Standing Images
Most streamers who do typical game broadcasts tend to rely more on YouTube revenue than on their live streams. While live streams mostly earn through direct viewer donations, YouTube generates ad revenue once views climb. Plus, unlike live broadcasts that require watching at a set time, YouTube videos can be viewed anytime, so many people prefer them over live streams.
For that reason, Oh Serin had also been thinking about YouTube, but she'd given up on the idea due to her lack of editing skills and the inability to hire an editor. However, after Dancing Raccoon made her videos entertaining, her live streams gained more viewers and regular fans, which increased her steady donation income. Naturally, thoughts of YouTube resurfaced in her mind.
But would Raccoon really abandon their own channel to work as an editor…?
Since she'd already given permission, all revenue from the channel moving to YouTube would go to Raccoon. Given the significant view counts, the earnings were likely substantial. The worry crept in—would they really give that up to become just an editor?
"Sounds good."
"Ah, of course, you can do whatever you want with the original videos…"
Wait. Did they just say yes?
"Huh? Really?"
This is actually working?
I posted an announcement on the YouTube community page. It stated that from now on, Oh Serin's videos would be uploaded to her official channel. Clicking the link to Oh Serin's YouTube channel showed she already had over three thousand subscribers. My own channel's subscribers were slowly trickling away, but it didn't matter.
After all, I planned to turn this channel into a clip compilation channel from the start.
Some clip channels focus on just one person's videos, but I wanted to cover multiple people. There were plenty of streamers like the old Oh Serin—entertaining but never quite breaking through. I wanted to upload their videos to my channel and show them to people. Besides, it wasn't a bad deal for me either.
Because now I can earn more by editing for both my channel and Oh Serin's channel.
In exchange for becoming Oh Serin's editor, I set one condition: the Dancing Raccoon channel would remain active and could feature videos of people other than Oh Serin. She seemed confused by the condition but agreed readily, saying she didn't mind.
I've already sent over all the edited videos… Now what?
Ever since Song the writer scolded me last time, I'd limited myself to two edits per day. Today's quota was done, so there was nothing left to do. Normally, the old man would drag me out for forced exercise—aka a walk—but he was busy today and not home.
Might as well watch some streams.
Oh Serin's stream wasn't on, but tuning into any random broadcast and listening like background radio wouldn't be so bad. With that thought, I was about to open Twitch as usual when something I'd forgotten brushed past my mind.
Come to think of it, there are already VTubers around, aren't there?
Following Kizuna Ai, the first to call herself a virtual YouTuber, virtual YouTubers who streamed live while using virtual avatars—rather than YouTube-specialized projects—should have appeared by now. Since they weren't well-known in Korea, I searched in Japanese and found them quickly.
"Whoa… The quality is completely different from what I remember."
Virtual YouTubers active at this time fell into two categories: those using 3D modeling like Kizuna Ai, and those using illustrations with iPhone apps for face tracking. 3D virtuals showed gestures and movements well but had the drawback of limited facial expressions. Illustration virtuals could manage moving mouths or blinking eyes but were restricted in actions.
At first, people followed Ai with 3D, then gradually shifted to illustrations.
The 3D of that era wasn't particularly high quality. Legs would clip through skirts, or arms would bend in unnatural directions if tracking failed. Plus, turning anime-style characters into natural 3D was quite difficult. That was probably why illustration virtuals became the mainstream.
Of course, once 3D technology improved, things gradually shifted back to 3D.
Anyway, thinking about this reminded me of something. In Korea, streamers who don't turn on their cameras often create their own characters (original characters) and display them on screen while broadcasting. Illustrations for streams had already become mainstream. So wouldn't illustration virtuals be accepted without much resistance?
Still, switching all at once would feel weird, and I don't have the tech for it…
For now, I'll change things gradually. I opened my notebook for the first time in a while.
There's a term called "live commentary play." It's a style where the narrator talks about the game or everyday topics as if doing a live stream over pre-recorded gameplay footage. The difference from actual live streams is that live commentary play involves speaking as if there's an audience, even when there isn't one. Many YouTubers worldwide use this method, but the term "live commentary" is almost exclusively used in Japan.
Among these live commentary streams, there's TTS live commentary. As the name suggests, TTS live commentary uses text-to-speech to voice the commentary. What sets it apart from other commentary is the use of "standing images."
Standing images are commonly seen in dating sims—they're basically illustrations showing just the character's appearance. By changing only the expression on a character illustration in the same pose to match the video's content, you could create a more immersive video.
The prime example was Yuzuki Yukari's commentary streams.
And to help people accept virtual avatars without resistance, I planned to use this system.
"If expressions are visible in the illustrations, people could see the streamer's reactions just like in a cam stream. That'd be nice."
"Right?"
"But can you actually change expressions using face tracking?"
"Honestly, it's still difficult right now. But in a few years, it'll be possible."
After hearing my plan, Oh Serin spoke in a friendly tone. Since I'd told her to speak casually because I was much younger, she'd approached me with overwhelming friendliness. She probably didn't know anything about virtual avatars yet, so I left that part out.
"So for now, I'm thinking of using a method where only the mouth moves on the standing image. When sound goes into the mic, it switches to an image with the mouth open. Even that should look pretty realistic."
It would just be a mouth opening and closing, but it would be better than a completely static image.
"And while automatic expressions aren't feasible yet, we can change them manually. Setting up macro keys to switch expressions at the right moments during the stream would be even better."
"It'll take some getting used to…"
"We'll just have to work hard, then."
I could hear her groaning through the speakers. Helping her had significantly boosted her recognition. My editing had only highlighted the original content, but since her streams were genuinely entertaining, the YouTube videos had achieved high view counts. Because of that, her regular viewer count had risen sharply, and she genuinely appreciated my advice. So she took my words seriously and gave them real thought.
"By the way, to implement what you described, you'd need standing images first, right?"
"That's right?"
"Where are you getting those from?"
"The person who drew the illustration on your stream screen?"
"My little sibling drew that, but they're in the military now."
"Ah."
Technically, it wasn't drawn for her—it was stolen from her sibling's drawings, she said with a laugh. That's why her sibling didn't know she was streaming.
"Then we'll need to find an illustrator first… Do you know anyone?"
"The only artist I know is my sibling."
"Hmm, got it. Let's both start looking for illustrators. I'll send the detailed conditions via message later."
The illustration on Oh Serin's stream screen had a cute, mainstream art style, so I'd wanted to commission that person, but things had gotten slightly derailed. Having various expressions and different poses for the character would make editing more fun, so I'd planned to request multiple versions. Since the art style needed to match for viewers to feel no dissonance.
That's a lot to ask. I wonder if any illustrator would agree.
The top priority was finding someone with a cute, mainstream art style that wasn't too anime-ish. It already felt like the first hurdle would be a tough one, and my head started to ache.
After ending the call with Oh Serin, I stepped into the living room to clear my head. The old man, who had been watching TV on the sofa, called out to me.
"Finally coming out? Then take a look at this."
"What is it?"
"Remember when I went to the broadcasting station and helped my junior with directing? That episode is airing now."
Looking at the TV, I saw Bom senior—strangely cute yet mature—doing an interview. The interview scene incorporated several of the directing techniques the old man and I had discussed back then.
"She's putting it to good use. She knows what she's doing, but she just couldn't think of it herself. Still feels a bit nervous even now."
"But it suits Bom senior's image well."
"If it were me, I'd have used it more boldly. She's too cautious, worried about tarnishing her image. That's why working with actors is such a pain."
I left the old man clicking his tongue and kept watching the TV. It showed Bom senior acting, along with an engaging look at her daily life and hobbies. Then the PD on screen asked her a question.
"Does Actor Bom have any hobbies?"
"Hobbies? Hmm… I used to do ballet and flute, but lately I've been drawing."
"Drawing? Could we see some?"
"It's a bit embarrassing… Just a moment. Here they are. I like drawing cute things like this~"
"Wow, these are really good! It looks like you've studied professionally."
"Ehehe, you think so?"
The drawings Bom senior showed on screen weren't too anime-ish. They were cute with broad appeal and considerable quality. Staring at them, I muttered in admiration.
"Oh. Found one."