As for the new format, this is clearly trying to do more with less. Giant Bomb is on this kick, too(and if repetitive complaint threads in their forums are any indication, this is not entirely welcome on behalf of subscribers). We know it's a direct consequence of the buyout. Given this, these handheld snippets are both understandable and acceptable, I suppose. But let's indulge in full constructive criticism shall we?
First the good: It's a concise roundup of the week's stories, and that's really the point, yeah? And, contrary to dissenting opinion, Tony and Sara are not objectively unappealing. Pay attention everybody, this is how you test if people are fake fans: when comic related topics come up in conversation, if the most a person can contribute is "um," "I dunno," "what's that?" or something of that ilk, then they're a ringer. Otherwise, even if they're pretending to care, that means they care. Caring is being a fan. There is no objective metric to score interest. Plus, they stay on topic and don't clam up. Pretty important while reporting on camera.
Now the bad: There's a distinct bubble gum and toothpicks style going on here and it's questionable. The suspicion that moving to CBSi would essentially be a downgrade is now more firmly apparent given that Comic Vine is employing the same CNN iReporting tactic to this personality driven content that Giant Bomb has settled into. As long as the creators understand that this looks about as professional as the unemployed "citizen reporters" covering police beatings at Occupy gatherings(yet less dynamic, somehow), I reckon I can understand the consequences of a more corporate environment versus unsustainable business models that allow greater creative freedom.
A humble piece of advice: Shoot this stuff in a comic book store, or any other venue that isn't that office unit. That's the dynamism I'm getting at. A lot of folks coming onto this website work in offices(myself included). I love comics, and editorially I think things are pretty tip-top, and I know this is just the way it is content wise for the time being, but I'm not thrilled about coming home from working in an office and watching stuff shot in an office. There's a market for that, sure, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that it's not what the primary demographics surfing here crave. Now, if it's even a hassle to get permission to shoot these clips anywhere else than within the building, then corporate is strangling you creatively and you've got bigger problems than fickle audience reaction to an attempt to streamline and cope with tighter resources.
Good luck. Every crisis is an opportunity. And, of course, I'm not speaking for anyone but myself. I could be completely off base with all this stuff.
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