Responding to Commentary Questions

[@VerbalLearning]

"Commentary is a lot of: My turn. Your turn. My Turn. Your turn." That's it Sajam. We need you make a Frame Data guide for commentary.

[@trippersigs2248]

"Make some noise" has invincible start-up.

[@macanudo6206]

"WAIT WHAT?!" is a realy fucked up guard cancel, but its hella punishable if you interupt it

[@Mario_bland]

tasty steve command grab is 0 frame. The only way to dodge it is to jump before it starts.

[@tingispingis]

Acting like you finished your sentence then immediately interrupting your co-commentator once he takes his turn is a frame trap

[@SolidBones]

I'm so happy everyone liked the Vicious video! I've been editing a lot of these, including that one. They've been really fun to work on!

[@MinogamiMakoto]

GGs WP That was You!

[@deadfr0g]

Brother, that whole channel has been putting in work. You guys are killing it over there.

[@pointguard909]

Later on in the melee clip the guy apologizing says something like “I’m sorry man I’m stoned I didn’t notice…” LMAO

[@sirjeanpepper2492]

"Me, for my money" is entering my daily vocab and I'm getting scared

[@nabillun]

😂As long as the statements following it are worth the weighty intro

[@jujubeans32088]

So I don't do fighting game commentary, but I do work in radio, academic conferences, and podcasts, and this video has so many good tips for a hosting its amazing. Passing turns, signaling, learning to share excitement, etc. I'm saving this video for next time I train someone on how to be a moderator/host.

[@mrpinguimninja]

Yipes is such a homie, absolutely no ego, just handed it to Vicious and said 'take it home'

[@fifteenbongos]

That melee commentary clip was so painful to watch oml

[@SnowyJop]

Watch the full thing if you think you can stomach it. There’s full blown conflict management that unfolds over the rest of the set with one of them wholeheartedly apologizing to the other as he gets painfully stonewalled. It’s a sight to behold.

[@luzcro7345]

@@SnowyJop really makes you wonder. I mean, what causes a guy to stonewall that hard after being talked over once? Was he new, having a bad day, or just really petty?

[@yagtazir2932]

​@@luzcro7345It happened more than once, look up the video "Cringiest Moments in Smash Bros" or something like that

[@iwillgosomewhere]

@@luzcro7345 he was a top player

[@luzcro7345]

@ okay...? so his ego got hurt for being talked over? that it?

[@TohoEggbirb]

is a firm arm squeeze an acceptable winning moment cue?

[@axis8396]

One of the biggest issues with scheduling is the first person says we start at say 10 AM so be at rehearsal at 9 and the second person moves it to start at 9 rehearse at 8 and next thing you know you're there at 7 and you don't start at noon or later. Happens in any system with a chain of command that plays telephone rather than just directly communicating what each person needs to be doing

[@Call555JackChop]

That melee commentary made me wish I was deaf

[@votes4cows]

Hobby versus job is tough. I taught yoga full time for a couple of years, did well. But its very hard to sustain. And hard to balance when its something you love but you also depend on it for income. Much happier now doing it as an add-on alongside a more typical job.

[@Avenger131]

John Chipotle is my favourite deadlock streamer

[@Casuuuual]

"How would an adult talk about this" Has Me ROLLING

[@lucastesting9612]

That smash melee commentary was..

[@Livingeidolon]

Idk if people still make this distinction, but it reminds me of what people would say anime commentary sounded like.

[@SomeRandomDude821]

it was commentary, I can say that

[@TheSonnyGo]

I have friends who worked for television. This is the quote I always hear: "You're paid to wait."

[@AndrewRKenny]

I was listening to this instead of watching it and as soon as the Melee clip started I knew what it was lmfao.

[@iffity]

Robtv holding the time stone doing infinite takes

[@okaydrian]

This is my favorite video in the world. Never stop learning in the commentary/hosting space. Good stuff, Sajam.

[@cylondorado4582]

Next they should do, “Real Fighting Game Commentator reviews Fighting Game Commentary in Movies”.

[@acetrainerben]

Not even halfway through, and there's so much intelligent information here

[@asterhogan1]

Calling out Robert television was wild

[@rocketbooste]

Wait, is Sajam's hand edited in? Incredible thumbnail work

[@rpgtimefire]

Everyone who is a commentator and a player knows what its like when you cocommentator just got smoked in bracket and sits down silent for 5 minutes.

[@winterwolfmc]

I have a friend who talks about wanting to be commentary, and I sent this to him right away. This is so informative!

[@craptastrophe521]

Commentary coverage and handoffs reminds me of volleyball, you gotta communicate and be ready to back each other up, but sometimes they just take the shot

[@KittSpiken]

The call time is set for the commentator who will show up 4 hours late no matter what. Just do the math as the guy who will show up on time.

[@alexandersze49]

We need a fighting game where players play as commentator to contest for getting the final winning announcement

[@hayden3732]

6 hours !? I would let it slide if happened once or twice,but if that is the normal I’d be pissed too. I play Slay The Spire when I got an hour to kill,but for 6 hours…that would be the slowest rounds I ever played.

[@ThoughtlessDNB]

I train every day so that eventually I too can become the X and Y champion of Made Up Tournament

[@JusRed48]

No one asked my most important question. DO YALL EVER HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM MID-SET?

[@65rytg]

I think Sajam in a Sajam Talks mentions this one Fucked up venue where he had to cast from some tower structure and desperately had to use the restroom but he was trapped up there for hours and it was really dire

[@bwnnn]

​@@65rytgYeah they were baking in the sun and had to chug water to stay alive, which led to predictable results

[@tonydragon784]

0:24 and with our powers combined, we have transformative content

[@Livingeidolon]

I feel like I can remember a time or two when Spooky had to take commentary back from people who were too distracting in one way or another, back in the day.

[@KenjiTheSnek]

Sajam should bring in league casters like Captain Flowers to do commentary with him it’d be so sick lol

[@SimplyAdriel]

How negative am I if I yell "Wombo Combo" while commentating? Do I have enough time to slip in a Chipotle sponsor before its their turn?

[@Thuglos]

This is super interesting insight that I didn't know I was interested in. I never knew the physical touch was signalling I thought yipes was just excited lmao.

[@beroberoberoberobero852]

One thing i think is really difficult and less talked about is hosting and doing interviews, very easy to fall into the same cliches and make every interaction seem forced. SFL EU for example always has interviews before and after the matches and as much as i know it's not easy come up with new questions it's really boring to see the same "how do you feel"/"getting any points today?"/"how did you prepare for this matchup". Asking about strategies is kinda stupid bc it's not llike you're gonna mention any specific tech or anything remotely special just before you face your opponent, but continuously reminding players of their losses is sooooo tough to hear... i get that sometimes you have to touch on sensible topics but if you do it everytime you just seem like a jerk. It's nice to see players getting more spotlight but they really should have someone just writing stuff like any traditional TV show would do (a guy like Rynge i guess could prbably be amazing at this btw if given a chance) Jwong and Brian F podcasts on the other hand are killing it, two completely different approaches to interviewing but both very good at the job.

[@jon630]

To give more context on that Smash commentary, Ryan Ford (the silent one) is a player (not a commentator) with severe anger issues whose toxic antics included once chokeslamming someone behind him talking shit during his set. Toph (the one who talked over Ryan) is one of the most prolific melee commentators, but he definitely was a chronic interrupter in the old days when this clip was filmed. So he had likely been interrupting Ryan a lot before Ryan eventually shut down.

[@mrzozelowh]

Why would he not get banned for that? I would think that kind of behavior should be shunned.

[@jon630]

@@mrzozelowh I think he did, but it was temporary? I don't remember the specifics.

[@donle8427]

Just a heads up that's not Toph but a local player named Shy; this commentary clip is from a Toronto local so I think part of the awkwardness comes from them just not really knowing each other well.

[@XDestroyoxZx]

Why are so many top melee players like this man lmao

[@jon630]

@@donle8427 Oh wow he sounds just like Toph.

[@EnsembleVGM]

I’ve always wanted to see you react to that melee clip lol

[@TheFaisalano]

John Chipotle I’m in tears

[@SFtheWolf]

thank you for suggesting people stop talking like soundboards. I'm so tired of hearing things like "OHHHH HE GOT DAT BIG BOY DAMAGE" every time someone does any combo.

[@gekar8855]

I'VE NEVER SEEN A COMBO THAT INTENSE

[@ensanesane]

​@@gekar8855not the sf4 announcer 😂

[@nekkowe]

15:56 All this time... Will It Kill was training...

[@9clawtiger]

If so few people play One Piece TCG, why can I never find cards in stock?

[@danknstein6504]

you don't have to play the card game to be addicted to the slot machine

[@emperormegaman3856]

Maybe a lot of people just like the cards as a piece of merch/collectible even if they're not interested in playing card games.

[@kmartrewards1429]

Recognizable hair (or lack of) is pretty important. Justin dyed it for a reason

[@Sandberry]

I don't think I've ever heard a commentator's real name invoked this much. I can't tell if he's being spiteful in that way friends are or if it's some inside joke or something

[@phsquared1000]

Sajam always refers to Vicious as Jeremy. At 0:50 Sajam talks about how they used to hang out after work when Vicious was still an accountant so they’ve known each other for a while.

[@kinginthenorth1437]

It's just knowing the person and finding it more normal to call them by their name than a weird adjective they use as an obviously fake on air name.

[@dancinginfernal]

It's just how it is when you know soneone before they come into their own. Have a friend that goes by Jennifer now in all places, but went as Jenna for the 25 years I knew her prior. Everyone else calls her Jennifer, except me, and she likes it that way.

[@muskop42]

to be fair the smash commentator was referencing a pretty iconic moment in the game’s history, but he also wasn’t really doing it in a way that added anything interesting to the conversation and that’s completely irrelevant if you’re not already familiar with it

[@Kool212]

Need at add a "wasting my time" clause to your contracts.

[@medi_rei]

2:57 "he's got good energy... he's bald 😀" 😭😭

[@churchof595]

I had a Godamn entire bracket where I was mute on commentary, purely because I was disconnected during a reaction to a ballsy game winning read during the first set of the stream

[@churchof595]

I felt hella offended while I was on cause the other commentator kept going over top of me when I was talking but I knew the dude and he is like that so I was okay with it for a little, didn’t realise until I rewatched the vods that he just couldn’t hear me

[@shexxie]

Love this 🩷🙂

[@rasaska8701]

I love that ryan ford clip

[@ZovcDrafts]

I've had a similar experience with call times working as an extra. On the bright side, I was always getting paid hourly. 😎

[@shrike_8136]

good back air

[@Bylethsummoner3]

I would make sure they are alive firsy

[@LeoPokemonBrasil1]

"wacced out masher" 👀

[@benzoFE88]

I need Sajam to react to ArbiterSkyward’s commentary if he hasn’t already

[@peterbilt3236]

Great video

[@notlunaticdancer4393]

Nerf Zato buff commentator

[@dudeglove]

"SF5 made me bald"

[@ratfink2079]

Bro the paul 😂

[@chrisludwig4729]

Not a huge fan of Viscious’s commentating tbh. He feels a bit generic esports hype imo. Commentary for much of SF5 was awful because of how sanitised Capcom wanted it to be and he was the poster child with that era of SF commentary. He seems like a great guy though and it was great to listen to his perspective

[@heyitsmort7744]

I like him for SFL and like top 32 especially. Works really well when we Has someone for color commentary or analysis while he’s a bit more generalized

[@chrisludwig4729]

@@heyitsmort7744 Perhaps, but I feel like there are quite a few older and newer commentators that could deliver that better if that's what you're looking for. YMMV and if you like his commentary that's cool.

[@brewslidepark]

Melee commentary is rough. A casual viewer of melee grand finals over years - Armada had insightful comms Bits and pieces of funny convos 20 million unrelated references, comparisons etc Whiplash compared to other popular fighting game commentary which by the way smash ultimate is up there as well. Usually very good.

[@brewslidepark]

i mean casual viewer , I've seen posts/ comments hating on melee commentary, i don't care that much. But it does suck lol

[@Nimrod336]

I believe the problem with game commentary is they don't let big moments breathe the talk over the big part and it screws up the big moments. Joe rogan said it the best don't over talk..

[@XionicalXionical]

59 seconds ago? How dare youtube not give me a notification sooner.

[@rawiliadis]

damn im fast

[@Chaoskae]

Nah you slow bro. I was here when it was live 😂😂

[@eyy_man1162]

The nefarious Fox player:

[@yellow4525]

Thats not even the worst melee commentary iv seen, anyone see the one where there was like a guy crying then started threatening them while they continued laughing?

[@Jumpingmelonz]

You got the link?

[@TheDeadTexan]

FGC commentary has been horrible since they got rid of Adam Sessler

[@Liliphant_]

saying this on a FGC commentator's channel is wild

[@TheDeadTexan]

@@Liliphant_ I think if you look up Sessler's commentary you'd know it was a joke lol

[@curtis4948]

I gotta hear that clip where he chimed in about daigo again bro thanks for reminding me

[@Raidanzoup]

And we're all tied up! We're all! Tied! Up!

[@Aefax]

ryan ford is cringe