Giant Bombcast Videoooooo

What's good y'all? As you may have noticed the video for the Giant Bombcast has been looking a BIT different for the past two weeks. Jason and I went in and installed a new computer in the podcast studio because our older system was a bit limited with what we could incorporate video wise other than switching cameras.

Now we're able to do the same goofy and great stuff from UPF and other features! This opens up a whole new world of possibilities of what we can do now and we've been experimenting with the format. It'll take some time to get to a system that is flows well with our work and that we're satisfied with.

For example:

SPLITSCREENS!

WHAT GAME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT:

As someone that also would occasionally miss what game was being talked about on the bombcast, I've adding the current game that was being discussed to help peeps that may have initially missed it. Totally experimenting with the format for this.

NEWS!

Similar to showing what game we were talking about we thought that it'd be useful to show what article we were talking about to help listeners follow along with the news stories.

FRAME RATE - As some viewers have mentioned our video player may say the video is at 1080 60fps, but we've actually bumped our cameras down to 23.98fps to switch up the look. Jason and I were digging this and may switch back to 60fps, but for now we'll try that sweet sweet film look.

We're planning on adding other elements to spice up the video for the Bombcast so stay tuned! Maybe animated transitions between segments, lower thirds for all of us, or video playback for stuff we find? Maybe I'll replace everyone's faces with cats! As I mentioned we're going to keep poking around and seeing what works for us.

Thanks y'all.

gang gang

The news change is great. It's good to see the article or story being referenced during that part of the podcast.

Looking good, Jan! Interested to see what else y'all have in store.

I think the "current game" thing is definitely very useful. The news thing I could kinda take or leave - I feel like it might distract my brain from the actual discussion too much, but I can always just not look at it. Personally I'm always a fan of 60fps video, too, but I don't mind the 24fps if you prefer the way that looks. 60 just feels more like being "in the room" to me, which works well for a podcast.

GANG GANG!!!!

Super digging what you've been doing as far as visuals go. Thought the game couldn't be stepped up, then this Jan guy stepped in.

I like the side-by-side split screen but would prefer the white bar version. something about the first one hurts my brain to try and figure out where the cut offs in the images are.

Nice job you two!

SOOOO HEYYYYY

if you could when ever possible just list the price of the game in the bottom scroll?.. maybe if this works out on the podcasts itd be possible to roll into quick looks

All sounds like a great evolution of the video podcast. Well done, duders.

Gang gang.

Keep up the good work dudes.

It looks great! Love the split screens. Also love how the split screens are done during Unprofessional Fridays. Keep up the great work!

Ehhh. The 23.98 looks choppy. Working in tv, 23.98 is the bane of my existence and producers insiting shooting in it just makes more work when it all gets converted to 59.94i anyways. God help you if it’s not done properly. So maybe I’ve got a bias.

Big thumbs up to all the other changes though.

These are great changes.

For the longest time I’ve been wondering why there aren’t inserts for news, screenshots, gameplay, etc.

You’ll probably be able to incorporate video from the hosts laptop, if they have one, yeah?

Next up: remote video for guests?

Nice work so far.

Thanks for the update and all the hard work Jan! Gang gang.

We probably need a :ganggang chat emoticon.

Wild and awesome.

Oh my god can you give a bigger beanie to Ben?

Unrelated, but thanks for the creepy danny wink gif, you meme master.

Yeah, I prefer 60fps to 24, but maybe that's just me? Other than that, I love the changes! Great work!

More Jan mug!

I really like these changes, great job duders. If you want to know my preferences, I like the white space between the vertical splitscreens, and I think I prefer the static "what we're talking about" text in the corner over the scrolling bar.

The frame rate in this week's episode didn't bother me, but I also liked the 60fps and I think I agree with Y2Ken's comment:

Hey Jan! Love all of the new views and visual additions. Definitely in the 60fps > 24fps camp though. The framerate change felt very dramatic and jarring and still feels very choppy. But otherwise I love all of this.

I like the stuff that makes the podcast easier to follow, like the splitscreen and inserting news articles. But I really don't need all the silly stuff that's in upf that's distracting from the conversation, explody transitions and catfaces, etc. I'll probably switch to the audio version of the podcast if that happens.

Nice to see you guys trying to evolve, either way :)

Dude! This stuff has been great my duder! Keep it up!

Personally I'm not really a fan of the split screen like the one with Ben/Jeff/Jason. I think it looks too messy and without "breathing room", like if everything is clamped together or like they're having a really heated and angry debate. I'm fine with the up/down split screen if it's only used once in a while. I think the old way of switching the camera shots to the person talking is still the best way to go, specially when you have a wide shot that shows the exact information as the split screen.

However, I really like the split screen with the news article that it's been talked about, that's definitely a nice addition, and the name of the game on the bottom is also a nice touch. Keep up the good work!

Add me to the list of people that prefer 60fps. Other than that, the new changes look great!

Really enjoy being able to see everyone at once, rather than having to cut cameras constantly so that's a great change. For the "what we are talking about" text, I prefer static over scrolling text but it's a personal preference. Good changes though, enjoying it.

Thanks Jan! All very cool additions. I do have a question though if you don't mind. Will this mean that the bombcast will have more planning or a more defined structure to accommodate the on-screen portion? I only ask because one of my favourite things about the bombcast is that it mostly seems like a naturally flowing conversation with some bullet points. Keep up the great work!

I noticed the current topic crawler last week. Greatly appreciated as I listen/watch while I work and you know how it is when you get into something then realize 15 minutes has passed and you have no idea wtf the guys are talking about anymore.

Not a fan of the stacked split screen (looks weird having the participants not looking at each other) but those comic book style panel shots are lit!

Jan, get your Jan-stink all over this thing. The Bombcast is great but has felt a bit stale for a long while now. I enjoy all of the shenanijans and new features. Keep it up! Gang gang.

Much like game performance Id take 60 FPS over the glitter. Thanks for the update! GANGGANG

The new formats for the camera are really awesome! I like the one with the the white lines, I don't know why but it's easier on my eyes? As for the the discussion topic section, I like the red banner one of the two.

@janman: I love these additions Jan. I always forget what game you guys are talking about 5 mins in. The scroll at the bottom is super helpful. Same thing with new stories.

Liking everything aside from the change in frame rate. It's nice for movies and stuff but in this format I highly prefer a nice, smooth 60.

Not a fan of the whitespace splits, but I love the other split screens. I really like the idea of having the game name on the screen and article as well, to help provide some context. Do you think that it'll maybe end up similar to a news show with inlays and graphics and whatnot but way dumber? Because I am totally down for that.

Also we need a Danny winking screenwipe.

Good work! Gang gang!

Great work guys!

I really like the comic book layout, and having the subject of conversation on screen is a great idea. Maybe you could have the "now playing" in a corner though? I don't know, having it scroll across the screen makes it feel like a news ticker.

gang gang

So what you're telling me I need a tv in my car now

60 FPS is where it's at!

Also, Voltron layout.

Just don't forget, you know, it's a podcast. That most listen to. It will be cool to see some of these production bits make their way onto video segments though.

I'm a minimalist, so no offense Jan, but I kinda hated all of the changes (outside of the framerate change, which I am indifferent to). I'm a simple man, so just give me a simple video feed with camera cuts to when people are talking and I'm good.

Really like the new features, especially the Current Game and News overlays. I'd definitely prefer 60 fps though, gotta have that crisp 'cast look.

Prices are way too variable, and have way too many variables, for that to be feasible, accurate, or particularly useful.

Nice work, going to check out this week's bombcast video.

@afroofdoom: I would add though that it would be nice to include the platform that the game is on, and which ones the people talking are referring to.

Also, if there are any guests, have their names/affiliations on the screen as well at least occasionally.

Whoa. This might finally give me a reason to watch the video instead of just listening

The News window and Current Game additions get a big thumbs up from me.

As for split-screen. In instances such as when the 8-4 crew were there, I think it works great. But when a single camera can catch everyone without being too zoomed out (such as the Far Cry 5 screenshot in the What Game We're Talking About section) , I'd rather stick with the single camera shot.

Of course the downside to that, is the lack of Jan Cam. I never liked the video producer having to cut the camera feed to themselves. I always felt it puts them a little on the spot and inhibits natural interjection. But this is purely in my head. I don't know how you guys feel about it. The only remedy then, would be to include a single window in the bottom middle. But that might look weird.

Also I'll just add, I really appreciate you messing around with this stuff. Your doing good work.

I think it's great! The read along are a great addition as well.

Awesome! It's really cool to see the video Bombcast evolving.

I would say that personally all these changes look neat, but to echo a GentlemanlyGentleman, the splitscreen makes more sense whenever there are more people, if it's just two or three + Jan then a wider shot/cuts to Jan when he's talking seems to make more sense.

I think the drop in framerate wont matter much. I dont imagine a high percentage of the audience sit and watch the podcast like a talk show. Though I could be wrong.

I like the production additions, Jan. It looks like you are already erring on the side of simplicity vs. something that might be too distracting over the actual podcast audio itself, so I commend you on that and recommend that continue to be your approach.

I prefer the "Currently talking about" thing to be static vs. scrolling now that I've seen both in action. However if I were watching this on my plasma TV I'd probably be the opposite (because of the burn in potential).

I'm fine with the frame rate at 24 and honestly did not notice much difference since I tend to keep the video window at normal size so I can goof around in chat.

My main concern is that by having information on the screen like this, the staff will just not bother to mention the name of the game because it's already there, and so now only people who watch the video get that info.

It's sorta like how people were concerned when the Bombcast went video to begin with because people might do something visual like make a motion with their hands to illustrate a point, and audio only listeners would be missing out on this sort of thing.

I know the Beastcast (or just Vinny, mostly) has been trying to make sure to say the name of the game after a segment is over. I wouldn't mind the Bombcast doing something like that too.

Awesome stuff, Jan. This really makes the video version pop.

I still mostly listen to the premium audio version; if it's possible to get timecodes for the different games and topics on the notes section, I'd appreciate it.