A113 and rachel - Ha-ha! All right, I’ll do it then. 
By the way, how many members should we get to commentate? Plus myself, it sounds as if we have at least five takers. Is that an adequate number, or are more participants needed?
– Mitch
Well, we want to make sure that it isn’t too crowded, but we want to give everyone a chance to have something to say as well.
I’m happy to join in, though I’ll probably need a bit of help on the technical side of things.
Me too. I might be a little bit more talkabtive on Pixar movies I like, but maybe a little more quite on other movies.
Well, looks like Mitch is in, so i’m definitely in. 
Some things i’d like to know:
- What film will we be commenting on?
- How will we get our “DVDs/Blu-rays/VHSs/any other yada yada yada format” to sync up perfectly? (Mainly because of Australian DVDs)
- What time will be best for everyone?
- What if something goes wrong?
- Who will work on the final audio/video, and how will others get to it?
- how will we begin/end the commentary?
My suggestions:
- Any film’s fine with me, but i have more knowledge about Ratatouille, Cars, The Incredibles, and A Bug’s Life. I guess whatever works for everyone will work fine with me.
- Now this is a tough one. One idea would be to stop commenting every 10 or 15 minutes, and take some time to make sure all our “DVDs/Blu-rays/yada yada yada” are all at the same position. Then, about five or ten minutes later, we start again, speaking as if nothing happened.
- Of course, Saturday or Sunday would be great. Probably in the afternoon, but my schedule changes very unexpectedly on those days.
- I’d suggest we practice with a couple short films first, so that we can all learn how to use our technology better.
- I’d volunteer, but unfortunately, i don’t have any software that would do that. Sorrry.
- Maybe we’d introduce ourselves in alphabetic order according to our usernames (lol) and then end by all saying goodbye in alphabetic order, and after the last person has gone, we’d all say something in sync, like at the end of the Toy Story 2 commentary.
Anyway, i can’t wait to see the final result!
A113 - Here are some answers:
- For our first film, I vote for Ratatouille. However, I’m ok with any film.
- To make sure we’re all using the same time, we can all use this clock. We can start at the scene selection screen. At the chosen time, we all click chapter 1. One reason why the scene selection screen may be best is because usually the DVD is already spinning in that screen, and we don’t have to worry about desynchronization due to different spin-up times. If something goes wrong or we start to get out of sync, we can pick up at another chapter.
- Here are a couple of times I posted earlier:
New York: 5:30PM Sat
Albuquerque: 3:30PM Sat
Los Angeles: 2:30PM Sat
London: 10:30PM Sat
Adelaide: 7:00AM Sun
New York: 9:00AM Sat
Albuquerque: 7:00AM Sat
Los Angeles: 6:00AM Sat
London: 2:00PM Sat
Adelaide: 10:30PM Sat
we can modify the time to better fit everyone’s schedules.
4. Practice is definitely a good idea. Also we should let others in our household that we’re recording, so they don’t knock on our doors.
5. I was planning on editing together the final product. As for hosting, I’m not sure what would be the best way. Maybe Dash could help us out. Also there are a variety of free hosting services available.
6. Of course we need introductions, so everyone knows who we are, but maybe we shouldn’t plan out how we say goodbye. That may sound artificial. As for saying something in sync at the end, I’m ok with that. What would we say?
Well, my vote is for the Incredibles, counting the fact that I lost my Ratatouille DVD, but I am okay with any film. (If I can find it)
I’ll also vote for Ratatouille, mainly because i know reasonably enough about it, but also because Mitch will have lots to say about it.
The clock sounds like a good idea. I don’t seem to understand the scene selection idea, but i understand, since we’ll all avoid the FBI warnings and all that yada yada yada. Could you please explain how the chapter plan would work?
Hmm. 3:30 PM Saturday might be good, but i might have to make a modification request when the time comes.
Um…i don’t know how many of you have computers in your rooms, or televisions in your rooms, or DVDs in your computers in your room, but i know that i sure don’t. That’s the main reason i might need to change my schedule. My computer not only doesn’t have DVDs, but it’s in the den, which is always being traveled in and out of. If anything, i’m going to need a website that is displaying the film we’re commenting on.
Dash no offense, but Dash almost never helps us, mainly because he’s rarely around. But thanks, qxgnxamy, for volunteering to edit. For hosting, you might want to try Supload.com, or put the audio into a video and upload it to Google Video, or in parts on YouTube. But if Dash helps us, then Dash, i take it back.
Okay. I won’t plan on how to say goodbye. Well, i might, but i’ll try not to think about it too much, and i’ll say something impromptu.
What would we say? I don’t know, it depends on what film we’re going to comment on. I’d suggest a fun quote from the movie.
Oh, we all knew what your vote would be. Actually, TI is fine with me, but could you please look for your Rataouille DVD? 
jk
I’m all for this. Since we’ll need to get into gear the first time around anyway, it would be more convenient for our entire party to “taste test” the commentary via a Pixar short film.
As for what we could say at the end of the commentary, I would suggest the ever-popular phrase, “To infinity and beyond!”. However, I do agree with A113 in that it would probably be more appropriate if we chose a quote from the film we commented on. Hmm…
Perhaps, at the beginning of Ratatouille, we could say, “Let’s do this thing!”, or something along those lines. 
(snigger)
– Mitch
Or what we could do is listen to all of the Pixar commentarys and do a similar opening to what they did.
If something goes wrong I guess I would have to find a break in the recording and give everyone the timecode (this shouldn’t be too difficult for me since the program I’ll be using to record the commentary will also be recording my computer screen). Then we would go back to the beginning of the chapter where we started having problems and everyone could start talking again at that specific timecode.
Alternatively we could do a few chapters at a time (10-15 minutes, like you said) which would allow us to re-sync periodically, but then we would have to mind where the end of the chapters are.
Ideally our players would stay in sync for the duration of the film and nothing else goes wrong.
Do you have access to (or have a friend who has) a computer with a DVD drive in it? If so you could try ripping the DVD to a format that your own computer will play.
I can’t believe the wheels are actually turning for this. For about a year now, I’ve been thinking about organising a commentary with other people on Pixar Planet, but never got around to it… so I’m really looking forward to this. =)
To answer A113’s questions…
1) What film will we be commenting on?
Personally, I’d be happy with Toy Story, Toy Story 2, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, but don’t really mind which one we start on. Eventually, it would be nice if we had every Pixar film done with a commentary - maybe we could give and take a few people so every commentary has a different vibe to it, you know? Actually, I’d like to give the Cars commentary a miss.
2) How will we get our “DVDs/Blu-rays/VHSs/any other yada yada yada format” to sync up perfectly? (Mainly because of Australian DVDs)
Because it’s the Australian DVDs (and other DVDs that are PAL format, it’s up to you to see what format yours is…) I would be happy to sort this out. It would be a bit tricky, but with a bit of tweaking I can conform my version so it’s the same as everyone elses. My version of Ratatouille is NTSC and same with my version of WALL•E that I’ll be getting, so that’s no problem there.
3) What time will be best for everyone?
I’ll be ok for basically any time on the weekend, but I’ll have to know in advance so I make sure to keep the weekend free. The best time for me would be in the afternoon sometime, which would be later at night in the US, but probably the middle of the night for London. I wouldn’t do well with a 7am start though, I’m telling you now. Heh.
4) What if something goes wrong?
Well, we are going to plan as much as we can, but if something goes wrong, that’s just life for ya. I’m sure it will turn out ok.
5) Who will work on the final audio/video, and how will others get to it?
Hmmm. I don’t know… how do other fans distribute their fan commentaries?
6) how will we begin/end the commentary?
Basically just introducing ourselves, you can use your online screen name or your real first name (don’t give out your surname). About ending the commentary, in one of the the Pixar commentaries (I forget which one), someone says “Say something funny!” and the other guy says “Uh, animation rules!”, we should say that! Heheh. 
We should probably come up with rules about what we should and shouldn’t say, what sort of things we can talk about. I’d suggest for those who are going to be involved, to listen to the Pixar commentaries, or even any other director’s commentaries, or even other fan commentaries so we get an idea of what we want (and don’t want) ours to be like. I’ll see if I can get a hold of some good fan commentaries as an example.
I’d say a good number of people to have for each commentary would be 4, maybe 5. But we could even bring in a “special guest” for part of the commentary just to do something different.
That’s a good idea to practice with a short film, A113. In a way, the short films are actually harder to do a good commentary on because you need to say what you want quickly and clearly simply because you only 5 mins to do a commentary with lots of information crammed in. Listen to the commentaries on the Pixar Short Films: Volume 1 and you’ll understand what I mean. But yeah, we should practice on one of the shorts first.
Once the commentators are confirmed for the movie(s), we should try to do as much research as possible on the movie so we have plenty to say, and brush up on our knowledge of the film. And there’s also nothing wrong with going off-topic for a minute or so at a time, especially if it makes for fun listening, but for the most part, we should stick to talking about the film, and also Pixar in general.
Here’s another possible time:
New York: 1:00AM
Albuquerque: 11:00PM
Los Angeles: 10:00PM
London: 6:00AM
Thanks, guys! I thought it was a good idea myself.
Well, for me, it could be, “I’d love to say more, but it’s eleven at night, and i have to get dressed soon.” jk
By the way, i don’t think 11:00 PM will work for me. Sorry.
[quote=“qxgnxamy”}Do you have access to (or have a friend who has) a computer with a DVD drive in it? If so you could try ripping the DVD to a format that your own computer will play.[/quote]
Oh, i wish. But nope. 
But thanks for explaining the chapter plan.
Yayyy! 
[quote=“rachelcakes1985”}Hmmm. I don’t know… how do other fans distribute their fan commentaries?/quote]
Well, i’ve seen one on YouTube in parts, with the WALL•E movie poster in the background. It would be nice if we could sync our commentary with the actual video from the movie, and upload it to Google Video or something, so it’s uninterrupted, but i don’t know if that’s legal, even if it’s covered with our own audio.
In the meantime, we might need to try Supload.com or something similar.
Don’t worry, Rachel, i’ve got another idea that hasn’t been done before. But it’s gonna have to be a surprise.
[quote=“rachelcakes1985”}We should probably come up with rules about what we should and shouldn’t say, what sort of things we can talk about.[/quote]
I’d really really reeeeally rather not. I’d love to have this as impromptu as posible, except for the opening, maybe. The only rule i think might be appropriate is no using bad language. Remember the Finding Nemo commentary? 
You’ve got a good idea, too, Rachel. (and thanks, btw) I guess it’ll be easier, then, when we do a movie, and there’s lots less presure.
Good idea, Rachel. One thing i’m going to ask of everyone, though: Please oh please don’t go to a wiki! And you know the main one i’m referring to, i hope. As for the off-topicness, if someone starts going a little too off-topic, i’d say we should feel free to correct them, like in the Toy Story 2 commentary, where they started talking about their favorite comic books, when someone said, “We’re gonna waste the whole DVD talking about this,” lol.
Sorry, 11 at night ain’t gonna work. In fact, no time at night/evening will work. Possibly early in the morning, but i doubt it. Best time would probably be in the morning for me, most likely from 8:00 AM to 11:30 PM.
From the looks of it, it’s gonna be either The Incredibles or Ratatouille. TI is 115 minutes long, and Ratatouille, 111 minutes.
This means that we’re all gonna have to put about 2 hours for this commentary into our schedules. This is a big problem for me. Not only because Saturday is busy around the computer, but also because the computer doesn’t have a DVD player, which i can’t get. One idea to solve this is to see if anyone with a webcam can help me out, by displaying the movie on another screen with the webcam, and showing it to me via a MeBeam.com room, if that’s possible. Any other solutions/ideas?
The Incredibles would be best for me. Any other movie I don’t have i’ll just rent. If the plans still Skype i’ll most likely be there if it’s a morning time from 6:00 AM- 11:00 AM. Too bad most people are allready in school so maybe a Saturday or Sunday would be best. I’m fine with any day though
Skype would probably be the best since it’s for Mac and PC. I’ll probably have the most to say about Toy Story or Toy Story 2.
If we can actually get this working, this would be so cool!
Okay, in terms of the films that we’re going to be commentating on, I really think we ought to decide way in advance who’s going to do what film, simply because there’s a big chance that there will be more than four or five people wanting to participate in the Pixar commentaries. I’d be happy to participate with most films, and I think Ratatouille would be a great one to start with, as we have a lot of fans of Ratatouille on the boards. I just think if we organise who’s doing what, there won’t be any dispute over it and it just makes things a little easier.
It’s a great idea to do weekends, as most people here are at school or in college. I’m usually free Saturdays, and thanks to qxgnxamy for posting up those very useful time zones. I think we’ll first need to pick a date, see who’s doing what on that day, and choose the best time possible.
I like the idea of us going off on tangents sometimes- it sounds more natural like that- but yes, there does have to be some element of control over the conversations. Would it be an idea to have one person out of the four or five participating actually be in control, so to speak? Just overviewing what people are saying and making sure it’s relevant?
A113 is right- it’s going to take a good couple of hours to do one of these commentaries, so a practice beforehand sounds like it’s essential, because if we’re going to do something like this, we might as well do it right first time round.
A quick question in regards to the technological side of things- do you have to have a separate computer and DVD player to do this? Or is it okay to put the DVD in the computer and do the recording at the same time? I only ask this because it’d be easier for me to be more self-contained in my room (where I have my laptop but no TV) as opposed to sitting in the living room with the TV and laptop and where other family members might interrupt.
This is so exciting!
I think it’s okay to put the DVD in the computer and do the recording at the same time. =)
Ah, brilliant! Thanks, qxgnxamy.
Thanks! I was wondering too. Now I don’t have to pull out my portable DVD player. Ratoutille or The Incredibles sounds like a good first one.
I guess I don’t have the proper equipment do to a commentary, and I’m way to shy to do it anyway ; that’s without mentionning the fact that my english isn’t perfect, and even if it was, I think I have a huge French accent …
But I’d be glad to help you for the Ratatouille commentary. Since I’m French, there’s a number of things that I could add to your recording.
When you do it, I guess I’ll just havve to PM all the France-related stuff to one of the participants. Mitch maybe ?
Anyway, if you’re intersted, let me know 