Cody Mattern Interview

[Craig]

Just got a nice interview with Cody Mattern that was taken the day after he won the US Men's Epee title.

Interview with Cody Mattern

Since we've gotten a number of interviews up now, I'd like to get some feedback on them - what you like/don't like, any other topics you'd like to see covered (or even a simple "yeah, that's the right track")

Craig

[lemon__fresh]

great so far, interesting to hear about keeth smart's top 5 best saberists
and his views about how the europeans fence

im just waiting for that pozdniakov interview

[Durando]

...and choose your moment and then it is too late [for your opponent]." Just excellent advice at the end of this interview. Thanks for posting it.

[tehcow]

Great interview. The main comment I have after listening to a couple of them is that sometimes it can be hard to hear what's being said due to the quality of the recording (device). I can understand that this isn't something that can be fixed without monetary investment though.

[Timacheff]

Thanks for the feedback, and this is something of which we are aware. We just bought a better-quality professional microphone that is working well. Now we need a better recorder.

We are currently seeking investors and advertisers for a new venture related to this topic (nudge-nudge-wink-wink) that will pay for just this kind of thing.

Please keep the feedback coming and stay tuned...

[tbryan]

Originally Posted by tehcow

Great interview. The main comment I have after listening to a couple of them is that sometimes it can be hard to hear what's being said due to the quality of the recording (device).

I'm not so worried about the quality of the recording device: I would just recommend trying to do the interview outside of the event hall. Perhaps a better recording device would do better at cutting out the background noise, too, but until then, maybe find a quiet corner of the convention center, and do the interview there. The fencing screams, PA announcements, and other competition noises in the background distract from what the athlete is saying.

Other than that, nice job! I've enjoyed listening to these interviews.

[Timacheff]

OK, thanks. Sometimes background noise is helpful, and sometimes not. And sometimes whether I have it or not isn't much of an option depending on the athlete, venue, etc. I'll try to keep your suggestion in mind, though.

[tbryan]

Originally Posted by Timacheff

OK, thanks. Sometimes background noise is helpful, and sometimes not. And sometimes whether I have it or not isn't much of an option depending on the athlete, venue, etc. I'll try to keep your suggestion in mind, though.

I can see how the background noise helps to establish the environment, but for a fencing audience, I think that we all already know what a competition sounds like. I would think that clear audio away from the sounds of the venue would make the most sense (if possible).

If you had something more like a live commentary of a bout as it was happening, then I could understand wanting the background sounds. For example, a coach talking about tactics: "At this point, he should really consider doing X because Y is really not working for him. Ah, no. He's still trying to do Y. See? A touch for his opponent. Explanation explanation explanation. Ah, ha. Now he's switching to X, and his opponent can no longer take advantage of Z." For that kind of audio, hearing some of the action in the background would be more important.

But, hey, I'm just one guy. Maybe everybody else likes the sounds of competition in the background.

[Epee Scherma]

Personally, I disagree completely. I've had no trouble hearing the audio of the interview and the background noise has made them most enjoyable.

I remember an audio clip where there was a lot of athletes yelling at various times in the background and it gave me an awesome feeling when hearing it. I think that same kind of grabbing intensity - the fencing sounds - is necessary for people unfamiliar to our sport hearing these interviews.

If you interview these athletes in a silent background it just kills the whole "Serge reporting to you out on the battlefield" mojo that he has created. The athletic sounds are what is going to sell the sport, and they sure as heck made me entertained. As much as I love fencing, I would have found myself considerably less motivated to click on some of the interviews if there was no background audio.

Maybe some of us need our ears checked? All the interviews came in loud and clear to me. With that said I do need to clarify that the PA system IS an annoying background sound and made part of an interview a little murkey. In my opinion, I would continue the interviews from within the venue because the atmoshpheric mojo is awesome; but maybe rerecord particular questions if like a PA system starts sounding. Anyways, keep up the great work I'm enjoying it a lot and so is my little sister who is a youth fencer. It really gives passion for the young people because it leaves to their imagination and curiosity -- what is a fencing NAC or World Cup like?

[Peach]

While I don't mind tournament noise, I found the periodic screams quite distracting behind Keeth Smart's interview.

[academe]

Originally Posted by Peach

While I don't mind tournament noise, I found the periodic screams quite distracting behind Keeth Smart's interview.

Probably just Inquartata fencing and getting the occasional touch, you know how he can be...

I agree with others that most of the time, the noise makes it more real. Good work!

[RebelFencer]

Very good advice, great interview. I actually didn't really notice much of the noise in the background unless I was listening for it. Keep up the good work! Also, if you could get an interview with Kolobkov featuring tactics and preparation, etc. I would explode with glee.

[Timacheff]

Thanks for the comments.

-- I do like some of the "ambient" noise in venues, but I think it needs to be not right at the piste. That's sometimes a bit overwhelming.

-- I will try and get Kolobkov in St. Petersburg this fall, as well as others. I will also try and get a few key athletes at the Pan Am games later this week and next.

-- I have noticed that the audio quality will differ significantly depending upon what you're using to listen to it. Cheap "bud" earphones aren't too good; neither are PC or laptop speakers.

We're excited about this new form of fencing "media" and we're glad we're getting good reception from everyone. As a former CBS radio reporter/anchor, I'm having fun getting back into the interview mode.

We'll have an interview with Soren Thompson up shortly that Craig and I think is one of the best so far.

Serge

[Craig]

Thanks for the comments.

I'm also on the learning curve for the post-production of the interviews. Right now I'm taking a quick approach and taking a general noise sample, filtering that out and normalizing the output to get rid of any huge volume spikes. Other than that, I'm not going in and doing anything.

As I get used to the tool and can carve out some "free" time to learn a few more of the editing tricks the post-production will get better.

All of the raw audio is coming in better now that Serge has a better mike also.

Craig