john schmidt said:
we just recovered some gc4s a week ago here in pensacola.i have not played 14.1 since the derby because the cloth was bad.anyway im setting up a camera from the 7th through the 10 to see if i can run over 300 on film.with only 3 days i dont think i can do it but ill try.what i plan on doing is when and if i get fortunate enough to run 300 or more on film,i then am going to do a voice over with my very close friend bill marop.he is very smart about 14.1 and will be good to have in the voice over .its hard to talk to yourself for 2-3 hours and make any sense.bill and i are going to play for 3 days and see what we can capture on film.by the way he has run in the 90s a bunch of times including a 97.i call him mr97 but i think hes going to break that when he comes out in march.anyway im going to try to get a nice run on film,then at the end do about a thirty minute break shot,patterns,key balls etc dicussion.i learned a few things from the last dvd i made and hopefully can improve on this one .i hope to help keep one of the best poolgames alive and will let you guys know when the dvd is done
John, I bought your 245 run DVD and really enjoyed watching it. I'm glad you enjoy straight pool enough to do these productions. I'm a fan.
Just to put my two cents in as a straight pool viewer, the player review style of commentating is great but for me takes second place to the player talking about his thought process while he's actually shooting. The fact that you've run 403 balls in the past is all the credentials you need to sell a DVD instructional to me. You don't have to do it again. I don't care if someone with your proven ability misses on occasion. I just want to know, in every detail, how you think while you're playing. It may sound tedious, but could be a real gem if you ever decide to do it.
What I would love to see, whether on this upcoming production or a future one, is for you to actually play in less than ideal conditions, where balls aren't opening up well, not for the purpose of a high run, only for instruction.
When you're faced with 5 open shots, tell us why you're choosing the one that you do and why you're playing that particular shape for the subsequent shots or groups of shots. What are you ignoring for now, what are you keeping in the back of your mind, etc.
My favorite straight pool instructional so far is Jim Rempe's because he really allows us to get into his head while he's shooting. I also have a Mike Sigel tape(out of print maybe) where he runs 100 balls telling us what he's thinking while shooting. Online there's a Ray Martin 90 some ball run where he does the same. Even though it's poorly recorded, there's a lot to learn. He also receives questions from the crowd while shooting which is helpful. Having good straight pool players in the audience allowed to ask you questions during your play would be great.
I think it's easy to forget the minute details of what you were thinking when doing a player review after the fact.
Maybe it can actually be great if enough time is put into post analysis before recording the audio, like taking notes after watching each rack and fully remembering your thoughts and decisions. Then after having that solid refresher, you record your thoughts over that rack's section of tape. Stopping and studying each successive rack like that, and then recording.
Whatever you decide to do, I look forward to supporting it. Straight pool is the only game that holds my interest, and I love that you're helping to keep it alive.
Peace!
Jeff
