Man at Arms: Art of War

[Drunk Monk]

They didn't even reply to me.  Bastards.  I did get a newsletter with this week's picks.

Check out our picks for the shows and movies you need to watch! 

Friday, October 5

• Who's Your Main? (Cartoon Hangover)
  
• Figure It Out (NickSplat)
  
• Fangirling (Nerdist)
  

Saturday, October 6

• Freakazoid! (VRV Select)
  
• Dude Soup (Rooster Teeth)
  
• American Psycho (Shudder)
  

Sunday,October 7

• Chainmail Bikini Squad (Mondo)
  
• Goblin Slayer (Crunchyroll)
  
• Troll Hunter (Shudder)
  

Monday, October 8

• JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR (Crunchyroll)
  
• Nick Arcade (NickSplat)
  
• Battle Royale (Shudder)
  

Tuesday, October 9

• Secret of the Three Kingdoms (DramaFever)
  
• Beijing: Biography Of An Imperial Capital (CuriosityStream)
  
• Kingdom (Crunchyroll)
  

Wednesday, October 10

• Angels of Death (Crunchyroll)
  
• People You Meet! (Cartoon Hangover)
  
• Grammar Slam (Nerdist)
  

Thursday, October 11

• Rocket Power! (NickSplat)
  
• Killjoys (VRV Select)
  
• Frailty (Shudder)
  

[cranefly]

Why didn't I get a newsletter?  That's not fair!

But I must say, looking over their list, it's hard to be too angry with them.  They nailed you so perfectly.

[Drunk Monk]

So you got an answer but no newsletter and I got the reverse? WTH VRV?

I'm pretty disappointed with it all.  It's looking like VRV only does complete seasons of stuff because I can't seem to find any current shows that are uploading programs in progress, episode by episode.  But there's an insane amount of content so I might just be missing that.  I might have to look into investing in a web service.  Maybe the eps are being stored on xfinity.  If so, I can watch it at my mom's.  I did check out last season there and the El Rey function was messed up - could only get audio.  El Rey hasn't had it's act together with xfinity for a while - they've had the same movie posted for years - Outland.  Really?  

Hold the phone...VRV has Chainmail Bikini Squad?  Hmmmm.

---

I did find some simulcasts in the crunchyroll channel so there is a glimmer of hope.  Chainmail Bikini Squad had a cheesey animation style so I didn't go for it.  Mubi channel is pretty deep in that disturbed cf sort of way.  

Which email did you reach Yukari from cf?  I resent an email to the one I listed above.  I also posted on El Rey's forum, but that seems to have tumbleweeds rolling through it.  There's a special subforum just for Man at Arms. It has like a half dozen posts, if that, including mine.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

I watched Season 1 on demand from Comcast/Xfuckery back in the day. Now I have only Netflix, Amazon, Sling, and sadness.

[Greg]

Seen it.

Suckers.

[Drunk Monk]

Seen it.

Suckers.

Hey Greg!









Thanks for watching.  

How did I come off?  I've only seen the rough cut without the scientific analysis effects, etc.  Plus they probably updated the intro.

[Greg]

My favorite part was when you were speaking and Danny Trejo could not have been less interested, looking off somewhere into the distance.

But the show does right by you. You are the voice of knowledge when the rest of cast isn't butting in, especially the sword making guy. He needs a little less talking and a little more listening. You do all have your rolls to play, though.

[Drunk Monk]

I heard back from VRV

Hey!
Thank you for writing, I do apologize for the delayed reply.
VRV is a growing and evolving service, and that’s only possible with help from you, the fans. Please keep it coming--I’m passing your request to our content department, so stay tuned and we’ll be sure to announce new show once it's ready to go!
Just let me know if you need more help.
Best wishes,
Asia,
Customer service


This email is a service from VRV.

Clearly esl.
My hopes are dashed. 

Note about Danny - his hearing isn’t that great. He’s 74. So he does drift off occasionally or mis-hear stuff.

Note about Ilya - he’s brilliant, but he knows it and he’s an asshole about it. We had many off screen chats about sword and I learned a ton from him. Plus he showed me this chunk of tamahagani - which is a controlled material - basically meteorite. Never seen it before - it’s silvery with iridescent bits - crazy, like magical steel ore out of a movie or something. I have great respect for his knowledge and skills, but he is a total asshole.

[Greg]

When you spoke during the episode, you were the guy who had cool knowledge to share. When Ilya spoke it was like he needed to prove he knew stuff, too.

Also, the lighting in their shop was too dramatic. All the close up of flames and sparks was cool, but if I worked in that area all I would be saying was "Can we get some light on in here so I can see what I'm doing"?

[Drunk Monk]

As long as I come off cooler than Ilya, I’m pleased. 

We have a running joke about the builds. It’s all about the sparkies.

[El Dingo]

Watching this was weird. I know a bunch of artists, writers etc., but this may be the first time a friend of mine was on TV in a featured role.


I am addicted to these types of shows. "Forged in Fire", "Counting Cars" even "How it's Made". I especially like the extreme car restoration shows on the Velocity network. There is something about watching craftsmen making a beautiful piece of art out of raw materials that I find really satisfying.

DM was fantastic! He came off as a knowledgeable historian delivering his lines with the passion and emphasis of someone who really cares about the subject. Hearing him talk about Kurosawa, Mifune and Miike who we know he loves and will ramble on about even if he's not on camera was great! DM - who writes the copy for those segments? Do you provide a framework and then allow a writer to massage it to fit pacing/time or is it all you?

I just checked IMDB - DM's been on 5 of these things. I really need to keep up on threads that last more than 1 page. I have social media ADD. Every episode should be a New Topic.

[Drunk Monk]

Well thanks for that ED.  FYI both Ilya and Rebel are Forged by Fire champs.  You can find the exact episodes if you just search them on wikipedia.

I'm in 5 episodes in Season 1 and 4 in this Season.  My IMDB is all messed up because it credits me separately for the Independent Lens documentary I worked on back in 2003.  I was credited as a producer and a consultant and there are two disconnected credits for me on IMDB, and those aren't connected to my Man at Arms work.  I don't know how to fix that and I'm not bothering to invest in IMDB Pro.  

As for the copy, no one writes it.  If we were scripted, we'd have to abide by union rules.  That's the loophole with reality TV - why it's cheaper and therefore more abundant (and running our government now, but that's another tale). Of course, we know what the weapons will be months in advance - except for Danny (actually I'm not sure if Marko and Crystal know either) so we can research them. The makers make them weeks before I arrive on set, so they know.  And Da'Mon and I are involved in some of the history process.  The showrunners have a research team, and we are very much a part of that, especially with finding resources within our martial communities.  For example, Kevin, the Naginata champ, was actually from SJSU Dojo. I didn't know him, but I lead the team to his present sensei through references from my old SJSU senseis.  It was really delightful to meet him because he caught me up on many of our old dojomates (I dropped out of that scene after grad school) and I regaled him of tales of sparring (really just getting my arse kicked) by SJSU's head sensei, who no longer sparred by the time he joined.  

But back to the show, sometimes they'll give us a talking point or two to make, but it's not a full line, it's just a prompt like 'say something about the Samurai'. The timing is all ours, neatened up by some judicious editing. As for the movie references, they always ask for a few movies, classic and contemporary.  If we mention the movies in a reference sort of way, they can legally use footage from it, and that adds content.  I actually did a sound byte for top 5 fight scenes - we all did - some sort of promo insert like the stuff they are putting out with Danny right now.  It was just like the hosting soundbyte for 36 Chambers I did last year (that was never shown - RZA is the current host and I can't out rap him).  20/20 hindsight - I should've just done the top 5 Shaw Brothers films or I should've referenced Rashomon.  I can't really remember what I said now - I think I referenced Dirty Ho because I love that title and the wine cup fight in it.  

And of course, there's do-overs.  There was one line in the Japanese episode - I'll have to see it again to remember assuming it made it from the rough cut to the final - Marko had to do it like a dozen times because his accent kept making it sound off.  But it was his line.  It's all our lines. It's a genuine conversation we have, although edited down from something that's much longer.  Our War Room chats usually take a good 2+ hours to shoot, half of which might be breaks from the directors and such, but the rest is authentic dialog.

So I asked Asia from VRV more about Season 2.  Here's what she (he?) replied:

Hey!
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll forward this to our content department!
Best wishes,
Asia,
Customer service

I think I'm talkin to a bot.

[Drunk Monk]

VRV sent me one of those 'rate our customer service' emails.  

Meanwhile, there's this

'Master of Arms' will build weapons straight out of the history books
By Tyler McCarthy | Fox News



'Master of Arms' judge Zeke chopping at a log with contestants knife. Trent and Ashley in the background. (Discovery Channel)
Some may say that a weapon is only as good as the person wielding it. However, Discovery’s latest series, “Master of Arms,” seeks to prove that the weapon is only as good as its craftsmanship.
The new series, will take some of the world’s most skilled builders of modern weaponry and put their skills to the test by asking them to build period-specific weapons that will stand up to rigorous testing and judgment from a panel of experts.

“Each episode, three builders will face-off in two historical challenges that call upon era-specific weaponry, from the firearms of the frontier to the blades of the Vikings,” Discovery wrote in a press release for the show. “But these aren’t just quickly fabricated weapons – each tool will be heavily researched and crafted pieces of art.”

Zeke, Trent and Ashley address contestants. (Discovery Channel)
After each round, one of the three builders will be eliminated. The last craftsman standing will be crowned the master of arms and earn the $10,000 grand prize.
The weapons will be judged on their design, historical accuracy and ability to do some damage and emulate the predecessors that helped shape the outcome of warfare and, therefore, history.
Each design will be tested by Nicholas Irving, a decorated military veteran and expert marksman. After that, they’ll be judged by a panel of three experts including leading firearms historian and Chief Curator of the largest firearms collection in the country, Ashley Hlebinsky, firearms specialist Zeke Stout and professional blacksmith Trenton Tye.
The new series premieres Nov. 2.

[Drunk Monk]

So I got a response on the El Rey forum: 

Thank you for being a fan of Man At Arms! If you haven’t already done so, please check again as the episode should be up now. Episodes are usually available on VOD by the next day, but sometimes can take up to 48 hours. If you have any further issues, please let us know.

[Greg]

There's a word for this.