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 Forum index » Chaotic Fiction » Marble Hornets
[OOG] General Troy Has A Camera discussion
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ToTheArcanine
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Joined: 14 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Remember when Marble Hornets entries would get 20+ pages in one day sometimes, and CL broadcasts are lucky to get a single page in a week.


There's not much to discuss. And Troy has yet to make me actually care about Noah.

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 12:34 am
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JustJim
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The Slender Man wrote:
Remember when Marble Hornets entries would get 20+ pages in one day sometimes, and CL broadcasts are lucky to get a single page in a week.


Marble Hornets had a plot.

And things happening.

And fun little games of hunting for The Slender Man.

CL44 has none of that. It's like they're all TTA responses to videos on another channel where shit is actually taking place.

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 6:47 pm
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420Goku
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 		I think most people just post on the thac forum now, so you can't really compare how many posts threads used to get to now. However, if you look at the thac forum there's still a pretty clear and sharp decline in quantity of posts as the series has gone on and lost more and more hype.

PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 10:26 pm
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awakeasaurusrex
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 		Yeah, on top of that both here and on the THAC forum the quality of discussion seems to have gone down as well as quantity. This nonsense with the Awake channel, which is such a blatant gamejack that it just isn't funny, wouldn't have generated nearly the number of the posts it has back in the day.

I don't think this is because the people involved in the discussion have become stupid or anything, just a combination of two factors:

a) People generally seem less enthusiastic about the series, so the conversation is more detached and half-assed and most people aren't bringing their A-game when it comes to analysis and speculation.

b) The content is genuinely less rich this time around, and with less facts and data to argue about there's less driving the conversation to begin with and people are more likely to entertain distractions like the Awake channel.

Now, to be fair the actual story of Marble Hornets was pretty thin itself. (Spookyman appears to people and does something to them that is never really explained; people crack under the influence and do various weird things to try and stop or appease Spookyman.) But it at least had more meaty character development and acting. Some of those long entries weren't the "filler" people complained about but necessary "getting-to-know-ya" segments which gave us further insights into the characters, and the better we got to know them the more we cared about them.

With CL44 we just don't seem to be getting enough of that for people to get the same sort of investment in the series. Frankly, it feels like THAC are struggling to get out of the prologue section and into something more involved. Birdwatcher's consultation with his therapist and this phone call are steps in the right direction, but they don't feel like enough by themselves.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 7:30 am
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Ascalondion
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awakeasaurusrex wrote:
But it at least had more meaty character development and acting. Some of those long entries weren't the "filler" people complained about but necessary "getting-to-know-ya" segments which gave us further insights into the characters, and the better we got to know them the more we cared about them.


Yeah, I feel like the good old polarizing "fillers" are a key thing the new series is missing. Back in the day you had a sometimes 10min video of stuff happening. It was mostly walking, though, but you could speculate more about some deeper stuff going on. Just think of Entry 20, the static hole, the random shot of the water. You had so much stuff that could have been either nothing or a good lead, and people were debating about that.
Now, you have a 90 second entry with a dude jumping through walls at other dudes, and random camera effects and first-person shots. Not much to talk about, since we don't have the "rules" of the "game" yet.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 11:26 am
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awakeasaurusrex
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 		I'm particularly thinking of seasons 2 and 3, where in a lot of the so-called "filler" episodes we actually had the characters talking to each other and showing a bit of personality.

CL44 is like season 1 Marble Hornets with all of Jay's own investigations and the scenes on the Marble Hornets set taken out, so you're just left with short videos of Alex reacting to weird shit that, by itself, doesn't actually go anywhere, and TTA videos which, in the absence of anything substantial for them to react to, just muddy the waters.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 12:06 pm
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sp103
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 		CL44 really needs to give us a plot. Quickly.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 1:53 pm
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Cyan507
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Joined: 18 Jun 2012
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 		God I've missed UF, like everyone here speaks their mind and more importantly, actual sense. Once the THAC forums went up it was just choc-full of new fans and UF migrators who sucked up to the THAC boys and witch-hunted anyone who criticized MH or any THAC related media.

tl;dr, I missed you guys.

CL44 is really becoming a strain to keep up with, and I was so hyped for it given the teaser and ARG buildup on the website. We're not getting the story we need and I'm scared even the OGs will dwindle before long. The series looks awesome, and the premise is second to none, we just need some of that MH magic that got us hooked before now.

And yes, I'm trying to care about Noah too.

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:05 pm
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420Goku
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 		Yeah I think a lot of people have already come to the conclusion that all that Awakened nonsense was a result of everyone being bored with the actual series' content and scrounging for more (though if you ask me that awakened stuff was cringey shite). It's telling that a lot of the people arguing for it would say things like "there must be another layer to find" or something - they just didn't want to accept that this was what CL44 is.

The THAC forums have been one big tragic unfolding as you watch the majority of people try to defend this series and then notice the real decline in people even bothering to show up to discuss it.

And I still think including Noah in THAC was a general mistake since realistically he's not very similar to the kind of personality that the three guys had and always felt more fake to me, like he had more experience with this whole business side of things (aka being fucking soulless). Also if CL44 is at all telling he's not nearly as good at coming up with ideas for a series/executing it as Joseph or Tim (since Troy clearly hasn't been getting their help in this for a while).

Talking like this probably makes most THAC fanboys hate my guts.

Also Tim posted this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9xoKJYDLVg

Not sure what he's trying to do but I guess I kinda liked it.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:57 am
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awakeasaurusrex
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420Goku wrote:
Yeah I think a lot of people have already come to the conclusion that all that Awakened nonsense was a result of everyone being bored with the actual series' content and scrounging for more (though if you ask me that awakened stuff was cringey shite). It's telling that a lot of the people arguing for it would say things like "there must be another layer to find" or something - they just didn't want to accept that this was what CL44 is.

That definitely sounds plausible.

I'm reminded of the end of Marble Hornets, and how a certain wing of the audience flipped out because the last video was so ambiguous and they were upset about not getting any answers about the Ark and so on, and between that and a lot of the frantic theorising that went on I think that the There Has To Be More To It Than This impulse is quite deep-rooted in the fandom.

With Marble Hornets, there was "more to it", but not necessarily where the upset fans were looking - the extra depth was in the emotional journey and in the depictions of the characters, not in the supernatural mystery. I'm not sure we even have that level of depth in CL44.

Quote:
And I still think including Noah in THAC was a general mistake since realistically he's not very similar to the kind of personality that the three guys had and always felt more fake to me, like he had more experience with this whole business side of things (aka being fucking soulless). Also if CL44 is at all telling he's not nearly as good at coming up with ideas for a series/executing it as Joseph or Tim (since Troy clearly hasn't been getting their help in this for a while).

To be fair, Noah is given so little to actually do in the videos I think it's fair to say that his acting chops haven't exactly been challenged. His performances, to me, seem fine for the brief snippets of time that we see him, but the real challenge in acting lies not in getting things momentarily right (especially in a format where you can do multiple takes until you turn in something halfway-convincing) but in sustaining a performance for long enough for it to hold up over time. We've not yet seen Noah's character in CL44 have a really involved interaction with someone where we can get some measure of his personality. The closest we've come is the bit with the therapist, which I admit came across a little fakey, though there I think it's genuinely possible that it's meant to be fakey - it's a hint to us that Noah's character isn't being entirely honest with his doctor.

That said, I haven't been following their other material so I don't know what Noah is like in that. And I will admit that the fact that whilst I haven't seen enough of Noah to really consider him a bad actor, I also haven't seen enough of him to persuade me that he's right for the part.

Quote:
Also Tim posted this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9xoKJYDLVg

Not sure what he's trying to do but I guess I kinda liked it.

It's a decent quality video, the performance was good, I liked the story, it was funny in the way it was evidently intended to be funny, I like it. Dunno whether this is a solo thing or Tim and Joseph setting up their own thing but I'd be interested to see where it goes, especially if where it goes is Tim and Joseph trying their own horror thing.

Whether or not your theory about Troy being the primary/sole creative force behind CL44 and the others not having much input was true before they left, it's probably true now (Noah is still there, but he's also the junior partner in this endeavour - if not formally, then at least in terms of prior experience - so in practice it seems likely that Troy is calling the shots). And I begin to think that the bits I liked in Marble Hornets where the bits which Troy seems to be deliberately avoiding with this series. If Tim and Joseph are able to bring reasonable production values and the sort of writing and performance quality we see in that little taster video to a horror series they might have something hot on their hands.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:17 pm
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420Goku
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awakeasaurusrex wrote:
To be fair, Noah is given so little to actually do in the videos I think it's fair to say that his acting chops haven't exactly been challenged. His performances, to me, seem fine for the brief snippets of time that we see him, but the real challenge in acting lies not in getting things momentarily right (especially in a format where you can do multiple takes until you turn in something halfway-convincing) but in sustaining a performance for long enough for it to hold up over time. We've not yet seen Noah's character in CL44 have a really involved interaction with someone where we can get some measure of his personality. The closest we've come is the bit with the therapist, which I admit came across a little fakey, though there I think it's genuinely possible that it's meant to be fakey - it's a hint to us that Noah's character isn't being entirely honest with his doctor.

That said, I haven't been following their other material so I don't know what Noah is like in that. And I will admit that the fact that whilst I haven't seen enough of Noah to really consider him a bad actor, I also haven't seen enough of him to persuade me that he's right for the part.


Yeah I wasn't really referencing his acting in CL44 so much as just his general presence in all their podcasts and short humor bits. Though also I haven't watched any of those kinds of things in a while and tbh I see no point to now that it'd just be Troy and Noah.

As far as his acting in CL44 goes, it's exactly like you said: haven't seen nearly enough of it to make too many judgments. However I will say I cringed when he whacked the hoody-replica in that one video... probably because there was 0 buildup that'd give it any meaning other than a hoody-replica getting whacked with a cane, but also really it just wasn't a convincing job on his part ("YOU!" or whatever he says...)

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 12:34 pm
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Cyan507
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Joined: 18 Jun 2012
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420Goku wrote:
awakeasaurusrex wrote:
To be fair, Noah is given so little to actually do in the videos I think it's fair to say that his acting chops haven't exactly been challenged. His performances, to me, seem fine for the brief snippets of time that we see him, but the real challenge in acting lies not in getting things momentarily right (especially in a format where you can do multiple takes until you turn in something halfway-convincing) but in sustaining a performance for long enough for it to hold up over time. We've not yet seen Noah's character in CL44 have a really involved interaction with someone where we can get some measure of his personality. The closest we've come is the bit with the therapist, which I admit came across a little fakey, though there I think it's genuinely possible that it's meant to be fakey - it's a hint to us that Noah's character isn't being entirely honest with his doctor.

That said, I haven't been following their other material so I don't know what Noah is like in that. And I will admit that the fact that whilst I haven't seen enough of Noah to really consider him a bad actor, I also haven't seen enough of him to persuade me that he's right for the part.


Yeah I wasn't really referencing his acting in CL44 so much as just his general presence in all their podcasts and short humor bits. Though also I haven't watched any of those kinds of things in a while and tbh I see no point to now that it'd just be Troy and Noah.

As far as his acting in CL44 goes, it's exactly like you said: haven't seen nearly enough of it to make too many judgments. However I will say I cringed when he whacked the hoody-replica in that one video... probably because there was 0 buildup that'd give it any meaning other than a hoody-replica getting whacked with a cane, but also really it just wasn't a convincing job on his part ("YOU!" or whatever he says...)


You spoke my mind. I've flat out stopped watching the THAC channel. I wouldn't comment on his acting skills as I'm not an expert, but I do also think he wasn't a good addition to THAC. If you look at the timeline it's a little iffy.

THAC works on Marble Hornets.
During season 3 THAC start Season 3 kickstarter, with an honest cause, just funding a DVD with plenty of stretch goals, the last one of which was to fund CL44 which was met and went well over it's target goal.
THAC add Noah.
THAC almost instantaneously opens a Patreon, asking for handouts, stating the money from it will help develop CL44 despite the fact it's alway been fully funded.
CL44 starts long after the hype has died down.
Not long into the first season, two founding members jump ship.

Also note in the Patreon video they list some of their many features as "gaming, audio podcasts and livestreams." Problem is none of that is substantial content. Really all they were doing is Shorts and animation (the quality of said animation is debatable even with Noah's "experience") Literally anyone can make a podcast, livestream or LP. The Podcasts are so grating to listen to because the only way they refer to any CL44 material is "the thing that is happening" or "that spook thing that we do"

Goku said it best, Noah doesn't capture what THAC is out, he wants profits with minimum effort, I've searched the internet for his portfolio and haven't really found anything to brag about...

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:13 pm
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awakeasaurusrex
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 		I will give Tim's video one thing - it's funny and is funny in a way which reminds me of the best THAC comedy stuff, rather than lolrandom crap like Good Morning Dog Dog.

I liked their DOS Let''s Plays mostly because it was Troy and Tim goofing around, and I worry that an essential part of the group chemistry has been lost.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 1:48 pm
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Cyan507
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awakeasaurusrex wrote:
I will give Tim's video one thing - it's funny and is funny in a way which reminds me of the best THAC comedy stuff, rather than lolrandom crap like Good Morning Dog Dog.

I liked their DOS Let''s Plays mostly because it was Troy and Tim goofing around, and I worry that an essential part of the group chemistry has been lost.


Yup, I'll be keeping on eye on Mr. Nannersplit. Troy's known Joseph and Tim for years, even before they made MH. You can't shoehorn that friendship somone relatively new like Noah.

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 4:46 pm
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Lithp
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 		Actually, I think the problem with Clear Lakes 44 is for the most part what I complained about in the 3rd Season of Marble Hornets, & why I didn't get my hopes up for the next series.

We've got Troy's love of mind screw stuff that doesn't really go anywhere.

We've got promises about their plans that build up our expectations but are ultimately not delivered on.

We've got a focus on the characters doing mundane, trivial things instead of the actual mystery or horror.

We don't have consistent stakes.

It wasn't the length of the Entries I had a problem with, it was about how much was just empty walking, or if they did talk, how many would be surface-level conversations.

For the supposed character development, I know less about the trio than I know about casual acquaintances. I don't even know if they were still in contact with their family or anyone else who might wonder why they were suddenly acting crazy. And once you move outside of the main trio, forget it, the most significant thing we learned about Sarah was her family name & that I guess she died off-screen.

Certainly, whatever is going on with this staff drama is not helping, but whatever that's about, I don't think it came out of nowhere either.

Quote:
If Tim and Joseph are able to bring reasonable production values and the sort of writing and performance quality we see in that little taster video to a horror series they might have something hot on their hands.


Wait, is this referring to an actual thing, or a hypothetical thing? I am lost.

PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 10:04 pm
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