Cup of Jones - November 16, 2020
Added 2020-11-16 17:56:52 +0000 UTCThe unpacking continues! We still have a ways to go before we can consider ourselves officially “moved in,” but I’m now living in a different house and producing EZA content in a different office. My first real “office” since EZA began, in fact. I’m very excited about it, and loving the new house. I have a fun update for you to kick off today’s episode, along with a gameplan for how the office is going to work. Add that to our already stacked schedule including next-gen coverage and GOTY preparation and there isn’t a lot of time to mess around these days.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8_j6isU5J8
-Brandon
DISCLAIMER: I take questions from the post comments on the previous week’s episode here on Patreon. You can ask a business-related question which I may answer live, or a personal question which I may answer below. If your business question was not answered live, I either replied to it in the comments, or referenced the answer in a recent episode. Feel free to inquire why your question wasn't included, or ask the same question a second time if you think I may have missed it. I will edit your comment/question before reading it live to ensure the show moves as quickly as possible. I typically grab all the questions by midnight (PT) the night before each episode.
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
HARRISON HOLT-MCHALE - Just sat listening to the podcast and reading through Reddit where I saw a post that Formula Rossa, the fastest rollercoaster in the world, at Ferrari World, is 10 years old today. It's a ride I really hope to get to sooner rather than later, and I'm anticipating it to be an incredible experience after riding it's younger brother, Red Force at Ferrari Land in 2018. It got me thinking though. What is the first Disneyland Attraction you're going to take Milo on when he gets old enough? JONES - Probably the Carousel and Storybook Land. Stuff that’s outside so he doesn’t feel confined if he’s not into it.
Comments
For one, I always do a second pass on the script, reading it out loud, and that helps me catch some repetition, unintentional rhymes, etc. Brandon will sometimes catch things here and there that I miss as well. The other main thing that I do that's more specific to video is that I try to edit out any asides or parenthetical type writing. In print or academic writing it can be pretty common to kind of break into a sentence with another thought or explanation, but it's harder to follow when watching a video. I usually don't ditch the point they're trying to get across, I just restructure the sentence so that it's more straightforward. Saying things like "the former" or "the latter" don't really work either, because again a lot of that type of structure sort of assumes that you can take the time to go back and identify what the writer is referring to. In a video or audio format, the words are going to keep coming. -Bloodworth
Easy Allies
2020-11-22 19:01:36 +0000 UTCHi Jones, Like yourself, I'm someone who works both as a video editor and writer. And also like yourself, I'm adamant about editing my own scripts. But over the years, I've come to realise that writing for articles and writing for video can be very different skillsets. I was wondering what both your and Bloodworth's experience with this has been for your reviews. Is there anything in particular you do during the editing process to make things flow better as a video or are the writers already taking into account how their articles will sound when read aloud?
The Canipa Effect
2020-11-21 10:22:11 +0000 UTCI mentioned in the post that we'd need to get through next-gen before picking it back up. Still working on another review, but I'll try to start getting the ball rolling again next week. -Bloodworth
Easy Allies
2020-11-19 22:34:56 +0000 UTCThere's definitely some issue that's making it come across worse than it should for his model. He thinks he may have found a way to make it better for next week, but I just ordered him a new one last night. -Bloodworth
Easy Allies
2020-11-19 19:29:18 +0000 UTCHi Jones. I was watching the latest Huber Syndrome and saw that his camera quality is pretty low. It's grainy and the frame rate is very low. Might just be some settings or it might be time for a new one.
Olf Himself
2020-11-19 19:11:22 +0000 UTCIt was an error. They are on the list now.
Olf Himself
2020-11-19 19:09:24 +0000 UTCHi Jones, On the initial Patron Party post it had different levels of goals, the first of which being "$40K per month - This is essentially a healthy baseline for Easy Allies as you know it. We’ll be able to keep moving forward at a steady pace, continuing to develop content and shows and making incremental improvements as we go." Unfortunately, it seems that the Patron Party was not successful at bringing the Patreon up to that level. If we are, at the time I'm writing this, over $3k shy of a healthy baseline for EZA to operate, should we expect any changes in regards to how EZA is able to operate and create content?
Will Schmuck
2020-11-19 17:29:11 +0000 UTCI just wanted echo this. With E3 seemingly decreasing in scope, the game awards seems like the annual celebration it once was and the perfect place for EZA to start a new tradition of betting specials! L&R!
Rammer
2020-11-19 13:33:55 +0000 UTCHey Jones, What’s the current status of Minigame Champions? The first episode was fun and I’m wondering when we can expect the next episode?
Greg Kettering
2020-11-19 06:40:01 +0000 UTCI must say, one of the greatest joys EZA brings me are the ridiculous betting specials. I still call out any time the big boy slips. Your second betting special this year carried the idea that this could be a trilogy- which I took to imply "if Nintendo actually does a long-form show". Is there a new betting special being cooked for the Game Awards announcements? I really hope so. All the Love and Respect to you and the crew. :)
Maverick Lee Back
2020-11-18 20:32:28 +0000 UTCHey Jones, I just noticed that easy allies aren't on the website for game awards voting jury. Just wondering why not this year? Was this EZA's decision or has Geoff changed the way he picks the jury? All the best. L&R, Dan
Daniel Slawson
2020-11-18 20:10:44 +0000 UTCHey Jones, do the allies have plans to do any spoiler modes on some of the new games that launched with next gen. Demon souls, miles morales, assassins creed etc? Happy thanksgiving L&R
Sage_Mode_Q
2020-11-18 19:36:17 +0000 UTCHello Brandon. I assume that when you are invited to preview event of some yet unannounced game you sign NDA not just for yourself, but for entire Easy Allies (if this isn’t correct, you can stop here and skip the rest of the question). Does this mean that you’ll be in trouble if another ally, who is completely uninvolved in preview coverage, accidently reveal something that was under embargo? For example, let’s imagine you were invited to Rockstar Games preview event where you’ve learned that GTA 6 will be announced during The Game Awards 2020 and it’s coming in 2021. Since you don’t want to spoil the surprise for other allies, you don’t share this info with the rest of the crew and make preview video singlehandedly. Then, during The Game Awards pre-show allies discuss their wildest expectations, and someone says “GTA 6, coming 2021”. Will this get you into trouble? If this is something you can’t or don’t want to talk about, feel free to skip this question.
Alexander Zyryanov
2020-11-18 05:16:19 +0000 UTCGood morning Mr Jones, how attached are you to being the moderator of The Easy Allies Podcast? In last week's Cup you mentioned the projects you had bowed out of due to lack of time, and pointed to the podcast as a major source of that. A few weeks ago Bloodworth hosted it and did a great job, so I was thinking... have you considered having the moderator seat be in rotation too? It is afterall "the easy allies" podcast, and would love to see say Ian host and throw to a classic "Jones Rant" unencumbered by the duties of being the moderator. Just a thought, cheers!
David Warren
2020-11-17 23:33:29 +0000 UTCSorry if this has been asked before but I’ve only been a Patreon for a few months now. Is there any reason why Easy Allies don’t do Extra Life? I get it came at an awkward time this year with next gen and house moving but has it ever been in the plans before?
Josh Skarratts
2020-11-17 16:53:35 +0000 UTCI don't see East Allies listed this year on the Game Awards voting jury - do you have any thoughts / comments on why that changed from last year? EDIT : Looks like it was just added, must have been a mistake
Brandon Ray
2020-11-17 01:37:34 +0000 UTCHey Mr. Jones! Being a watcher/fan of Cup of Jones from the beginning, I’ve seen you answer the same or very similar questions repeatedly with a lot of patience and with the exception of one time in a very serious editorial, you’ve always maintained a calm, positive vibe and happy tone. So, naturally, this makes me curious to know: what’s the most frustrating thing doing EZA work? I know this is one of the few questions I’ve asked where it feels more in the Personal category as opposed to Business, but I think it could be helpful to know from both a macro and micro-sense, because from a personal stance, I would be able to focus on asking pertinent, original (I hope) questions while simultaneously hopefully inspiring new ways to think/consider aspects of EZA and solve problems before even an environment for these hypotheticals to exist (I’m not implying yourself or any other Ally hasn’t thought through every way and every OTHER way regarding the operation of EZA, just alluding to possibly providing more points of view that myself and all my fellow Patrons have pointed out/asked over the last almost five (!) years.). Thanks again for reading and as always have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers! QUESTION: What, if anything, frustrates you when doing EZA work? Is it more forward facing in terms of the content itself, or all the background logistical items fans/Patrons won’t ever see? And if there’s something about the content that IS frustrating, is there anything we the audience can do to help alleviate that such as providing feedback, sharing a video when it goes live, etc.?
Brandon K Gann
2020-11-16 19:10:41 +0000 UTC
