I actually have quite a bit to say on this subject.
When I'm on the mic, I try to be as informative as possible and call the matches intelligently and accurately while giving some insight into the match and/or matchup... and occasionally a little history/backstory of the players if possible. I also try to interact with the stream chat to a degree, and like any human being, I sometimes get caught up in the stream chat a little and lose focus on the match at hand...and believe me, we ALL do this.
The next thing I will say is, and this holds ESPECIALLY TRUE for those of you who have never been on mic before, but it is an extremely difficult task to get on a microphone, armed with nothing more than some knowledge of the game, and accurately and intelligently explain what is going on. Some people get nervous, some people can't speak that quickly, some people lock up. It's also difficult, without being too redundant, to take a single match, which is less than 5 minutes, and be informative AND entertaining all at the same time. Remember, this isn't a radio show where we spend hours per day preparing for a 5-6 hour show. We're all amateurs who think we can be entertaining, and to be quite honest, not everyone can be. The fact is, at VSM, I can only think of a handful of people who commentate who find the balance between informative and entertaining at the same time.
SO ONCE AGAIN, FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS THREAD WHO ARE BASHING THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE INTESTINAL FORTITUDE TO GET ON MIC AND TRY, GIVE IT A GO YOURSELF AND SEE IF YOU DON'T SPEND THE FIRST 15 MINUTES GOING, "HUMMANA-HUMMANA-HUMMANA-HUMMANA..."
Regarding Revolution X: The commentary team was supposed to be a mix of myself, Arturo, and LI Joe. I was unable to do the commentary because I was in agonizing pain all night. Last Friday I ruptured an oblique muscle and fractured a rib, and didn't know it till I did it AGAIN on Sunday right before Revolution X was supposed to start.
I agree that commentary has to get better and more professional. This doesn't always mean bringing in pro players to call a game or break down a match.
We have had problems in the past with pro players getting on stream and doing nothing more than arguing with the stream while ignoring the matches.
I have had to turn the fader down on a commentator who wouldn't stop cursing.
CDJR. and REO will both tell you that they've spent the better part of a stream saying DAYUM!
I've told jokes and stories on the stream completely unrelated to the match at hand.
The point is that we've all been guilty of something and that we can work on changing it.
Overall, what we need is to get people who want to/like to commentate to commit to being more professional, more insightful, just as entertaining, and be willing to cultivate the skill of combining all of that into a 5 minute match.
What we also need, are people willing to be honest and give constructive criticism, but not by saying, "u suk, go die", but instead giving true criticism and helping the commentators understand their mistakes.
Lastly, we need stream producers who aren't afraid to pull someone from commentary because they're afraid of hurting feelings. Bad commentary can lose viewers, and good commentary on bad games can keep viewers losing interest to continue watching.
, and he definitely sounded like he was making the effort in spite of not being totally well-versed.
