The Nintendo Boy Project

It's time for a long-awaited update, don't you think? It's not that I'm avoiding you guys, it's just that there isn't much to say sometimes, despite me loving to write in the blog... know what I mean? Well I have some good stuff for you today, and I'd like to talk to you about them! Since the beginning of the year, we've had one blog post (although it was a flashback post), and a new video, and some subtle changes, as well as some not-so-subtle changes. Let me walk you through them so you don't get confused (much like the people watching that automatic toilet)! ;) If this post becomes too long, I will spill it over into another one, because I don't want you to leave because it's too many words... yikes!

First off, let me just thank you all for your continued support. If you're on the site right now reading this, that means you. I can't thank you enough. While unfortunately our site community here has remained stagnant, we continue to grow on a website that people actually go to, facebook! As of writing, we have 169 fans on our fan page. Although sometimes the number goes up & down (who removes themselves as a fan, I mean really?), we have a strong fan base. I'll admit that probably 90% are people I know, but hey, you got to start somewhere right? It's nice to know that 169 people like what you do. It's what lets me sleep soundly at night, haha! In the quest of trying to get our own community sparked with life again, I have re-vamped the forums, renamed it "Discussions," and cleaned up the place in general with some re-organizing! I'm also looking to add more categories to appeal to a wider audience, so if you have any ideas, please let me know! The Discussions area is just one of several planned updates to grow our community again. So def keep on the lookout for new stuff... because if you think about it, this site is actually very awesome. Not being self-centered or anything, but I honestly think we have quite a snazzy online home right here. So why let it be covered it cobwebs? I can't think of a reason.

Next item of business, is iTunes. Wait, what's that? You didn't know we were on iTunes? Well we are! I don't advertise as much as I should, and really, I don't know how many people actually download the episodes because Apple won't let you see stats and insight for your podcast. So this could be a great success or a huge disaster. I mean, no, it doesn't cost money to actually do, but in order to make it happen, I do spend money on space to host the videos on my server so I can provide it to you, and the whole process takes time, and we all know time is money. Obviously what I'm hoping to get at is that people have another outlet to see the project and may check out our stuff if they like what they see. Almost everyone has an iPod of some sort, and if not, at least iTunes, and so there is no way you can't see our stuff, whether it's on YouTube, Facebook, or even on your iPod! SO. OKAY. That was too long of intro, so let me cut to the chase. Up until about a week ago, the episodes on our podcast were at low "converted for podcast .mov" file, and yet they were still a little chunky in size. I'm pleased to say that I have found a better solution, in which I render the movie project in .mov instead of converting it, then adding it to iTunes and then from there "create iPod / iPhone Version," which results in a beautiful, much clearer HD video (in a .m4v format... iTunes-specific!) to have on the go! And what's the best part? The size is actually down a few MBs! So it's a win-win, and after playing around with all this stuff and making sure it works, I updated & re-uploaded all of the HD videos on the podcast (except for The End) so now you should do the same! I'm telling you, there is a huge difference to what it was before, so if you are currently subscribed to the podcast and you click update, all your files will probably have an error sign next to it (since they have been all replaced). I know it's a bit of work, but I recommend clearing and deleting the podcast entirely (or at least just from Hiatus and above... ie all the HD videos) and re-subscribing so you can get all the new files. And if you're new to the program, just go ahead and subscribe for free and you will have the new high definition videos! YOU'RE WELCOME. Haha just kidding, but really, though... I'm happy to do this and glad improvements are always being made, no?

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT. So I realize this blog post is getting rather lengthy, so let me just wrap it really quick. There are some other things that need to be said, but I will continue it in a later blog post as mentioned at the beginning of this entry. I wanted to officially announce the newest video, Board Games. I never had a chance to make a post about it, but here's a quick nod. Yes, it is a bit late and you have probably seen it already, but if not, you definitely need to! There is MUCH to say about this video, and I will save it for the next blog post, so stay tuned... thanks for reading this far and listening to me ramble! (:

Okay, so right off the bat, I know this is going to be a long post (but I'll do my best to keep it short) because I want to take a look back at the past year. I think this is good for a number of reasons, but it's a secret for now (err yeah I have no idea why I'm doing this honestly). I'll do my best to cover what so far has been our best year for the site, and give justice to the videos in a somewhat laid back blog post that hopefully won't be TOO long. So, with that being said, let's take a look back on how 2009 was a spicyyy fun year for us, video-wise! (yes, I only said 'spicy' so I could justify my image choice for today...haha!)

Let's begin. 2009. Our best year yet... but really things didn't get rolling until the summer... sooo, our best half-year yet? After Rock Band Documentary at the very end of 2008, we took a long hiatus... and not by choice either, it's just the way it happened. I received a veryyyyy nice Sony HD Handycam as a high school graduation present from from my parents mid-May, and it caused me to blog with excitement! With the summer, there's a lot of people busy with different things, so we weren't able to get together until early June. From there, we created Hiatus, an appropriate name, we thought. Not the best video ever, but it was definitely a start!

The team and I (mostly me) were so excited about the new top-notch HD quality for YouTube viewing but we didn't realize how subpar the video was. It was too long, really random, and you could tell we were just showing off the camera. We were so young then, tear. After this, we spent a lot of time planning but never got anything done. This was also during the time that the site had no activity and sparked a scare of closing the site. After much thought, we decided to keep going. We jumped off the hype of the closing of the site with The End, a sort of fictional extension to real events on the site. This was again, really random, and I was really only in love with the ending of The End (ha), where I show off my editing skills... one of my favorite NB moments for sure! This took place right at the end of July, almost making a release date of August 1st because of editing problems. Then we realized that it was August and Josh and I were heading to college, and Andrew to finish his senior year.

About a week later, we did not disappoint with perhaps one of my favorite videos of the three NintendoBoy guys (really, this is one where we are all together and in scenes, so..fun, haha), Wishful Thinking. I love this video because of the various colorful different kinds of settings that took place over the three-and-a-half minute video, and I think it was a legit video. The only problem I had with it was the Rock Band Documentary reference, which was my idea actually, but Andrew was against it because some people (really, a lot actually) wouldn't get it... I wish I had taken his advice but we really didn't have any else of an idea for a replacement sketch. xD Oh well, nevertheless, it was a great video and was a perfect farewell video as we left for college just days after it was released.

Since we were all busy with school, it really hurt the site as we didn't have new content to push out, except for the occasional blog post here and there. That's why it was awesome when I planned a comeback in October with a friend who was visiting me at school. It was almost November when I released probably my favorite video to date, Hardly Working, just because of how well it was done and really the emphasis on legit comedy: ADD... but honestly I don't really act like that, HAHA. Ironically, I had to do little-to-no editing (except for the trimming the beginning/endings for when I start/stop the camera), yet this was a favorite and I've received great feedback on it! It was a sad because it was the first video I'd done without my NB team, but it spawned the idea of a "Special Guests" series where I can invite interested people to particiapte in the project and help it grow and become more successful!

Winding down to the end of the year, we got together over Thanksgiving break and filmed Facebook Fans, but many problems with editing arose and I wasn't able to release it until perhaps two weeks later, which I was unhappy about, but ah what can you do? But, it was a special video because it was our first try at pop culture, and I really like (and still do) the idea of it, so I might turn it into a series, so don't be surprised if you see a "FBF 2," etc... it's all ideas for now! Coming back to school for about a last regular week and a week of finals, we headed back home again and meet very frequently, thanks to the help of Ellie for driving the crew around as well as Josh for letting us come to his house at the most craziest times.

I had the idea to use the entire winter break to create a two-part suspense episode to end the year and we managed to do it in what I called Takeover (I ended up not liking the name... it seemed like a good idea at the time but then I was like... eh)! Yeah, it wasn't perfect, but it was a lot of fun to make, and it made me want to explore more different types of genres instead of just sketchy comedy. But don't worry, we're not getting carried away just yet. Despite it being my idea to create a two-part video, with the ending of the story in Takeover Part 2, I had reservations about how both videos might not be seen, etc... but oh well, I guess it worked out since I did received a good amount of feedback on facebook on both videos.

WELL. THERE IT IS. 2009 in a very small nutshell, and really only talking about the videos... ha. Hmm, it seems as though I made a big deal about the success of this year at the beginning of this post, but as I write it all down, it's not THAT great. HA, just kidding, that's kinda depressing. But really though, it was DEF a fun year and a great site to the further fueling of this project. We have sooo many things planned for 2010, and I'd like to make it known that not only will we be improving our films a lot in many different ways, the site is getting moved up to the top of the list. I mean, it's the most important thing or you wouldn't be reading this! It has so much potential, and I will be doing some heavy re-constructing and organizing of the site, so I will update you when things change and blah blah. A sneak peak for the site is a re-vamp of the forums. It's the best app ever and we never use it! So look out for that soon, as well as more videos! Perhaps maybe with a theme song or ending chime? Hmm. I guess you'll just have to stick around and find out!

Thanks for reading, and thank you for supporting us. We're nothing without you.

Hey nintendoboy fans! I never ever thought I would be writing a blog post for nintendoboy.com (much less be in a video xD), but here I am! So, I am happy to inform you that part two to Takeover is up today! I had TONS of fun making this little set of videos with everybody, but I honestly had no idea that the making of these videos involved so much time! I mean, when you're watching nintendoboy videos, they are only three minutes long so you're probably thinking, "HAHA! What a funny nintendoboy video, I bet that took no time at all!" ... Okay, so you probably weren't thinking that at all (except for the HAHA part, right?), in fact, you probably haven't thought at all about how long it takes to film and edit a video. Well neither did I until recently! First there has to be a plan of some sort of what the video is supposed to be about. And for the first time EVER (I'm pretty sure...), someone -Jeffrey Vega- actually wrote out a rough sketch before filming *GASP*! I know, I know, it's crazy... Second, you actually have to film the scenes in the video (Who would have thought?). You would not believe how many times it takes for one scene to be filmed sometimes! Luckily, there is a lot of laughing and silliness involved when this happens, so I think everyone secretly enjoys the 117th take... As for editing, I still don't really know that much about the mechanics of it. But I do know that Jeff does ALL the editing, and that it takes hours and hours, and that he does an awesome job  and probably doesn't get the credit he deserves here because who thinks about the editing of a video while you are watching it? Usually no one. But now perhaps you will!

Anyways, now that you know a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes, I hope you enjoy part two even more now that you know how much time, effort, and TLC goes into these videos, along with the fact that the videos are being put up on a weekly basis currently. Whether they will be in the future weeks remains a mystery! I don't know of any videos in the near future, but hopefully I am wrong and there are more ideas to be filmed during the winter break! I would love love love to be involved in more videos now that I've experienced what its like once already (Wait, twice if you include part one... wait, thrice if you include the failed Halloween video!)! All right, well, go watch the video, LOL (literally), and comment on the video (here... or on youtube... or on facebook... or on all three! The choice is yours ). OH! And happy holidays!!!

 Click here to watch it in our video theater! |  Click here to watch it in HD on YouTube! |

 Click here to watch it on Facebook in case you would rather "Like" it than comment... haha!

Well, so much for being consistent wiith our episodes. well as far as I know we have a two part drama coming out soon. I can tell you this there is: suspense, love, happiness, DEATH, and LIFE to the new and improved nintedoboy the series. I don't want to over dramatize it though so don't expectoo much out of this new and improved two part series. Luckily for us it did not rain for these two days and it has made things a lot easier for us. We introduced new characters that may or may not be permanently be added to our list of cast members. THE KGB!!!!!!

DUHN DUHN DAAHHH!

Amyway. We started out with the idea we were going to do only a few episodes but with that said, we will be trying our very hardest to upload every month. Maybe we can keep that promise.

Jeff: Promise? who said anything about a promise??

Nevermind I guess we will have to go back to uploading every college break. for now there should be an episode every week for you loyal fans out there so we hope to increase our activity over the next couple of weeks so hang tight and get ready for the start of a new series. The only thing we really need now is a theme song. I was really hoping we could convince the guys from Anamanaguchi to compose a song for us considering they are using a nintendo to help make their songs. I thought that was pretty cool but commissions are probably expensive, and 3 cents a day won't cut it.

Jeff: What are yout alkign about?! we don't even make 1 cent a day

okay then 1/2 a cent a day then

Jeff: OH COME ON!

Getting back to Anamanaguchi (which we hold no rights to the name or anything to do with the band Anamanaguchi just so we avoid copyright problems) we really hope that we can get some way to incorporate their musical talent in our videos. And guys from anamanaguchi if you read this please feel free to pitch in and we will support you in anyway we can. Its not like we are begging or anything

Jeff: PLEASE HELP US!!!!!!!

just ignore the peanut gallery for now. although it may seem like we have it under control I am quite sure it took us 113 takes to get the two vids right. Well thats a story for another day so enjoy our new episode:

Click here to watch it in our video theater! | Click here to watch it in HD on YouTube! |

Click here to watch it on Facebook in case you would rather "Like" it than comment... haha!

A few days ago I was about to post a blog entry about the recent adventures the project has been through. Some of this goodness included us attempting a Halloween video and planning a Black Friday video on their respective dates. You may realize now that none of those videos made it, but I would like you to know that the original guys (me, Josh, and Andrew) have gotten together a couple times during college breaks and have tried to get something done. The fact that we haven't done something since August and have tried other times for a video with no luck has placed frustration upon us, much like Joseph Gordon-Levitt over here! Sigh...

Anyway. The reason why I didn't bring you that post mentioned earlier is because I brought a video that I trashed back to life! On Black Friday, we got together and planned to do a "Black Friday 2" (oh boy!), but instead we went with an idea I've had for a while, which ended up being our first crack at pop culture... facebook... haha! I was UBER excited to do this because I felt the real joke was something that every facebook user had experienced. We make fun of those "fan pages" that people can become a fan of that have the most ridiculous themes. Just one at the top of my head and that actually is in the video is the "I go slightly out of my way to step on a particularly crunchy-looking leaf." I mean, I love how people actaully make these and people become fans of them... I really wanted to know every little detail about you!...right. But seriously though, some of them are legit funny and there are a few that everyone can relate to which makes the whole joke even better with little to no effort. Brilliant, huh? (:

So yes, we filmed this video at the forum in Norcross (same location as 'Wishful Thinking') and it turned out pretty well and it was SO much fun to do, and also the fact that it was a reunion of the NintendoBoy staff, was a very fun day indeed... in fact, it was so much fun, there are bloopers at the end of the video! Yay! I said it. A new video is here, but I'm sure you've figured that out by now. Ha. We had soooo many clips of the first scene, and it was VERY hard to put all the best laughs in the video and still keep it under 4 minutes... but, here it is, finally! You see reader, the reason why this took a couple weeks to come out was... well ACTUALLY, this video was never scheduled for release because of some reservations I had. The biggest problem was that the audio wasn't so great... there are some parts where the mic didn't catch some of our witty phrases and almost rendered the clip useless, and it was also VERY cold and windy that day so the loud windy windyness makes a cameo in the video... EL OH EL! Long story short of a day of editing, I discovered that my fancy pancy video software has a feature where I can legit edit the decibles of volume (should have known, yeah yeah), so I was able to change the volume of the clips even after they were filmed... I guess that's why they call it the magic of editing? Or does no one say that? Ohhh... well this is embarrassing! So anyway, please enjoy this long lost reunion of the NB-ers! (:

Click here to watch it in our video theater! | Click here to watch it in HD at YouTube! |

Click here to watch it on Facebook in case you would rather "Like" it than comment... haha!