Also for you being such a level headed and generally nice guy(from talking with you,meeting you, and having you over at my place) I feel that your comments towards what Kevin does (along with his commentators) is truly disrespectful and I hope that you do get a chance to "do a better job".
These are people who are not getting paid, but are volunteering. All of them have jobs and all of them travel to meet up for this. It's not like everyone lives across the street from each other.
I hope that you do get the chance to do something like this after you have dished out thousands of dollars and spent countless hours putting a show together that no one else in the area has ever even attempted to do at this level.
Ask Steve Brinster and John DeBois about their struggles to do the Commentary for Skylands '06 DVD. They Will tell you that the sport doesn't have many words that can be used to describe shots and even Brinster and JDB, after doing multiple takes and even going through a dictionary, were still more repetitive than they wanted to be.
It's not easy. I'd suggest you try doing any part of a DGM episode and you can find out what's going on. Kevin is and has been a friend of mine since the time I started Playing in '03 and I truly appreciate what he has been doing and am so glad that someone had the motivation, determination, and thick skin to embark on making a Disc Golf Show especially when no one in the area was even considering it.
my comments about them being under the influence were a bit out of line, i agree, but honestly to me that's what it sounds like. and i think due to your personal relationship with kevin, you are 'turning a deaf ear' to what i am saying.
i understand that they are doing this show on a volunteer basis. i enjoy it a great deal, and am glad that they are doing it. it's cool to be able to turn on the tv at someone's house and show them some footage and say 'hey this is what i'm out doing all the time' (although not
quite at that level).
i doubt that TONS of people are watching this on demand outside of DGers. and i'm also sure that most people watching it on youtube are also DGers. they are catering to a supportive audience. to a non-DGing audience, i'm sure the production does not scream 'big budget' which is fine - it's not! i'm not criticizing the production quality or lack of multiple cameras.
as stated previously, my only criticism is the commentary! maybe i should start a poll and see how many other people agree with me. it sounds like they sit down, do one take of commentary without having seen the footage previously, and call it a day. i'm not asking for compelling, thought-provoking commentary. i watch some ball golf on tv, and it's not like the commentary is 1000x better. it just sounds prepared.
things like dstearns mentioned - discussing previous AM worlds champs and leaving out paul u. or when cubby mispronounces his last name and repeats himself. is that a big deal? no. is paul offended? i doubt it. would it be hard to go back and redo that part and get the name right? NO! it's little things like that which bother me.
and mind you, all of this criticism is coming from someone who has some experience in video journalism. i am not a professional by any means, which should make it easier to listen to. i'm not talking down at these guys. i took journalism in high school for two years and worked on the daily and monthly broadcast. i worked behind the camera, edited footage, went out 'in the field' for footage and interviews, and even sat behind the desk as an anchor for various segments. i also worked on a kid's show on public access doing the same stuff. so i know what goes into making a show like this.
in high school journalism, we wrote our own scripts and practiced them and then did a few takes to get one that sounded natural and relaxed. sometimes they were edited together. for the shots 'behind the desk' we had to memorize them to a certain degree so that we could read it comfortably. you know why we did all of that? so that our classmates wouldn't make fun of us!! we didn't want to look like fools. very simple. if my high school journalism class had higher standards and self-respect than these guys do for themselves and the sport they are promoting, then i think they need to try just a bit harder.
