Would you > Could you?

Cuebuddy

Cuebuddy

Mini cues
Silver Member
Bigtrucks thread that is running now has got me wondering. If you were invited into the booth by Ray, Justin, Lenny or any of the other folks who are working their butts off streaming high level pool could you commentate?
Could you commentate well enough that you were asked back? Not embarrass yourself or others?

I for one think that I have plenty of knowledge of the game, but that's not nearly all it takes. I think a commentator needs to know when to talk and when to keep low. You need to be humorous at times or know when to be serious if needed.

There is a lot to it and especially if you are trying to interact with the chat! You can bet it is much harder then it seems.

How many of you think you could be a "step in for a match" commentator if you were asked?
 
The poor PPV customers for DCC this year had to listen to me do a cpl of banks matches on the accu-stats stream... If you are one of the poor souls that had to suffer thru it I deeply apologize.... Hopefully you will all dodge the bullet in Tunica =)

Chris
 
Commentating is not for everyone, some of us have a face for it but our voice can be as bad as our looks, haha. Some people have cotton mouth, a nasally voice and so on. :p

Personally I think I am not good at commentating even though I got plenty of hours doing it, some enjoy it I guess and I have been told I do a good job. I look at some of the guys out there who sound great on the mic and are not too overpowering which is very important. It is important to know when to shut up and not just talk to talk which some will do to fill the airwaves. I really enjoy Billy I, Jeremy Jones is very good, and I also like Buddy Hall.

I do not feel any of the streamers are great commentators although some are good but some people they have in the booth are excellent like Stacy Allysup who was on the POV Rum Runner stream. You might think you will be good in the booth but you will never know until you ask to jump in there which most of us will welcome you to do. Keeping fresh is key also, I have sat on the mic for like 30 hours straight one time, you gotta have time out of the booth. I think getting 2 new commentators in every match is good as to not burn people out, its not easy doing it and doing it well.

P.S. As far as I know most of the commentators are paid in thank yous and beers as volunteers. It is not an easy job at all to do.
 
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I've listened to a lot of GREAT pool players, but they were TERRIBLE commentators. I've seen a match with Billy Incardona, Corey Deuel, and Scott Frost commentating. Scott did great, Billy did better, and Corey was like a 5 year old with a new nintendo.

To me, you could know little about the game as long as you can keep everything moving, you will be fine. Alvin has done some great commentating doing this, but sometimes he just gets lost. I can't blame him though, it's a tough job to do and he does well for the most part.

Jay Helfert always does a great job and has a great voice!

Edit- To answer the OP question. I think I could do a decent job, but I think some would get annoyed of my voice.
 
I'd certainly love to try it but sadly I would need a 5 second delay and a censor sitting beside me. For whatever reason the f bomb flies out of my mouth without my brain's approval -even on Easter Sunday at my mother's house...
 
The Renfro said:
The poor PPV customers for DCC this year had to listen to me do a cpl of banks matches on the accu-stats stream... If you are one of the poor souls that had to suffer thru it I deeply apologize.... Hopefully you will all dodge the bullet in Tunica =)

Chris
Click to expand...

I watched quite a bit of that ppv and thought you did well!

Fast Lenny said:
Commentating is not for everyone, some of us have a face for it but our voice can be as bad as our looks, haha. Some people have cotton mouth, a nasally voice and so on. :p

Personally I think I am not good at commentating even though I got plenty of hours doing it, some enjoy it I guess and I have been told I do a good job. I look at some of the guys out there who sound great on the mic and are not too overpowering which is very important. It is important to know when to shut up and not just talk to talk which some will do to fill the airwaves. I really enjoy Billy I, Jeremy Jones is very good, and I also like Buddy Hall.

I do not feel any of the streamers are great commentators although some are good but some people they have in the booth are excellent like Stacy Allysup who was on the POV Rum Runner stream. You might think you will be good in the booth but you will never know until you ask to jump in there which most of us will welcome you to do. Keeping fresh is key also, I have sat on the mic for like 30 hours straight one time, you gotta have time out of the booth. I think getting 2 new commentators in every match is good as to not burn people out, its not easy doing it and doing it well.

P.S. As far as I know most of the commentators are paid in thank yous and beers as volunteers. It is not an easy job at all to do.
Click to expand...

Lenny you are correct about voice tone, there is also repeated throat clearing and eating or chewing gum when you are near the mic.

DAVE_M said:
I've listened to a lot of GREAT pool players, but they were TERRIBLE commentators. I've seen a match with Billy Incardona, Corey Deuel, and Scott Frost commentating. Scott did great, Billy did better, and Corey was like a 5 year old with a new nintendo.

To me, you could know little about the game as long as you can keep everything moving, you will be fine. Alvin has done some great commentating doing this, but sometimes he just gets lost. I can't blame him though, it's a tough job to do and he does well for the most part.

Jay Helfert always does a great job and has a great voice!

Edit- To answer the OP question. I think I could do a decent job, but I think some would get annoyed of my voice.
Click to expand...

I hear what you are saying, I feel the same about my voice when I hear it recorded....Its like> "I don't really sound like that do I?"
JolietJames said:
I'd certainly love to try it but sadly I would need a 5 second delay and a censor sitting beside me. For whatever reason the f bomb flies out of my mouth without my brain's approval -even on Easter Sunday at my mother's house...
Click to expand...

LOL That only happens to me at poker games and MMA fights:wink:
 
I hear what you are saying, I feel the same about my voice when I hear it recorded....Its like> "I don't really sound like that do I?"


Yup it never sounds in you ears the way it actually sounds to others. That is why People that cant sing a lick, think they sound great :)
 
No I wouldn't, and no I couldn't, unless I had cue cards, or a teleprompter or something>:smile:
 
that was fun...

DAVE_M said:
I've listened to a lot of GREAT pool players, but they were TERRIBLE commentators. I've seen a match with Billy Incardona, Corey Deuel, and Scott Frost commentating. Scott did great, Billy did better, and Corey was like a 5 year old with a new nintendo.

To me, you could know little about the game as long as you can keep everything moving, you will be fine. Alvin has done some great commentating doing this, but sometimes he just gets lost. I can't blame him though, it's a tough job to do and he does well for the most part.

Jay Helfert always does a great job and has a great voice!

Edit- To answer the OP question. I think I could do a decent job, but I think some would get annoyed of my voice.
Click to expand...


If i remember right, that was a one pocket match were frost, billy and Corey teamed up for commenting. I enjoyed it very much, IMO that was the most fun I ever had listing to a pool match commentary and it was full of information too.
 
Cuebuddy said:
Bigtrucks thread that is running now has got me wondering. If you were invited into the booth by Ray, Justin, Lenny or any of the other folks who are working their butts off streaming high level pool could you commentate?
Could you commentate well enough that you were asked back? Not embarrass yourself or others?

I for one think that I have plenty of knowledge of the game, but that's not nearly all it takes. I think a commentator needs to know when to talk and when to keep low. You need to be humorous at times or know when to be serious if needed.

There is a lot to it and especially if you are trying to interact with the chat! You can bet it is much harder then it seems.

How many of you think you could be a "step in for a match" commentator if you were asked?
Click to expand...
I think this hits most everything!

I'll add a few other points:

The owner of the stream sometimes wants something (every streamer is different) from the commentators. Often I think all of AZ land think that every stream somehow is meant to be working off the same sheet of music. They're not.

The event may have a certain atmosphere that seem to dictate the flow of the commentating. Quiet US Open atmosphere will get the ESPN style; loud and rowdy DCC will get something completely different. LIVE BABY!!!

If you've never been on a microphone for any reason, you might be shocked how difficult it is.

Often, you have to talk to nobody. Might be great for some people. Completely foreign to others.

Know you audience. Not every listener/viewer is a seasoned player. Not every listener is a semi-pro. This is why some GOOD commentators will say "the blue 2-ball."

You'll never please everyone. Some people love one commentator, but others hate him. I'll put my buddy Alvin as an example. I've heard the absolute extremes on him. Most likely because he appeals greatly to some POOL PLAYERS while he irritates other POOL PLAYERS. Diversity is where its at.

And finally, disagree all you want, but IMO you don't have to be a professional pool player to do professional commentary. You just have to add value and be a good commentator. Similar to instruction, the best instructors aren't necessarily the best players. However, like the instructors, I personally feel you have to have won your share of tournaments and understand the specific game pretty well to add value. In other words ,I do agree that you should be a player (in the fantasy AZ kind of way).

Freddie <~~~ everyone's a critic, including me
 
Cuebuddy said:
I watched quite a bit of that ppv and thought you did well!
Click to expand...

I appreciate that =) Derby hit everyone with the FLU when we arrived.. I was just happy that Danny D and Mark Wilson managed to keep from getting hit with it....

There is usually a pretty big list of guys wanting to do a match or 2 but between being sick and then Dean... Well lets just say that our hearts minds and bodies weren't firing on all cylinders for a good part of the week...

We try and keep everyone in the loop and get as many pros in the booth for you guys as we can which is exactly how you got me!!!!! Hahah I wish... I stepped in to help Billy Gibbs out so he didn't have to do any matches solo... I may be pressed into duty again from time to time so bear with me =)

It's going to be very weird not having Dean with us in Tunica.. I only knew him for a few years but I am very glad that I got to call him my friend....

Chris
 
Cornerman said:
I think this hits most everything!

I'll add a few other points:

The owner of the stream sometimes wants something (every streamer is different) from the commentators. Often I think all of AZ land think that every stream somehow is meant to be working off the same sheet of music. They're not.

The event may have a certain atmosphere that seem to dictate the flow of the commentating. Quiet US Open atmosphere will get the ESPN style; loud and rowdy DCC will get something completely different. LIVE BABY!!!

If you've never been on a microphone for any reason, you might be shocked how difficult it is.

Often, you have to talk to nobody. Might be great for some people. Completely foreign to others.

Know you audience. Not every listener/viewer is a seasoned player. Not every listener is a semi-pro. This is why some GOOD commentators will say "the blue 2-ball."

You'll never please everyone. Some people love one commentator, but others hate him. I'll put my buddy Alvin as an example. I've heard the absolute extremes on him. Most likely because he appeals greatly to some POOL PLAYERS while he irritates other POOL PLAYERS. Diversity is where its at.

And finally, disagree all you want, but IMO you don't have to be a professional pool player to do professional commentary. You just have to add value and be a good commentator. Similar to instruction, the best instructors aren't necessarily the best players. However, like the instructors, I personally feel you have to have won your share of tournaments and understand the specific game pretty well to add value. In other words ,I do agree that you should be a player (in the fantasy AZ kind of way).

Freddie <~~~ everyone's a critic, including me
Click to expand...

Very good points Freddie. Some things I have noticed with commentators, sometimes if there are two player/commentators in the booth they can tend to argue about shot selection, avenues for getting shape or breaking. I find this annoying at times because we all know that there are a million ways to skin a cat.
I can imagine how difficult it could be when in front of the mic and to speak to no one in particular and to hear some of these folks that can take care of two or three sets is impressive to say the least.
Another thing that I chuckle at is whispering in the booth...it doesn't work.

I do enjoy hearing commentary by someone I know or at least know in an AZ forum kinda way. I would like to hear more forum members get in the box now and then:cool:.

For the most part I like streams much better with commentating then the silent matches but then I understand everyone needs to get out and stretch their legs now and then;).
 
I was invited a time or two . . .

I wuz invited a time or two at smallish events. People like Cuebuddy that have met me know I have a bit of a drawl. By the time I described the opening break the match would be over! I declined.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
I wuz invited a time or two at smallish events. People like Cuebuddy that have met me know I have a bit of a drawl. By the time I described the opening break the match would be over! I declined.

Hu
Click to expand...

I know personally it would be good to hear you commentate, drawl or not!
 
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