Blog: Super Mario World editing begins (02/21/22 - 02/25/22)

Monday, February 21st

Here is a photo of my recording studio. Can you find Kiki?

Happy Monday, everyone. With the script done, it was time to start production. 

This script is pretty large, so I felt it wouldn't be wise to narrate the entire episode in one day. My voice would be shot by Part two. So today, I only narrated Part one. 

There are a few things I do before I narrate:

- I drink a lot of water leading up to the recording. You have to stay hydrated!
- I eat an apple right before recording. I've always heard this helps your voice sound better?
- I read over the script (softly) to myself to make sure everything sounds ok

I also always record standing up. I got a tip a long time ago that you should always narrate standing up. It completely changed my voiceovers. My voice sounded much better and it allowed me to use hand gestures while I talk, which really helps with certain feelings and moods in the script.

I recorded two takes of Part one. Then, when I edited, I had multiple takes I could choose from and combined them to form the best narration. 

With the Part 1 narration recorded and edited, I can officially start editing tomorrow. I can't wait!

I also released a new Footnotes episode today: The top-10 best-selling console games from February of 1991. Quite a few surprising games! I got this information from old press releases from the Software Publishers Association. Unfortunately, I only have five months' worth of data. I've contacted them (now they are called the Software and Industry Information Association) hoping to get more. 

Tuesday, February 22nd

Happy 2/22/22 day! See you again in 11 years for 3/3/33.

Today, I officially started editing the video. One big chunk of my day was dedicated to animating a line graph. In Part One, I touch on the decline of Famicom sales. So for visuals, I thought a line graph would make the most sense. But I didn't want a static line graph - it seemed boring. So I learned how to animate one! I don't think Patreon can show GIFs, so you'll have to settle for the static image. But trust me, it's very cool. =)

Wednesday, February 23rd

Shot some more B-roll today. I decided to give my lighting a little warmth to it. It makes me feel all fuzzy and nostalgic inside. 

Thursday, February 24th

Out of the 16+ people on the Super Mario World staff, 9 of them had worked on Super Mario Bros. 3. I was able to find pictures of everyone! From left to right, by row: Hideki Konno, Toshihiko Nakago, Takashi Tezuka, Shigehiro Kasamatsu, Shigeru Miyamoto, Toshio Iwawaki, Koji Kondo, Katsuya Eguchi, Kazuaki Morita.

I'm still whittling away at Part 1, which is mostly setting up the story.

Friday, February 25th

Here is my office after a week of filming. What a mess! At the end of the week, I like to clean my office just so I have a fresh start when Monday rolls around. 

I finally got the new 'thank you' cards in, so I mailed out Patreon rewards. If you are waiting for yours, expect it soon.

I also edited more of Part One. I'd say I'm about halfway done with it. I'm probably going to edit a little over the weekend as well. 

See ya next time!

- Norm