Upvote Upvoted 7 Downvote Downvoted
Casting critique request.
posted in Q/A Help
1
#1
6 Frags +

So lately I've been wanting to get into casting and with the help of rays i was able to setup a stream and get a basic little cast of a pug going!

The game starts at 13:00 and I would really appreciate and help you guys could offer either it be thought just about how i cast or with stream configuration and making it look and sound better.

and shout out to our sponsors at Doritos Locos Tacos, Collect all 2.

So lately I've been wanting to get into casting and with the help of rays i was able to setup a stream and get a basic little cast of a pug going!

The game starts at 13:00 and I would really appreciate and help you guys could offer either it be thought just about how i cast or with stream configuration and making it look and sound better.

and shout out to our sponsors at Doritos Locos Tacos, Collect all 2.
2
#2
3 Frags +
JDawgHey, we need some1 to stream the bball tourney pls. Here is the thread all about the tournament http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7910/1#post-115943

Here's a good opportunity for you!

[quote=JDawg]Hey, we need some1 to stream the bball tourney pls. Here is the thread all about the tournament http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7910/1#post-115943[/quote]

Here's a good opportunity for you!
3
#3
14 Frags +

"faggot strategy" @15:00. Should never say things like that if you're looking to become a serious professional caster. Ever.

Also right after that happened the heavy got backstabbed by a spy. I had no idea the other team had one (usually its the casters job to inform the viewer of such offclassing shenanigans).

And like idk at the beginning of the cast you were just watching a guy that wasn't even in the mid fight. On the 2nd mid fight you watched a scout go into shithouse and do nothing but shoot off a scout trying to rush it.You missed the actual fight going on in mid and had nothing to really cast that mid fight.

If you're looking to watch someone at the beginning the demo or scouts are usually a good idea since they are the first ones to mid, but the 2nd mid was a bad example. It also seems like you miss out on a lot of fights that are going on on 2nd/last.

Don't use the thirdperson cam when casting its really annoying use either first person or free cam. Free cam is great for the mid fight since you can see what everyone is doing and all the action so you can commentate on stuff.

And last shouldn't cast pugs its a bad idea since teams aren't nearly as organized as how scrims/matches go. Should ask a friend for stvs from there scrims/matches and cast those. I can actually give you some stvs to help you out?

Edit: Should also download bluee's mod to see people through walls if you aren't already using it http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7848-advspec . It's literally the best thing in the world to have for both the caster and the viewer.

"faggot strategy" @15:00. Should never say things like that if you're looking to become a serious professional caster. Ever.

Also right after that happened the heavy got backstabbed by a spy. I had no idea the other team had one (usually its the casters job to inform the viewer of such offclassing shenanigans).

And like idk at the beginning of the cast you were just watching a guy that wasn't even in the mid fight. On the 2nd mid fight you watched a scout go into shithouse and do nothing but shoot off a scout trying to rush it.You missed the actual fight going on in mid and had nothing to really cast that mid fight.

If you're looking to watch someone at the beginning the demo or scouts are usually a good idea since they are the first ones to mid, but the 2nd mid was a bad example. It also seems like you miss out on a lot of fights that are going on on 2nd/last.

Don't use the thirdperson cam when casting its really annoying use either first person or free cam. Free cam is great for the mid fight since you can see what everyone is doing and all the action so you can commentate on stuff.

And last shouldn't cast pugs its a bad idea since teams aren't nearly as organized as how scrims/matches go. Should ask a friend for stvs from there scrims/matches and cast those. I can actually give you some stvs to help you out?

Edit: Should also download bluee's mod to see people through walls if you aren't already using it http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/7848-advspec . It's literally the best thing in the world to have for both the caster and the viewer.
4
#4
4 Frags +

I honestly don't know if you could have disabled it in the circumstances but the weapon info thing was unnecessary.

A whole lot of camera switching; invest in that neat script that allows you to switch in spectator mode from person to person using F1-F12 or something like that; make up your mind who you're switching to before switching off the previous dude

I honestly don't know if you could have disabled it in the circumstances but the weapon info thing was unnecessary.

A whole lot of camera switching; invest in that neat script that allows you to switch in spectator mode from person to person using F1-F12 or something like that; make up your mind who you're switching to before switching off the previous dude
5
#5
14 Frags +

I guess I'll organize this critique so I don't ramble.

-Strategy

Not team strategy... yours. Define for yourself very clearly how you want this to go. Do you want to be well-known for hilarious jokes? Impeccable game sense? Covering TF2 lobby games? You want to differentiate yourself from all the other casters somehow. Set yourself a strategy.

-Camera / Streaming

Eliminate extraneous overlays. Nobody wants to see your netgraph in a cast. Also, there's a cvar to get rid of the "weapon inspect" box that displays what your target is carrying or wearing, use that.

Spend a few casts (it took me probably 5-6) focusing intently on improving your camerawork. Make some mental rules that establish when you want to be watching first-person POV versus third-person, which person to watch, when to switch, and how to handle third-person zooming. Make sure you have "moveup" and "movedown" bound to different keys so you can move in 3 dimensions.

I'll mostly echo what Edy said about what he calls "3rd person," which I've always called "over-the-shoulder" camera. 1st-person POV or 3rd-person free-cam are almost always what you should use unless you feel like developing some serious over-the-shoulder skills. The problem with using that camera is that it clips into walls and players all the time and gets really hard to see much at all.

When you're picking a first-person subject, think about what that player is likely to do next. Medic nearly has uber? Time to watch his most likely uber target (pocket/demo). Most of one team is dead? Watch a scout for the cleanup, or just watch the retreating players. Make a choice and try not to change it for at least 20 seconds. The more you change camera targets, the harder it is for the viewer to follow.

-Casting

This probably was not the best video to judge your casting ability. But I'll pretend it is. When there's action happening, sometimes it catches you by surprise and you falter for what to say ("oh he should reload a rocket now" etc etc) so you narrate what's on the screen. My preference is to interpret what's happening on the screen rather than just narrate it so that I'm adding some value to the cast.

I don't like the word "faggot" and I think you'll find a lot of hostility to using it.

Anyway, that was a huge wall of text that might seem discouraging. I mean it all as constructive criticism because you do have potential. You've got good vocal variety, you know how to display enthusiasm, and you know TF2. Asking for critiques is a good sign that you want to improve and will keep casting. :)

I guess I'll organize this critique so I don't ramble.

-Strategy

Not team strategy... yours. Define for yourself very clearly how you want this to go. Do you want to be well-known for hilarious jokes? Impeccable game sense? Covering TF2 lobby games? You want to differentiate yourself from all the other casters somehow. Set yourself a strategy.

-Camera / Streaming

Eliminate extraneous overlays. Nobody wants to see your netgraph in a cast. Also, there's a cvar to get rid of the "weapon inspect" box that displays what your target is carrying or wearing, use that.

Spend a few casts (it took me probably 5-6) focusing intently on improving your camerawork. Make some mental rules that establish when you want to be watching first-person POV versus third-person, which person to watch, when to switch, and how to handle third-person zooming. Make sure you have "moveup" and "movedown" bound to different keys so you can move in 3 dimensions.

I'll mostly echo what Edy said about what he calls "3rd person," which I've always called "over-the-shoulder" camera. 1st-person POV or 3rd-person free-cam are almost always what you should use unless you feel like developing some serious over-the-shoulder skills. The problem with using that camera is that it clips into walls and players all the time and gets really hard to see much at all.

When you're picking a first-person subject, think about what that player is likely to do next. Medic nearly has uber? Time to watch his most likely uber target (pocket/demo). Most of one team is dead? Watch a scout for the cleanup, or just watch the retreating players. Make a choice and try not to change it for at least 20 seconds. The more you change camera targets, the harder it is for the viewer to follow.

-Casting

This probably was not the best video to judge your casting ability. But I'll pretend it is. When there's action happening, sometimes it catches you by surprise and you falter for what to say ("oh he should reload a rocket now" etc etc) so you narrate what's on the screen. My preference is to interpret what's happening on the screen rather than just narrate it so that I'm adding some value to the cast.

I don't like the word "faggot" and I think you'll find a lot of hostility to using it.



Anyway, that was a huge wall of text that might seem discouraging. I mean it all as constructive criticism because you do have potential. You've got good vocal variety, you know how to display enthusiasm, and you know TF2. Asking for critiques is a good sign that you want to improve and will keep casting. :)
6
#6
3 Frags +
SalamancerI don't like the word "faggot" and I think you'll find a lot of hostility to using it.Edy "faggot strategy" @15:00. Should never say things like that if you're looking to become a serious professional caster. Ever.

Yeah, that's more of my inexperience you could say showing through. I can see how its not the best word to use, so I'm definitely going to cut back on that.

I'm mostly going with pug casts since well to be honest they are the most exciting in that you don't know what could happen the lack of seriousness keeps it interesting, to me at least, and makes it easier to cast which is what I'm going for since I'm just starting out.

Thanks for the advice about not showing items and net graph it seems obvious in hindsight, embarrassed i forgot about it.

The main reason even made the thread was to prevent me from developing bad habits which I would need to eliminate later on, so again thanks for all the help!

[quote=Salamancer]I don't like the word "faggot" and I think you'll find a lot of hostility to using it.[/quote]


[quote=Edy] "faggot strategy" @15:00. Should never say things like that if you're looking to become a serious professional caster. Ever. [/quote]

Yeah, that's more of my inexperience you could say showing through. I can see how its not the best word to use, so I'm definitely going to cut back on that.

I'm mostly going with pug casts since well to be honest they are the most exciting in that you don't know what could happen the lack of seriousness keeps it interesting, to me at least, and makes it easier to cast which is what I'm going for since I'm just starting out.

Thanks for the advice about not showing items and net graph it seems obvious in hindsight, embarrassed i forgot about it.

The main reason even made the thread was to prevent me from developing bad habits which I would need to eliminate later on, so again thanks for all the help!
7
#7
3 Frags +
Salamancer
Eliminate extraneous overlays. Nobody wants to see your netgraph in a cast. Also, there's a cvar to get rid of the "weapon inspect" box that displays what your target is carrying or wearing, use that.

cl_spec_carrieditems

I've got shortcuts that launch tf2 exec'ing different configs and sometimes I want it enabled/disabled.

[quote=Salamancer]

Eliminate extraneous overlays. Nobody wants to see your netgraph in a cast. Also, there's a cvar to get rid of the "weapon inspect" box that displays what your target is carrying or wearing, use that.
[/quote]
cl_spec_carrieditems

I've got shortcuts that launch tf2 exec'ing different configs and sometimes I want it enabled/disabled.
8
#8
0 Frags +
jp_cl_spec_carrieditems

I've got shortcuts that launch tf2 exec'ing different configs and sometimes I want it enabled/disabled.

Was just looking for that thanks!

[quote=jp_]
cl_spec_carrieditems

I've got shortcuts that launch tf2 exec'ing different configs and sometimes I want it enabled/disabled.[/quote]

Was just looking for that thanks!
Please sign in through STEAM to post a comment.