We are Rooster Teeth and celebrating our tenth anniversary. AMA

I am commenting on Reddit. -Joel

Go Joel #1 -Joel

I am now replying to my own Redditing.

This is an excellent thread. -Joel

Joel, do you have any questions for me? -Joel

Yes, Joel, how does Reddit work? ~Joel

Seems like you mostly reply to yourself ~Joel

Man, I am really good at this. ~Joel

Pretty sure I can reach the bottom right side of the page. ~Joel

Hi. I am JJ Abrams, director of the new Star Wars and Star Trek movies. AMA! ~Joel

will joel make out with joel?

Kickstarter.

Oh my god Joel I can't even

Me neither. ~Joel

Do you do this in front of a mirror a lot?

Mostly do other things in front of the mirror. People. -Joel

Should I be investing in Gold?

Yes, massive central bank printing all over the world. Everyone locked in a currency war. Bitcoin suddenly makes sense.

Where are you Joel?!?!!?

In a room with people typing...Feels like they're taking the SAT's or something.

you don't get computers for the SAT's, im sorry to say

If you're not cheating. ~ Joel (You should try cheating.)

So, any thoughts on the FED?

They will never stop printing. They can't. Not till we run into a currency crisis ~Joel

What got you into finance/the stock exchange? Besides the obvious like making money and all that?

Being poor.

Do you think increased oversight is a good thing?

By who? Just kidding, oversight is impossible.

Joel, what's it like being Joel?

Feels like I wearing a burlap sack.

All hail King Joel, the King of reddit. #JackSmells

We are agreed.

We need more "Joel plays..."

CINNAMON!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

I stumbled upon those Let's Plays with Joel. I'm not the same person anymore.

Those videos will change you. Like the one of that getting crap pulled out of his nose.

By the way, never watch those -Joel

I fear I've broken Reddit. page looks like a subway map to me. How do you get downtown? ~Joel

Joel.

We are agreed. ~Joel

You came back to your own comment 26 min later. Slow clap.

Thanks. ~Joel

Joel, do you have any more "Joel and ____ Play" games in mind?

I actually tried to post the Kiniectiamals...kinitiamals....the cinnamon attack bear video on here. it was my only post here ever. I did it 30min after we released the video. Someone else has already posted it and I only got 1 up vote. It was like high school all over again. very depressing, haven't been back to reddit since then.

One coming next week.

Next week ~joel

I actually tried to post the Kiniectiamals...kinitiamals....the cinnamon attack bear video on here. it was my only post here ever. I did it 30min after we released the video. Someone else has already posted it and I only got 1 up vote. It was like high school all over again. very depressing, haven't been back to reddit since then.

Just overheard this. "You know I am in a thing and I clicked a thing and I'm in the thing. How do I go back to the thing?" -Joel

--Gus

No question really but congratulations for sticking true to what you do for the last decade and being the guys who inspired a whole generation of new gaming media and entertainment.

Thanks TB.

--Burnie

If the entire Rooster Teeth office was involved in a bloody fight to the death, where there can be only one winner, who would emerge victorious?

Also, who would you eat first if you had to resort to cannibalism in a zombie apocalypse, and why is it Jack?

Locked in a room gladiator style?

One horse sized Joel.

-Gus

Because I am so delicious. -Jack

What if your legs... didn't know that they were legs?

Edit: Context

Still working on finding an answer for this one.

--Barbara

With so many millions of fans, does it ever feel like you have lost a great deal of your privacy? It seems as if a lot of people are very interested in the details of your private lives. If so, how do you deal with this?

(ps, you guys are fucking rad. keep up the amazing work.)

When I got divorced two years ago, the only reason I didn't talk about it was because my ex could not respond to anything I said on the same level. She doesn't have a podcast with 3M listeners or a YouTube channel with 2B views. With two kids, it's very important to not imbalance that relationship, especially at a volatile time like that.

The only reason I started talking about it this year was because I have someone new & amazing in my life and I do want to talk about her. Hard to discuss one without letting everyone know about the other.

Everyone is different when it comes to privacy. I actually care a little less than most people I think, but I did get skeeved when Reddit posted my old home address (don't bother looking I don't live there anymore). FYI, that's why I said some people in the subreddit were weird. All that being said, there are certainly people in life that I follow and their personal lives are interesting to me. So I understand the trade off.

But don't be fooled -- social media is not personal lives. People will cherry pick the best moments of their lives and present them on Twitter and Facebook. They even polish them to look a little better. Don't get too wrapped up in other people's lives and compare yours to theirs. We all have our own joy & sadness, our share of heartbreaks & happiness. Only one-half those moments tend to make it onto a Facebook wall.

--Burnie

This is too long. ~Joel

I agree. ~Joel

oh god not this again

Yes, again. ~J

Not having complete privacy is just one of those things you have to deal with, but sometimes it does get weird. One time Gus and I were at Dragoncon and I noticed a group of people looking at pics of me on their computer. They had taken paparazzi-type snapshots of me with a long lens while I was walking into the bathroom (but not going to the bathroom thankfully). That was one of those moments I realized we should probably start being careful about privacy. Now that several of us have kids it's definitely something you think about because you don't want it to affect their lives. - Matt

Yeah, and I had to get a prescription for Valtrex for my shingles from a pharmacist who recognized me and knows me because of RT. Not a highlight of my life.

-Gus

As a member of the minority that is comprised of RT fans who don't watch RvB, thank you SO much for all of the amazing and free content you put out for people like me. I adore the podcast, RT Life, AH, etc, and I can't wait for what's next.

I have two questions: one for The AH guys, and one for Barbara.

AH Guys: what's next for AH? I fucking love VS, and its great to see new shows come out of AH to complement the great lineup of Let's Plays. I'm wondering if there is a new show in the works, or a spin on an old show maybe?

Barbara: I'm studying community management and social media in college, and RT's community is incredibly intriguing to me. First of all, thanks for being such an awesome community manager. Secondly, what are the challenges of managing a community of this magnitude?

Thank you to everyone in RT that is participating in this AMA. I'm a huge fan and I believe I will be for a long time :)

We've got a new announcement coming up pretty soon... keep your eyes on AHWU and the Let's Plays for a pretty significant change for us soon.

-Jack

Thanks for your question, and that's awesome that you're studying community management/social media! There are a ton of challenges to managing the RT community. First off, it's massive- both on our site and our social media following. Being the voice of Rooster Teeth is always a scary thing, especially with this big of an audience. Secondly, one of the things Rooster Teeth is great at is interaction with its fans. It can get hard when things get busy in our studio to maintain this, but I always make sure people feel involved- whether it's answering emails, running a community contest, or replying on twitter.

Another huge challenge is keeping everyone happy. While our community is truly the best group of people in the world, there will always be people looking to complain, cause trouble, or be assholes to other users. I never want anyone to feel neglected, or that their opinion doesn't matter- and it is sometimes hard to deal with everyone, and every concern that comes in.

However, I can say that being the RT community manager is the most rewarding experience of my life. To get to witness the joy that we bring to our fans, and to be a part in people's happiness is.. unreal. That's all I could ever hope for. I hope I can continue to help the RT community grow and flourish for 1000 years to come.

--Barbara

Is #DanTheMan moving to the US now that SlowMoGuys is part of Rooster Teeth?

He's busy protecting the Queen or something.

-Gus

So I feel like this should be addressed...

You guys have a large and passionate following, and much of it is made up of people who are involved in video games and internet culture. Your audience also skews pretty young. Because of this, a significant portion of your fan base is, well...pretty socially awkward.

This becomes painfully obvious during your panels at various cons, and I'm sure it can be just as bad during other in-person encounters.

How do you deal with these situations in the moment (at the booth, at RTX, when people show up at the office unexpectedly), and how do you feel about the issue as a whole?

Also, and you don't have to delve into this if you don't have time, but obviously there's some (well-deserved) concern with the RT subreddit. It seems that the least mature are the most vocal, and that makes for pretty lame and shallow content. It often comes off like a middle school gossip forum, or the shitty pre-teen parts of tumblr. Do any of you ever consider pushing for a presence of RT staff in the subreddit to head off idiot rumors/misconceptions before they become nonstop circlejerks like they so often do?

Thanks for everything you've done and everything you do!

It is easy to focus on the awkward, but that really is a tiny portion of the people I meet personally. I myself am SUPER socially awkward but after meeting people at various events for the past ten years I've gotten better at it.

The secret I've discovered is, if someone is uncomfortable and doesn't want to talk, I do the talking for both of us. I begin sort of asking myself questions I get frequently and then answering them. It is the easiest way to help make someone comfortable since I basically can jump start the conversation.

-Gus

We do keep an eye on the /r/RoosterTeeth subreddit and any time we spot information that is way off base or incorrect, we step in and correct folks.

-Jack

Two questions:

1. How different is it for Gavin and Michael doing Immersion from Geoff and Gus doing it?

2. Do you have a favorite achievement hunter let's play?

Also, you guys are badass. :D

1. Luckily Gav and Michael have a good back and forth. It is different than the back and forth Geoff and I have, but they work well together, which is super important.

2. Plan G.

-Gus

How was working with Elijah Wood?

I got to talk to him at RTX briefly. I got my first boner that day.

--Barbara

Would you say you got elijah Wood?

Yes, I Wood say that. Also, marry me.

--Barbara

Awesome. I got to work with him once before on a movie called The Faculty and I remembered him being a very cool guy. That was before LOTR, and even with all that success he's still totally down to earth and easy to work with. He nailed literally every single take for RvB first try. - Matt

He's an absolutle legend and we were very lucky to have him in the cast of Season 10. You should all go follow him on his twitter account: @woodelijah

--Burnie

Is Joe enjoying his retirement?

Yes. Let me see if I can grab a picture of him. --Burnie

OP delivers:

http://t.co/9bQ10Zw4ll

No offense to you guys, but Joe was probably my favorite employee at RT. Seriously the most chill cat I've ever seen.

If you had to work with someone who vomited on your workspace and whose shit you literally had to clean up you wouldn't be so enthusiastic.

-Gus

Barbara: How are you dealing with life that lacks poutine?

Sometimes I'll just cover Gus with cheese curds and gravy and cry.

I think he likes it.

--Barbara

Rooster Teeth: The Movie. Who would you cast?

I would cast Joel. As everyone. Comedy will ensue.

--Barbara

To the new guys: What were the first few days/weeks like working at Rooster Teeth? How do you compare it to your other jobs?

I didn't have a job before working here so I figured all workplaces are like this.

--Jordan

Terrifying. Every day, I anticipated fucking up and getting fired. It was just incredibly overwhelming. There I was, some college kid/gamestop employee sitting next to a bunch of professionals. Literally every person at Rooster Teeth is here because they excel at something, whether it be writing, editing, cinematography, etc. I simply felt like I wasn't worthy... and to be honest, I still can't believe I'm still here.

Oh, and working at Gamestop was pretty bleh. Know your alphabet and sell magazines. "Thank you for calling Gamestop, where we buy and sell used games! This is Miles! How can I help you!?"

-Miles

Did they have Battletoads?

This made me laugh out loud.

-Gus

Working for Rooster Teeth was something I never imagined would happen, so the first few days were a bit surreal. It didn't take long for it to feel like home, though. I've never worked at a job where it felt like a second family until I came to RT.

--Barbara

There are lots of creepy people on the internet, and they seem to focus a lot on you, Barbara. Do you get upset by this, amused by this, or what?

You may be surprised, but this doesn't upset me one bit. Something I learned REALLY early on by having a strong online presence is that people on the internet don't treat you as they would in real life, and you can't take anything to heart.

"Those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" is a way I've always lived my life, so I'm never bothered by negative/creepy comments, because I know that there are people who support me, and that's what I pay attention to. The love I receive from the RT Community is something I wouldn't trade for the world, and some gross/mean comment isn't going to make me forget that.

--Barbara

My first week at Rooster Teeth was extremely different from my last job. I came from a corporate environment so immediately things were much more laid back in the RT office. The best thing though, was how welcoming everyone was. Everyone here was so nice and welcoming which was great having come from another city. And of course there's always tons of laughs at any given moment.

--Holly

When did Matt become the CEO of Roosterteeth? And why?

I stepped down on April 1, 2012 after nine years as CEO. Matt was the best choice for the job.

It's very easy to sit in place and hold on to titles and protect your domain, but if you want to run a succesful business you have to be objective. Sometimes changes need to be made even if the thing that needs to be changed is you.

Best explanation -- the guy who took us from one person to forty people is not the guy that is best equipped to take us from forty people to five hundred people.

A lot of things have changed under Matt but one thing remains the same -- each year is our best year. The company is stronger than ever thanks to him.

--Burnie

I posted the comment in the thread but i'll throw it here, what is everyone's titles or job duties now? Maybe current projects people are focusing on or along those lines

Big list:

Matt: CEO

Burnie: Head of Board/Creative Director

Joel -- Commerical Production

Geoff: AH

Gus: Podcast & RTX

Yvonne: VP of Operations

Alan: Biz Dev

Kath: Lead Producer

Monty: Monty

For the AH guys, what Let's Play (besides Minecraft) has been your favorite to do? And what games would you want to film next?

Assassin's Creed Multiplayer -- Jack

Baseball where Geoff shit's himself -- Gavin

Olympics Part 1 -- Geoff

Mari0 -- Ryan

Let's Play Worms -- Ray

Minigolf -- Michael

When is Burnie and Gus going to be in a Let's Play!?

It's a sad fact, but we all need to realize that not everyone at Rooster Teeth can be in every production. It's just not possible. I had a lot of fun on some of the early Let's Plays (before they were called that) but when it's time to pick what I want to work on, I like to focus on narrative content (like RvB) and over-the-top live action shows (like Immersion and the podcast).

I was really bummed just last week when I had to be in Atlanta and could not participate in a really awesome live action shoot here in Austin. But I was in Atlanta for Immersion and the 10th anniversary live stream. So, I can't really feel bad about that. You just have to choose what you want to work on. --Burnie

Who makes the most noise in the company?

Miles. I showed him the Bane voice trick just so he would put a goddamn cup over his mouth.

--Burnie

Michael. Especially on Thursdays. You better hope you don't have a meeting that day in the conference room (which shares a wall with the AH office).

--Barbara

Evening lads, Happy Ten years, and a glorious Ten more and all that.

Just wondering, to start the evening on a bummer, Any big regrets? Missed oppurtunities? I remember you were talking about a show that was Wreck it Ralph like in Theme and story, Whatever happened to that?

And i suppose for balance,any massive Highlights?

Again, Congrats, long live RoosterTeeth!

Edit: The link to the concept piece for break room http://roosterteeth.com/business/?id=30

No huge regrets really, but I do wish we had started doing live action content sooner. There are plenty of other projects like that we haven't had time to get to and it's always tough to find the balance between developing new content and making sure the current shows maintain their quality and consistency. - Matt

That show was Break Room. We did an concept piece for it waaayyyy back in 2007. You can probably find a clip of it somewhere. It's mothballed for now but may revive if we get to a point where it won't look retroactively derivative of Wreck It Ralph.

--Burnie

Without your current jobs, where would you be at today? What career paths would you have pursued, something in the game industry?

I would probably be living in Toronto, interning at an Ad Agency. That was the plan before these guys were all, "hey lol u r kewl, come to Austin loloololol"

--Barbara

I was the President of a telecom company before this. I probably would be doing that still.^{I've made a terrible mistake.}

--Burnie

Hey RoosterTeeth! Are there any plans to update/fix your iPhone app and perhaps add iPad support? I'd love to be able to watch my fave episodes on the go and it isn't working right now...

YES! Working on our mobile presence is super high priority right now. We want to fix our iOS presence and make something for the Android market as well. It is on the roadmap of stuff to get to, we just have to finish up some other things first.

-Gus

For the staff with kids, what do your kids think you do at work all day?

My kids think I "rooster teeth" all day. They use it as a verb. I get home and they ask, "daddy, did you rooster teeth today?" And I say, sure did and it was awesome. I'm hoping they don't ever learn what "rooster teeth" is a euphemism for. - Matt

if you had to get rid of one employee, who would it be and why?

Joe the Cat.

-Gus

Joel because he throws things at me and sends me videos of screaming cats.

--Barbara

Barbara because she resists getting things thrown at her and refuses to watch screaming cat videos. ~Joel

As a college student who would love to work for a film/Entertainment company like Roosterteeth, what kinds of things really stick out in a resume? I listen to the podcast religiously and it seems like most employees start out as fans.

Fuck the resume, make a god damned reel! Everybody looks the same on paper...resumes are an exercise in who is the best liar/exaggerator. A reel shows actual talent and what you're enthusiastic about.

-Gus

What "celebrity" actor would you love to have do a part in an upcoming season of Red vs. Blue?

Lindsay Lohan or Olivia Wilde

-Gus

If you could be any type of tree, what type of tree would you be? (Gus said he would be a "tree that doesn't ask stupid questions" at NY Comic con 2011)

Thanks for being awesome!

Birch please, I'd be all types of trees. Oak-ay, but seriously, I've been pining to be poplar all my life, so I'd spruce myself up a bit and choose the Evergreen. --Barbara

Hey RT, I'd just like to say thanks for doing this AMA. I've been watching since midway through Season 1, and you guys have been an amazing influence on my life for the best part of ten years. Anyway, here are my few questions:

1. 10 years ago, if someone told you this is where you'd be now, how would you react? What would you say to him/her?

2. What would you say has been your greatest influence in the writing for RvB throughout the years?

3. Do you all enjoy writing/acting/filming the more serious aspects of RvB (e.g. the Freelancer storyline), or do you prefer the more comedic elements (the Blood Gulch crew, et al)?

4. Which of your upcoming projects are you most excited for? (If you can talk about them, that is)

5.How did you all come up with the idea for RTX? Are you happy with how it's expanded, or do you wish it was still small (~500 people, like the first one)? (I'm going to my first RTX this year, I'm really excited.)

Anyways, that's all I had. Thank you all so much for doing this AMA, keep producing awesome content and I'll keep watching (and loving) all of it.

1. I was convinced this project wouldn't last. I refused to buy a car or even rent a decent apartment because I knew at any moment this would all end and I'd be on the street. I'd say to myself "go ahead and get a decent car, getting stranded on the side of the road every other day isn't worth it."

2. That's a Burnie question, I don't write RvB.

3. Comedic Blood Gulch stuff is the best, duh.

4. RTX 2013 is what I'm most excited about!!!!

5. We wanted to do our own event for years (we used to want it to be purely internet based and call it dot com con). I'm pleased with the expansion but I wish we were even bigger. I can't wait to fill out the Austin Convention Center.

-Gus

1. RvB passed my wildest expectations about four weeks in. Everything after that has been experienced with a healthy mixture of gratitude and disbelief.

2. Writing influences are hard to pin down. The movie Dark Star was a major early influence. After that, Lost was a weird influence in that I felt it was turning the sci-fi genre into mystery and I was determined to fight that.

3. Of everything we do, I like playing characters as an actor. That's easier for me to do when I write them.

--Burnie

How does it feel to wake up every morning knowing you work for the greatest company in the world?

With morning wood.

--Barbara

What moment in your career would be permanently burned in your memory?

There are a bunch, most of them involving the community. I will still say that entering the ballroom for the first RTX and being almost physically overwhelmed by the energy and enthusiasm of that audience is something I will never forget. Also seeing Gus naked so many times is burned in memory too, but I'm wishing I could forget that. - Matt

out of Geoff, Burnie, Gus, and Gavin, who would be the most fun to hang out with while they are drunk

Definitely Gus.

-Gus

Hey Rooster Teeth , I have more of a request then a question. I am actually making a L4D2 map based on the RoosterTeeth office. pics! Now I'm wondering if you could give me a hand and send me a floor plan and/or some photos from around the office for reference, It would help me so much.

And a question, Was it awkward meeting Gavin for the first time, considering he was only 15?

Would you also like our alarm code you burglar???

-Gus

boobs or butts?

Boobs.

http://i.imgur.com/dFk73.gif

-Gus

Gus, I love you. How are the shingles going?

Long gone my friend.

-Gus

Any news on the Strangerhood 2????

Ray is working on it as we speak. But not really.

-Jack

What can you tell us about Immersion? Can't wait to see Michael and Gavin in the new season.

We have one new episode in the can. That will be a "between season" episode of the show. We are giving the TV networks a few more weeks to look at Immersion before we go forward there or take it off the table and makes Season 2 for the web.

--Burnie

Simple question: Do you guys have as much fun at work as it seems?

Absolutely, but there is even more work going on than you would think. It is the busiest job I've ever had.

-Gus

Hi Roosterteeth. I'm sorry that I stole rvb to use as my internet handle. Seriously, I use it for everything. I only did it because I love you.

That being said, are podcast theme songs ever coming back? Podcast is just not the same without them.

Yeah, we will be filming a new intro for the podcast which will incorporate the listener submitted theme songs. Brandon said he wants to film the intros next week, but I don't know if we'll have the time. It is a priority and we hope to have it done in the next couple of weeks.

-Gus

Did the employees you hired out of the community (Gavin, Barbara) have the same character in person as they did on the site?

We didn't hire anyone without actually meeting them first...

--Burnie

Will there every be another actual season of RT Shorts?

RT Shorts are back, and we are already working on new episodes of Season 5!

What's the relationship that Rooster Teeth has with Tumblr? Caleb made one a little while ago -- are you guys doing anything else with it?

Me, every time I get on Tumblr.

--Burnie

(But I do check FuckYeahBurnieBurns. Those people are smart as hell.)

Speaking personally, I love to see the enthusiasm that the Tumblr community has for RT and the people at RT. We don't really have a use for Tumblr for our own stuff, but we definitely recognize it as a great outlet for awesome community content.

--Barbara

What's the strangest thing you've ever found knocking about in the RoosterTeeth office?

At the old office downtown sometimes bums would poop in milk jugs and leave them on our back door. Unless it was Joel doing that. Never asked. - Matt

Not really a question, just wanted to thank you guys for all of the amazing content you have put out. I have spent many, MANY hours watching almost all of your shows multiple times. I would like to think, without you I would not be who I am today. Congratulations on ten years of amazing production, I can't wait for the twenty year anniversary and all of the new shows you put out.

Thank you so much RT!

SMOOCHES!

-gus (but really Barbara)

Seeing as new episodes of Immersion are coming, what is the most fun you have had filming an episode of Immersion?

This one we just shot was really fun, but probably my favorite Immersion shoots were the Video Game Car and Zombie Horde. The RTX attendees did a fantastic job on the horde video and every one was in such great spirits it felt like a big party. The video game car one was great because we were just figuring everything out and that discovery process is always fun. Plus we all had time at the end to actually drive the car and it was a blast. Little known fact - I had the fastest time around the track. I still suck at non-real life games. - Matt

Zombie headshots.

--Burnie

What are your hopes for RWBY? The trailers sure make it look amazing, and I'm curious about where you see this project taking your group in the future.

I hope RWBY can do many things, the most important having people be able to identify with the many characters in the story. There will definitely be someone for everyone. I think that any art or writing can be good so long it resonates with a truth that the viewer can relate to.

-Monty

Hey guys! Congrats on the 10 years. Just one question, will there be any chance of The Schedule being uploaded to the website?

Nope. I am reworking it as a possible series for future production. I think we were smart to hold onto the property. --Burnie

When can we get the podcast available on Stitcher?

Hadn't heard of it till I read this comment. I absolutely want to make the podcast as available to people as possible.

-Gus