Talk:Red vs. Blue/Archive 6

{{rvbep}}

Just as a note, I've created the {{rvbep}} template to aid in linking to individual episodes or seasons. See Template talk:rvbep for usage information. — TKD::Talk 14:19, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Intro Too Long?

It seems it. Satchfan 09:07, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

The main article is 39 KB. WP:LEAD suggests that, for articles of this size, a lead of 3 to 4 paragraphs is appropriate. In fact, I recently expanded the lead to meet this guideline (see /Archive5#Longer lead? for discussion). What would you change about it? — TKD::Talk 09:11, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

No, poeple need to have some info before giving them the article, or theyll be confused.24.205.171.234

Halo: Custom Edition

Wasn't Custom Edition used for filming on the PC? I heard somewhere that Custom Edition was the only version allowing the free roaming camera seen in the PC shots, but more importantly, I could've sworn I heard Burnie name it. -- Viewdrix 23:31, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

It probably was, but I can't find a source on the web at the moment. I think in some of audio commentaries he might imply that Custom Edition was used, but only in the form of mentioning a flying camera, a trick that's technically possible to acheive without Custom Edition (I myself have a small hack that does plain-vanilla Halo: Combat Evolved in a third-person viewpoint. My season 4 DVD is shipping soon, so I'll have a listen through all of the commentaries again at some point. For now, I don't think that "the PC version of Halo" is technically incorrect, though. A bit imprecise, yes, but not incorrect. :) — TKD::Talk 07:41, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Season pemiere dates

Looking at the recent change of the location of the season start dates, I'm wondering whether such a detail is actually necessary in the main article, especially now that the individual seasons have infoboxes. It might look cleanest to remove them altogether. Thoughts? — TKD::Talk 02:23, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

It looks nice and organized to me, and compliments the Main article links well in format, but it's so trivial, it doesn't matter to me either way. -- Viewdrix 22:10, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Another Burnie interview for perusal

From bungie.net: [1], dated 4 April 2006. Some of this is more for the production subarticle. A few notable points:

• From Burnie's standpoint, timing was perfect for the launch of RvB because it was more or less halfway between the releases of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.
• The appeal to those not previously acclimated to Halo was surprising. (Editor's note: I (TKD) fall into that group.)
• Season 5 will include a set that consists of parts of Elongation, Turf, Colossus, and Backwash.
• Writing is geared towards characters, not actors.
• Burnie credits Bungie with leading the way in embracing and fostering the growth of machinima.
• Randall Glass inspired some early Red vs Blue.

— TKD::Talk 02:48, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

What I can see being worked in are the final three points: The writing for characters bit can be worked in easily, the credit towards Bungie for embracing machinima can be added on to where it's noted Microsoft and Bungie agreed to allow Red vs Blue to continue, and Randall Glass can be cited as an inspiration along with Homestar Runner and MST3K in the Background section (even more, we can double cite that one, as they mention it in the season 1 commentary when talking about the Warthog flipping onto the base). -- Viewdrix 22:10, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

"See also" removed

I removed the "See also" section become it was becoming a bit of a repository for any and all Halo machinima, regardless of actual relevance to Red vs Blue (other than both being Halo machinima). That's what categories are for. Instead, I found a source that shows that Red vs Blue inspired The Codex, and put that and Sponsors vs Freeloaders in a brief mention at the end of the Impact section. — TKD::Talk 01:40, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

WikiProject Machinima

(crossposted to Talk:Machinima)

Just out of curiosity, would anyone be interested in helping to form a WikiProject Machinima? The purpose of the project would be to foster the improvement, expansion, and maintenance of machinima-related articles on Wikipedia. While getting Red vs Blue up to featured status is a great accomplishment, there's a lot more that could theoretically be done for other articles. If you take a look at Category:Machinima, you'll see that there's a fair amount of ground to cover, even for what most would consider a "niche" topic, and I think that, if we have enough interested people, it'd be beneficial to have a WikiProject to facilitate collaboration.

By the way, in case anyone's interested, I've written up some tentative thoughts based on my experiences working on the Red vs Blue articles: User:TKD/Writing about machinima. — TKD::Talk 02:14, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The WikiProject page is now live at Wikipedia:WikiProject Machinima. Feel free to sign up. — TKD::Talk 05:44, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Found an audio Burnie interview

A few weeks ago or so, I was scrolling through halo.bungie.org when I came accross a link to an interview held with Burnie Burns in an Xbox Live lobby. I forgot to post it here for possible additions to the article, mostly because all original information (an abandonned character from the first season: a reporter who commented on the events in the canyon) were fairly trivial, and any good stuff was overshadowed at the time by the end of season 4 in sight. Now that we've gotten past that...
Some stuff that's original to the interview to some degree, or the first non-sponsor Q&A source:

-Writing was tailored towards what people responded most to, such as abandonning the reporter I mentioned because fans already liked the rookies alot.

-Burnie describes the series to strangers as "a cartoon about drunk robots in space" to avoid explaining machinima.

-They were asked to do a machinima series for a porn star's game (I believe this was mentioned in a sponsor's Q&A once).

-The other actors put in "tons of input" to the script, especially Sarge/Matt and Donut/Dan, who ad lib the most. One or two jokes an episode are ad-libbed.

-References to Halo are avoided.

-Gus used to work at a company that made those pens with custom company names on them. His frustration at this job inspired Church.

-Voice filters were added to mask that Gus's lines (and, though not mentioned, obviously Joel's and Kathleen's once their characters came) were recorded over the phone.

-Burnie, in New York in preparation for a Lincoln Center showing, missed contacting his wife in Texas for New Year's '03/'04 because he was busy editing and lost track of time. His wife called him at 12:30 am.

-Rooster Teeth secretly was hoping for an in-game reference to Red vs Blue by Bungie, so the Turf soda machines was "the coolest thing we could possibly imagine". They found out about it from their forums after the map was released.

-Their biggest inspiration: "the game itself" (see: episode 2). Also, Homestar Runner and Penny Arcade, both of which Burnie notes for new content on a regular basis, which is rare on the Internet, and Randall Glass.

-Burnie finds it more fun to do stuff the game isn't intended for (in terms of comedy over action, funny over seriousness fo the actual game).

-Vic, and maybe even the war in general, is meant to be fairly ambiguous and unanswered.

Sure, most of it fairly useless, but fun nonetheless. -- Viewdrix 03:01, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

I incorporated his account of not treating the Alien as a Covenant Elite, to replace the somewhat fence-sitting explanation that was in the lead of the plot section. — TKD::Talk 19:45, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

Also incorporated the Penny Arcade mention. — TKD::Talk 09:07, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Two more userboxes

{{User RvB Caboose}}	Caboose This user likes food-nap time.
{{User RvB Donut}}	Donut This user believes that it's not pink; it's lightish red!

— TKD::Talk 23:54, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

Might as well repost the older userbox.

{{User rvbfan}}

rvb This user is a Red vs. Blue fanatic.

--Drat (Talk) 14:00, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Somebody (not being me because I don't know how to make userboxes) should make a teal userbox with "bow chika bow wow" inside of it.

Okay I made a userbox like that, but it's not all official yet, it has the long code (if you want it just get it by editing this section):

Tucker

Bow Chicka Bow Wow

HasBeenCorrected 18:19, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

As a note, I, for one, would advise against putting that in the Template: space, since some people might take it the wrong way. — TKD::Talk 00:00, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

June 10 is the day!

Hell yes! Even better that it's on the weekend so more of us will be free to deal with the flood of vandalism. One thing I would suggest on the day is that people keep an eye on the "What links here" for the RvB and Machinima articles, as there is the possibility of an influx of people spamming their productions. That's how I've managed to track down many of the productions I've nominated for deletion.--Drat (Talk) 15:22, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

As a note, I also highly recommend that, if you plan on being active in reversion of vandalism, you install some JavaScript to help you out. Either popups or, if you use a non-IE browser, a version of godmode-light (be careful as some versions do not work in light of recent Wikipedia updates; the one that I use in User:TKD/monobook.js works for me). — TKD::Talk 06:17, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

YES! the day of judgement is at hand! A short videogame film series is FA! YES Danl 02:29, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Congrats, everyone! I love RvB and just wanted to add a digital handshake on the achievement. I've even edited a few times in the past. ;) gspawn 04:34, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Congrats, as well. I'm a big fan of the series, and I'm happy to see it gets some advertising through Wikipedia. It's also fantastic to have a comprehensive web resource for those wanting information on the show. Great job to all those that contributed. Cybertooth85 05:28, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Good job guys! I haven't been browsing wiki lately to catch up with work stuff, but it's good to see all our hard work has finally paid off. Sorry for not being around more often to help with vandals and content lately, but it's good to see all the hard work that Drat, Viewdrix, TKD, and many others finally get their due respect. Congrats guys. See ya around later. --LifeStar 19:51, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Reworded

I was bold and reworded a few places, in particular the lead of the Plot section and the Distribution section. While adequate, the paragraph on the references to Halo was a bit meandering, so I tried to trim it down and improve the flow while inserting a reference to the Alien as outside the Covenant. There were a couple of awkward phrases in the Distribution section, so I tried to clarify those. Feel free to re-edit further if I introduced anything suboptimal (I hope I didn't). — TKD::Talk 19:46, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

I did a little more wordng cleanup. It only occurred to me now that the season 1 plot summary didn't introduce who Sarge was when he was mentioned for the first time, for instance. A couple other changes that might warrant explanation:

• I removed mention of Sheila possibly hiding something, as nothing more has come of that particular line yet. If it comes up in season 5, it probably wouldn't hurt the flow at all just to mention that "The Blues discover that Sheila had been..." at that juncture.
• From Caboose's description, I removed "unable to grasp simple concepts" as more or less covered under "varying degrees of insanity and stupidity".

— TKD::Talk 09:07, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

Copyright?

Odd that there's no mention or info on the copyright status of this creation. Since it's using images from a commercial game, there must be copyright issues to be addressed. 84.66.25.191 09:55, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Click on the images to see the infopages and fair-use claims.--Drat (Talk) 10:12, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

If you're referring to the series itself, the article mentions that a deal was struck between the Rooster Productions and Microsoft allowing for use of Halo imagery in RvB. GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 11:53, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I should have read what the topic starter said twice.--Drat (Talk) 12:04, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

The members of RedvsBlue are regularly invited to Bungie Studios to participate in events, tests of new products, etc. RedvsBlue has Bungie's blessing. This is partially because Bungie recognizes that what makes RvB a success is the hard work and dedication of its members, and not abuse of Halo technology- not to mention RvB must sell a ton of Halo goodies as a kind of invisible cross-promotion. As a random example: If someone used Halo machinema for profit and tried to say they'd actually MADE the game that was being played in the process, they're actually selling the Halo technology in the process. THAT is something Bungie would act on. And technically, yes they could destroy RvB because they never really got Bungie's approval in the beginning, but "they're cool like that". Make sense? gspawn 17:39, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Name of the company involved

the name of the company is a play on words the name of the company is cock bite, which is why they show a rooster and a pair of teeth, perhaps im wrong but i seriously think that this is the case —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.99.148.249 (talk • contribs) .

Yes, you are correct. See this interview: "We wanted to name our production company after [the insult "cockbite"]. We then realized that people would probably be uncomfortable explaining credit card charges and checks to a company called "Cock Bite Productions", so we replaced Cock with Rooster and Bite with Teeth and voila, Rooster Teeth Productions." — TKD::Talk 16:17, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

what is the damn thing??!

is it a tv series or a video game or what? i can't believe that a featured article does not even say clearly what it's subject is! the intro really needs to be reworded badly. Joeyramoney 18:34, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

"Red vs Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, sometimes abbreviated as RvB, is a science fiction comedy series created by Rooster Teeth Productions. The series is produced primarily by using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from computer and video games to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio."

Welcome to reading. Next week: clicking the word "machinima" when you're unsure what the phrase "using the machinima technique" means, despite it being explained in the same sentence of that intro. -- Viewdrix 19:30, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

real helpful, smartass. all it says is "series" which is very ambiguous. i notice that neither you nor the machinima page answered my question. is it on tv or something? it's not a hard freaking question, and no the into sentence does not answer it. Joeyramoney 20:34, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Well firstly, it says:

'The series is produced primarily by using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from computer and video games to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio.'

That pretty much signifies that its a video series, not a game. Secondly, all you have to do is read the infobox on the right, where it says "Format(s) DivX, WMV, QuickTime, DVD". That also pretty much signifies its an online video series, as television doesnt air DivX/WMV/Quicktime files. I'll agree that it should be a bit clearer, but the article isnt leaving you completely in the dark either, the answers to your questions are right there.DemonWeb 20:41, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I just reworded the lead sentence to read: "Red vs Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles, sometimes abbreviated as RvB, is a science fiction comedy video series created by Rooster Teeth Productions and distributed via the Internet and DVD." Is this better? — TKD::Talk 20:51, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I'll note that you didn't care to admit that, as others have pointed out, I/the intro/the machinima page answered whether it was or was not a video game in and of itself. And, again, as others have pointed out, though not in the intro at the time where you posted, the constant references to file types, as well as the Distribution section in general, which states, and I quote, "Although it is distributed serially over the Internet," well, I just have to guess that you didn't read the article. Smartass. -- Viewdrix 20:55, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

according to the page it is a "film genre", which, as a wide area, does not apply specifically to red v. blue. so no, it does not explain immediately what format red versus blue is in (online video series). beyond that, my complaint was largely that the intro sentence, which should explain very basically what the subject is, failed to do so. the whole thing was extremely vague. (and thank you TKD for clarifying). Joeyramoney 21:08, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Eek, this "machinima is a film genre" thing is what I was afraid of when someone tried to add it to this page. Again, to those in WikiProject Machinima, I'll explain once the main page thing passes, but basically, it's all about the term "genre". However, for now, I'd like to point out that Red vs Blue is technically a film on DVD, and the online versions could be considered short films, so there's nothing exactly wrong with the "film" part, which is what I had the impression you (Joeyramoney) mentioned it because of. The referral to the machinima page was to clarify it was some sort of movie or show, and not a video game, as originally asked. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Viewdrix (talk • contribs) .

i'm not exactly a "1337 4@><><0r" myself, but the "engines" part listing video game consoles tripped me up. anyway, an online miniseries seems like a relatively unorthodox medium, or at least not one that would be recognized without clarification. anyway, "series" could mean pretty much anything. /lets it go/ Joeyramoney 21:45, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Let's try to remain civil, though. :) — TKD::Talk 21:00, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

What would rate this movie in terms of rating clasification?

Like woulod it be rated M, or MA15+ etc?

Pece Kocovski 00:19, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

• It would vary by episode. But in US terms, I think almost all would be at least PG-13, and any that used the word "fuck" more than once would be rated R. -LtNOWIS 03:09, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Not necessarily... because the series involves a great deal of comedy and is generally light on everything else, a full PG-13 might be applied across the board if the series is taken as a whole. In fact, there are even a few episodes (season 1 especially) that could hit PG or even G levels. So I'll rate it (sticking with US terms):

• PG-13: For crude humor, strong language, sexual innuendo, and cartoon violence.

How's that? gspawn 07:48, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I would rate it M, because, their are some swearing, but i think, they've been swearing alot less. At the first couple of episodes they say a lot of harsh stuff, but in the recent episodes, mostly the halo 2 episodes, I don't remember them swearing much.

Pece Kocovski 08:47, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

In a recent screening of RvB Season 3 in Melbourne, it was rated MA15+. I think we go with that. -007bond 11:04, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Absurdist vs. surreal

Someone recently contended that Red vs Blue is not strictly absurdist, but rather surreal. I added a citation by the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society that supports the absurdist description. The adjective is not expanded on at length in the citation, but the rationale, IMO, is that part of the series' ongoing plot is about the pointlessness of Red/Blue Command and an ambiguity whether Red and Blue are actually the same — an ambiguity which, according to the audio interview posted by Viewdrix above, Rooster Teeth is unlikely to resolve. — TKD::Talk 03:34, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

I think the core of RvB is blurring the line, especially here. And it's all summed up in episode 1 in the "why are we here" bit. Grif goes on the long talk about the existential/surreal "why", and Simmons responds with the realist/absurdist "why". What more argumentation do you need? gspawn 07:53, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Character (Actor)

In the plot summaries, is it really neccesary to state who plays what character? The only time I feel that it is neccesary is when we are speaking of big name stars, where as stating who plays who will not change any newcomers impression of what the character looks/sounds like. And if the newcomer or long-time fans want to know who plays who we always have it listed along with their characters in the corresponding article. The Filmaker 18:18, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

I thought that it might be a good idea to do per WP:FILM's standards (and it serves further to ground the fiction in a real-world context), but I don't really have a strong attachment for it. However, I don't think that it really harms anything. Let's see whether any other feedback comes in. — TKD::Talk 23:58, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

blog comunity

the red vs blue sight has a fair sized blog/forum comunity i think it would be worth mentioning this some where in the article as it has taken on a life of it's own however i'm noy sure what to put into it —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.92.63.212 (talk • contribs) .

I'm not sure that there's enough independent, verifiable, reliable information about the Rooster Teeth website itself to warrant a mention. Even if it did, the Red vs Blue article is not the place to put it; since the RvB/SH/PANICS aspects of the Rooster Teeth site have a shared community, it would make most sense in the Rooster Teeth Productions article, if anywhere. But, again, Rooster Teeth's primary claim to notability isn't the website community per se; it's their content. — TKD::Talk 01:30, 20 June 2006 (UTC)