S&YE192 - Subaru Launch Control Season 12 with Warwick Patterson & Christopher Bowes

[00:00:10] Hey, I'm Christopher Bowes, owner of Bowes Media Inc. and the director of Launch Control.

[00:00:14] Hey, my name is Warwick Patterson from Formula Photographic and I'm the producer for Launch Control and this is episode 192 of the Subie & You podcast.

[00:00:22] Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Subie & You podcast. As you just heard, I have Warwick Patterson and Christopher Bowes on the podcast here to talk about the new season of Subaru Launch Control.

[00:00:37] I was very excited to get these guys back on the podcast to talk about the new season. The last time they were here was to talk about Season 10 and now they're back, of course, to talk about Season 12.

[00:00:48] And I really want to thank you guys so much again for taking the time to be guests on the podcast and share some information about this new season with all the listeners.

[00:00:59] If you are listening to this and you have never watched Launch Control, I highly recommend that you go check it out.

[00:01:06] You can start with this season or you can go back and watch the previous seasons. Either way, it's really, really good.

[00:01:13] It follows the Subaru Motorsports USA race team and then also you get just more story than just race.

[00:01:22] You get story about the drivers, about the team behind the drivers, the technicians, you know, people from Vermont Sports Car.

[00:01:29] It's a really, really great show. And if you don't know a whole lot about Rally, then it's another great reason to watch it because you will learn a lot watching this show.

[00:01:40] And I learned most about Rally by watching this show, but also, of course, having Rian and Jill Cimino on to talk about Rally.

[00:01:47] In any case, go check it out.

[00:01:48] Even if you've been watching it from the very beginning, be sure to watch this season as well.

[00:01:54] The Subi and You podcast is brought to you by Eccentric Designs.

[00:01:58] For those of you who don't know, Eccentric Designs is a small, community-driven business that offers custom-fit vinyl overlays for most Subaru models.

[00:02:06] This includes various designs for the rear reflectors, taillights, and side taillights.

[00:02:10] I also offer fun decal designs like the popular fender stripes and stickers.

[00:02:15] To find designs for your Subi, head on over to eccentricdesigns.com.

[00:02:19] There's always more projects in the works, so be sure to follow at eccentric.designs on Instagram.

[00:02:26] As always, thank you so much, Eccentric Designs, for sponsoring this Subi and You podcast.

[00:02:30] Be sure to go check out her Instagram page and check out her website.

[00:02:34] I want to mention, too, that be sure to watch out across Instagram and other social media platforms to look out for all of the different brands out there that may be having some holiday specials going on.

[00:02:47] Take advantage of that if you can, because sometimes they have some really good deals.

[00:02:51] Sometimes they have free shipping, which can be a really big savings.

[00:02:55] Sometimes they can have like a percentage off and free shipping.

[00:02:59] So just be sure to be on the lookout for all of those different brands out there that we love and see what they have going on.

[00:03:06] Or just go check out their websites and see what they have going on for the holidays.

[00:03:10] But this podcast is brought to you also by SubaruGear.com.

[00:03:16] So go check out SubaruGear.com.

[00:03:18] Check out all of the great products that they have to offer,

[00:03:21] because it is a great place for the Subaru enthusiast to find many different items that you would want to have in your wardrobe or on your shelf,

[00:03:30] in your car, for your pet, for your kids.

[00:03:33] They've got it all.

[00:03:33] So go check out SubaruGear.com.

[00:03:36] Be sure to use the code SUBINU24 at checkout to get 20% off your purchase.

[00:03:42] If your total is over $50 after the 20% discount,

[00:03:46] you will also get free shipping, which is a really great deal.

[00:03:50] So go check it out.

[00:03:52] Use the code and get some great Subaru branded gear delivered right to your door.

[00:03:57] So thank you so much SubaruGear.com for sponsoring the SUBINU podcast.

[00:04:03] When I recorded this episode with these guys, I was really, really congested

[00:04:08] because I had gotten back from my trip with my kids, our vacation, and I got sick.

[00:04:14] And it was mostly like I had a sore throat for a little bit,

[00:04:17] but then I was like really, really congested.

[00:04:19] And so the night that I was recording with these guys,

[00:04:23] my sinuses were just like going crazy and I was like coughing and everything.

[00:04:28] So thankful for the mute button because it would not have been a pretty scene without that.

[00:04:33] But it was a little bit rough to get through it.

[00:04:35] You could probably hear it in my voice that I was really congested.

[00:04:38] I'm still a little congested now.

[00:04:40] It hasn't fully cleared out, but at least I don't feel bad anymore.

[00:04:45] I feel fine.

[00:04:46] Just some congestion going on.

[00:04:48] But hope everybody out there can stay well through the holiday seasons and not get sick

[00:04:55] because as we all know, it's no fun.

[00:04:57] So be sure to eat clean, wash your hands often,

[00:05:01] drink plenty of liquids, and just try to stay as safe as you can.

[00:05:06] Just don't go anywhere.

[00:05:07] That'll do it.

[00:05:09] Don't go anywhere.

[00:05:10] Because I went to four parks in four days with hundreds and hundreds of people.

[00:05:15] And I'm sure that's where I picked something up.

[00:05:17] Of course, nobody else that was with me got sick.

[00:05:20] Just me.

[00:05:20] But be careful out there.

[00:05:22] All right.

[00:05:23] We have another patron question from the week.

[00:05:25] And this one comes from Alex who goes by Black on Black SJFXT on Instagram.

[00:05:32] He asks, what's the best or your favorite adventure you had in your Subaru?

[00:05:39] And where do you want to go or plan to take it?

[00:05:42] So hands down, the best and my favorite has got to be when we drove out to Colorado

[00:05:48] and I met up with Juan and Chris.

[00:05:51] One, because I just, I love Colorado.

[00:05:54] And two, because I couldn't believe that I actually drove that far in my car,

[00:05:59] especially right after having an accident because I had gotten hit from behind by a Jeep

[00:06:04] and it dented my hatch.

[00:06:06] And thankfully, I was able to get it closed.

[00:06:08] But driving out to Colorado and being out there, that was my first off-road experience in Pearl

[00:06:16] and in Colorado of all places.

[00:06:18] So it was just like super epic because of that.

[00:06:22] And not only that, of course, I got to meet up with two guys that had already been on the podcast

[00:06:26] and they both had outbacks.

[00:06:31] And they just took us to some really, really cool trails.

[00:06:34] And so they made our experience in Colorado even better.

[00:06:38] And then they let my daughter and my son drive their cars.

[00:06:43] I let my son drive Pearl for a little bit.

[00:06:46] But me getting to drive Pearl out in Colorado, which I had been to before,

[00:06:51] but not in Pearl.

[00:06:53] But I mean, just the trails that they took us to, the scenery, being there with other people,

[00:06:59] with Subarus.

[00:07:00] I mean, it was just such an incredible experience.

[00:07:03] And I would love to go back there again.

[00:07:05] But as far as somewhere that I would want to go and want to drive to or take my Subaru to,

[00:07:11] I want to go to Arizona because I've been to Arizona before, but not in a, it's been quite a few years,

[00:07:19] maybe like six years or so.

[00:07:20] But we went to go visit a friend who lived in Flagstaff and he had a 1996 Toyota Land Cruiser.

[00:07:27] And he took us to some pretty nice off-road spots.

[00:07:30] And most of the spots that we went to, I know that Pearl could make it.

[00:07:34] So that's where I would love to go to.

[00:07:37] Am I going to make it out there?

[00:07:38] I don't know because Pearl's getting up there in miles.

[00:07:42] And I don't know that I want to risk taking her out there unless I get some stuff done.

[00:07:47] But that is where I would love to go to.

[00:07:50] I mean, there's other spots too.

[00:07:52] But like of a place that I really know of that I, you know, I've been to before,

[00:07:57] I want to go back is Arizona.

[00:08:00] So thank you so much for your question, Alex.

[00:08:02] I really appreciate it.

[00:08:04] Before we get started with this episode, I did watch season 12, episode 4, which is Down, Under, and Out.

[00:08:12] And it was really good.

[00:08:13] So I'm all caught up.

[00:08:15] I was glad to be able to watch it and catch up with the episodes.

[00:08:21] And I'm looking forward to what this season of Launch Control is going to bring.

[00:08:25] We talk about it some on this episode with Warwick and Christopher.

[00:08:31] But just seeing what happened in this episode and just kind of from what I know,

[00:08:37] I know it's going to be a good season.

[00:08:39] So I'm really excited to see what comes next.

[00:08:42] So be sure to watch all of the episodes so far if you haven't and get caught up because it's going to get good.

[00:08:50] Again, so glad to have these guys on the podcast again.

[00:08:54] And I'm glad to be able to share this with everybody with the new season of Launch Control.

[00:09:00] So here we go with this episode to talk to Warwick Patterson and Christopher Bowes.

[00:09:17] Hey, guys, welcome back to the podcast.

[00:09:19] I'm glad that you agreed to take some time to come back on here and talk about the new season.

[00:09:26] I'm really excited about it.

[00:09:27] Yeah, we're pretty sure too.

[00:09:29] Yeah.

[00:09:30] Yeah.

[00:09:30] So I've had you on a couple of times before talking about the other seasons.

[00:09:35] So I know people were excited, I'm sure, to see a new season of Launch Control and follow along behind.

[00:09:43] The ARA season for 2024, you know, I think maybe for some people,

[00:09:47] the only way that they get their, you know, ARA rally information and everything is through the,

[00:09:54] through Launch Control.

[00:09:56] Because I don't really follow the season because I just like, you know, I'm busy doing other things.

[00:10:00] But when Launch Control comes out, you know, I kind of follow along just through Instagram

[00:10:05] to see what the standings are and what's going on through, you know, Subaru Motorsports USA page and stuff.

[00:10:11] But to watch Launch Control and see more of the behind the scenes stuff and just the way that y'all capture it is like,

[00:10:18] it's such a great tool and a great resource for people to, you know, do a recap of the season.

[00:10:24] So I'm glad to see it back.

[00:10:26] Well, thanks.

[00:10:27] Yeah, thanks.

[00:10:28] Yeah.

[00:10:29] It's pretty cool.

[00:10:31] It's cool to be back.

[00:10:32] It's something we wanted to do for a while.

[00:10:34] So it's awesome that it's, that we're here.

[00:10:36] So how long has it been since the last Launch Control season?

[00:10:42] We, we stopped doing Launch Control in this format in 2021.

[00:10:49] We, you know, if you go back all the way to the beginning, when we started off this entire idea,

[00:10:55] we, we started trying to produce a show about what it would take for a team like the Subaru team to go out and win a championship in rally and in rally cross.

[00:11:09] And it took nine years.

[00:11:11] And we did that.

[00:11:12] And at the end of the ninth year where they finally did it, we knew at the end of that, that a lot of things were going to change,

[00:11:19] that, that rally cross was going to evolve into electric.

[00:11:24] We, we knew that just the landscape was going to shift.

[00:11:28] And, you know, when you set out to accomplish a goal and you do it, it gives you the opportunity to take a minute and have a thought about like, okay, what do we do next?

[00:11:38] So when that happened, it was brought to us with Subaru and the marketing guys there and the motorsports manager at the time was,

[00:11:47] should we just continue this or should we try to do something different?

[00:11:50] And the decision was to try to change it up.

[00:11:54] So that led to the next stage series, building the new rally cars.

[00:11:58] It led to some special edition Jim Conner behind the scenes series that we did.

[00:12:04] It led to a lot of things, but it also led to simplifying the rally coverage to what they called rally rundowns.

[00:12:13] It was still part of the launch control banner, but they were shorter, faster.

[00:12:18] We got to them quick.

[00:12:19] Yeah.

[00:12:20] And I think we kind of, yeah, I think we kind of were curious about like internet and everybody's attention spans are getting so much shorter.

[00:12:28] And like, is it better to be shorter and sooner after the events or is the long format TV show style still what people want?

[00:12:36] And we said, well, let's try something new.

[00:12:38] We'd have time to focus on some special projects, Jim Conner, things like that, like Chris mentioned, and kind of shaking things up after nine seasons.

[00:12:47] Did y'all get some good feedback from the shorter format as far as what, because you said you wanted, you know, you're trying to figure out what people's attention span was, but what kind of feedback did you get?

[00:12:57] And did you get some metrics from that?

[00:12:59] The irony is it was really a mixed bag.

[00:13:03] You know, the shorter, quicker turnarounds was something that the drivers wanted.

[00:13:08] You know, if you had asked Travis, he wanted that.

[00:13:12] He would, you know, I don't know if complain was the right word, but he would remark that, you know, Ken's videos were coming out, you know, a month after the event or whatever, and ours were coming out at the end of the season.

[00:13:25] So he was always noticing the discrepancy there.

[00:13:29] And we noticed it too, you know, like everyone's telling their story and we're not, you know, so that was definitely a thing that we thought we could improve on and that there was room to change.

[00:13:40] And why not try it?

[00:13:41] Right.

[00:13:41] Like, what can we do in like, say a one week turnaround, which is what we were doing.

[00:13:46] So lots of positivity about how quick we could get the response, but there was also, you know, not positivity.

[00:13:54] People missed the announcer.

[00:13:55] People missed the longer formats.

[00:13:57] People, you know, never truly ever gave up on the, on the original, you know what I mean?

[00:14:04] Yeah.

[00:14:04] So it, it remains something that would just, was an ever present part of the conversation as we moved on.

[00:14:12] And I think after giving people the insight for so long, like behind the scenes, look at things for so long, like people, we've had people, a large number of people watching from season one, essentially.

[00:14:22] Or if they haven't been watching from season one, they've gone back and watched it all.

[00:14:26] And so to suddenly kind of cut off that behind the scenes story, we still did the building the rally car and Jim Conant behind the scenes and stuff.

[00:14:35] So there was still that story, but it wasn't about rally and the racing programs.

[00:14:39] So I think people missed that.

[00:14:40] Yeah.

[00:14:41] So with this format going back to this, cause I noticed you have the narrator in there again, what was the decision for going back to the longer format?

[00:14:49] And just because it was missed and are you able to keep up with putting these out faster, like the quicker, shorter episodes?

[00:14:58] This year we did both.

[00:15:00] But we, when we made the switch said, let's try it and see what happens.

[00:15:04] We always left the door open to coming back to the long format.

[00:15:07] And I think, I think the appetite was there.

[00:15:10] Subaru listened to the fans and said, yeah, I think we need to go back to this.

[00:15:14] But we did keep the short format, quick recaps.

[00:15:18] Okay.

[00:15:19] So were we going to see some of that this season also?

[00:15:22] The recaps still come out, like they still come out about, about, was it like a week, less than a week after the event?

[00:15:31] Okay.

[00:15:32] So we'd go to the event and basically the footage comes back Sunday.

[00:15:37] We edit Monday, Tuesday, and by end of day Wednesday, we've put out an episode.

[00:15:42] So that, that's really the format for that.

[00:15:45] So those have already come out, but they're only like, I don't know, five, five to seven minutes long.

[00:15:50] They're still super fast.

[00:15:51] They're not really diving into why something is happening.

[00:15:55] They're really focused on what happened.

[00:15:57] So this happened, this happened, this happened, this happened, this happened, there's a podium.

[00:16:01] And that, that's basically the episode.

[00:16:03] And so now with the launch control show, it's really the deeper dive into the, well, why did it happen like that?

[00:16:13] Why is so-and-so winning so much?

[00:16:16] Or why is so-and-so not winning as much?

[00:16:19] And it's those conversations that we're having in the longer format.

[00:16:23] Gotcha.

[00:16:24] And so with going back to the longer format for this season, is there, are we going to expect to see anything different with this season than what we've seen in the previous seasons that were longer like this?

[00:16:36] Well, I think work, and I talked a lot about this and, and obviously with James Tate at Subaru and the Subaru team, and even with the guys at Vermont sports car, we wanted to respect what launch control always was.

[00:16:50] Cause if the fans are like, we want it back, we want it back.

[00:16:52] We want it back.

[00:16:52] We don't want to give it back to them and give them something that doesn't look like what they have been asking for.

[00:16:57] So we wanted to respect that, but we wanted also to not do exactly the same thing.

[00:17:01] And, you know, when we thought up the idea, you know, 12 years ago, um, there was a certain style of energy that was being produced and, and, you know, we have TikTok now we have like, like the world changed a little bit with us.

[00:17:16] Right.

[00:17:16] So we wanted to evolve, um, what it was without ignoring what it was before, you know?

[00:17:23] So yeah, there's a voice, um, but it's not the voice.

[00:17:26] Um, we have a new voice, a guy who's been around his name is Andrew Coley.

[00:17:31] He's the narrator.

[00:17:32] He's the live action caller for, uh, Nitro Rallycross.

[00:17:37] Um, we've worked with him before.

[00:17:39] He was in the last season of the full shows as a sort of journalist commentator.

[00:17:44] Um, he's a mega fan of the show.

[00:17:47] He would write us just to say great show and all that stuff, you know?

[00:17:51] So he's just a regular fan with us and he comes with some cred.

[00:17:55] So on some levels we have that, um, we're trying to evolve the storytelling the way we do it and try to bring some new stuff in, but not so evolved that people who knew the show before feel like, what is this?

[00:18:10] Yeah.

[00:18:10] Gotcha.

[00:18:11] Yeah.

[00:18:11] I think it's, I think it's still very recognizable as launch control, but it's got a fresh new look.

[00:18:15] Um, you'll also notice that every episode is, uh, 23 minutes and it has, uh, commercial break locators.

[00:18:24] Um, so that's, uh, something coming down the pipe that we're getting it ready for broadcast.

[00:18:32] Okay.

[00:18:33] Yeah.

[00:18:34] And so like, you know, you mentioned TikTok earlier that you've got new ways of capturing, you know, events and video, just all different types of new media that you can do.

[00:18:44] So is there any, are there any newer techniques or equipment or filming styles or anything that you've done with this season that you haven't done before?

[00:18:55] The storytelling has evolved a little bit.

[00:18:57] Um, we, we definitely focus on the idea of clipping out stuff and releasing it.

[00:19:02] You know, you want those like short 20 second or sound bites that can be pulled out and be interesting on their own.

[00:19:08] But at the same time, we, if you look at what Subaru USA is doing across all their social media stuff, um, they have a lot of TikTok content and, um, Instagram content and all that stuff.

[00:19:24] They already have that.

[00:19:26] And I think in a, if you're trying to build awareness of a brand or of a race program, you want to have like, uh, a well-balanced meal.

[00:19:35] You need some steak, you need some French fries, you need some broccoli, you know, and you, you need a variety of things.

[00:19:43] Some, some stuff has to be really short and digestible and you need some longer pieces that are, um, you know, three minutes or five minutes, like the little recaps that we do.

[00:19:53] And then you need like the, let's dig into this steak and have launch control.

[00:19:57] So it's, it's all of it going together.

[00:20:00] Gotcha.

[00:20:01] I think too, it was interesting.

[00:20:03] I was looking through some old footage on hard drives and when we started this, like drones were really new.

[00:20:09] Like we had the first gen DJI Phantom and you can see like the props are in the shots and pretty, pretty, uh, amateur.

[00:20:18] The first season was shot on, uh, on a 5d.

[00:20:23] I think both of us were working Canon 5ds at the time.

[00:20:27] Yeah.

[00:20:28] Pretty basic.

[00:20:28] And then you see in the shows too now, like we reference social media stuff.

[00:20:33] So we're, we're putting in vertical shots off of Travis's phone and crowdsourced photos and footage from people.

[00:20:40] Um, so that's kind of part of broadcast these days is do you just, you pull from different sources and you integrate all that stuff.

[00:20:46] We also are acknowledging that the show is after the fact.

[00:20:50] So we actually are integrating fan comments on social media and, you know, various posts where we have reactions and we actually put the reactions into the show.

[00:21:00] So you actually see people reacting to the, the moment in time that we're retelling.

[00:21:06] So that's a bit different as well.

[00:21:08] Yeah.

[00:21:08] That'd be nice to see.

[00:21:09] So I'm looking forward to this season.

[00:21:11] And, and so with the, uh, so, you know, you've kind of got the format that you had before with the, the longer format and going back to the narrator, but you were also doing, you know, the, the build series.

[00:21:23] And then, you know, Jim Kana, are you, are there going to be any other additional series besides just the typical launch control that we've been used to for the past several years?

[00:21:34] We want to have launch control, not just event coverage.

[00:21:37] So I think more and more, we're going to start seeing storylines like that interwoven.

[00:21:42] And the big thing about this year is I think it's the first season.

[00:21:45] We've really had a story arc that goes through the whole season.

[00:21:48] So it starts off where Brandon and Travis are in one place where Travis is really struggling, but throughout the course of the series, you see him turn the corner.

[00:22:00] And by the end of the season, they're within a couple of points at the end of the championship.

[00:22:03] And then you've got the project midnight project is integrated into this.

[00:22:08] So we see them testing, going to Goodwood and all that stuff.

[00:22:11] So we don't want to just be race coverage.

[00:22:13] We want the story of the team to come through on this, the traditional launch control format.

[00:22:19] Okay.

[00:22:20] Yeah.

[00:22:20] That'd be nice to see.

[00:22:29] It's for the hardcore audience, but it's something that their girlfriend or boyfriend can come sit and watch too.

[00:22:37] Oh, yeah.

[00:22:38] You don't have to have known every single thing about this sport or about this show.

[00:22:43] You can pick it up and find a human story that is interesting.

[00:22:47] And so from that level, we're trying to be diverse in that way.

[00:22:53] So a lot of this stuff is really flexible when it comes to the content that we're filling.

[00:22:59] Because we don't want it to just be race coverage.

[00:23:03] Yeah, that's a really good point too, because there is more than just race.

[00:23:07] Like you said, there's the whole human element of it in the story arc.

[00:23:12] Because there were episodes that I would show to, the specific ones that I picked out that I would show to my girlfriend and her daughter.

[00:23:18] And they found them interesting and they enjoyed it, even though they didn't really know much about or really anything about Raleigh and stuff.

[00:23:26] But the episode and the story was something that they really liked and enjoyed.

[00:23:33] This year, we sort of see it as a bit of a reboot on that regard.

[00:23:36] So in the first episode, I think you probably have noticed that there was a reintroduction of what is a Raleigh.

[00:23:42] Like, how does a Raleigh work?

[00:23:43] Like, for someone who's followed the show, they might be like, yeah, I know how a Raleigh works.

[00:23:48] But it's been two, three years since we've put out an episode.

[00:23:52] So why not give people a chance to remind themselves or if they haven't been following, okay, what is this sport that I'm watching?

[00:24:01] And, you know, just doing a little bit of that, considering it's been so long and we are considering it like a reboot or reorganization or rethinking of the show.

[00:24:12] We want to almost imagine like no one was watching for those first nine years and just come in fresh.

[00:24:20] And so that's part of this whole thing.

[00:24:23] Yeah.

[00:24:24] I mean, that's a good point, too, because there's, you know, there's always going to be somebody new coming into the Subaru community.

[00:24:29] There's going to be somebody new that's going to start connecting with what Subaru is on the race side of things.

[00:24:37] And, you know, people get connected with other people through Instagram and start learning more about it.

[00:24:42] And then, you know, you find something like launch control.

[00:24:45] And if this is your first time watching it, like you said, then that reintroduction is good for people that may not know anything about it.

[00:24:52] And then that'll get them interested to go back and watch the previous seasons.

[00:24:56] Yeah.

[00:24:57] We want to capture the motorsports people.

[00:25:01] That's kind of a given.

[00:25:02] We're going to have like the Subaru fans, the motorsports fans.

[00:25:05] They're probably going to end up watching this.

[00:25:07] But the whole goal is to cast the net wider.

[00:25:10] So let's bring people into the sport.

[00:25:12] Let's grab the guy who maybe only watches drag racing or he only watches Drive to Survive because it's on Netflix.

[00:25:18] But he's not really a motorsports guy, but we can bring them into the fold and teach them a little bit about the sport, get them excited about going to their nearest rally in the forest and seeing these characters that they've seen on launch control.

[00:25:31] So that's a big goal of the human interest side is cast the net wider.

[00:25:36] Yeah.

[00:25:37] So I know you released the first full episode.

[00:25:39] What was it like a couple of weeks ago?

[00:25:41] Maybe.

[00:25:42] Third episode comes out depending on when this airs.

[00:25:45] The third episode as we record this comes out tomorrow.

[00:25:47] But yeah.

[00:25:49] Yeah.

[00:25:49] It comes out once a week for the next for whatever the 10 weeks.

[00:25:53] Okay.

[00:25:54] So what kind of listenership have you seen with the first episode compared to previous seasons, especially since you haven't done something like this in a while and you're bringing it back to this full episode format?

[00:26:07] I think it's pretty early to know the numbers.

[00:26:10] The show is, you know, is something that grows.

[00:26:15] We've always noticed that the beginning of the season because it's, you know, it's not on Netflix.

[00:26:20] It's you have to hunt it out and your friends have to tell you, oh, dude, launch controls back or, you know, it takes a little bit of revving up.

[00:26:28] The numbers are good.

[00:26:29] The retention numbers are amazing.

[00:26:31] If you start digging into the analytics, like people are not just clicking and going away.

[00:26:36] They're there and they're there for a watch.

[00:26:38] And so there's a lot of positivity around it.

[00:26:42] But again, we're just getting into it.

[00:26:45] We're just revving it up.

[00:26:46] And I think people are going to, it's going to be a slow burn for a long time.

[00:26:50] Okay.

[00:26:51] Yeah.

[00:26:51] That makes sense.

[00:26:51] Yeah.

[00:26:51] I think first couple episodes we've looked at that, the stats are pretty much where we'd expect.

[00:26:57] But none of them have really like every season, we usually have like three or four episodes that really take off.

[00:27:03] For some reason it grabs hold, like the old Mount Washington episodes, things like that.

[00:27:07] So I think this year we'll have a couple like that.

[00:27:10] That'll really go, especially we, we get some insight into Travis Pastrana's life that is really interesting.

[00:27:15] It's a side of Travis.

[00:27:16] Oh, nice.

[00:27:17] Like we've never seen, we've been working with him for 15 years and we've never seen it.

[00:27:20] But he's really starting to look inward and what he's doing with his life.

[00:27:25] And some of that comes out and he has some big decisions to make this year.

[00:27:28] So that's, that's a big story arc in this one.

[00:27:31] It's how he gets through that and turns the corner.

[00:27:34] Yeah.

[00:27:35] I, for Travis and, and, and also Rian, and I was thinking the only way that I might get to meet them is to go out to a rally, but they came to SubiFest, Texas this year.

[00:27:44] So I finally got a chance to meet them and that was really, really cool.

[00:27:48] Nice.

[00:27:48] Yeah.

[00:27:49] Yeah.

[00:27:49] Yeah.

[00:27:49] The SubiFest events are so good for the fans and getting the drivers in front of people and Scott Speed's been having fun.

[00:27:56] So we show that a little bit in this season too.

[00:27:58] Bucky and Scott Speed and all those guys at SubiFest.

[00:28:02] Nice.

[00:28:02] It's a big part of Subaru's culture.

[00:28:04] Good.

[00:28:05] Yeah.

[00:28:05] Yeah.

[00:28:06] It's, I mean, they're, people are huge fans of them and they like watching them racing and, you know,

[00:28:13] especially with Travis and I mean, pretty much with all of them being in action sports, you know,

[00:28:20] so people knew them from somewhere else.

[00:28:22] And so that bringing them into this sport, you know, it's kind of like they already had a following.

[00:28:28] So it just makes it even better if you're already a Subaru fan and you see one of these guys come up and start racing.

[00:28:33] It just makes it even more fun.

[00:28:35] Yeah.

[00:28:36] It's awesome.

[00:28:38] There's a ton of story arcs on, on here this year.

[00:28:41] We, we, you know, Brandon is really eager to get international experience and he wants to, you know, he's,

[00:28:50] he's now a three-time champion.

[00:28:53] And I think he, he's like eager to see what the world of rallying internationally has to offer.

[00:28:59] So we, we follow him to an event there that's coming up.

[00:29:02] We have, we deep dive into Scott.

[00:29:04] I mean, we all know Scott as a like amazing driver and tactician, but there's a lot more behind him and him with project midnight and the development of that car and how quickly it came together and what it had to do at Goodwood.

[00:29:19] Like, it's a pretty exciting new development for that team.

[00:29:22] And like having Scott, I mean, when you have an F1 driver on the payroll and, and he's spending a lot of time, you know, not racing.

[00:29:31] It's really fun to see this guy come back and, and see his excitement for about it all.

[00:29:37] And so there's, there's just these little stories everywhere.

[00:29:41] That's a lot more than just, okay, now we're at this event and let's see what happened there.

[00:29:46] And the events have major consequences.

[00:29:49] They, they, there's, there's heartbreak and there's happiness and there's struggles and there's a fair amount of drama.

[00:29:54] And so we're spending actually quite a bit less time talking about stage winds and, you know, flat tires than we are about like the deeper meanings of what all these guys are going through.

[00:30:08] And it's, it's, uh, I think it's probably more compelling this way and it, and we're just, we're just getting into it too.

[00:30:15] So I think in the future you can expect more and more and more.

[00:30:18] Chris was just in North Carolina filming with Scott.

[00:30:21] I was in Idaho with, uh, Rhiannon and Alex filming with them.

[00:30:25] So there's some good sort of lifestyle stuff.

[00:30:27] You get to meet the people away from the race, which is, which is nice.

[00:30:32] Yeah.

[00:30:32] I mean, that's what, you know, some, one of the great things about launch control is you start to see a lot more stuff than you would otherwise.

[00:30:38] And so, I mean, I think that's why a lot of the people like the series so much is because you get more, get a lot more out of it and you get to get those story arcs and learn more about the people.

[00:30:49] So as far as like, I know you're still working through episodes, but are y'all going to be, I guess y'all are still working on them for the season that needs to be wrapped up.

[00:31:00] We're in the closing end of the, of the season.

[00:31:04] We have like a good number of episodes in the bank and most episodes have been started in one form or another, but yeah, we're still, we're still piecing together the last couple episodes.

[00:31:14] So depending on what is you're wanting to capture, cause I know you have lots and lots of footage that you have to narrow down to what you actually put out into the episode, but is, is it dependent upon what the content is of each episode is how, as far as like how long it takes to do a final edit of each episode?

[00:31:37] Yeah. So usually there's a lead person that manages our story and they write up a report of, you know, the broad stories of what they covered.

[00:31:49] And then they work with myself and Warwick to, to kind of like discuss the larger arc and how it fits in.

[00:31:59] And then basically a storyline is produced without really spending time looking at the footage.

[00:32:06] It's about, you know, the guys who were on the ground that were there, who saw it, who filmed it, who know what it was.

[00:32:12] And then, you know, the senior team who has the, the, the longer vision to be like, how does this fit into a bigger story and how do we build that story?

[00:32:22] So we build that, you know in principle or in, in, in paper form.

[00:32:30] And then our team goes and starts to find the assets and that that's usually how it works.

[00:32:36] Sometimes we realize that we just don't have the, the contents, not as compelling on a certain storyline, or it didn't quite, you know, it wasn't exactly as we remember it because we all have these, like, we all make things feel a little more dramatic than they were or whatever.

[00:32:51] So there's a little bit of ebb and flow and a little bit of adjustment through that process.

[00:32:56] Usually we have, have a good idea of what we want to produce.

[00:32:59] So like, for example, even though we're, you know, we're not filming anymore for launch control this year, that's wrapped.

[00:33:04] We're in the editing process, but I would say like the arc is decided for the whole season.

[00:33:09] We, we basically know what the, what the season is going to be.

[00:33:13] It's just a matter of piecing the, doing the work, but it's a pretty laid out plan.

[00:33:19] Yeah.

[00:33:19] We don't have unlimited budget, so we kind of know how many episodes we're going to get to make.

[00:33:24] And you can kind of work backwards from the end of the season.

[00:33:27] Like, okay, we know LSPR is the final rally, maybe Velocity Festival's in there somewhere.

[00:33:32] And you kind of piece it together, working backwards through all the episodes and start with the beginning of the year and mix it all in there.

[00:33:39] And there's a few events that get a short little recap, little storyline, because they weren't that consequential to the greater story.

[00:33:46] But certainly some episodes are full one, one event because it's so dramatic.

[00:33:52] I mean, if you think about it, there's like, there's nine events, rally events, and then there's 10 episodes.

[00:33:58] And then you add Goodwood to the equation, you add some lifestyle shoots, some testing shoots, you add, you know, some Red Bull events and other things that we might be part of.

[00:34:09] Some Subie events, some community events.

[00:34:13] And you start to recognize that like, you just can't be, you can't do an episode per event.

[00:34:18] So you start to like, then weigh the options on where the strengths are in the studio, in the, in the storyline and where you want to put your time.

[00:34:26] So it's, and then we also knew we wanted to do a sort of reset episode.

[00:34:30] That first episode, I know we don't do a ton of fresh content.

[00:34:34] It's sort of a reminding everyone where, where we are in the, in the lay of the land.

[00:34:38] So even just that one alone, you're sort of burning an episode.

[00:34:42] So that's one less, less event you could cover.

[00:34:45] So it's all a balancing act of figuring out what the big arc is.

[00:34:49] Okay.

[00:34:50] Yeah.

[00:34:52] So being that, you know, launch control, you are following it through the ARA season and, you know, you each have your own respective businesses that you, you know, it's not solely dedicated to Subaru and launch control, but how busy does that keep each of you during the season?

[00:35:08] And are you trying to like put more focus on that and you look at your calendar ahead and, you know, maybe put some other projects off?

[00:35:17] How do y'all balance that with the other work that you were doing?

[00:35:20] Yeah.

[00:35:21] It kind of ebbs and flows.

[00:35:22] Certainly in the back half of the season, I think Chris would say is the busiest for editing because we're now we're putting together episodes and getting all those out.

[00:35:30] We actually made the decision fairly late in the season that we're going to go back to long format.

[00:35:35] So there's a lot of filming to do in the, in the latter half of the season just to get interviews, shop visits, things like that.

[00:35:42] Subaru is a big part of the pie, I think for both of us.

[00:35:45] So, and we're, we're busy all season long.

[00:35:47] Like spring is really busy with events.

[00:35:49] Summer, there's a bit of a more downturn, but we had Goodwood and other things this year.

[00:35:54] So it's pretty consistent throughout the season.

[00:35:56] For us, so much of our business is, is collaborating with other production companies.

[00:36:01] And we work with obviously formula photographic for launch control, but we do have quite a few other clients and it, it takes up a lot of our, our bandwidth.

[00:36:11] So it's, it's rare that we're only working on one project at any given time.

[00:36:15] So it's, but we, but we know when we're doing a launch control that the fall season is going to be a busy one.

[00:36:21] And, and I, and so we just have to make space for that and make sure we had bandwidth at one point.

[00:36:29] There was like 11 editors working on launch control at one point, just to really push the, push the production through very quickly.

[00:36:37] It's a, it's a, it's a great thing to have that kind of bandwidth, but it's also challenging.

[00:36:42] I mean, I come into the office and I start working with the editors and I don't get to my desk till 1130 because I've literally just been working through the editors, making sure they have what they need to move forward on the storyline.

[00:36:54] So it could be, it could be a, a busy time.

[00:36:57] Yeah.

[00:36:58] So with the, you know, you mentioned going back to the longer format, I think for, there's probably more people that like the longer format than the shorter format, I would imagine.

[00:37:07] And because you get more of that story arc.

[00:37:10] So I'm sure a lot of people will be happy to see that back, but are we going to, yeah, I would say that's fair.

[00:37:15] Yeah.

[00:37:16] Are we going to see a launch control again next season?

[00:37:20] We think so.

[00:37:21] Yeah.

[00:37:22] We would like to.

[00:37:23] Yeah.

[00:37:24] I think there's, there's already been talk about it.

[00:37:26] Obviously budgets and things are still to be decided, but we, we've been talking more about like, how do we remove the tie into events quite so much?

[00:37:37] And like, let's do even more story.

[00:37:40] So maybe each episode is like a certain storyline, kind of like drives to survive, but not as segmented to teams.

[00:37:46] But let's, let's pick a storyline and work on that throughout the season.

[00:37:49] And so we'll see what happens.

[00:37:52] There's, there's lots of options.

[00:37:53] And I think Subaru is keen to try different things.

[00:37:57] We won't stray too far from the launch control formula because people like it.

[00:38:01] Yeah.

[00:38:02] I mean, y'all have been around for a while.

[00:38:03] So yeah.

[00:38:04] And there's a lot of fun stuff coming next year.

[00:38:07] None of which I'm allowed to talk about, but there's the, the, the, the season next year.

[00:38:14] I mean, is just, it's going to be interesting.

[00:38:17] There's just, there's just things changing and it's going to be fun.

[00:38:20] So I'm, I want to tell that story because I think it is what's coming next year is super well suited for launch control.

[00:38:29] I think it really needs it, but Hey, I don't, I don't write the checks.

[00:38:33] So, and we don't have a three-year deal with, with signing bonus.

[00:38:39] So we'll, we'll just see how it goes when the, when the, when the, the bean counters put it all together, but we really want to do it.

[00:38:46] Yeah.

[00:38:46] That'd be interesting to see for sure.

[00:38:48] So is there anything else that y'all wanted to share with this season?

[00:38:52] I think the one thing that comes up all the time in comments right now is, Oh, I like the old voice or where's the, where's the old voice?

[00:39:01] And we just keep replying.

[00:39:03] He retired.

[00:39:04] So Brian was our stalwart voiceover guy for 10 years, nine seasons.

[00:39:10] And he's since retired, but Andrew Coley's a great fit.

[00:39:15] He's, he's competed in rallies and he is the voice of rally cross and rally.

[00:39:20] So, and I don't want that to sound like we couldn't get them.

[00:39:25] So we don't have them.

[00:39:25] I think like it, it was not an option, but I think there was a lot of discussion about if we are rebooting this whole thing and, and, and kind of bringing fresh eyes.

[00:39:36] Is it not the right thing to do to bring a new voice for a new, a new decade?

[00:39:41] You know, you know, to think of this a bit differently and, and find someone who was current in the motor sports world, you know, like Coley.

[00:39:50] He is super connected to a lot of different sports.

[00:39:54] He's the commentator for extreme.

[00:39:56] He, or at least he was, I'd have to check that.

[00:39:59] He was the voice of nitro cross until it was paused.

[00:40:02] He, he will probably end up being back at world RX if I had my money on, on a gig.

[00:40:09] So this guy is, this guy is like, uh, he's the right guy for the job.

[00:40:13] And, and as much as there are some people that are saying like, Oh, where's the old voice?

[00:40:16] There's a lot of people that are like into this new fresh take on it.

[00:40:20] So I see the comments.

[00:40:22] I see them on both sides.

[00:40:23] I'm, um, I'm happy that it's not, um, a wave of negativity.

[00:40:27] It's been pretty, uh, pretty positive mostly with the odd people that are a little bit sad, but you know, you always going to look back on those first nine seasons with a bit, a little bit of nostalgia and a little bit of like, how come it's not like that anymore.

[00:40:38] But there's a lot of, uh, a lot of fresh goodness there.

[00:40:42] So I think people are going to, are going to turn, uh, turn to, to recognize the evolution is a good thing.

[00:40:49] And I think we're both quite excited about this season, uh, which when you've done something for 12 plus years as the creatives, you can get a little jaded on it.

[00:40:59] But this year we're both like, Oh, that's a really cool, like that, that part was really neat.

[00:41:03] I love that we have this story.

[00:41:04] I love that we're seeing insights into different things and it's, it's still fresh for us.

[00:41:09] So that is hopefully the same for the viewers.

[00:41:11] Yeah.

[00:41:12] And then they, the narrator you have now, he was on video in some of the previous, uh, episodes, right?

[00:41:18] Yeah.

[00:41:19] Yeah.

[00:41:19] He was brought in as a journalist commentator, but yeah, he's a long time motor sports enthusiast.

[00:41:26] And, and like, I wish I could read you the emails that he sent us.

[00:41:30] Like he's like, uh, over the moon that he gets to be the guy that says this is launch control.

[00:41:35] You know, he's pretty stoked about it.

[00:41:37] And, um, and every time someone has a negative comment, he's like, can I write back?

[00:41:41] And I was like, just let it be, man.

[00:41:43] You see the other 12 comments of happiness.

[00:41:45] Like you're good.

[00:41:47] You're good.

[00:41:47] We're, we're very happy.

[00:41:48] So he's awesome.

[00:41:50] Uh, and, and, and the fact that he cares so much is been a real joy and, uh, and, and really

[00:41:56] a positive spin for us.

[00:41:58] And who doesn't like listening to a British accent?

[00:42:01] Come on.

[00:42:02] British, British accent is racing.

[00:42:04] Is it not?

[00:42:05] Yeah.

[00:42:05] I mean, you know, and since he's been on there before, it's not like he's an unrecognizable

[00:42:10] character or voice, you know?

[00:42:13] So, cause when I was listening to it, I, I recognized his voice and thought like, this

[00:42:18] guy sounds familiar.

[00:42:19] And then when I saw his name on it, I was like, okay, I think he's been on there before.

[00:42:24] And so, but yeah, I mean, I like it and I, you know, doing something new, doing something

[00:42:28] different and always is always good.

[00:42:31] You know, you're still kind of going back to the original formula that you had with the

[00:42:35] longer format.

[00:42:36] And I think people really like that.

[00:42:38] It is still definitely launch control a hundred percent.

[00:42:41] And, uh, and the new voice is, is just an, an, a new set of spice on top of a, a well

[00:42:48] organized recipe.

[00:42:50] Yep.

[00:42:51] Well, I didn't have any other questions, but, uh, I want to say thank you both for coming

[00:42:54] on and talking about the new season.

[00:42:56] And I'm really excited to watch it and, uh, I know other people are going to be as well.

[00:43:01] Yeah.

[00:43:01] Thanks so much.

[00:43:02] Everybody go watch it on YouTube.

[00:43:04] Yeah.

[00:43:04] Subaru's YouTube channel.

[00:43:06] Yeah.

[00:43:06] So I'm also, yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to announce that I'm putting this episode out

[00:43:11] that I recorded with y'all.

[00:43:12] Cause normally I usually don't announce it until, you know, the day that it comes out, but since

[00:43:18] this is what it is and I'm excited about it and I know other people are really excited

[00:43:22] about launch control.

[00:43:22] So I want to share that I recorded with y'all just to get the word out there a little bit

[00:43:26] more and maybe get some more buzz going about the show.

[00:43:29] Well, I appreciate that, man.

[00:43:30] And when I saw your email, it was like, oh cool.

[00:43:33] He's, he's still, he's into it.

[00:43:36] He's into it.

[00:43:36] So I was happy to see that email.

[00:43:38] Yeah.

[00:43:38] Let's go.

[00:43:39] Definitely.

[00:43:40] Can y'all send me the new logo?

[00:43:41] Yeah.

[00:43:42] 100%.

[00:43:42] Okay.

[00:43:43] Awesome.

[00:43:43] Well, thanks again.

[00:43:44] I really appreciate your time and, uh, looking forward to seeing the rest of the episodes.

[00:43:50] Right on, man.

[00:43:50] Awesome.

[00:43:51] Um, enjoy.

[00:43:51] Really?

[00:43:52] Let us know what you think.

[00:43:53] I will.

[00:43:53] All right.

[00:43:54] Y'all have a good night.

[00:43:55] Hey, you too.

[00:43:56] You too.

[00:43:56] All right.

[00:43:56] Bye.

[00:43:58] Thanks.

[00:43:59] Hey, thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Subi and you podcast.

[00:44:03] I hope you enjoyed this conversation with Warwick Patterson and Christopher Bowes and to learn

[00:44:08] more about what we can expect to see in season 12 of Subaru Launch Control.

[00:44:13] Again, if you have not been watching it this season, I highly recommend going to check it out.

[00:44:18] You can just go to YouTube and type in Subaru Launch Control 2024 and it'll bring up all of the episodes that they have so far.

[00:44:27] So, they're coming out every Wednesday, every week.

[00:44:30] I believe that's the schedule.

[00:44:31] So, uh, when this episode comes out, then we'll be up to, we'll be coming up to episode 12.5 this Wednesday.

[00:44:40] So, if you haven't watched the previous four, go check them out.

[00:44:45] Go catch up.

[00:44:46] And, uh, so you can see what's happening and prepare for the season to continue on.

[00:44:53] You can follow Warwick Patterson at Formula Photo and you can follow Christopher Bowes at Bowes Media Inc.

[00:45:00] And then, of course, we've got Subaru Motorsports USA, Vermont Sports Car, and, obviously, Subaru USA.

[00:45:07] So, go check out the season and, uh, give it a watch.

[00:45:12] I trust you will like it.

[00:45:13] It's, uh, it's very, very good.

[00:45:15] So, anyway, thanks for tuning in and hope you all have a great week.

[00:45:19] Christmas is almost here, so be prepared.

[00:45:22] Anyway, we'll talk to you later.

[00:45:24] Much Subi love.

[00:45:25] Raph.

[00:45:27] The Subi and You podcast is hosted by Raphael in a Closet in Houston,

[00:45:31] produced by Raphael in a Room next to the Closet in Houston,

[00:45:34] and edited by Raphael on a computer in the Room next to the Closet in Houston,

[00:45:39] with music by Luke Ruiz in another room in Houston.

[00:45:43] You can find the Subi and You podcast wherever you listen to podcasts,

[00:45:46] including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and many more.

[00:45:49] To support the podcast, please head over to patreon.com slash subiandupodcast.

[00:45:55] Once you join, you will have access to the Discord channel and Discord chats with other patrons.

[00:46:00] If you'd like to get in contact with the show, you can find them on Instagram at subiandupodcast,

[00:46:05] online at subiandupodcast.com, or by email, subiandupodcast at gmail.com.

[00:46:12] That's all for this week.