ZERO Origins: The Evolution of GSHEveryone has to start somewhere...

GSH = Game Style Highlight  

For those who don't know me, I'm Zero and I like to make video replications, especially those related to WWE.

It all started in April 2008.  Was watching Wrestlemania highlight videos and was playing Here Comes The Pain a lot back then.  One day it suddenly hit me.  What if I was to try and make a game style version of those same highlight videos?  At that time, I didn't have a recorder or editing software to rely on so I used what I had, a digital camera, my VCR, and Windows Movie Maker.  Decided to start with Wrestlemania 17, being my favorite out of all back then.  I started by recording footage I needed on VCR, then I would record with the digital camera.  Once the footage was taken on camera, I would take the Memory Card and transfer the video files to the computer.  From then on, it was all Windows Movie Maker's work.  The whole process, recording and editing included, took me 2 straight weeks (about 5 hours each day).  I was pleased with the result.  Not just for how it looked, but more importantly because I had finished it, without backing down or giving up.  It was my first real commitment in a while so I was proud.  Despite all of this, I still had a problem to face.  Where to post this video to show the people what I did?  Youtube became the answer.  Immediately opened an account and uploaded the video.  Being new to the world of Youtube, I didn't realize until later that getting feedback for a video wouldn't be easy.  

A few weeks had passed and still nothing.  I was starting to give up hope, then one person gave the video a rating and left a feedback.  That was all I needed.  He wondered if there would be more, so I gladly replied "Yes".  Immediately started working on Wrestlemania 18, the whole progress ended up being the same.  The result, however, was different.  This video was more fluid than the last.  Even my only fan noticed it too.  Plans were beginning to be made for Wrestlemania 19, in what then and still today became my favorite Wrestlemania of all.  I was looking into improvements of all kinds, including video quality.  By late May of 2008, I had gathered the money to buy a DVD recorder, so I went ahead and bought it.  Little did I know that this change would bring in new problems.  Biggest one would end up being video formatting.  As many of you know now, when recording on DVD recorder, the video format is always VOB (the format when recording on a blank DVD disc).  The problem was how to convert that format into a readable format to use with Movie Maker, which always rejected this VOB format.  Went on to Yahoo and Google, desperately searching for a software that could do that.  Found several, but each gave my computer an error after another.  As it turned out, not all freewares were trustworthy.  After getting rid of the viruses, I had seemed to have found a good converter to use.  Its name was Free Video Converter.  Simple, but effective enough to use.  All of this time and effort was being put in for Wrestlemania 19, that I had gotten carried away and made a careless mistake.  

June 2, 2008 spelled out the beginning of my Youtube Armageddon.  The RAW after One Night Stand 2008, I had recorded the highlight video of that PPV and decided to upload it to my Youtube account.  I was hoping that with this video, I would attract more viewers for my channel and therefore get more feedback for my Wrestlemanias.  Uploaded the highlights after RAW and by the next morning, the video had reached about 1000 views with 100 ratings.  I had even gained about 10 subscribers.  Everything was going well until later on that day.  Came back from work about 9 PM and immediately checked my e-mail.  Youtube had sent me notifications stating all my videos were taken down by WWE.  I was pissed.

Aside from my Wrestlemanias, I had made Here Comes The Pain tributes, featuring matches with my CAWs.  All of these videos, and a few other WWE related ones, were taken down.  Only video that was left standing was an anime music video I made earlier that year.  Went all over Youtube and WWE's channel, trying to find a reason why this had happened.  That is when I learned about Copyright.  I was somewhat depressed.  Thought and thought about it for days, and couldn't think of anything else useful that I could do on Youtube, so I made a decision.  I closed my Youtube account.

It took nearly 2 weeks for me realize that closing my account wasn't the smartest idea, but it was already done.  Now I was on the search for another site like Youtube, where I could try once again to show my work.  By late June I found the site, Dailymotion.  A less popular version of Youtube, this site was not restricted or watched by WWE back then, so I took a shot.  Quickly uploaded both 17 and 18, and decided to finish what I had already started with Wrestlemania 19.  The feedback issue was the same as Youtube, no quick response.  In the long run it turned out worst, as I didn't get a feedback until Winter of 2008.

From the time I closed my Youtube account to about late January of 2009, I relied on Dailymotion for my videos.  Got few feedback, but it was enough for me to go on.  After my birthday on January, I realized I wanted to make a return to Youtube.  Didn't want to suffer the same experience again, so before making my final decision, I did some research.  Friends who knew about my project strongly recommended not to do this, all except for one.  It was Alex aka LightningBS.  Curiously enough, he opened his Youtube account a month after I closed mine.  Through him, I realized the multiple purposes of Youtube.  It wasn't just a site to upload, it was also about favoring, commenting, and sharing videos.  I was finally convinced, so I opened another account and went from there.  Tried to upload some old and new videos on the way, and oddly enough, my videos weren't rejected.  Wrestlemania 19, Wrestlemania 20, and my other videos made it to my Youtube account.  Because I considered them prototypes, I decided not to upload Wrestlemanias 17 and 18.  Almost everything else I did then made it to Youtube.  The feedback progress slowly grew, unlike my first experience.  I had returned, and it seemed this time, it was for good.

By summer of 2009, I had finished Wrestlemania 21 and a few other videos.  I went around Youtube, looking for more Wrestlemania highlight videos to work with, and that's where I found more inspiration.  It was around this time, that I found your fellow leader Andy Badwool aka SVRNoobsKiller and another rising SvR editor, CavemanKennedy.  These two Youtubers were on a level back then I didn't think was possible.  While their work wasn't the exact same as mine, their results were I would honestly consider "in a league of their own".  I closely kept track of their work and realized that I too needed to step up my game.  So I found myself again looking for ways to improve my work.  From switching video formats to applying video effects, I started improving in my own right.  This all leads to what I have now.

Well, this is my story.  Forgive me if I'm not the best writer, never consider myself one.  Hope you enjoy the videos, and thank you for your time    

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0bp72XeU4M
Wrestlemania 17 GSH
Uploaded by ZeroAbsolute11. - Click for more console and PC gaming videos.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0bp72XeU4M
Wrestlemania 18 GSH
Uploaded by ZeroAbsolute11. - Click for more console and PC gaming videos.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=H0bp72XeU4M

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xKbZSv0poIE

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ddR5DvYVhRw

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JSH2xb9OI5U

  http://youtube.com/watch?v=DyRMZ9xeXuc

Edited by ZeroAbsolute11, 28 August 2010 - 09:34 PM.

This, instead, was an awesome read my friend! Realized we had a lot of common points and feelings in our "Youtube experience"... I might do a topic of my own based on this one, very inspiring!

This, instead, was an awesome read my friend! Realized we had a lot of common points and feelings in our "Youtube experience"... I might do a topic of my own based on this one, very inspiring!

With all due respect, I didn't think at first we could have this much common ground, especially on something like this.  This just goes to show how much Youtube has changed since then.  Now almost everyone goes to the problem of "Copyright" these days.  Glad to hear I was inspiring.  Usually I'm the one saying that.  Thank you for the comment Andy, it means a lot  

Nice videos (I didn't watch all of them) good job, I wish I knew to edit videos like that

Great read,

in some way shape or form, i feel as though you have the same story as myself. Never knew anyone else had similar thoughts or experiences when it came to video editing. For the most part, most people, you just see an account with many views and never get to know about the person.

I always wanted people to see my work, i felt it was worth a view or two. I think all of us editors feel that way, for the most part, its something we all have a profound interest in, something that goes beyond getting a million subs and 1,000 of comments. I don't have any ego of any sort, which allows me to learn from every Editor, whether its Caveman, Noobskillers, Global or even Dolbybustar, a guy who will soon get all the credit deserved from his efforts.

I appreciate every sub I have, most important thing to me, is that people enjoy what i do, just as much as i do.

OMG, just see all the videos and read all those thing, that was awesome man... hope you do much more

You're right bro, you aren't much of a writer

Seriously though, didnt't think you would tell your story here.

As your friend from many years, I strongly advise you to post this in your site or Youtube if you want to. You sort of owe your fans an explanation. After all, you don't have as much free time today as you did back then.

Nice videos (I didn't watch all of them) good job, I wish I knew to edit videos like that

It's nothing out of this world in my opinion.  Anybody can do it really.  What marks the difference is the time and effort you're willing to put into it.  If you read my story, you'd have understood that.

Great read,

in some way shape or form, i feel as though you have the same story as myself. Never knew anyone else had similar thoughts or experiences when it came to video editing. For the most part, most people, you just see an account with many views and never get to know about the person.

I always wanted people to see my work, i felt it was worth a view or two. I think all of us editors feel that way, for the most part, its something we all have a profound interest in, something that goes beyond getting a million subs and 1,000 of comments. I don't have any ego of any sort, which allows me to learn from every Editor, whether its Caveman, Noobskillers, Global or even Dolbybustar, a guy who will soon get all the credit deserved from his efforts.

I appreciate every sub I have, most important thing to me, is that people enjoy what i do, just as much as i do.

Well written, and yes, it's something that I too think we editors have in common.  One single feedback can make the difference because it shows that our effort was worth the time.

OMG, just see all the videos and read all those thing, that was awesome man... hope you do much more

You can count on it

You're right bro, you aren't much of a writer

Seriously though, didnt't think you would tell your story here.

As your friend from many years, I strongly advise you to post this in your site or Youtube if you want to. You sort of owe your fans an explanation. After all, you don't have as much free time today as you did back then.

Youtube, I would have to think about, but on my site it would be perfect.  Making changes right now so I think I'll go ahead and add it.  Thanks for the advice bro

Woah, I've seen these before and your site. I didn't know it was you!