Should be ok if there’s no dinner conflict.
Well, i would’ve loved doing a commentary wtih you guys but i can’t…
Perhaps i’ll be participating at the next one ! 
rachel: Those are good topics to talk about. Usually, I find myself connecting the film to my life and also, when Remy does some cooking, I usually speculate on what he puts in his creation.
Looks like that’s the date and time!
Your Friend the Rat commentary!
Friday, September 12, 2008
California - 4:30 PM, Friday
New Mexico - 5:30 PM, Friday
Illinois - 6:30 PM, Friday
New York - 7:30 PM, Friday
England - 12:30 AM, Saturday
France - 1:30 AM, Saturday
South Australia - 10:00 AM, Saturday
So what do we do now? Well, let’s make sure we get:
- Skype accounts
- Computer microphones
- Snacks
- A way to watch the film
Let’s not get too carried away, we’ll decide on future commentaries in the future. 
In the meantime, let’s focus on doing this thing first. 
Soexcitedsoexcitedsoexcitedsoexcitedsoexcitedsoexcited!
It looks great A113, but lets clarify something. “California-4:30 PM” Is that when we start the short, exactly, no delays, or is that time call time?
TSS: Yes, that’s when we start. The commenatry will probably take about 15 minutes, since the short’s around 11 minutes.
How ready are you for the YFTR commentary? Tell us. Make sure you’re ready by September 12 (or 13, east of here). 
All of a sudden I’m really nervous…
That’s perfectly fine with me.
That fits into my schedule nicely, so I’ll definitely be able to attend this thing.
rachel - Good idea. Thanks for posting up that list of possible subjects to discuss; it will be handy to have something to fall back on… just in case.
Ha-ha. Yeah, I suppose you’re right. They probably would appreciate it more than anything. Well, all the more reason to make a good impression so as this commentary stands out!
By the way, I have another question concerning the computer microphones…
What type/brand of microphone is recommended, and how do I install it?
I’ll probably be able to figure out the installation process of course, but if worst comes to worst…
– Mitch
To tell you the truth, I don’t use a microphone when I record stuff. I just use headphones.
The best type of microphone for Skype would be a headset. A USB headset would be even better.
Here and here are a couple of examples.
To install it, just plug it in and select it in Skype as your microphone.
qxgnxamy - Thank you very much for the information! If I can’t purchase a decent headset from my local Best Buy facility I’ll probably pre-order one from the Skype store.
All right, I recently installed Skype, so I have that program ready. The only thing I really need now is the headset.
I have just two more questions, by the way…
-
What are everyone’s “Skype” screen names? I think that everyone should submit/post their user name so that we’ll be able to call each other.
-
Once everyone knows each other’s screen name, all we have to do is basically add each other to our “Contacts” list and then call one another when we’re set to do the commentary, right?
Just making sure…
– Mitch
Edit: Ignore my first question, everyone, and please defer to qxgnxamy’s latest post (which is right after this post)! Thanks.
Mitch - You may want to remove your screen name from your post and PM it to us instead. My gut instinct tells me that a skype screen name is something one would want to keep from the eyes of the public (but I may be worrying over nothing). I’ll PM everyone with my screen name.
EDIT - On second thought, how about everyone sends me their Skype screen name and I’ll PM everyone with the list of all screen names?
EDIT - To answer your second question, I believe that once we’re all in each other’s contact lists, one person hosts a conference call and invites all the participants.
gxgnxamy - Ah. Yes. Good idea. I’ll send my screen name to you via a private message then.
I see. I take it that you’ll be the one to host a conference call, am I right?
Thanks again for your advice/assistance!
– Mitch
Mitch - You’re welcome!
I can do it, sure. =)
I might be able to make the 13th, but I might not. It’s difficult with work- my hours change often- so I’ll say ‘maybe’ for now.
Also, I haven’t got Skype or a microphone yet, so I’ll need to sort these things out before the day. But first, I’ll check if I’m free.
Oh, well, thank you! I hope that I didn’t sound as if I was pushing you to do it or anything. 
– Mitch
Mitch - You certainly didn’t push me, I really wanted to host. Moreover, it could be that if the host goes down, everyone gets disconnected. My computer and internet connection are pretty stable so it’s a good match. 
Just a note to everyone planning on participating in the Ratatouille commentary:
Issue 1: If you live outside the US, there is a good chance that your DVD is the PAL version the movie. This will NOT be suitable for doing the commentary since PAL DVDs are about 4% faster than NTSC DVDs (the US, Canadian system of DVDs). This means that it would go out of synch very quickly with everyone else’s copies. You must check the back of your DVD to see if it is PAL or NTSC - since most of the others have the NTSC DVD, if you have PAL you must conform to the other system. This probably means “obtaining” the US version somehow. If you want to know how to do this, private message me.
Issue 2: Even if you have an NTSC version of the DVD (the Canadian version for example, which is what I have) you aren’t let off the hook just yet. Let me explain: when I was watching the Canadian version of Ratatouille (which runs at the same speed as the US version), I noticed a bit of an extended scene. During the part where Remy is looking for the key and he comes across Gusteau’s will, in some countries’ DVDs this part is extended by a few seconds and in others it is kept the same length as in the cinema. I don’t know he we are going to get around this unless we all know for sure that we are watching the same copy that is the exact same length.
I’m going to make a YouTube video to demonstrate what I mean.
qxgnxamy - Really? How interesting. Well, I’m glad that it all worked out then. Cheers!
Are you serious? You mean, there’s extra footage?! Dude, I’ve gotta see this…
Other than that, that really sucks. I wonder why the speed of PAL DVDs are increased by 4%? Is that just the standard of overseas/non-U.S. entertainment systems?
– Mitch
Interjection!
Yeah. If I remember correctly, in both the Canadian and Australian versions of Ratatouille, in that aforementioned scene there is more of a focus on the writing in the letter, and the pacing of the film is a bit slower (not talking about the 4% PAL difference, but the actual pacing of the scene.) Also, in those two versions, the text is changed from English to French, but in the US version of the DVD, it is changed to English. I wonder why… But I think the reason why that scene goes on for longer in the Australian and Canadian versions, is because they assume we wouldn’t be bothered by the French writing, but people in the US would? I’m just making assumptions here, though. And also, the music is slightly different to accommodate for the extra time that scene goes on for. Not too much of a drastic change, but still enough for me to notice. I’ll try to upload a comparison to YouTube so you can see for yourself.
Yeah, it does stink. Especially because I have played a couple of NTSC DVDs in my player and it has absolutely no trouble playing them, I don’t even need to adjust my TV’s frame rate settings (how many frames come up on screen per second.) The only trouble is when your DVD player is programmed to reject any DVDs from any country that is outside of your region code, but this is easily solvable with a bit of tweaking. Just about every DVD player is region-free (it can play any DVD from any region in the world) but the region is set in the factory depending on which country the DVD player will be sold in. But this can be changed by using your remote to enter a special code so you can change the setting back again. You can look this code up in Google, using your DVD players make and model number to find the code.
It’s also a pain because the theatrical versions of films are exactly what the film maker intended and it isn’t sped up at all. I’m guessing this is because the cinema isn’t a TV screen, but it uses a projector which bypasses this problem. But when it released on DVD as a PAL DVD, for some reason they need to speed up the rate of the movie which cause it to go faster and raises the pitch of the whole film, so when you compare it to the film you saw in the cinema, it’s totally different. 