I dont know what to say about that thread because i flat out disagree. When im watching a mid-fight in third person, i can actually see how the fight is progressing from the TEAM's perspective. way too often the camera follows some roaming soldier that tries to flank and dies, or a demo spamming a doorway. Things that are boring and seem inconsequential, but actually shape the fight and contribute to the win. Im sure that a fantastic caster will be able to fill those gaps for your, but why should it be so difficult?

My problem with extv camerawork is that the camera is constantly moving so you constantly have to reorient yourself. Other than that, 3rd person for big fights works great imo.

I've always enjoyed tf.tv's casts, however I think I'm more of a fan of the more relaxed casts where the casters crack jokes and have a good time. Although, I can understand that casters will need to explain what's happening if a lot of people who don't play comp tf2 are watching.

Serious lack of fully charged this month...

3rd-person camera is great if it's used right. It's rarely used right.

The problem most cameramen have with 3rd-person is their mousing habits. I'm sure everyone remembers when the i46 final cut to Arx's camera because they were having temporary difficulties with Beta's machine - his mousing habits were atrocious to watch. He obviously knew what he was looking at and could catch all the angles he needed to see, but it wasn't relateable to anyone who didn't have their hands on the mouse.

I often had people ask me how to improve their up-and-coming casts, and I used to have a stock "camerawork" response saved in a text file to copy-paste. It boiled down to this: 3rd person camera is never supposed to be you zooming around trying to find something. It's supposed to be you quickly establishing a perch and keeping it still until the action you're looking at is finished. Once you pick the perch and the angle for your 3rd-person shot at mid or wherever, let go of the fucking mouse and don't touch it again.

Also, it's best when used sparingly. The viewers can't get a sense of the individual skill without seeing 1st-person camera, period. Keeping things first-person also helps establish simple stories about complex action - you can always easily say what one person is doing and then fit it into the broader context. That's a lot easier to understand, and a bit more exciting, than starting with the broad context and trying to explain individual action after the fact.

edit: By mousing I'm really including WASDing too. No moving the camera once you're perched!

Sal is good casting. Miss your YouTube, sir.

Beasly please no more old-timey wiseguy gangster voice. It lost its novelty after 10 minutes and now is just annoying and distracting.