talking orange - this is not the end

AND WE ARE GO!

This is the last update you'll see at Talkingorange.com -- our new site is up! http://area5.tv. We named it after our favorite area of Rez. Our first show is up, too, entiteled CO-OP. So head over to Area 5, watch the show, go to our YouTube channel and subscribe to that, Digg the story, link to us, all of the above if you have the time! And one, final THANK YOU to everyone! The support that we've received from our friends, family, and, of course, all of the fans out there is what's kept this project alive!

WHERE WE'RE AT (PART 2)

Or, maybe that should say "Where Ryan's at" as the editing has been consuming his life since last week. To sum up, here's a pic of the project's timeline: PICTURE. Most of you are probably thinking "What the hell is that?" To explain... wait, that will take too long, let me sum up: the basic edit is done. Now game footage is being placed along with music and audio adjustments. There's still megatons of work to be done and then it all has to be compressed and uploaded. A thousand thanks, again, to everyone for being so encouraging throughout this process. Honestly, we're going to have to take a bit of time to get our gear in order and get the real fundamentals of starting a new business set so once this show gets up we're won't be working on another until next week.

WHERE WE'RE AT

So, here's the thing. The show we're putting together would be fairly epic even for standards set while we were still gainfully employed at 1UP. The difference, now, is that we're doing it with almost no resources to speak of. Suffice it to say, we didn't get the show out on Friday (since this is update is going out at midnight, if you're reading this you've figured that out on your own). If that's all you needed to know, you can stop reading now.

We thought it might be interesting to some to share some of the hassles of production, particularly at this early stage in the game. We like extra features on movies and games that kinda spill the beans on process, so maybe some of you have similar tastes. We have a couple old PC's that we tried to use for video capture, but they keep crashing. We have Matt's new PC that we thought would work after spending some dough on a capture card, but there's something screwy with the drivers (we think) and it won't start and stop capture without crashing the application doing the capture (whether it be Premiere or Windows Movie Maker). Cesar has a mac mini which he brought over to edit on, but we've been using it for capture instead. Matt's mac is too old. We had borrowed a MacBook, but the owner had to have it back (we thought we'd be done by now). Ryan's mac is newish enough to edit on. To give some perspective, The 1UP Show usually had a minimum of three, if not four people editing simultaneously to get it done, often with assistance in capturing footage. The math is not on our side. It hurts to miss a deadline for the first time in forever--even if it is only a deadline we set for ourselves.

We've got two broken MacBooks that we've been told we can have for the cost of repair. This will be HUGE for us if they can be fixed for anything less than the cost of a used one. THANK YOU! (You know who you are). Cesar and Rob are doing their best to frankenstein some PCs into working order as well, so the future looks much rosier than the present.

Again, our apologies for our tardiness and a great, big, virtual hug for your continued patience :)

THE JOURNEY WILL BEGIN ANEW

As of 21:39 on January 12, 2009, we've received just over 500 donations totalling $11,839.52.

We are astounded. Who are you people that are willing to give so very much in such times as these? The incredible energy and generosity of the gaming community is well known thanks to Child's Play, but for us there was just no way of knowing exactly how many of you out there thought our work valuable enough to contribute to. For us it was always more than just a job and while it wasn't always a picnic it was always a passion. What can we say? We've already expounded on the fact that "thank you" simply won't do and that our eternal gratitude is nothing compared to the support we have received. There really is only one thing we can do: make the absolute best show we can with whatever we're able to scrape together and pour our hearts into it. We owe you all that much at the very least.

As one may expect, the majority of the donations came in the three days following the posting of the link. We wanted to see what it would reach before making any decisions on what equipment to purchase and, as you may have guessed through the tone of this update, you beat our projections by a landslide. We're going to play it very safe and (hopefully) smart and go as cheap as we can. We know from experience that it's insanity to buy low-quality audio and video equipment, but we've got to make this initial gift last as long as possible as we have to get the money-making portion of the business moving as we've all got rent to pay next month.

This week, the show will be using equipment Ryan and Cesar have had since, or immediately following, film school. We'll make the purchases soon--which we'll outline here (or on the new, permanent site) so you can see where your money is going--but obviously they'll have to be shipped to us and therefore we'll have to ask your patience while we ramp up the quality.

We have the name for our production company, though we're still mulling over a name for the show. We'll announce the name of the company once the site is live and the name of the show when we post it on Friday.

Once more, our hearts swell with gratitude and admiration for all of you! Whether you donated or not, we are uplifted and motivated more than we could ever have thought possible. We will not forget.

THIS IS NOT THE END.

We can't begin to express our monumental gratitude for the support we have received from all of you. Countless forum posts, tweets, emails, phone calls, all of it in support of the work we did and the place that it occupied in your lives. We're not scientists, soldiers or scholars. Our contributions are arguably negligible to the posterity of the human race and in all probability unworthy of the adulation heaped upon us in recent times. Certainly we loved what we did--no, we shouldn't say that. We love what we do, and that passion, fueled by both our media experiences of choice and the way in which it connects us to others is perhaps the indescribable force we're attempting to come to terms with when we feel this insistent need to continue.

Or, as it has dawned on us in the past few days, we do it because of what we get back. Namely: you. More than once in our discussions these past few days it has been uttered that we feel like we can't quit simply because we owe it to all of you. In a time where no one would blame us for curling up and crying in our pillows we are, instead, positive, even jubilant about the prospects of the future. If it requires eating oatmeal and top ramen for the next few years, if it requires sleepless nights, wearing even more hats than we did at 1UP or even *gasp* developing a business plan, we're ready. Some of that drive comes from within, most of it is a gift from without and for that we can only say: thank you.

To be clear, much like our close friends and allies over at Eat-Sleep-Game we don't need money. We'll live. We have marketable skills and if you're looking to make life better for the impoverished, ill, and downtrodden there are a billion charities out there which will gladly take your hard-earned donations. We have a suggestion or two.

We're separate from ESG and they won't be paying for our equipment, but don't feel obligated to donate to us if you've already donated to them. Times are very lean for everyone and we'll be damned if we try to squeeze blood from an audience who's already given so much to us and all of our friends. If you're curious about our cursory plans for the future, read on. Otherwise, we just want to close with the only words that come to mind--inadequate and wholly not up to the task at hand: THANK YOU.

At some point we're going to have to start a subscription-based content service. iTunes or something else. The 1UP Show proved to us that the ad market just isn't there for the kind of content we produce. But, for now, we're going to continue to make gaming "TV" that is free and take advantage of the new world of media. YouTube, Vimeo, blogging software, etc. That's the way we consume our media, it's the way you do and we'd be fools not to acknowledge it. Some ideas floating around are offering up the SD content for free and charging for the HD. Perhaps, someday, we'll branch out and contract our services to those in the gaming industry looking for the fastest, leanest, highest-quality team out there to put their video needs together. In fact, if you're such a company and like our style, get in touch with us! It's never too early to talk nitty-gritty. For now, an email sent to matt (at) this domain is probably the best way.

Whatever the final products entail, we believe it a moral obligation when accepting donations to be completely transparent. We will detail exactly how much we've received and exactly how much is being spent and what on. We're settling on a name right now and once we do the site will be up and our first show will appear there. Talkingorange is Matt's personal site and really isn't set up for that sort of thing.

When, you might ask? Next Friday. See? We told you: THIS IS NOT THE END.