I can't put the storyline stuff on a DVD

Many people have been asking in the comments section for the State of the Wall post about putting the storylines of the show onto DVD. Since this has also been suggested elsewhere when people have wanted to see the storyline stuff together, I figured it's probably worth a longer explanation.

While putting together a compilation video of the storyline stuff might be a good idea, it's just not possible to do for DVDs. Why? Well, here are a few reasons:

1. I don't have the original files. That isn't the case for ALL the storyline bits, especially more recent ones, but that's only because I have the hard drive space now to allow me to save backups of the original raw files. However, during the Mechakara storyline? I don't have any of the original raws from those. Sorry, but I needed the hard drive space and the idea of putting any of this stuff on DVD was not something I considered.

Now, some might wonder why I don't just put the clips from the episodes themselves, but you've got to understand - I didn't save those episodes in HD. They were widescreen, yes, but they were saved at 960 x 540. That means that if they were put on a DVD, they would look like crap. One could say they ALREADY look like crap, but I mean they'd look like bootleg quality. See, if it's just some flash video on the web, the quality isn't really all THAT important, but for a DVD release? Yeah, no. These days I save in 1280 x 720 - not great, but closer to DVD quality than the older episodes.

But the lack of the original raw files also has another problem with it...

2. I use copyrighted music in A LOT of the early storyline bits. Hell, I'm STILL using it. The Thing-inspired storyline? Used bits of Ennio Morricone's score. See, here's the thing - most movies companies don't really give a damn about us. We're not SELLING anything that uses their material - it's a video on the web and a lot of the time it actually gets people to go out and buy movies or comics or etc. that we've talked about, since there is a market out there for crappy b-movies or the like.

But the thing is that the instant you start using their clips without permission in something that's actually SOLD? Yeah, we'd get slapped with a cease and desist pretty damn quickly. You'll notice on the Angry Video Game Nerd DVDs that any time he used a clip from a movie in one of the episodes, it's been edited out for the DVD release.

And by that same token, A LOT of the music I've used in storylines DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. The Power Rangers theme? I've used that TONS of times and you can be damn certain that if I tried to sell a DVD that had it in there Saban would destroy me. And because I don't have the original raw files for the episodes, I can't put in different music. The only way I could do that is if I redubbed all the dialogue. The good news is that you may have noticed that I AM moving away from copyrighted music from the storyline segments and using stuff from MusicLoops more, which I AM allowed to use in movies or the like sold on DVDs (it's part of the licensing agreement for the music), but that only means I could use more recent storyline stuff where I still have the original files and it's a pain in the ass to replace a lot of that music so it still fits the mood of the video.

3. This is less important than the technical or legal stuff in the previous 2 reasons, but it goes to a thing about the show. See, for the longest time, many people asked why I don't just separate the storyline stuff from the reviews. Most people don't ask that anymore either because they've accepted that after 200 episodes it's part of the show or because most of the time it's only at the end of the video, they can just shut it off and not care about it anymore.

However, there is a reason why I didn't do it to begin with. The simple fact is that the storylines are really meant to be an homage to the rather ludicrous and awesome nature of superhero comics, with robots and time travel and alternate universes and villanis and etc. They go hand in hand WITH comics. Devoid of the reviews, they're just me playing around in different costumes with toy phasers and a cardboard robot. While I haven't always matched the storylines to the comics I've reviewed (I still praise the Dark Nella Saga on the Nostalgia Chick for having the events in that story match up to the things she's reviewing), I do TRY to do that and they go hand in hand. I don't feel the conclusion to the Mechakara arc has as much substance if I don't have me talking about Power Rangers. I don't think the Entity arc's conclusion works as well without an explanation of MissingNo. (though that one IS arguable, since the story WAS more about horror than it was the Pokémon connection), but the Star Trek 2 or 3 storylines, in my opinion, don't work as well without the context of what they're homaging. And while the current storyline is a bit more vague with what it's referencing, I think people WILL get it once we reach the end of this arc and you see the franchise it's tied to in February.

Separated from the reviews, the storyline doesn't work as effectively, in my opinion. From a technical standpoint, the pacing doesn't work as well when you just cram them all together and not spread them out like I try to do.

And that's pretty much it. If I do make a DVD where I review some public domain comics, I'll probably put in its own DVD-exclusive storyline, but for now, that's why I'm not going to put the storyline from the regular show on DVD. And if you're just lost on the storyline, fortunately there are people who can help. I recommend checking the AT4W Plot Guide to show what episodes have plot-relevant material.