Nathanias Profile Blog Joined April 2010 United States 272 Posts Last Edited: 2013-10-14 19:17:19 #1

This past weekend, I enjoyed some time back in New York to cast IEM with the ESL crew. This was the first time I'd covered an offline event in the States, and was a very positive experience on the whole. Throughout the course of the event, however, many people asked me about my plans, current situation, and what I really thought about the state of SC2 as a game.



Right now, I've reached that point where I know people and feel confident in my work but have difficulty actually finding it. With WCS dominating the StarCraft scene it's very difficult to find actual employment, as doing one-off events doesn't pay anywhere near enough to live in even a small apartment (I currently live in a hometown friend's spare room).

Personally I'm hoping that WCS does much better next year not only because I'd like steady work, but with things as they are I've already started looking into casting other games on top of Starcraft. It really hits me hard when the common response to a work interest is that without knowing WCS plans for next year it's too risky to bring me on solely for StarCraft. I intend to look into other games, but still hope that the work available increases during the next year.



As far as doing events go, this IEM was very different from my last offline event (Dreamhack Summer earlier this year), especially with the production setup. Of course we had a desk and camera, but the change from in-ear pieces to actual headsets created a few comical situations such as pushing my hair up at the analysis desk. Of course that was its own beast to conquer, since we weren't sure if I'd be doing analysis at the event before it started and I actually didn't take part in the rehearsal for it :D

Production did a great job behind the scenes, and downtime was kept to a minimum except when players needed extra time to set up or use the restroom. The ESL crew was responsive to my concerns about things like which host would be doing an interview for a player that speaks English (you may have heard a few awkward handoffs from me because of this, with me only being told that the interview was ready and not who was conducting it!). Aside from that, they of course had plenty of water to keep my shouting throat from going dry.



As for the casting itself, I felt there were a few great moments and some devolvements throughout the show. I hadn't casted with ToD since my very first day during RSL back in February, and working with him in person was a very different experience. At several points I would talk through a long engagement and try to let him speak, but he would wave his hand to signal that he'd analyse what happened after the fight and to not let the hype drop. He really knew his stuff well, and filling downtime with him was almost like writing a thesis on TvP with the back and forth we had going.

Another unique situation was my first ever cast with Kalaeris, a ZvZ that had very slow beginnings. I don't typically cast with other play-by-play guys, but it was a great way to keep the energy up in what was otherwise a difficult matchup to watch. We discussed quite a bit on how to balance out where each other would come in to keep things interesting without seeming annoying, and the the final ZvZ we did for Life vs Curious really let that shine. As someone that plays Terran and Protoss I understand that the analysis might not have been up to par with my other casts but I didn't personally have any complaints.

Funnily enough, I think I casted the fewest amount of series at this tournament with Apollo, the only caster I had worked with live before. I didn't have any problems casting with him but I feel like our tempo was really hurt by the delays and internet drop that the venue experienced. I can't say it was the best cast I did but he seemed bummed as well that we had most of the problems while we were casting, particularly in the Flash vs Curious series.

Outside of the duos, I think the only hiccup was the San/Taiwan thing. It was mostly upsetting because I had a hard time recalling/saying the team name even after seeing it (Yoe Flash Wolves), so I was told to just say "The Taiwanese team player" or something like that. I decided at the last minute to just not say that awkward mess, and it kept coming out as "Taiwanese player" when I introduced him at the start of the series. I think experience will keep me from fucking up things that like again but still a small lesson in how much people will criticize mistakes.

Overall casting experience, 10/10 would cast again, but I think I will do a bronze to masters with Zerg just to make sure I'm not missing things on their side.



As for the immediate future, I have maybe one or two more events this year. I'm mostly upset that no NA company is willing to ask me to cover events, as I feel like I've spurned the scene by only doing EU content/coverage. Either way, with things going as they are I'm doing my best to stay involved with Acer Teamstory Cup and other community streams for events like Dreamhack and IEM. I just seem to have more luck with EU orgs liking the content I put out.

Also big shoutout to EG for being one of the fastest-responding companies I've casted for, I'm really hoping there can be another SC2L so I can finally cast American players again



I can't really think of too much more to say so I'll stop for now, thanks so much for reading and supporting me, I constantly seek constructive criticism and QXC gave me some great pointers at IEM so if you also follow my personal stream I should be achieving Grandmaster soon ;D



TL;DR: There's not much casting work so I have to look at other games, especially moving to EU. Enjoyed IEM but still many things to improve. Will get pro coaching while I learn Z and also stream/vod it <3



[The setting - A bus with wifi, and two hours to kill]This past weekend, I enjoyed some time back in New York to cast IEM with the ESL crew. This was the first time I'd covered an offline event in the States, and was a very positive experience on the whole. Throughout the course of the event, however, many people asked me about my plans, current situation, and what I really thought about the state of SC2 as a game.Right now, I've reached that point where I know people and feel confident in my work but have difficulty actually finding it. With WCS dominating the StarCraft scene it's very difficult to find actual employment, as doing one-off events doesn't pay anywhere near enough to live in even a small apartment (I currently live in a hometown friend's spare room).Personally I'm hoping that WCS does much better next year not only because I'd like steady work, but with things as they are I've already started looking into casting other games on top of Starcraft. It really hits me hard when the common response to a work interest is that without knowing WCS plans for next year it's too risky to bring me on solely for StarCraft. I intend to look into other games, but still hope that the work available increases during the next year.As far as doing events go, this IEM was very different from my last offline event (Dreamhack Summer earlier this year), especially with the production setup. Of course we had a desk and camera, but the change from in-ear pieces to actual headsets created a few comical situations such as pushing my hair up at the analysis desk. Of course that was its own beast to conquer, since we weren't sure if I'd be doing analysis at the event before it started and I actually didn't take part in the rehearsal for it :DProduction did a great job behind the scenes, and downtime was kept to a minimum except when players needed extra time to set up or use the restroom. The ESL crew was responsive to my concerns about things like which host would be doing an interview for a player that speaks English (you may have heard a few awkward handoffs from me because of this, with me only being told that the interview was ready and not who was conducting it!). Aside from that, they of course had plenty of water to keep my shouting throat from going dry.As for the casting itself, I felt there were a few great moments and some devolvements throughout the show. I hadn't casted with ToD since my very first day during RSL back in February, and working with him in person was a very different experience. At several points I would talk through a long engagement and try to let him speak, but he would wave his hand to signal that he'd analyse what happened after the fight and to not let the hype drop. He really knew his stuff well, and filling downtime with him was almost like writing a thesis on TvP with the back and forth we had going.Another unique situation was my first ever cast with Kalaeris, a ZvZ that had very slow beginnings. I don't typically cast with other play-by-play guys, but it was a great way to keep the energy up in what was otherwise a difficult matchup to watch. We discussed quite a bit on how to balance out where each other would come in to keep things interesting without seeming annoying, and the the final ZvZ we did for Life vs Curious really let that shine. As someone that plays Terran and Protoss I understand that the analysis might not have been up to par with my other casts but I didn't personally have any complaints.Funnily enough, I think I casted the fewest amount of series at this tournament with Apollo, the only caster I had worked with live before. I didn't have any problems casting with him but I feel like our tempo was really hurt by the delays and internet drop that the venue experienced. I can't say it was the best cast I did but he seemed bummed as well that we had most of the problems while we were casting, particularly in the Flash vs Curious series.Outside of the duos, I think the only hiccup was the San/Taiwan thing. It was mostly upsetting because I had a hard time recalling/saying the team name even after seeing it (Yoe Flash Wolves), so I was told to just say "The Taiwanese team player" or something like that. I decided at the last minute to just not say that awkward mess, and it kept coming out as "Taiwanese player" when I introduced him at the start of the series. I think experience will keep me from fucking up things that like again but still a small lesson in how much people will criticize mistakes.Overall casting experience, 10/10 would cast again, but I think I will do a bronze to masters with Zerg just to make sure I'm not missing things on their side.As for the immediate future, I have maybe one or two more events this year. I'm mostly upset that no NA company is willing to ask me to cover events, as I feel like I've spurned the scene by only doing EU content/coverage. Either way, with things going as they are I'm doing my best to stay involved with Acer Teamstory Cup and other community streams for events like Dreamhack and IEM. I just seem to have more luck with EU orgs liking the content I put out.Also big shoutout to EG for being one of the fastest-responding companies I've casted for, I'm really hoping there can be another SC2L so I can finally cast American players againI can't really think of too much more to say so I'll stop for now, thanks so much for reading and supporting me, I constantly seek constructive criticism and QXC gave me some great pointers at IEM so if you also follow my personal stream I should be achieving Grandmaster soon ;DTL;DR: There's not much casting work so I have to look at other games, especially moving to EU. Enjoyed IEM but still many things to improve. Will get pro coaching while I learn Z and also stream/vod it <3 Commentator Never give up, Never surrender