Audio Commentator Contest!

[Neeka]

Have you always wanted to be an Audio Commentator on this site? Well this is your chance then!
WCReplays is hosting a content in which two future Audio Commentators will be selected by both staff AND the members itself of this site!

Here are more details about the rounds for the contest.

First round - The Sample

In this round everyone is free to submit their own sample of a commentary. In this small sample of a commentary the applicant should try to make the best impression as possible to be elected to the next round. Also, there are a few questions which you must answer to help everyone to get to know you a little more. After the deadline to submit the samples I will create a new thread in which everyone is able to vote who will succeed to the next round.
The five applicants with the most votes will succeed to the next round.

Some rules..
To make sure this will not be too timeconsuming for all the ones wanting to judge the sample should not be longer then 60 seconds and 1.5mb big. For the audio settings please use PCM24k mhz 8 bit mono. This is easy to do for everyone just using the SoundRecorder in Windows.
Also we have selected the replay on which the commentary should be based, the place you are going to comment is still free. One person can only submit one single sample or he/she will be disqualified.
The deadline to submit this sample is on next saturday (27 march) and here is the replay you must use for the sample.
http://www.wcreplays.com/replays.php?get=585&R=2

Second Round - The Commentary

In this the five best will be given to opportunity to create a Audio Commentary with their own replay and their own length. From these five the best two will be given the chance to become trial staff on this site. More details will be available when this round starts!

General Information

From this moment everyone is free to submit his/her sample !ZIPPED! (with Winzip only) to Applications@WCReplays.com
The following information MUST be included in the email (the information will be handled discrete and only the first three points will be passed)
Forum name / Nickname
Short summary of the commentary
Starting time in the replay for your sample
Contact information
In the e-mail please write the answer's to the questions below
The email body should be as followed 'Sample' and then your nickname for instance 'Sample Neeka'
Answers on the questions listed below

Questions

These are to be answered in the e-mail you send for Round 1. Try and include the question with your answer to avoid confusion. All questions must be answered. These answers will also be used in the global thread later.


What is your name and age?
What is your favorite race for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne?
What “style” of Commentaries will you do (strategy, comedy, etc)?
Why do you think we should hire you as an Audio Commentator?
What experience do you have in Warcraft III (levels, how long you have played, etc)?


If anybody has any questions feel free to ask them. Please dont try to spam this thread will be heavily moderated.

Good luck to you all and may the best two win! :)

[eFaReL]

K33gan will apply to this as soon as he sees it, just like neeka said before he has applied to almost any position

[Moias]

sweet! this site gives great opportunities, much thx =D :rockon:

[Neeka]

K33gan will apply to this as soon as he sees it, just like neeka said before he has applied to almost any position

haha probably, cannot wait to hear the first samples.

[swift]

Eh, a 60 second commentary? That's BS. 60 seconds is just barely enough time for the replay viewer to load up the replay! The samples should be at least 5 minutes imo.

[Unforgivean]

I'll get mine ready =)

[Neeka]

Eh, a 60 second commentary? That's BS. 60 seconds is just barely enough time for the replay viewer to load up the replay! The samples should be at least 5 minutes imo.

In that one minute you can get a pretty good impression of someones qualities. Later when we have to go through them all 60 seconds is acceptable and easy to record with the Sound Recorder.
I tried to make one myself to check it out but one minute is pretty long if you spend your time wisely..

btw no need to rush, everyone gets the same chance just try to make the deadline.

[HaiiYaa]

so you must do a commentary on the first 60 seconds of the replay?

[KING-TYRAEL]

i ll send u mine i ll try it it is matter i have i ve only 14 old and a voice of a child : (( but i m french altought my english i good i think i m good at warcraft for commmen i have a lot of experience aka 21-1

[ZoSo-]

i ll send u mine i ll try it it is matter i have i ve only 14 old and a voice of a child : (( but i m french altought my english i good i think i m good at warcraft for commmen i have a lot of experience aka 21-1

lol....

[KING-TYRAEL]

wat lol we have all been child but dont laught if i do it if the word are good

[Panda]

CAn you let Cygnus on already? He should have been on staff two months ago.

[sCK]

Hmmm ... I'll need a decent mic, but I think I'll try out :o ~_~

[Toonman]

Someone already asked but im asking too

Can u commentate on any part of the replay ?
Says something about it in your original post:

"Also we have selected the replay on which the commentary should be based, the place you are going to comment is still free"

So you can commentate on any place in the replay then i suppose.

[Metellus]

Ah this will be very cool :D will be making mine soon... good replay too.. i love Raz and Sabre :D



EDIT ** I have a question... because we have only such short time will it be posted outside the audio what time to have the audio paused at so we dont have to waste time telling the listeners ect?

[Lordofhjoerring]

Lol... I think you should let KING-TYRAEL do the voicing :rofl:

[Lidow]

Yes any part of the replay.

[Selquist]

Damn my year 1800 stylish microphone :(

[PartisanRanger]

I think I'll try, but I have no idea how to zip up files...

[King.Nightshade]

Man, going for 60 seconds is hard...I wanna go longer, lets bump it up to like 1:30 :D

[Hrtlsmoe]

i can be a good commentator but i rather play
cuz i watched alot of replay of human vs other races
a day cuz i have alot of free time but i don't want to be commentator

[Reduce]

ok so you can use the windows sound recorder to record the part of the replay that you want? and does it have to be 60 seconds( along with in that 60 seconds do you have to answer those questions or is that in the email?) :curious:

[blaze]

You may chose any part of the replay to commentate on.

[Shai]

haha nice 60 secs seems pretty short though, how much can you tell in that time? still i guess if u have many they cant be too long. anyway i shall give it some thought :o

[Dominium]

I vote for Azure.

[azureXsmurF]

I'll be applying.

[Dominium]

I vote for azure.

[Plague]

I think ill tryout for this i got a kick ass head set(AC-100)and it wont be the first i have ever done eather wooot :flex:

[King.Nightshade]

Would an introduction be good? Like introduce the players and their records and stats and such? or would a battle be better?

And if you did a battle scene would you have a better chance of getting picked then if you would have done an introduction? Just wondering because I have it narrowed down to like 3 I made :D

[oberonix]

Is there any way we can use mp3 format, but still stick to the 60 second/1.5mb, and have that be acceptable? I'd just prefer to do mine that way if at all possible.

[bearcat1331]

anyone know a text file teaching you to use sound recorder?

[azureXsmurF]

Sound Recorder quality is awful :P

[IJJusion]

tehe im in

[[T]errorist[yC]]

One of these days I will possess TFT again(damn losing brain), and maybe a mic :(

[RLFT]

I hope downwhere will be asking me for punchlines shortly. I am just another vulgar American.

[\/\/ick3d]

shit shit im not getting a mike for another month shit

[King.Nightshade]

Since I only had 60 seconds I made mine like a normal one, but I'd probably go for comedy if I got the position. Time to chose from the 3 I have it narrowed down to :\

[Goonster]

Alright and the players are loading. Someone paused the game. Sorry guys my time is up hope you all vote for me

You can expect that from me ^^.

[GRuNak]

I guess I'll try again. I don't think i have any 'qualities', though. There's no problem with wasting a minute of everyone's time, is there?

[FuBaR-]

Sorry but I just want to make sure I understand this completely. Do I have to comentate on exactly 60 seconds of playing time, or can I (at the beginning of the audio) tell you where to pause; talk a little about the replay (like what happened so far, the matchup in general, etc.) and then unpause and talk about the actual events in the replay (for around only 30seconds).

[Toonman]

Good question fubar
Like is the 60 seconds from when you tell them to hit unpause or the entire time of the audio ?

[Tool]

Let me add in a question...

Is there any way you could possibly rethink the replay you chose or add in another, a 1v1. Some of us only like 1v1s.

[AtomicDragon666]

I will Make one, but i dont have the right recording capablites, this would be kickass i have already done 3 open mic nights commentaendt like 8 1v1 games and one 10 player ffa game, i think i did preety good, the ffa took 2 hours, so thatslike wat 4 open mic nights?? i have some experience, and i will give this my best, im thinkin of doing a battle, like 10 second intro about the players then the 50 seconds of battle...Shoutcaster postiion is wat im aimin for though, Commentating Live is fun as hell, i even sometiems get a addrenaline rush hehe...ill probly have my 60 second commentary by monday..

[AMP]

CAn you let Cygnus on already? He should have been on staff two months ago.

Panda -_- You were my hero. I'd be satisfied if I didn't get hired, but you came back.

[Toonman]

Its on the replay in the original post. thats the only one u can do the 60 seconds on

[AtomicDragon666]

o shit stupid me...in sucha hurrry...ill do my NotWhatItSeems one when i get picked =)

[CynicalDoc]

Damn my year 1800 stylish microphone

Don't worry about that so long as you can afford a new one. We won't count the quality of the microphone against you so long as you can provide a new one. Case in point is me, my shoutcast tournament audition where I casted a game between Byeblade and Genji my microphone sounded like I was casting from the middle of an earthquake.


Sorry but I just want to make sure I understand this completely. Do I have to comentate on exactly 60 seconds of playing time, or can I (at the beginning of the audio) tell you where to pause; talk a little about the replay (like what happened so far, the matchup in general, etc.) and then unpause and talk about the actual events in the replay (for around only 30seconds).

You can make the 60 seconds about anything you want. 60 seconds was chosen because it's the max that the soundrecorder can do and the file size will be small. What you do with those 60 seconds is up to you, however if you make it about something other than the replay (as in a biography or something) you probably won't get selected.

[RaTmasTeR]

If weve done audios before can we still apply? o_0
~RaTTy

[Prophecy]

I sent mine in :)

[Phreak]

Just recorded mine, sending it off now. 60 seconds is short to an experienced commentator hoping to analyze a lot more, but I thought I did decently. For anyone's info, I started mine at the 4 minute mark.

[CaLL[Me]HeN]

Are we going to get to listen to the samples people send?

[Panda]

Panda -_- You were my hero. I'd be satisfied if I didn't get hired, but you came back.

Ah shucks man, I really appreciate that :)

[KING-TYRAEL]

wat is voicing

[Neeka]

When the deadline has passed I will make a new post in wich all of you are free to listen to the applicants and voice your opinion.
I repeat again, EVERYONE is free to sent in their sample and if that sample meets all requirements Ive set in the first post it will be posted.

[Wizard.sN]

Good idea, we need more audio commentarys.. what ever happened to bunny's audios? i miss her >X

[Vaulander]

As I understand, from beginning to end, the sound file should last 60 seconds, not 60 seconds of game time. For instance, there is a battle that you want to comment, so you check the replay time, say 13.55, and then put in your post to pause at 13.55. That way the viewers can pause the replay at 13.55, and all you have to say to start things off is "3, 2, 1, go/unpause" and start commenting.
If you want to double speed or half speed the replay doesn't matter, the audio file should not exceed 60 seconds.
However, there are so much more you can do than just a regular battle, and there is more to commenting than just telling the viewers what they can see for themselves. I can tell you from personal experience that I could probably do at least 5 audios for every replay I comment, and have them all different, because there are so many aspects of a game that are important. I could probably talk about the way a base is built for 60+ seconds, what benefits and disadvantages you get by placing the buildings in a certain pattern, how to change things around vs various races, and that is just a small part of the game! A particular build order, a creeping pattern that is out of the ordinary, general army movement, there are so many things you can comment on. Hell, you can even do a Downwhere and just laugh everything up too.
The entry level replay is the same for everyone who applies, so all you have to do is make your mark, do something outside the ordinary, show something you've got going for you in your own way. You don't have to be another Downwhere or Nate, we have those already.
If you get to the next level, pick any replay and do your thing, be it comedy, informative, or both. Again, be yourself and show us what you got instead of being mainstream or copycating.
As for me, I don't care what level you are, or if you don't know everything. Don't need to be level 40+ to do a good commentary, otherwise Down and I would be out of it far before now.
Cheers, and good luck!
V.

[Neeka]

Nice post :)

[AMP]

So then we could actually post the audio description in the forum, then attach the .wav( I dunno how to save to .mp3 with SR, if someone could help me -_- )? If so, then would it be ok if I commentate on an area that I'm having trouble with? (keeping track of micro) for the sake of using my 60 seconds for practice? But I know that since it's my worst area, I know it'll make me look like I suck, so I'm just looking for some suggestions.

[Vaulander]

Well, what you do is put the start time in email, since you have to email the file in, and whomever is in charge of posting the audios will put what time it is to start, but apart from that, sure, feel free to comment on micro, or whatever else suits your fancy.
If you need some sort of apm program to really get into the nitty-gritty of a replay, you can check out the links in the powerpush article (too lazy to look it up and make the links here) Both of the apm programs work now, the chart program has been updated to 1.14, and I highly recommend it, its done in java and is bloody sexy.
Cheers!
V.

[Zol1d0xXx]

I think that they should leave the info about themselfs/pause time in a .txt file(made with notepad) and then in the audio just slowly count down from 5. Because it might take some time to open warcraft again after putting it down to start the audio.

Looking forward to see how many contestents there will be, how many has you got in at the moment Neeka?

And btw, nice post V, now I hopefully won't have to read the same questions like a 100 times after this post.... hopefully...

[PhanPSO]

I sent mine in... hopefully it turns out well.

I just hope this dosen't turn into a popularity contest since the people on the forums will be voting, and I'm not very well know since I'm usually busy playing, or watching replays!

Well, good luck to everyone. :)

[NOF]

This can be easily rigged very unfair but great idea non the less

[Neeka]

I sent mine in... hopefully it turns out well.

I just hope this dosen't turn into a popularity contest since the people on the forums will be voting, and I'm not very well know since I'm usually busy playing, or watching replays!

Well, good luck to everyone. :)

Yeah to counter problems like that we have created the second round and votes for the first round can only be posted in a Post in the thread for that not a Poll. So that you at least have to identify who you are etc and make sure we dont get double votes.
I am very well aware of the unfairness that can arise but I will make sure to counter it to the best of my ability. But after all this Is in a way a contest about popularity because all members can choose who they liked most in the first round.

Still good luck for the ones busy with making the sample, just take your time you have a little less than a week still!

[blaze]

This can be easily rigged very unfair but great idea non the less
What do you mean rigged.....?

[NOF]

Well someone can get all of theri freinds to vote for them, make several acounts, use several computars, others might listen to one audio and say hey! Thats the best one without listening to others.

[blaze]

There are ways of figuring out if people are cheating ;)

[Moias]

i need to gO buy a mic, i aM very sure people will love my ac's gG
(omg, get it?)

[era]

I'll be sending mine soon. Ya, hope this isnt popularity contest. What the hell? It takes like 30sec just to introduce myself!!! YES! bump it up to 1:30!!!

[azureXsmurF]

Just sent mine in... I started mine at 4:25 o.O

[paddywagon]

hey guys,
i wanna compete in this and i recorded audio and everything but when i go to change the format of the audio file i use PCM 24 kHz 8.00 bit Mono

it says to use the format PCM 24 Mhz(<---- MhZ not KhZ) whats on the go with that can someone help me out
(btw when it was formatted with the setting PCM 24 kHz 8.00 bit Mono, it came out to be freakin 2.4 megs and it is only 60 secs)
:flex:

[AMP]

You've gotta be kidding me, Azure entered? Well, there's one spot gone. The other might very well go to Cygnas. I don't even think it's worth it anymore.

[AtomicDragon666]

Naw, i pwn them both...Hehe =)

[Metellus]

ill have mine in by tues or so, i just have to finish my papers :S but i already have a sweet idea what to talk about for a minute wee

[AMP]

I'd have to say this could very well easily be rigged, but not really cheating. Because obviously commentating is going to come more naturally to someone who's had shoutcast experience (like Atomic and Azure) And especially to those who did well on Open Mic Night, people might have a biased opinion of these same people. I could be wrong though, could I get an explanation of how the vote system will work? I'm assuming Round 1, 5 people will be picked by the public, and Round 2, out of the 5, 2 people will be picked by the staff? I think it honestly leaves a big gap for bias, but that's just my opinion.

[sCK]

You've gotta be kidding me, Azure entered? Well, there's one spot gone. The other might very well go to Cygnas. I don't even think it's worth it anymore.

:huh: don't be such a pessimist

[d3kay]

And what about unknown foreign casters like me?! I mean is sure do have some shoutcasting experience, but none of you will have heard of me or other casters/trials with similar background.

[\/\/ick3d]

quick question- is a .wav file OK for the sample/audio>?

[Temari]

It would be a draw between glad and epic =/

[silverjunk]

i sent mine it, boy it sucks!!

i kept on blabbing on and pasuing

[Ares]

I repeat again, EVERYONE is free to sent in their sample and if that sample meets all requirements Ive set in the first post it will be posted.

Somehow i highly doubt this.

[MJ_Synergy]

i submitted my e-mail, only to find that i forgot to attach the Sample =O. I did a re-send 2 secs later, and i now have a e-mail taht says delivery delayed because of The mail box being full. =\. Hope you guys can still take my application...

[azureXsmurF]

You've gotta be kidding me, Azure entered? Well, there's one spot gone. The other might very well go to Cygnas. I don't even think it's worth it anymore.

Thx for the confidence boost, but shoutcasting is much different from audio commentating ^^;

As for the bias, I believe the top 5 are picked by staff, and then the community vote on those top 5. So a little less margin than before, but I'm sure that forum popularity will play some part in this, just like every voting process is influenced by popularity and likeability.

[Metellus]

hmm forum popularity eh? :curious: next rounds on me!

*EDIT* weeeee sent :)

[Deathrazor]

i submitted my e-mail, only to find that i forgot to attach the Sample =O. I did a re-send 2 secs later, and i now have a e-mail taht says delivery delayed because of The mail box being full. =\. Hope you guys can still take my application...

i had same thing happen. =\

[AMP]

Well, I finally grew the courage, and sent mine in. GL to all entries, 2 people I'd really like to see in this spot personally if I don't make it, Cygnas and Azure (sorry I know it seemed like I flamed him earlier, I'd just been having a bad day and was pissed at the time I saw his post)

Edit: I don't plan on voting at all, NOF, if the competitors are even allowed to (which I doubt, for obvious reasons).

[NOF]

Gusy please dont vote on your best online buddy cuase hes so l33t and gosu... vote you can actually comentate on a game thank you

[LameMongoose]

I should tell the starting mark in my commentary or note it in the attached file and start there? I mean should i do the 3-2-1 unpause sequence?

[Unkn0wn]

I sent mine in ^_^

LameMongoose: In the e-mail you say what time the replay is started from. I counted in 3-2-1. I actually recorded the whole game and chose the best 60 seconds..

[azureXsmurF]

I don't plan on voting at all, NOF, if the competitors are even allowed to (which I doubt, for obvious reasons).

Well most likely the top 5 would vote for themselves unless they didn't really want to spot, so it would still be fair :P lol

[NOF]

Heres my perfect ending... Me and Azure duke it out in an all out comintating war. Unless i hear someone way better than me... well if that happens shit c ya.

[azureXsmurF]

xDxD

[AMP]

Well most likely the top 5 would vote for themselves unless they didn't really want to spot, so it would still be fair :P lol

Why do you think I put for obvious reasons? =D Anyway, deadline coming up! GL to all! And to all a good night!

[Neeka]

Ok I am currently going through all samples now. When I am done I will make a new thread with all samples to vote on. So this thread is closed for now. So hang on tight.

[EDIT] Here it is http://www.wcreplays.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5318