Chris Chan Documentary.

[Hello Skinny]

I'm only about twenty minutes in so I can't give a full opinion just yet but this is very enjoyable. I think this is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with CWC. My only gripe so far is that you referred to Chris as an idiot which sorta puts off the unbiased narration of the documentary in my eyes.

 

[GS 281]

You deserve a special trophy for this.

 

[Zappin to the Extreme]

Thank you so much.

Oh yeah! "I salute you...with my Cub Scout salute...which I have favored so much."

 

[Blarm Alarm]

Some more stuff I noticed:

• You could add a short explanation of who Jimmy Hill, OBE, actually is IRL, since Miyamoto gets this. Neither person is universally known, although both are significant.
• Transitions like 36:09 might look better as a fadeout/fadein instead of a crossfade. The white text and white backgrounds blend a little too much.
• I think it would add some interest and objectivity to add some information, if not interviews, on the trolls themselves, for example the backlash against BlueSpike and A-Logging, although I understand the thing is already pretty damn long for a HS film project. The reason for this is that many people when first encountering CWC-dom kneejerk and think the trolls are just assholes and Chris is a victim, which is partially true, but there's no context offered here.
• You could get some of that time back by trimming/editing down some of the longer YouTube segments. I think the Liquid Chris saga is amazing, but the section on this is much longer than the preceding ones due to video and song content and it throws the pacing off a little. Including so much of the CWC Animated intro and the Asperchu animation also hurts the pacing and could be shortened.
• First thing I really didn't like: the ending section starting with the "What have you learned" bit. It takes the viewer out of the observer mode and drops them into the student role. Documentary viewers can take away whatever they want and talk about their points of view afterward. You could lose this whole section starting from "What have you learned" and cut back in at "The obsession with Chris" and the flow would be stronger.
• The end summary section is subjective and less powerful than simply relating the story of Chris and his world. I can tell you really like these parts based on your tone and cadence in these sections, but I would advise trying a recut if you want to go for a wider release. You also save some time this way. If you want to push a certain viewpoint, you can do it without telling people, which is ironically one of the things Chris is also guilty of (telling instead of showing). If you say, "Trolling is bad but Chris is also bad" that message is actually weaker than if you show more examples of "bad trolling" and "bad Chrising" within context. A better end summary might be recapping the different ways people view Chris (supported by earlier sections) as victim/outsider artist/deluded man-child/whatever, finishing with the observation that he always comes back with new antics just when everyone thought he was done, or trying to summarize why people are interested in him at all.
• You might get some useful feedback is you test screened it for some people who don't know who Chris is, since I'm sure everyone on this board knows enough about Christory to fill in the blanks on some of the glossed-over details.

Still overall I thought this was a really nice job summarizing CWC and his weirdness with some decent editing. Very nice.

 

[spylobster]

I'm only about twenty minutes in so I can't give a full opinion just yet but this is very enjoyable. I think this is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with CWC. My only gripe so far is that you referred to Chris as an idiot which sorta puts off the unbiased narration of the documentary in my eyes.

Yeah I probably should of kept with just goofball, bust that's for the future. Thank you for the support and I hope you enjoy everything you see.

Some more stuff I noticed:

• You could add a short explanation of who Jimmy Hill, OBE, actually is IRL, since Miyamoto gets this. Neither person is universally known, although both are significant.
• Transitions like 36:09 might look better as a fadeout/fadein instead of a crossfade. The white text and white backgrounds blend a little too much.
• I think it would add some interest and objectivity to add some information, if not interviews, on the trolls themselves, for example the backlash against BlueSpike and A-Logging, although I understand the thing is already pretty damn long for a HS film project. The reason for this is that many people when first encountering CWC-dom kneejerk and think the trolls are just assholes and Chris is a victim, which is partially true, but there's no context offered here.
• You could get some of that time back by trimming/editing down some of the longer YouTube segments. I think the Liquid Chris saga is amazing, but the section on this is much longer than the preceding ones due to video and song content and it throws the pacing off a little. Including so much of the CWC Animated intro and the Asperchu animation also hurts the pacing and could be shortened.
• First thing I really didn't like: the ending section starting with the "What have you learned" bit. It takes the viewer out of the observer mode and drops them into the student role. Documentary viewers can take away whatever they want and talk about their points of view afterward. You could lose this whole section starting from "What have you learned" and cut back in at "The obsession with Chris" and the flow would be stronger.
• The end summary section is subjective and less powerful than simply relating the story of Chris and his world. I can tell you really like these parts based on your tone and cadence in these sections, but I would advise trying a recut if you want to go for a wider release. You also save some time this way. If you want to push a certain viewpoint, you can do it without telling people, which is ironically one of the things Chris is also guilty of (telling instead of showing). If you say, "Trolling is bad but Chris is also bad" that message is actually weaker than if you show more examples of "bad trolling" and "bad Chrising" within context. A better end summary might be recapping the different ways people view Chris (supported by earlier sections) as victim/outsider artist/deluded man-child/whatever, finishing with the observation that he always comes back with new antics just when everyone thought he was done, or trying to summarize why people are interested in him at all.
• You might get some useful feedback is you test screened it for some people who don't know who Chris is, since I'm sure everyone on this board knows enough about Christory to fill in the blanks on some of the glossed-over details.

Still overall I thought this was a really nice job summarizing CWC and his weirdness with some decent editing. Very nice.

Thank you, but most of these point I do agree with and some I don't like how I included the entire Sonichu animated intro theme. I did that because someone that has no clue who Chris is would not get the references so its like a end cap basically saying all the well known things about Chris. So when the viewer gets to view the animated series intro right after learning about Chris and his life they can go "Hey I get all this". Minus the sperm part

You deserve a special trophy for this.

pls b0s

 

[Apocalypso]

Auto quality got fucked up, also I know the narration is muffled I re-recorded the audio at least 5 times to make it clearer there is nothing I can do untell I get an actual mic.

Any person here new to the whole CWC phenomenon, watch this documentary. Seems to sum up a lot about our pet lolcow.

 

[spylobster]

Any person here new to the whole CWC phenomenon, watch this documentary. Seems to sum up a lot about our pet lolcow.

Yes, the perfect portal to the weird world of cwc.

 

[Meowthkip]

I think the only thing I noticed wrong that bothered me was the PS3 destruction bit. That wasn't Rocky's suggestion, Chris destroyed it because Clyde offered a $9001 reward to whoever destroyed his PS3 and got it on video. Chris destroyed it himself, thinking that he would get that reward, without realizing this reward was only offered to trolls and not Chris. When Chris realized there wasn't actually a reward, he was furious.

Also he ended up buying a new PS3 anyway after that.

That's the only bit that stuck out to me that hasn't been mentioned yet.

 

[Blarm Alarm]

Thank you, but most of these point I do agree with and some I don't like how I included the entire Sonichu animated intro theme. I did that because someone that has no clue who Chris is would not get the references so its like a end cap basically saying all the well known things about Chris. So when the viewer gets to view the animated series intro right after learning about Chris and his life they can go "Hey I get all this". Minus the sperm part

I guess I'd question the value of the viewer getting all the references in the complete CWC Animated intro, unless that's what the doc is about. CWC Animated isn't about exploring Christory or Chris as a person. I just think the piece would be stronger staying on that tack.

But hey, it's your project and you did a great job on it. If this is the rough cut as you implied it's quite solid and I'm interested to see how you approach revision.

 

[spylobster]

I think the only thing I noticed wrong that bothered me was the PS3 destruction bit. That wasn't Rocky's suggestion, Chris destroyed it because Clyde offered a $9001 reward to whoever destroyed his PS3 and got it on video. Chris destroyed it himself, thinking that he would get that reward, without realizing this reward was only offered to trolls and not Chris himself. When Chris realized there wasn't actually a reward, he was furious.

Also he ended up buying a new PS3 anyway after that.

That's the only bit that stuck out to me that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Yeah I had no clue what went through my head, I read through the article tons of times but it came out wrong in the script. And after reading it in the script at least 30 times it became fact. Like how when people lie to themselves enough they actually believe it.

 

[klystron]

EDIT: Now that I finished the video the only thing I would also suggest is the whole "you either think the government should let you sit on your ass for free OR you should work for everything you have" line. Its kind of a ridiculous straw man argument as if they are the only two choices and is largely unnecessary to the video. By no means ruins the video, but just a suggestion for maybe removing or wording it differently

OP appears to be a more conservative citizen in "Washington the liberal state" and therefore such expressions of these types of arguments are typically a cry for attention. No disrespect to OP. I grew up in San Francisco and if I made a 1 hour plus video about a messed up guy wasting his welfare money I'd have said the same thing at the end of it when I was his age.

I'll try and watch soon, OP, but I am ridiculously busy at work. (No welfare here.) That said, the only criticism I have so far is I think you are letting your head get a little big. People here are patting you on the back, but don't take the jokes about it too far.

One thing I wanted to also add is your ability to gather, understand, and mostly (from the comments) get the chronological order correct is a testament to the well documented antics of CWC.

On a side note, do you have any opinion on the age-old argument of if Chris was funnier/more entertaining when left to his own devices or when trolled? Personally I feel nothing will ever top the original Sonichu comics without any influence from girlfriend sagas, but that's just me. I think I am in the minority on that one.

I'm curious to know how much/if any you talked about the positive influence the trolls had in CWC's life. Such as raising all that money for supplies/help when the house burned down.

 

[spylobster]

Well it is time for me to leave for tonight.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND WILLIGNESS TO WATCH MY MOVIE, THIS HAS HONESTLY MADE MY YEAR AND GETTING TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING I ONLY OBSERVED FOR SO LONG IS SUCH AN HONOR. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED WATCHING IT AND READING MY POSTS. BUT ENOUGH ABOUT ME THANK YOU EVERY SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS DREAM A REALITY. AT THE START IT WAS JUST GOING TO BE A SCHOOL PROJECT BUT EVER SENSE I POSTED ON THE FORUMS AND REVEALED MY INTENTIONS THE SHOWER OF SUPPORT INSPIRED ME TO RAISE MY STANDARDS IMMENSELY. THIS WOULDN'T BE ANYTHING WITHOUT YOU GUYS

That being said allot of my west coast brothers are going to bed with me and my eastern brothers are just getting on or warming up the computer, when I wake up I will read and reply to all comments. I will make a video reply in a few days or whenever I feel rested enough.

Thank you and have a wonderful day.

OP appears to be a more conservative citizen in "Washington the liberal state" and therefore such expressions of these types of arguments are typically a cry for attention. No disrespect to OP. I grew up in San Francisco and if I made a 1 hour plus video about a messed up guy wasting his welfare money I'd have said the same thing at the end of it when I was his age.

I'll try and watch soon, OP, but I am ridiculously busy at work. (No welfare here.) That said, the only criticism I have so far is I think you are letting your head get a little big. People here are patting you on the back, but don't take the jokes about it too far.

One thing I wanted to also add is your ability to gather, understand, and mostly (from the comments) get the chronological order correct is a testament to the well documented antics of CWC.

On a side note, do you have any opinion on the age-old argument of if Chris was funnier/more entertaining when left to his own devices or when trolled? Personally I feel nothing will ever top the original Sonichu comics without any influence from girlfriend sagas, but that's just me. I think I am in the minority on that one.

I'm curious to know how much/if any you talked about the positive influence the trolls had in CWC's life. Such as raising all that money for supplies/help when the house burned down.

I did not mention the money people sent to christian, but I knew this kind of stuff would happen I honestly cant put everything in, there just wasn't enough time but like i said in da video I will re visit this with all of the things I have learned.

 

[klystron]

I did not mention the money people sent to christian, but I knew this kind of stuff would happen I honestly cant put everything in, there just wasn't enough time but like i said in da video I will re visit this with all of the things I have learned.

It's no problem. I find the "fans" of CWC just as interesting as the man himself. The people on this forum are a real nice and caring bunch. I apologize. I didn't mean to come off like "oh, you forgot something."

 

[namazuros]

Hopefully you get a good grade on this assignment. The script kinda falls apart in the last third, but the effort you put into this project is undeniable.

 

[DC 740]

Sweet baby Jesus you actually did it. Going to watch and let it sink in tonight. So far, damn good.

 

[The Other Chandler]

There's an error I don't think anyone has mentioned. The documentary said that his gal-pals hung out with him out of pity and quoted an email at length. But those emails turned out to be fabricated by trolls. It's kind of a small issue I guess, but I thought I should mention it.

 

[Holdek]

Good job, kid. You made this old Christorian proud.

 

[Smurfchu]

I thought you did a GREAT job!
I would add a few suggestions- you don't really need to tell people to decide, you did this a couple of times- just leave it open, they will think for themselves. I also think early on, you should have discussed the weird world of his phraseology- when you mentioned "true and honest" in a comment, it would have made more impact. He has a bunch of weird terms that are very interesting. "boyfriend-free girl", etc. I also don't think you paid enough attention to the Chris of today- the bras, the public tomgirl appearances. I also think you should have given a bit more attention to his legal troubles and multiple bans. I would have closed on the pending court date, showing that he is spiraling out of control. Still, overall, bravo, I will be sharing it!

 

[Hello Skinny]

Finishing the documentary, I did enjoy it. Here are a couple of my prickly-wicklies however:

. The overall narrative I felt lacked a good script. "Chris has a weird thing against the gays" isn't appropriate commentary & sounds amateurish. I understand you are an aspiring filmmaker not a (arm chair)psychologist & did this without any help. So I feel as though you should get somebody to collaborate in this aspect. @LunatikPandora is on point with his analysis & maybe he can help you, if willing.

. I felt like the film was divided in the way it felt & its direction. It started off quite strongly with Chris's childhood/highschool years but there wasn't any real mention of Bob or Barb, who cemented a lot of the negative behavior Chris still has to this day. This is critical to understanding Chris. Once you moved on to the sagas I felt the documentary shifted & didn't tie in well. I was really put off by either how long or too abrupt these scenes were. You declared the Megan saga the most definitive but I felt you could have put more depth into that than any further saga. It surprised me honestly. None of it really sunk in & if I wasn't familiar with CWC I would feel disengaged as a viewer.

. There was no mention of Anna's short story (say what you will but her perspective is important in early Christory) or an explanation of the "Man in the pickle suit". I almost fear people would mistake him as Chris because of the clips you inserted. The medallion being pickled loses its meaning too because of this as well.

. The autism counselor or whatever should definitely be cut. He wasn't articulate & his statements boiled down to "People just want to be happy". Useless.

. I feel there should've been a portion of the film dedicated to the cwcisms. Chris's grasp on english is one of the most fascinating parts of his character. You inserted some text here & there (China) but that doesn't do the topic justice. Monthly Tugboat was never mentioned as I remember.

. The evolution of Chris into a male lesbian was undervalued. This was so drastic compared to "classic" Chris & should have been looked into more closely. As the above poster stated, the upcoming court hearing should've definitely been known.

That being said & I'm sure I'll have more commentary after some sleep, here are some fuzzy-wuzzies:

. You certainly put a lot of work into this & tried your best to document the timeline of the trolling sagas.

. You did a great job compiling the videos of Chris. This is a monumental task considering the amount of material to sift through.

. Music was appropriate. I cracked up with how the end track synchronized to Christian's dancing.

. I'm very happy you used the Future Message video as the beginning & end.

. The first half of the documentary was the best part I felt.

. While the pacing was a little inconsistent here or there, the film didn't drag on. It was a nice little package.

That's all I got for now. I hope you take the constructive criticism to heart & that it encourages you to improve for the next cut.

Cheers!

 

[Smurfchu]

but there wasn't any real mention of Bob or Barb, who cemented a lot of the negative behavior Chris still has to this day. This is critical to understanding Chris.

That also occurred to me. Part of Chris' weird "charm", the reason he stands out is that his parents did such a crap job of raising him. It also would be a good idea to talk about how Bob's death made it all so much worse, and escalated the spin out of control. I also missed hearing the amusing term "tugboat" and how he wastes it on Lego and vidya.
Again, though- nitpicks. I could NEVER do as nice a job as you did, you are to be commended!