Reviewerverse Free Press Interviews Jerrid Foiles!

Today’s Interviewee:  Jerrid Foiles of Space Monkey Mafia Studios and TheCinemaSnob.com!

Mehe:  Hello, and welcome to Reviewerverse Free Press, where today we are honored to be joined by Jerrid Foiles!

Jerrid Foiles:  Hi. Thanks for having me.

Mehe:  Tell us a little about yourself and your current projects, Jerrid.

JF:  Alright, well, I’m a member of “Team Snob”,  a name given to me and my group of friends from TheCinemaSnob.com. My status has been downgraded to part time and in the meantime I am working on a solo project through my production company for hire called Foil-Wrapped Productions.

Mehe:  What can you tell us about Foil-Wrapped Productions?

JF:  Well, it’s a video production service for hire located in Springfield, IL. We primarily service Central IL with video services ranging from wedding videos, corporate web videos, commercials, and legal videography (depositions and what not). And like I said, when I’m not doing all that I’m working on a new sketch comedy web series called “Jerrid’s Short Bus.”

Mehe:  A new sketch series? When can we look for that to happen?

JF:  Late spring or early summer. The fans helped me pick that name on my facebook. I love my fans.

Mehe:  You’re also a drummer in a band, aren’t you?

JF:  Yes, just recently, my band Set Piece regrouped after our 8 year hiatus. I actually was not actively drumming during my full time phase at thecinemasnob.com

Mehe:  As a drummer, you have to have a favorite genre of music.

JF:  I do. I love progressive rock. My view of music is since I’m a musician, I have to be impressed by your skill as a musician in order for me to enjoy it. There are some exceptions. You can’t help but enjoy even the simpler party songs.  Bands like Rush, Yes, Dream Theater, King Crimson are all on my favorites list.

Mehe:  What’s your experience as a member of the Reviewerverse been like?

JF:  Well, just like everything else it has it’s ups and downs. An example of the downs would be that sometimes you have to not say what you really want to say because you are in the public eye. And, quite frankly, that’s not my style.

Mehe:  I can imagine it gets tough being recognized and so on.

JF:  Actually, at the risk of sounding like a douche, I love being recognized. I love running into fans taking pics, giving autographs.

Mehe:  You said you’re part time on Cinema Snob now. Can you take us a little through the production of what you’re involved in?

JF:  Well, I guess you could say I run camera when needed and just give cameos also when needed.

Mehe:  What’s Jerrid Foiles’ favorite film genre?

JF:  Gosh that’s a tough one.  I don’t think I really gravitate to one specific genre. I do enjoy comedies and if you ever saw the “Pat” movie (based on the SNL character from the 90s) there’s a line in there where Pat says he/she’s favorite movies are “Good movies.” The joke being that it’s such a vague thing to say, but for me it’s kind of true.

Mehe:  That actually does make a lot of sense though. Then, what’s your favorite movie?

JF:  A good movie.  But if you want me to be specific, I’ll list a few: Back to the Future (all of them), Wall-E, Click, Nightmare on Elm St, Friday the 13th…

Mehe:  Back to the Future is one of the quintessential time travel films!

JF:  Indeed. A friend of mine just showed me the Epic Rap Battle on Youtube between Doctor Who and Dr. Brown. I have to say Brown PWNd that one.

Mehe:  Where can we find you out there on the web, Jerrid? Other than The Cinema Snob, of course.

JF:  Oh, I was also picked up by spacemonkeymafia.com. I hope they don’t fire me for forgetting to mention them until now.

Mehe:  Any advice for people trying to get into reviewing/film making/ et cetera?

JF:  Well, for the reviewers in the making:  The “angry reviewer” angle is played out. Any chance you can come up with something more unique or creative, jump on that before someone else does. When I started doing The Game Re-Port (available on Blip.tv and youtube) I wanted to try and not be a review show, but more of a “Sportscenter for videogames” kind of thing, and the fans have definitely picked up on that and they enjoy it tremendously.  By the way, that’s nothing against the current “angry reviewers,” just that if new ones try to do the same thing, I think they are gonna have a challenge trying to build a fanbase.

Mehe:   As far as reviewing goes, the angry reviewer seems to be a hallmark of many producers. Your thoughts on that?

JF:  Well, again, everyone wants to be the next AVGN, Nostalgia Critic, or Cinema Snob. I say find your own niche.

Mehe:  Thank you so much for your time today, Jerrid. I think we’re going to wind down now, and let you go. Any parting words for our readers?

JF:  Just visit spacemonkeymafiastudios.com, and of course thecinemasnob.com. If you live in the central IL area and want a professional video done, please contact Foil-Wrapped Productions and visit that website as well, which is at foilwrappedproductions.com.

Reviewerverse Free Press Returns From An Unscheduled Absence with ZenithWillRule!

Hello, all!  I’d like to apologize for the delay in getting interviews up.  I hate schedule slippage as much as the rest of the world, but sometimes life interrupts.  Anyway,  here’s ZenithWillRule!

Mehe:   Hello and Welcome to Reviewerverse Free Press!  Today, we’re talking with Zenith Will Rule!

Zenith:  Hi everybody! Happy to join you today.  This is the first time I’ve ever been interviewed for my work.

Mehe:  Well, we here at Reviewerverse Free Press are glad to do it!  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Zenith: Well, I’m known around the Reviewaverse as Zenith and I am really a jack of all trades in many aspects.  It took me a while to come up with what I even wanted to review because I do so many things.  I am a writer, photographer, film student, and so much more.  It’s somewhat hard to choose what I love more because I love media so much really.

Zenith: In the end I decided to let that be my strength and become a Media reviewer. You could say its a bit like an anti-Spoony concept in a way.  He tears apart numerous different childhood memories where I talk about stuff that I like and try to showcase why Media either works or doesn’t work.

Mehe: Have you found that works a little better?

Zenith: ell, yes and not works better for me because I’m not shoehorned into one category.  You won’t find people asking me why I’m not reviewing horror or comics anymore because I just don’t have a category.  I make several different series based on things I like but I’m free and open to do whatever I want.

Zenith:  However, the main caveat to that is it is insanely hard to build an audience with this kind of subject.  People want to see the game reviewer or the movie buff or the anime specialist.  That’s what they generally gravitate towards and it took quite a long time to get the audience that I have now.

Mehe: But you have built a loyal fanbase with your approach.

Zenith: As of right now, I would say yes.  I have a steadily increasing view count and people who follow me on twitter to ask me questions about my next review subject. It’s not on a major scale but I’m rather blown away that I have a fanbase really.  It’s quite humbling.

Mehe:  So with no major focus how do you decide what to review?

Zenith:  Well, this wasn’t always the case.  When I started out I wanted to just review movies and I took a very Nostalgia Critic approach.  Needless to say, I hate that first video.  It’s the only one that I have set to private because I can’t watch it anymore.  However,  the negative reaction to my review of All Dogs Go To Heaven did give me an idea to branch out and try different things.  I went to a couple of movie premieres and interviewed people there.  Did reaction videos and recaps.  After that, I tried to do book reviews like Derek The Bard but I found that books are generally too long for a decent review on my part.  I transitioned to anime and manga from there because I know a lot more about that genre. From there, I just decided to do everything.  It can be kind of confusing trail to follow but I think once I made the transition to anime I had gotten the hang of video making enough to really figure out what I wanted and the approach that I was taking.

Mehe:  Where can people unfamiliar to you find you?

Zenith:  Well, recently I have become affiliated with numerous different websites.  I originated on Comic Book Therapy.com and they have been with me since the beginning.  I can’t thank them enough for hosting my work for this long.  After that I joined One Piece At A Time Blog and DVD20 Productions, the latter of which gave me my website. However, the main sites I am with right now are Nerdvice.com, Space Monkey Mafia Studios, Channel Zero, and Rosenhacker.com.  It’s a lot of support really but I have to say my two main are Nerdvice and Channel Zero.  They have really embraced me and my videos and have supported me the entire time.

Mehe:  We’ve been told that you have a pretty important project coming up, Those Who Fight!. Care to share a little bit about that?

Zenith: Ah, Those Who Fight!.  This is my favorite project that I am working on and simultaneously the most hated by those who bash on reviewers.  Those Who Fight! is a feature-length film that involves just about every review site and reviewer that I could get in contact with.  The trailers make it out to be a bit like the TGWTG anniversary films with more people but I assure you, these trailers are lies.  I wanted to get people interested in the project but the main thing that I want to stress about this is that it is a bit different.  I’m not going about this project in a normal way.  I guess you could call it a pastiche approach.  Every single cast member has complete creative control over their lines, their character, and the way they are represented in the film.  I just gave them a template of what the scene was about and they went from there.  It’s very much a community film and I’m trying to make my part as minimal as I can.  Another major inspiration for this project is the film Memento.  There will be some big twists in this and it will not, and I stress that not, be presented in a normal movie fashion.

Zenith:  I’m hoping to release it January of next year.  If all goes according to plan, it will be premiered at Magfest for all those attending the con.

Mehe:  So, of all your reviews, where would you recommend a new person start watching?

Zenith:  Well, I think where I first became watchable was in the Game Of The Week episodes.  That’s where Media Meltdown 2.0 officially begins for me.  However, I’m still not too big a fan of those because of the editing and my camera mic.  I would personally recommend watching at the beginning of History Of One Piece.  That was when I got my new mic and started my new approach.  Everything from that point on (Weekly Dose Of Awesome, Anime Observations) I consider MM 3.0 and my best work to date.  I have much better stage presence, better audio, and all around better confidence in my work.

Mehe:  What equipment do you use?

Zenith:   I use a Blue Yeti usb microphone and a Canon T3I video camera.  I generally find that on-board camera mics are rather sub-par  so I got the best quality video/picture camera that I could afford.  I capture audio and video at the same time and sync them up later in editing.  I used to suck at that but it gets much easier once you know how to zoom in and match the waveform.

Mehe: That sounds… tedious!

Zenith:  It can be but a little extra time can mean the difference between a good review and a great one.  That’s why I don’t generally set a schedule for myself.  I could make five reviews a week but they wouldn’t be up to my standard.  I make videos at my own pace and it works out better for me.

Mehe:  Sounds like you’ve got yourself a plan worked out.  Other than Those Who Fight!, have you got any upcoming projects planned that you’re excited about?

Zenith: Well, there are three major projects that I’m focused on that I’m rather excited about.  The first is a complete retrospective of Final Fantasy.  This includes the numbered entries, the side games, the games that aren’t technically Final Fantasy but have the FF name.  I’m covering it all from beginning to end as best I can.  I’ve been working on this idea since last november and I finally have everything set up for it.  Title cards, props, t-shirts, etcetera.  So I’m really pushing this one.

The second project is a continuation project based on popular demand.  See, I used to do podcasts in addition to my reviews and I hosted them on blip.  However, since blip refused to give producers with audio content advanced features, I had to remove my podcasts and other audio work.  Of these podcasts, my favorite (and the one with an actual legit fanbase) was the Disney Debate, where my friend and I would watch each Disney film in order (from live action to animated films) and discuss them.  Since podcasts are no longer feasible and my co-host left to pursue her own video work, I’m bringing this back as a video series called Project Disney.  Every Disney tv show, film, and product will be covered eventually.

The last is another I’ve been working on for a while but didn’t have enough knowledge to do.  I’m going to start doing Doctor Who reviews from the first doctor to the 11th, going serial by serial.  I tried this once before but the first episode was not my best work.  I didn’t know enough about the mythos or Britain in general to do such a project.  However, now that I’ve seen all of modern Doctor Who, I’m ready to begin again.

Mehe:  Speaking of Doctor Who, what fandoms would you place yourself in?

Zenith: I have so many it’s hard to name them all. I love Pokemon, Digimon, Power Rangers, Doctor Who, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic among others.

Mehe:  Another Brony! That begs the question: Who is best pony?

Zenith:  Yeah, I’m a bit of a brony.  I have a few favorites actually.  I love Pinkie Pie because there has never been an episode where she has failed to make me laugh.  She is random, unpredictable, and simply fun.  I like Rainbow Dash a lot too because she is a strong role model for young women.  She’s strong, brave, and 20% cooler than what girls have to look up to normally.  Last but not least, I love the Wonderbolts.  Their design is just plain cool (points to Wonderbolts hoodie featured in a review). The are basically Pegasus kings of the sky and I think that’s cool.

I do think that the fans blow the show out of proportion a lot but from my standpoint, Lauren Faust (creator of Foster’s Home and Powerpuff Girls) can do no wrong.  She made millions of kids love Powerpuff and that’s girly as hell.  She just makes gender blind creations that work because they’re great character pieces.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It’s not the best thing out there but for a kids show it’s damn good.

Mehe:  There’s been a lot of controversy as of the show direction starting with season three, can you comment on your opinion about that?

Zenith: Well, since Lauren left the show, the changes are very apparent.  There are fewer musical numbers and much more focus on the overarching plots than before.  I honestly think this is a good thing though.  The musical numbers are still generally good (on par with Phineas and Ferb) and the characters are advancing along the same path.  I’ve only seen half of the 3rd season at this point but what I saw is the same quality as before.  Now, I know about the whole Alicorn controversy too and I will say this. It’s been hinted at since season one.  It’s a natural evolution of the character and it’s not because they need a princess.  I think it’s a great development and people like to just hate on it for arbitrary reasons. The same reason why people hate Celestia.  Racism?  Really?  If you squint at it maybe.  People read to much into things.  I would say more but I may review the show at some point.  Well, I still like the show. If people want to complain about the growing pains, tell it to the original MLP which is unwatchable.

Mehe:  Well, Zenith, it’s been really awesome of you to allow us to spend some time with you tonight, but alas, all good interviews must come to an end.  Any parting words for the readers?

Zenith:  Thank you for reading this interview guys.  It’s been a pleasure and I hope you take a look at my little review show when you get a chance.  You may see something quite awesome if you take a look.  This is Zenithwillrule signing off.

Reviewerverse Free Press Hacks Into Rosen Hacker!

Today, we get to talk to Rosen Hacker!  Mehe, as always, checks in with what was said!

 

Mehe:  Hello and welcome to Reviewerverse Free Press, Rosenhacker!

Rosen Hacker:  Good to be here!

Mehe:  Could you share a little bit about yourself and your show for those readers who aren’t familiar with you?

Rosen Hacker:  Of course.  I actually have several shows, so I’ll keep the descriptions brief.  I have “What a Character!”, where I take a look at characters with multiple incarnations.  I’m currently working on the Mario episode.  I have “TV Episode Breakdown”, basically an episode guide for shows that I love.  I’m going through the entirety of That ’70s Show, with the next video covering episodes 9-12.  I have “The Rosen Hacker Reviews”, your standard movie/game review show.  HappyViking, The Hardcore Kid and I actually just put out a crossover on Heavy metal 2000 that we shot at MAGFest.  I also have DevianTrash in the works, a show I’m working on with Zenithwillrule.

Mehe:   Where can we find you on the internet?

Rosen Hacker:  I’m on RT Gomer Productions, Space Monkey Mafia, NerdVice, and my own site, which we’re in the process of upgrading.

Mehe:  How’d you get involved with making video reviews?

Rosen Hacker:  I wanted to do it for a while, pretty much as soon as I discovered people like Doug Walker, Linkara and CR!, but I didn’t have the resources.  Eventually, around May of 2011, I got a camera and was able to start learning how this all works.

Mehe:  Could you take us through the process you go through when planning your reviews?

Rosen Hacker:  First up, obviously, is the writing.  I write the movie/TV reviews as I’m watching them, and as for the others, I just write when they come to mind.  Inspiration mostly strikes when I’m bored in class.  And in case my mom is reading this, I’m joking.  Then comes the filming.  Pretty simple process, set up the camera and wham-o, I’m good.  After the filming, I record VO work, and I just decided to also do ADR.  Then, the editing.  Oh god, the editing.  This is the reason it takes me so long to get a video out, I am insanely lazy when it comes to editing.

Mehe:  All the meticulous chopping and pasting video together?

Rosen Hacker:  indeed.  For whatever reason, it’s very hard to convince myself to actually get it done.  Once I do though, it’s not that bad.

Mehe:  With several shows running, I can imagine it gets very time consuming.

Rosen Hacker:  Yeah.  Thankfully, I upgraded softwares recently, so it’s at least an easier process.

Mehe:  What software do you use?

Rosen Hacker:  I use Adobe Premiere Elements 11, but until last year I was using Pinnacle Studio 12.  Incidentally, I would sooner recommend a bear trap to the face before Pinnacle.

Mehe:  Do you have any projects coming up other than DevianTrash that you’re excited about?

Rosen Hacker:  Well, I’m also producing the Gotham High Audio Drama. It’s three episodes in and it keeps getting better and better.

Mehe:  How can we find that?

Rosen Hacker:  You can find it on Liam Cunningham’s blip page.

Mehe:  Let’s go back to your reviews for a moment.  Where would you recommend people start with your shows?

Rosen Hacker;  For TVEB, it’s pretty easy, as there’s only one episode out at the moment.  For What a Character, I’d go with the episode about Tom and Jerry.  For my standard reviews, either the crossover with HK and Viking, or my review of Karate Dog.

Mehe:  Of your reviews, which do you consider your best?

Rosen Hacker:  Not counting crossovers, I’d say my Karate Dog review.  It’s probably my sharpest, editing-wise.  If I AM counting crossovers, however, I’d say the Heavy Metal 2000 review.

Mehe:  This one’s a little out of the ordinary, but do you ever frequent your tvtropes.org page?

Rosen Hacker:  I do.  After all, I’m the one who set it up.  Self-absorbed, I know, but I figured I’d just put the base description and let others take care of the rest.

Mehe:  What fandoms outside of your reviews do you belong to?

Rosen Hacker:  See, that’s a tough one.  I like stuff like Buffy, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Gravity Falls, etc, but I don’t really consider myself a fanboy for any of them, with the exception of internet reviews.

Mehe:  Do you have any advice for aspiring reviewers?

Rosen Hacker:  I guess I’d have to say don’t give up.  If you like what you do, keep at it.  Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t listen to criticism.  Far from it, you should be striving to improve as you go along.  But you can’t let it discourage you from doing this if you really want to.

Mehe:  What’s the best experience you’ve had as a reviewer?

Rosen Hacker:  One word: MAGFest.  It’s like Reviewer Christmas, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Mehe:  Any memories from MAGfest you’d like to share?

Rosen Hacker:  Let’s see, this year alone, there was meeting with a ton of Channel Awesome people, actually being recognized by a fan, getting roasted, and meeting new talent for my site.

Mehe:  You got roasted?

Rosen Hacker:  I did, by my friends in the Hack Pack.  That’s what my group of buddies is called.  It… was certainly something.

Mehe:  Is that available somewhere online or was it just for the lucky attendees?

Rosen Hacker:  It’s on Chris the Nerd’s channel.

Mehe:  I bet being recognized was amazing!

Rosen Hacker:  It honestly was.  This was actually the second time that had happened in the past year, though I don’t want to brag.

Mehe:  Where else were you recognized other than MAG?

Rosen Hacker:  Well, I was filming with the Last Angry Geek, and after the shoot we went to the house of a friend of his.  This turned out to be Doug Walker himself.  He somehow knew who I was, and I damn near fainted.

Mehe:  Sounds like you’re really enjoying the reviewer life.  Any parting words?

Rosen Hacker:  I’d just really like to thank my friends, my fans, my wonderful girlfriend, and everyone I’ve met in my time doing this.  Seriously, thank you all.

Mehe:  And we at Reviewerverse Free Press thank you for taking some time out to talk with us today!