Should FIRST stop playing parody songs at competitions?

FIRST General Forum
#48

As someone who’s sole purpose in joining FIRST was video-making, the videos that get the most love in FIRST are the reveal videos. I’ve made a number of parodies and although I’ve gotten better, there seems to always be minor to major issues regarding production or ability.

The main problem with FIRST’s treatment of media is that it is so inconsistent. It feels like they don’t know what do with this subgroup of people within their organization that take pictures or make videos.

It’s taught me to find intrinsic value in doing what I do, but it doesn’t attach me to the organization in any meaningful way. Of course, this isn’t FIRST’s mission, but if they want to showcase media more then they should make it clear that they appreciate it and what they expect from it.

In terms of parodies, I think FIRST shouldn’t be obliged to play any team’s video, but that they should be open to playing any team’s video based on popularity or merit regardless of style. This would help with showcasing videos at events while not becoming as repetitive.

#49

I’m fine with the parodies being played, but at the two regionals I went to they played the same two three times each. At both competitions. That is a little excessive, I would rather see more different parodies than the same one over and over, I think everyone can enjoy the creative lyrics, but playing one any more than once is a bit much.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

#50

FIRST specifically solicits song parodies and safety animations by way of contests.

Chairman’s videos are expected of every applying team but are not generally managed in any way (I expect they’re not even viewed in most cases).

And there’s no way to officially submit a reveal video or a team intro video (which I’ve seen played at some events, but have no idea who or how or when they got made).

Maybe this could start by having a way to officially submit robot reveal or “team reveal” videos, including Chairmans, to FIRST events for consideration.

I love the idea of playing the robot reveal videos for robots about to play in finals, or of playing the DCA winners’ chairman’s videos at a district championship.

#51

That’s a pretty good point.

The best of them don’t suffer very much from this problem, but some of them are very much insider references, and so we should be careful about where and how they are played. Inside jokes are not recruitment tools.

But, for those involved in their production, I still love your work.

#52

Not sure if this is different in other areas, but at all tournaments in Michigan, the winner’s of all Chairman’s awards get their video played after they are announced.

#53

Yes, at the Ontario District Champs the winning 3 teams got their videos played as they went up for high fives.

But there were 6 other teams who won Chairman’s awards at their district event. Each of those events would have played their videos when they won, but at District Champs there could have been an opportunity to acknowledge those other teams by playing their videos, if there was a need for “filler” content.

#54

They played them at the Michigan District Champs. Ours had the audio turn into Darth Vader on a bad cellphone connection. Bit embarrassing.

#55

I agree! There have been a lot of amazing robot reveal videos this year. Teams 16, 118, 148 3309, and presumably many more had great videos this year. It’s a shame they don’t get as much publicity as they deserve.

#56

This, along with playing chairman’s videos, are FANTASTIC ideas.

I don’t mind one parody every once in awhile, i cringe when they come on but I understand some people have fun with it. I think there’s just too many of them being played at events.

#57

Well, when FIRST opens up feedback for events, let’s all be sure to make our opinions known. It won’t do any good to just sit here and complain amongst each other :stuck_out_tongue:

#58

I completely agree with this take.

#59

This is a huge misnomer. I’d bet that every single FRC team, regardless of size, has at least 5 HD cameras kicking around (phones, I’m talking about your phones). Get a $100 “Smart Lav” mic. And use iMovie (now free on iOs). Buy some Royalty Free music for $50 from AudioJungle or make your own on Garageband (again: free on iOs). A one-time investment of $150 (Canadian) enables your team to make high-quality and professional videos.

Money isn’t the problem. The problem is not knowing what you’re doing.
(Don’t know what you’re doing? Check out my “How to Film your Robot” presentation in my signature).

#60

Well, remember not everyone has a Mac with iMovie and GarageBand :wink:

That being said, I completely agree - I do happen to have a Mac and an iPhone, and we have been able to make some (IMHO :o ) pretty nice videos this year. We even bought the same mic that you suggested.

Money isn’t the problem. Time is the problem. It takes time to sit down and edit, and we struggle already to get everything else done in time for our competitions. However, learning to do good video is a very worthy investment.

#61

Human resources are often more difficult to come by than financial resources, so I don’t think this actually invalidates the point.

#62

Sure…but the Chairman’s Award is not an award for videography. The video or other presentation is supposed to just be a vehicle for describing the team’s accomplishments. The video itself is not part of the judging criteria. (As documented in that incredibly accurate FIRST documentary “Hitler’s FRC Team Stinks”, which is a different sort of FIRST parody that I really like, but which I definitely would not show at a competition.)

#63

Based on your team history, you have personally won 0 chairmans awards, and haven’t created any valuable media that is worthy of similar accolades, so are you really qualified to be telling people what it takes to make a high quality chairmans video, or to even be correcting someone who has won two chairmans awards for two different teams in the last two years?

#64

How does that have anything to do with him being qualified to be giving advice on how to make a high quality video? his advice is regarding good videography quality, not content that will appeal to Chairman’s judges.

Sit down.

#65

Last I checked, no qualifications were nescessary to provide advice on a public forum. But incase they were, I believe the fact that he holds a University degree in Film, and has contributed to our Chairman’s Award winning videos for the past three years in a row, would suffice.

#66

I see what you are saying. Your presentation is definitely a resource some teams should use! In the long term $150 may not be a lot of money for some teams. However, for teams that do need to put every amount of funds they have into building a robot, that is a substantial amount. I’m also not quite sure that phone cameras will provide the same quality as 3132’s video.

Additionally, judges already have VERY little time to look over EVERYTHING a team has done in the span of a year. Judging a team’s video would take time away from interacting with the students directly.

#67

If you are unhappy with FIRST parodies, then make videos that are watchable, entertaining, and cool.

You don’t need expensive gear to make a video watchable and entertaining. You need proper understanding of how to edit and create a story with your shots. Simple as that.

If you check out Team 3309’s videos, they look nice because they have good editing technique and offer a variety of different angles and shots which break up the monotony/similarity of the content being shown. For example, cuts on action happen in sync with the music. And, these recaps make a story that you enjoy watching. All of these videos were made by one student on 3309, too. I work with him on just shooting ideas that haven’t really been done before.

Making a watchable and entertaining video involves proper editing technique, and you should only use expensive cameras when you need expensive cameras to attain the shots you need.

Videos For Reference: LA Recap, OC Recap (2016), and 2017 Chairman’s