The design arguments have been going on ever since designs for the movies were first revealed. A few thoughts though... One, I'm not convinced that is Unicron. I am guessing it's a Quintesson world of sorts. However, if it is Unicron at least he transforms into a planet and not a nebulous cloud or something along those lines. Two, if you don't like the old Megatron movie designs his new design has bulky arms AND a fusion cannon, so maybe you'll like his design more in the next film. Honestly, there are so many different preferences for designs at this point in the history of the brand it is impossible to please all of the fans. There are G1 fans that don't like the Bay designs, while I am a G1 fan that loves both design types. During the first three films many people complained non-stop about the alien-like designs. After the last film many people complained that the designs were too human. Many fans (myself included) love Barricade's new, sleeker design, but some fans of his earlier design were not happy with the head at least. At the very least it seemed to me many people have been pleased with Megatron's Last Knight redesign, as was I. There are movie designs I don't like, such as Hot Rod's face and Frenzy, but overall I love both the designs in both G1 and the live action films.
I got a few things to say. First of all, this is about the movies, shouldn´t it be in the movie section? (Edit: nevermind its in the movie section as well) Then about the pictures, could you show them when you start talking about them? It is a bit irritating when you complain about something while still showing the other version. And a last thing. I´ve seen some podcasts on youtube befor and they usualy have a group of people talking for 30 min. or more, not a single one complain for five minutes. You keep saying "we", why not have those others talk for themselves?
I will definitely take your suggestions into consideration, just getting the studio & production off the ground, the next one will be better, thanks for taking the time to listen.
I totally understand your points you have some good ones, the fact that he keeps changing the designs every movie, to me speaks to the underlining gripe of the fans of G1, thank you for taking time to listen to the podcast!
I keep seeing on different forums a lot of the every day audience either think the designs look like walking piles of junk or they can't tell them apart. It seems to be a response in the designing to simplify the looks of the robots for the sake of the ADD mouth breathers out there.
You've got an engaging voice, an obvious passion for the brand, and you're more well organized than a lot of these sorts of videos. Good use of background music too (not too distracting, helps fill in the space between thoughts, etc.). That being said, I noticed a few areas where I think you can improve: 1) Not a podcast Splitting hairs, I know, but this is basically a video blog, not a podcast. There's nothing wrong with either, but it does mean that you should be looking at difference sources for examples of what "good" looks like. From the way you've talked in this video, I'm assuming that you'll continue with a youtube format, and that means you'll have a visual, as well as an audio component, meaning you'll have to rely less on describing what you're thinking (say, like [email protected], Canadian Slag, etc. talk about), but also, that you'll most likely want to keep the listener engaged visually as well (look at Vangelus' toy reviews, or the videos The Spacebridge produces, or any other 'nerd-discussion' video channels). Crib from people who've already been successful, and learn from their successes to improve your own work. I'm going to come right out and say that if this were me, I would have maybe showed this video to a smaller group of people and taken a second stab at things based on their suggestions before taking my video public. 2) Visuals Because you're using a video format, you have the opportunity to show, as well as tell, the audience what you want them to know. You used a few pictures for comparison, which was a good idea, but you could do a lot more, such as labeling the pictures to draw attention to certain details, side-by-side comparisons, multiple angles or images on the same subject, etc. Use video clips, where appropriate (a clip of G1 Unicron shredding a planet could have been helpful to show how 'menacing' he is, for example). Tell people where these pictures are from, so that you can establish the context they exist in. Are they fan-drawings? Are they concepts? Were they ever used in products? Are they from 5 years ago, 10, or 30? When you have these images for discussion, have them ready on your desktop or in a slideshow or whatever works for you, so that you don't lose time switching between them while recording, and make notes about what you want to talk about in relation to them, if that works for you. Doing those sorts of preparations helps you to reduce the 'ums' and 'likes' and 'you knows' that can creep into discussion, and helps you to make a more focused, coherent presentation. 3) Length I'm not sure if this was just meant to be a test or whatever, but 5 minutes doesn't give you a whole lot of time to lay things out. Most videos like this range (from what I'm envisioning) between 10-30 minutes, depending on the subject and what the bloggers are trying to present. You tackled a fairly general topic, and as a result, didn't have a whole lot of time to go into it. Even mentioning that this was a "volume 1", you didn't really define what, specifically, was going to be covered in that volume, compared to what you'd cover in the next. Think about doing 'deeper dives', even if it means more time between video releases. This brings me to my next topic... 4) Content I know that this first video was only about 5 minutes (see above), but that being said, I don't really feel like you brought much to the table here. I could have probably found a dozen posts in the movie forum saying exactly what you did in a few lines, in the time this video took to watch. Maybe you just want this to be an outlet for you to express yourself, but if you want to build an audience, you'll have to get your hooks into them in one way or another, either by telling/showing them something they don't know (by researching your topic and presenting less well-known information), or something they've never thought of (a unique or novel opinion). I'm exaggerating in saying this, but your video basically boiled down to "the thing I like is good and the thing I don't like is bad so Michael Bay's staff should change the thing I don't like to be more like the thing I like". It was more or less the same "the movies should look more like G1" stuff we've seen for the last decade (and I say this as someone who is a consistent critic of the movies on other grounds). You appealed to tautology, or spoke in general terms, and as a "we", but not in specific, observable ways for the most part. You can probably do better than that. In terms of specific examples, you spent almost as much time saying this was a first volume at the end of the video as you did explaining why the G1 Unicron design worked. The biggest weakness in what you put forward in this video was, IMO, that there was basically nothing behind it. If the G1 Unicron design is representative of a 'menacing power', explain WHY that is and state your case; talk about Orson Welles' booming voice, or the mandibles that viscerally rip planets to shreds, or the abyssal, all-consuming maw from which there is no escape. Talk about the power and gravity (figuratively and literally) in the way the design looks, and how it moves on screen, eventually transforming into a colossal space viking devil robot. Similarly, for the WFC Megatron design, describe WHY its a better character design; do the clear lines make it easier to convey motion or posture? Does the giant-ass handcannon convey the power and destructiveness of the character? What about the face, what does the expression bring to it (you ended up picking a screencap with an especially dull face, I have to say). For 'movie' Megatron, the converse was also true, in that you didn't really do much to show how it WASN'T menacing. First off, you chose a design from 3 films ago (and didn't establish this), a design we've probably seen the least of, frankly. Second, you compared it to a T-rex due to the arms, and while yes, "focused on leg day" Megatron's arms have been a constant source of gripe (and while they didn't come off as quite so anemic on screen), a T-rex is a brutal, powerful creature and probably not the best parallel to draw to show that this character is lacking 'menace'. Similarly, while comparing "possibly Unicron" to an exploding mushroom was an apt (and amusing) analogy, you could have gone more into why you didn't like the design; that it lacks visible weapons or any sort of anthropomorphic focus to establish it as a character instead of just a setpiece, or that the design is overcomplicated, etc. etc. In talking about how designs could be changed when they're not well received, you could have given examples of how the films have changed designs in the past during production, or between films. If you're presenting an argument to the audience, its like being a lawyer at a court case, you have to be able to show what you mean in a way that leaves no shadow of doubt in people's minds that you're correct. That means doing your research, and clearly presenting your opinion mean in a detailed, logical manner. Point out specific details, or provide historical examples, or establish context that paints a "why" or "why not" on the subject, so that by the time you make your conclusion, the audience is already there with you. 5) Voice Honestly, you've got a great voice for these kinds of videos. Unique, engaging, clear and well intoned, with a good use of slang to bring emphasis on the points you bring up. Not even that many "ums" or "likes" or "you knows" to begin with, which is great (see my earlier comment about the delays in switching between images for discussion). Don't be afraid to do multiple takes or to record in segments, if that helps you focus your thoughts and get things right, editing can be your friend. Practice before you record, if that helps. Most importantly though, know what you want to say before that recording starts, by gathering your thoughts and piecing them together beforehand (either in your head or written down or whatever). 6) Citation Did you create the music you used? If not, its generally a good idea to source where you got it from, say, in the description for your video. Similarly, cite where you got your images, so people can learn more about what you're trying to show them. This helps the artists get credit (and traffic) for the work they've produced, that you're using to improve your own product.
Thank you first for taking time to listen & your honesty, there is much I can agree with and I will be taking much of what you have stated into consideration. I intend to make the podcast much better, this was me just getting off my ass and making something happen instead of letting another year go by without being productive. You have given me much to study, thanks again!!
As someone who doesn't like the movie designs at all it's real easy for me to agree with anyone that wants to throw on another layer of complaints on the movie designs. The G1 designs fit the aesthetics of cartoons in the 80's so the look was never jarring no matter which cartoons your local station sandwiched the cartoon into. G1 ran with what the look for cartoons was like at the time. But the movie designs don't follow the popular aesthetics. Other studios seem to want comic book inspired looks so that people can get excited about the look of Deadpool, Captain America, or Wonder Woman. We learned so much about dinosaurs since Jurassic Park 3 but Universal decided they didn't want to reinvent their dinosaurs. Paramount seems to just thumb their nose at the sort of looks that get people excited and that makes it rather jarring to look at Transformers, GI Joe, or Turtles after as a fan you just got a cool Batman costume. Even with the movies attempting to bulk up and armor up the designs they just don't do it for me. They just can't seem to find the elements of design and color that make me say I like that. Would have been nice if the video had used the various Megatron designs the movies have jumped around to, it kind of says the designer just don't get the character. I do agree with Galvatross, we don't have anything beyond wild fan speculation that it's Unicron. I think we really need something official before we call it because it could just as easily be some massive alien ship or even somehow Cybertron coming back together or maybe it's a flash back of Cybertron being built.
Hey guys, I would like to ask for your support, if you can go subscribe to the YouTube channel I would definitely appreciate it, thanks again!!!!
