All-New Blog Format! U-Force Production Begins (07/23/21-07/27/21) (Patreon)

Hello Patrons, and welcome to a brand-new blog format!

I've looked back at old blog posts and decided they are hit and miss. Some of them provide good updates on the show, while others are lackluster. So, to get some consistency and provide you all with the best updates possible, I'll be re-working the blog posts from here on out.

Basically, it is a log of every workday: What I did, interesting stuff I noticed, pictures, etc. This way, you get a better sense of what working on the show is like. And who knows? Maybe in the distant future, someone will find these blog posts and believe this is how a 21st-century man lived. 

I hope this leads to better engagement and makes everyone happier to be a supporter of the show! 

With that being said, here is what happened this past week. 

Friday (07/23/21) - Lots of Mail and Narration

I'm sure some of you may be asking, "wait a second, why are you starting on Friday?" Friday is actually my Monday. I've set my schedule so that I take Wednesdays and Thursdays off. That way, I can run errands on a weekday where things are usually a little less busy. If you have ever been to Costco on a Saturday, you'll understand.

Last week, I outlined, wrote, edited, and narrated the U-Force episode. This week, production begins. But first, check out all this mail I got!

These were purchased for b-roll shots in the U-Force episode (thanks to your support). The biggest head-scratcher for some of you might be the Koosh balls. Don't worry; it will make sense once the video comes out.

Today I edited all of the narration for the episode. This takes up a good chunk of my day. When I record narration, I usually do 2-3 takes for each section of the video. This is because sometimes, my cadence or tone changes from different takes. Then, when I edit, I go through each take and pick out which lines sound the best. It's a tedious process, but it ensures the best narration. 

This also gives us a better idea of the length of the video. When you add this up, it's about 28 minutes. However, this does not include interview footage, pacing changes, and end credits. So I'd estimate it to be about a 40-minute video. 

Once I finished up editing the narration, I started editing the introduction. Hopefully, I'll have a rough cut of that done tomorrow.

Saturday (07/24/21) - Slow Motion!

The intro is almost done! I had a weird problem with my footage. I was shooting a few shots in slow motion. When I went to edit the footage, it looked like the screen was tearing. I thought that maybe I had goofed up the shutter speed on my camera, so I reshot the scene several times. And this was not an easy scene to shoot! It required a lot of moving parts. But still, the tearing continued.

It turns out it was an issue with my graphics cards, specifically with V-Sync in Adobe Premiere. I changed a setting, and *poof*! Issue resolved. Now I've got buttery-smooth slow motion. 

I need to film about 3 more scenes for the introduction, and one of them requires an item I don't have yet. It should arrive next week. I think tomorrow I'm going to take a break from b-roll filming. It's exhausting! 

Sunday (07/25/21) - Ok I Lied

I ended up filming more b-roll today, despite my statement yesterday. What can I say? I love b-roll. Here's a little peek at a filming session from my POV. 

I'm using a Sony A7C with a macro lens (recently purchased thanks to your support). this allows me to get really nice close-up shots, such as this:

I made really good progress today on part 1 of the video. The biggest time sink was finding visuals. In part 1, I dive into Broderbund and how they got involved with the Nintendo Entertainment System. So, I had to look for some photos of Broderbund from around that time. It took a little bit, but I got some great stuff!

Tomorrow, I'll keep plugging away. I'm hoping that by Tuesday I'll have half of part 1 done. 

Monday (07/26/21) - A Board Game?

Today I learned how to play a board game: Personal Preference. It was released by Broderbund in 1987 and is mentioned in the video. It looked boring from the pictures. But once we started playing, I thought it was pretty fun! We got some great b-roll shots in the process. 

I also recorded game footage of Broderbund's first NES releases: Lode Runner, Spelunker, Raid on Bungeling Bay, and Deadly Towers (ugh). 

I still think I'll have half of part 1 done by tomorrow. That would be fantastic! If the pace keeps up, we are looking at a mid-August release. Here's hoping.

Tuesday (07/27/21) - Double Vision

Yes, I own 2 U-Force controllers now. In the video, I explain how the controller worked. For visuals, I bought another U-Force that I wouldn't mind completely destroying for filming.

It's Friday for me, so I had to do a little business stuff (Patreon rewards, answering e-mails, etc.). But I spent about half the day editing. Do you know what I hate about today's cameras? They give such great picture quality, but they also show every little speck of dust and dirt. I had to re-shoot something 3 times because I kept finding stuff on the cartridges!

The good news is, half of Part 1 is EDITED! On Friday, I'll pick it back up again. Part 1 is the biggest, so I'm hoping I can finish it next week. 

Thanks for reading, everyone! Let me know what you think of this new blog format in the comments below. Hope you have a great week!

- Norm