20 replies to this topic

[Huge]

I would like you to take two minutes of your time and indulge me. Watch the following link below. Thank you.

Now I trust you may have noticed a few rough edges but bare in mind aside from the video. This entire edit was completed in less then a 20 hour timetable. By fans who were not even seriously putting their focus on the project.

Now with that in mind watch this following link as well please. Again it is only 2 minutes and I promise I will get to my point.

Did anyone else catch it? Did anyone else notice some key differences between these two previews? Despite your preference for voices which one did you find more informative? More thought out in regards to you the players. Which one got you more excited for our next map?

Now I am not claiming we are the editing and production kings and PGI should hire us for all future videos. Far from it. I am however putting forward that the quality and effort into the last few MWO official videos have been lackluster. Phoned in and half of the time completely silent. The other half is saying nothing of importance or making the new content seem exciting. This was just a small example how focusing on the players and putting a bit more thought into the same video could make it relevant and much higher quality.

Perhaps you disagree and prefer the original better. If you do not think we've been getting progressively worst showcases I ask for another 4 minutes of your time. Watch the first link which is how they used to show off mechs during the Founder's drive. Then watch what we learned about the brand new Sarah's Jenner. Then tell me they are still doing the best they could be.

Founder's Hunchback

Sarah's Jenner

Edited by Huge, 30 July 2013 - 07:29 AM.

[BillTheTurnip]

I want this to be know, the video capture and editing was not done by Kong and that would have taken quite some time to do.

[Wieland]

Hasnt NGNG made the TT and Jenner vids?

[Belorion]

That's an NGNG video not a PGI video. The voice is Bombadil.

ETA: Yeah it sounds like he did the Sarah's Jenner one as well.

Edited by Belorion, 30 July 2013 - 07:53 AM.

[Wrenchfarm]

Wieland, on 30 July 2013 - 07:49 AM, said:

Hasnt NGNG made the TT and Jenner vids?

Belorion, on 30 July 2013 - 07:51 AM, said:

That's an NGNG video not a PGI video. The voice is Bombadil.

ETA: Yeah it sounds like he did the Sarah's Jenner one as well.

Yes they did. To my understanding they are under contract for the promotional material and get compensated for it, same as hiring a marketing firm to create an ad for your product.

The standards are slipping not just on the NGNG produced vids (and in their defence, they are not video production pros to my knowledge) but also on the Hero mech promos as well. While they have some nice camera angles here and there and the music is getting better, the lack of voice over and general excitement in the videos really hurt.

I'd love to see the videos be super exciting and draw more people in. The game launches in a little more than a month and a half, it's time to pull out all the stops and get people hyped, not to release mediocre stuff.

[Weebi]

Wrenchfarm, on 30 July 2013 - 08:04 AM, said:

Yes they did. To my understanding they are under contract for the promotional material and get compensated for it, same as hiring a marketing firm to create an ad for your product.

PGI does not pay them.

[Druidika]

You're right, IGP does.

[LaserAngel]

I've been told that Garth wrote the dialogue for the Terra Therma video.

[Wrenchfarm]

Weebi, on 30 July 2013 - 08:12 AM, said:

PGI does not pay them.

While they don't get paid directly for the podcast, Phil and Bombadil are on contract to stream 4 days a week and for voice over work on promotional material. They DO get paid for this stuff.

Potential conflict of interests aside, if they are getting paid for this work, they should do a better job. I don't know who writes the copy or decides what goes into the promos, but I would love to see some more exciting and engaging content. The fact that the Kong guys (non-professional fans) can come up with better in under a day is somewhat disheartening.

[Team Leader]

Wrenchfarm, on 30 July 2013 - 08:04 AM, said:

Yes they did. To my understanding they are under contract for the promotional material and get compensated for it, same as hiring a marketing firm to create an ad for your product.

The standards are slipping not just on the NGNG produced vids (and in their defence, they are not video production pros to my knowledge) but also on the Hero mech promos as well. While they have some nice camera angles here and there and the music is getting better, the lack of voice over and general excitement in the videos really hurt.

I'd love to see the videos be super exciting and draw more people in. The game launches in a little more than a month and a half, it's time to pull out all the stops and get people hyped, not to release mediocre stuff.

I agree with this. However I think the Jenner S video was more supposed to be the emotional draw rather than an action appeal so thats why it was... lame?

Er not exciting

[EyeDie I]

your standards are slipping cause youre bitching about a video.im hoping theyre working more on drop balance weapon balance and the UI than a video preview.

[Druidika]

The guys producing the videos aren't even working at PGI. Them making bad videos does not mean that features of the game are being worked on.

Edited by Druidika, 30 July 2013 - 11:55 AM.

[101011]

Gotta say Huge, love your voice. And I do agree with you, with launch nearing, PGI probably should try putting out better videos (all the pauses in that Terra Therma video and just images of 'mechs running around...yeah, yours was much better). Maybe PGI should just pay you to do their videos.

[EyeOne]

The Sarah's Jenner video was purposefully and appropriately quiet, solemn and respectful. You need to remove it from your examples.

[Huge]

Perhaps so. Personally the whole weapons and action sequences would have felt out of place with Sarah's Jenner because of the circumstances surrounding the mech. This doesn't give them permission to be lazy and listful. What could not be filled with the more traditional mech showcase could and should have been more focused on Sarah herself. Outside of the main Sarah thread there is little to none information about the young girl. About her life and her passion for MWO and the precious little time she spent playing it with her Father before her passing.

The Mech was created in her memory yet during the unbecoming short 43 second video. 11 seconds of which where opening and closing animations with nothing to do with the video. Was completely absent of any mention of who Sarah was. Why she loved the game in her own innocent and short lived eyes. Even a few shorts words to commemorate the young Mech warrior and the tragic passing were missing entirely. Yet even if they were going for the solemn and silent route. It fell on its face because it did nothing to emphasis the idea of a moment of silence for Sarah. It was just a Jenner running across random land scapes without rhyme or reason. The same is true for the latest Terra Therma preview. Just empty air and what is said is completely forgettable. Unimportant and just so much chaff.


When they have a video once only every couples of weeks and months and the editing and video capture process takes less then half a day at the extreme end I would expect much better effort and results. We took what they did and employed rational standards to it and produced a product that actually had content for us the players. Had a reason to listen beyond a random assortment of clips. Which anyone with a capture program and early access could pump out with a single 15 minute match running across everywhere. It wasn't informative or exciting or even literally halfway filled with commentary. Where as earlier videos were filled to the brim with intel about the mechs and maps with plenty of action shots and coordinated set up which does take time and resources to produce. These last few videos have been missing it entirely. Or had it in place but sub-par for their earlier productions.

[EyeOne]

I don't understand why you go back to "lazy" everytime. I listened to the podcast where Bombadil talked about writing and recording that episode. It went through many different versions before it was final. And the final product was a quiet one. You can disagree with that choice if you want in your quest for information but everyone that watched that video knew who Sarah was. The video was smartly done.

The Terra Therma video was a commercial, not a documentary. "Terra Therma guys! Go play it!" to which I said "Ok!" It's in the damn game now. Go launch on it and play it for your self.

-Maybe it wasn't as informative as the others? Maybe I guess. I didn't really notice but you seem to have really latched on to it so I'll grant that point because I didn't sleep last night and I'm tired.
-The Hunchback video was a special case as it was a Founder's Package "ad". All the founder's mechs had them and the only other mech to get it's own video was the Centurion. Which I took as an experiment that they decided not to do again.
-The Hero Mech videos are consistent.

So, you think the new vidoes are lacking. Ok. I still don't see why that is so upsetting to you.

Edited by EyeOne, 31 July 2013 - 06:26 AM.

[Wrenchfarm]

EyeOne, on 30 July 2013 - 07:27 PM, said:

The Sarah's Jenner video was purposefully and appropriately quiet, solemn and respectful. You need to remove it from your examples.

Sarah's story is quite moving and interesting, it would have been nice if they could have brought it up. As it is, the ad doesn't mention any of this - it just looks like a funky little robot.

EyeOne, on 31 July 2013 - 05:00 AM, said:

The Terra Therma video was a commercial, not a documentary. "Terra Therma guys! Go play it!" to which I said "Ok!" It's in the damn game now. Go launch on it and play it for your self.

See, I don't think it succeeded in that regard. A few snippets of info followed by long protracted silence while looking at a still and desolate rock surface doesn't scream "COME AND PLAY!" to me. If they didn't want to (or couldn't) show a bunch of mechs fighting or action scenes, they could at least spruce up the copy to seem exciting.

Personally, I find the lacklustre videos upsetting because I think they are missing a big opportunity. The game is only a month and a half from launch supposedly, they should be putting out content that will get people pumped. Crummy videos makes them seem amateurish (which is further compounded when actual amateurs do a better nob).

[EyeOne]

I guess I just don't find the quality lacking at all. I'll leave this conversation as I've made my point.

No hard feelings. Sorry if I came off too douchy, I am a bit sleepy deprived today (pregnant wives don't sleep well, thus I don't).

[Congzilla]

Why would they waste money having people do a fancy edit for a map preview. And why would they spend a lot of money editing a video for something they aren't making any money from.

[aniviron]

Woah, what game is the HBK-4G video from? I want to play that game!