to his delivery, rather than how his hands looked. On the August 29th episode, Shaun McInnis kept his hands pretty much just on the desk in front of him and used that classic style (he's one of my favorite GameSpotters for a reason) of delivery and comedy that I've come to know him for, and really sold the show and what he was saying. The show and the people on it are definitely making progress.

  Tor Thoreson is golden. He can deliver the news quickly, concisely and adds a healthy dose of Tor Humor to it. It makes the news fun, interesting and makes it go by quickly. This is a gaming website and gamers know how to have fun. Tor perpetuates that stereotype and in the most positive of ways.

  The pairings so far have been perfect to allow the staff to play off of each other. Chris Watters and Lark Anderson work well together and can bounce their personalities off of each other to deliver a fun and lively experience where the viewer can see that these two like working together. Shaun McInnis and Sophia Tong also worked out very well together and was a pairing that, with their interaction, had me paying attention to what they were saying, rather than what they were doing or how they were doing it. That's really the key, make your content and your personalities interesting and fun so that the viewer doesn't get distracted while watching. This is the direction that TOTS seems to be going.

  The game content has been relevant and interesting, beyond what you can get just on the GameSpot page. That's important as well. The content should be things (like developers coming by the studio and what not) that you can't get by just coming to the page. It needs to be things that you have to watch TOTS for and so far that point has been covered beautifully.

  I think since the first episode of TOTS which was very recently, there have been huge strides to make it a great experience for the viewer. I like the direction it's going and I can't wait to watch more and make it a major resource for my gaming information.

  • Posted Aug 31, 2009 6:01 am GMT
  • 2 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet
• 13Aug 09

  I'd like to rescind my comments

  I made some bold claims about hating Brutal Legend and being uninspired by it. I'd like to take those comments back after watching Developer Diary 2 on this site. Remember back in my EA Press Conference blog that I didn't like hearing Jack Black. I recant that statement. I don't mind hearing Jack Black and I actually think he's a pretty good voice actor. I hate SEEING Jack Black for so many reasons that I don't even want to go into. That being said, now I'm excited about Brutal Legend.

  The writing in the game strikes me as simply tremendous and stunning. Having never played Psychonauts, I wasn't sure what I should expect from Tim Schaffer and so I was down on this game as just another gimmick. Thank goodness for being able to watch the devs play through some of the game. The sense of humor in it is hilarious and right up my alley. Add into that some customization options and some varying types of game play, this game has entered my radar as one that I may have to check out sooner rather than later.

  So there are my comments taken back with solid reasoning. I hope anyone who wanted to lynch me for how I felt about this game before feels satiated in the fact that I admit my defeat at the hands of this game.

  • Posted Aug 13, 2009 11:31 am GMT
  • 2 Comments
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet
• 17Jun 09

  Check out my Prototype review

  Check out my review for Prototype over at KatomicSnitch.com

  http://tinyurl.com/kmsusa

  • Posted Jun 17, 2009 6:00 am GMT
  • 1 Comment
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Tweet

See Previous Blog Posts »