Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
2015/01/10 00:37:26
Subject: What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
I like watching an overhead of a full match sped up with an audio commentary after the fact describing what happened in the match.
That way a long match of 2+ hours is compressed into a 20 minute video that describes the gist and key plays that happen, but you can visually see the entire match play out in the sped up motion.
Being able to see how people deploy, measure, assess lines of attack can all be witnessed in the sped up motion.
SG Tactics does this in a lot of their videos
see their channel for some examples. The shorter videos show off this style of video batrep.
Generations have suffered with the same devotion that we can offer but once. Still, our Faith leads us through these dark times like a beacon. It will guide us to triumph over these abominations. Either by breaking them upon us like waves against a limitless, golden peak or by thrusting through them like the spear of the Immortal Emperor Himself." - Cannoness Aoife, Order of the desert rose #Yesallwomen
I prefer text and picture the most, but out of the video types, I'd say phase summaries. Gives a good view of what's happening, with some depth, but doesn't get bogged down in every. single. roll of the dice.
2015/01/10 12:43:48
Subject: What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
StrikingScorpion82 puts out the best video batreps in my opinon. They have big game spectacle without being overly long, nor have crude language, and are understandable even though he's from the opposite side of the pond as they say in merry old england.
2015/01/10 18:33:54
Subject: Re:What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
col_impact wrote: I like watching an overhead of a full match sped up with an audio commentary after the fact describing what happened in the match.
That way a long match of 2+ hours is compressed into a 20 minute video that describes the gist and key plays that happen, but you can visually see the entire match play out in the sped up motion.
Being able to see how people deploy, measure, assess lines of attack can all be witnessed in the sped up motion.
SG Tactics does this in a lot of their videos
see their channel for some examples. The shorter videos show off this style of video batrep.
Neat, I haven't come across this style of batrep yet. Thanks!
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Madness! wrote: StrikingScorpion82 puts out the best video batreps in my opinon. They have big game spectacle without being overly long, nor have crude language, and are understandable even though he's from the opposite side of the pond as they say in merry old england.
Just came across his channel, really like the tone of his batreps!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2015/01/10 18:36:13
2015/01/10 21:26:37
Subject: What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
I like photos better than videos. I like being able to read at my own pace and jump ahead or back as I want. I like having the option of looking at the pics for longer or just skimming, depending on the quality. I love a great photo battle report with a mix of nice detailed close-ups and some overview shots so you can see the whole picture.
But I've never seen a sped-up video so I'll have to check that out.
Project log and campaign featuring Orks, Imperial Guard, Marines, Tyranids: http://www.xhorikwar.blogspot.com/ Currently focused on our Horus Heresy campaign with White Scars, Death Guard and Imperial Militia.
2015/01/10 22:08:55
Subject: What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
About every month or so I watch a video battle report to try and get into it, but it's been hopeless so far.
The main problem I have with video battle reports is that people have no idea how to use video as a medium. It's all shaky cam, often with bad lighting, with virtually no editing, and often crammed with inane commentary by people with annoying voices or worse, stupid background music I can't hear over. If I get a headache after five minutes of your three hour video batrep, I'm not going to watch it.
Which is why, when I consume battle reports, it's the written kind with pictures. Writing is a much easier medium to get basic proficiency with, and people have much more experience with it as well.
The only problems are when people put formatting in the way. For example, making me click on a million spoiler tags in order to view the next couple of sentences or pictures in a nightmare dystopia of pagification. Or putting the text in a few huge blocks at the beginning, and then dumping all the pictures at the end.
What I want is to click on a battle report, and get a concise description of what happened with relevant pictures in the correct places to help explain what's going on. At the minimum.
From there, I always like narration, even if it's done poorly. Deconstructing 40k games is somewhat interesting as an academic exercise, but sort of the point of the game is to be entertained as well, and if you're not entertaining me with your report, then it all gets rather dry very quickly. You don't have to be a published fiction writer to tell a story, and the more you can elevate your work from a piece of technical writing the better.
So, to bring it back to the beginning, what I'd want out of a video battle report is to be entertained. Watching die rolls or models being carefully moved or rules being looked up, while possibly interesting, is not entertaining. Listening to random banter between people and awkward on-camera nerd conversations, or listening to inside jokes thinly placed over technical details is not entertaining. Getting nausea from shaky cam or a headache from squinting or having to listen hard to hear anything is not entertaining.
If you're going to produce nothing more than an archive of the details of an event, I'm probably going to pass. If you're putting on a show, on the other hand...
Lately not reading any picture battle reports anymore as somehow almost all decided it would be fun to use the format that post one turn a week. Sorry really can't be bothered guessing over the span of weeks what happened in a battle report. Or when it is finally posted scrolling through several pages trying to find the entire report.
With video, I like the compressed version. No dice rolling except the key ones (seize, game continues, etc). And when using the speeding up method, try to keep the camera in a fixed position. Last one used the speeding up method and almost got motion sickness from the movement phase.
2015/01/13 08:23:12
Subject: Re:What kind of video Batreps do you prefer?
Pictures and text all the way for me, as video generally robs you of the opportunity of adding you own 'pew-pew-aarrgghh' noises while reading.
Has to be a good mix of quality photos (come on, how hard is it to keep your hands steady and turn an extra light on), logical order to the reporting (not just jumping all over the board), some simple yet illustrative stats (if I wanted mathammer I'd go to the tactics thread) and a bit of fluff for good measure (you don't have to be Hemmingway or anything).
Personally I have always rather liked Nevermind's reports and use them as an exemplar for my own (except for the whole PDF download thing, as I cant quite figure how that there cloud is supposed to work).
If in doubt, frag it out...
Fight spam with spam, cheese with cheese, and fluff with a razor sharp sense of the appropriate
~2800 points 
5000 
