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Project 7 Reboot - Initial Thoughts


Phil

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So I'm curious to hear your thoughts about the upcoming RETURN of Project 7 to my content.

For those who aren't in the know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzihkCRaj-Q&list=PL3B5F362BE786EE48 That is a playlist that includes ALL project 7 footage, including the 2012 reboot as well as the original 2010 videos. However if you want to see how the idea started, see below.

here is the original "Project 7 video": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hIkbUBxZV8&index=13&list=PL3B5F362BE786EE48

Here is the follow-up which I guess could be called part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWbGEW2e_ls&index=14&list=PL3B5F362BE786EE48

And here was the 3rd and final video until the idea went on hiatus for almost 2 years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoGAPMBmAsE&index=15&list=PL3B5F362BE786EE48

 

So what was Project 7? It was intended to be a comedy-gameplay series where I was "forced to play a shitty game from my past" that I really disliked. It was going to be a mix of both gameplay, comedy skits, commentary and more. Basically imagine the above 3 videos but I'm also playing through a game that I don't like and make fun of constantly. It would NOT be a full playthrough at all, but instead only focusing on fun/entertaining/stupid parts of the game that I could make jokes about, etc. 

Ultimately, this project was abandoned when new games came out and I wanted to focus on playing them rather than massive amounts of video editing etc. (keep in mind, this was LONG before I adopted direct capture/got a great PC that could edit videos more easily). This was also during the time I still had a full-time job outside of gaming, so I had far less time to work on it.

Now fast forward to late 2011: Howard introduces me to Respect the Pact, two up-and-coming filmmakers who want to get their hands into a project. They've seen my stuff on YouTube and think that rebooting Project 7 would be a perfect opportunity to do something great. Over the next 6+ months we worked hard to put out 4 episodes of the newly rebooted Project 7, which now featured myself, John Rambo and Howard as well as a slew of special guests (OJ and Respect the Pact themselves) in prominent roles. Rather than focusing on one game, it became a larger-scale story where we did parodies of entire game genres and worlds. It was good for what it was, but ultimately Respect the Pact wanted to change focus and not do so much filmmaking anymore. They left the project, leaving it ultimately on permanent hiatus.

 

Since then, I haven't gone back to Project 7, choosing to primarily focus on gameplay only. The climate of viewership on YouTube has now changed and is moving away from pure gameplay into more creative, edited projects. I'm certainly no pro, but I think that the positive response to my year-end series as of late has proven that people respond positively to variety and more edited content. Therefore, in the coming weeks I am planning the initial stages to bring back Project 7 as an ongoing series, in the spirit it was originally intended to be - only with 1080p visuals, must better equipment and and overall sense of renewal/refreshment.

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Let me know what you think!

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It sounds a lot like an AVGN episode to be honest: "It was intended to be a comedy-gameplay series where I was "forced to play a shitty game from my past" that I really disliked. It was going to be a mix of both gameplay, comedy skits, commentary and more." I may just be the way you wrote it, but that's what I get from it at least.

As someone who watches all of your vlogs.. I'm not sure I'm really excited about this. The Project 7 with RTP was pretty cool, as it was basically fanservice to both gamers and fans of yours, but I don't think a one-man "skit based" series plays to your strengths, at all. I don't want to be a downer or piss on your idea as I have no idea what the final product looks like in your head, but that's at least how I feel about it. I like the though of you being forced to play horrendous games, but have you considered making that a high-tier Patreon perk? "Pick a game you think is awful during downtime. Limited offer X out of X left". Something like that. That way, it's not forced, you have no expectations going in, everything is from the hip and your reactions to everything are genuine. A fan forcing you to play Minecraft would be a massive hit views wise, and many fans would find it hilarious as they know how much you dislike that game/the genre. That's just one possibility though.

That's my two cents at least.

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I like the though of you being forced to play horrendous games, but have you considered making that a high-tier Patreon perk? "Pick a game you think is awful during downtime. Limited offer X out of X left". Something like that. That way, it's not forced, you have no expectations going in, everything is from the hip and your reactions to everything are genuine. A fan forcing you to play Minecraft would be a massive hit views wise, and many fans would find it hilarious as they know how much you dislike that game/the genre. That's just one possibility though.

That's my two cents at least.

​This.....this.....this is fucking Gold! I'd fucking pay for that shit!

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I'm not sure how this is going to go. When you launched it initially in 2010 the low quality was excusable because it was your first "seriously" edited video. This in turn forced your fans to grow comfortable with this style of editing and story telling, so it was nice. After teaming up with RTP I think your fans have come to expect a higher quality product than what you can provide. It was also nice to see the gang all back together and goofing off. You alone in a room playing a shitty game may not impress people as much as you're hoping it will. 

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This is my 2-cents. Have project 7 be like a Project Deathface has been working on in which he would choose this one gamer, traps him in his house and force him to play 7 horrible games. If he manage to beat at least 1 of the 7 games he'll be let free, if he doesn't manages to beat any of the 7 bad games. Then the game will have to play the Ultimate shitty game and if the gamer doesn't beat then Deathface will take his soul forever or some BS like that. Yeah this is pretty rough but it could as way to avoid being compared to AVGN like Wanglord mentioned.

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With your move you won't have the supporting cast you had. It's tough to make a show by yourself... there's a reason most movies/TV shows have more than one person on screen at once for a majority. I know this won't be a popular opinion, but I'd try spending my time on other new projects if you want to get into the creative content side. What that would be, I can't say.

Just my 2 cents.

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ok this clear a lot of questions i had

thoughts? i think there needs to be some time devoted to editing and script writing. is phil going to do the whole work himself? if so, just an episode is gonna take probably weeks if not months, since phil has neither the time nor the peace of mind for editing and script writing.

suggestions? keep it short and sweet, quality fast cuts and quick transitions, people these days dont have patience for long drawn jokes and fluff. keep it "lean". if you have material for 7 minutes, dont fill it up with fluff to make a 20 minutes video.

i d suggest you type the script, you d be surprised how easier it is to work with a clean, "combed" script instead of handdrawn rewrites on a crinkly piece of paper.

if possible, mix in footage that you shot on location or even cons. open spaces help with the feel of the video, closed spaces are suffocating and claustrophobic

i believe most fans are willing to wait a month for a quality episode though, no rush.

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make sure u know what your main plot/ story arc is going to be.

For example , along with u being forced to play a shitty game, maybe u have each episode is focused on a certain plot point, in which u can come up with a catchy title for the episode.

maybe the return of death face, where in the end of your series he is finally unmasked or something, because in the original video death face says "u will pay for what u have done, so now i will have revenge" but who is he? what did u do that made him want revenge? thats the things u need to think about when doing a series.

Decide if u are doing 1 series with many episodes or a few episodes with multiple series'.

Decide what kind of clothes or outfit u are wearing. is every episode the same clothes, or will u change your every few episodes?

How many days does this take place, from the beginning to the end how many days have past by? 

and above all else dont push yourself too hard, just have the thought in your head , film it and have fun. 

These things will help your series be the best thing u have ever done, so make sure to pay close attention to the details u want in the series. 

 

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Any other thoughts at this point?

Honestly I have some great ideas already for just the first few episodes that I think people will enjoy. That is, if you enjoyed my skit-style humor from back via 2010 or so. Gameplay is a MASSIVE secondary here and may not even happen in the initial setup episodes.

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i think phil on his own would be fine, no problem with that. we've grown so close to him as a person over the years that why shouldn't we see his creative talents put to work independently?

​Working with other people can (usually) turn out better, because they can write dialogue that bounces back and forth in a conversation and have it feel more real.

When somebody writes a script all by themselves, the dialogue is more prone to be written in a way that just sounds like two of the same person with a different voice and attitude
Working with other people to write a series and to act alongside them creates more of a flow of pretty much everything. Conversations feel varied, characters have different mannerisms and sayings, and are generally different in their own ways. Working with other people, even if it is just one other person, is almost guaranteed to turn out better than if he was doing it by himself

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​Working with other people can (usually) turn out better, because they can write dialogue that bounces back and forth in a conversation and have it feel more real.

When somebody writes a script all by themselves, the dialogue is more prone to be written in a way that just sounds like two of the same person with a different voice and attitude
Working with other people to write a series and to act alongside them creates more of a flow of pretty much everything. Conversations feel varied, characters have different mannerisms and sayings, and are generally different in their own ways. Working with other people, even if it is just one other person, is almost guaranteed to turn out better than if he was doing it by himself

​i dunno about other people becuz they may not be gud but i know mr burnell will be good because he is a funny person haha

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