Cariann and I have been looking for a place to put SpaceVidcast. We’re starting to get scary popular and I want to take the videocast to the next level. That means I need a studio and C-Band satellite.
Originally I was looking in Minneapolis, but that’s scary expensive. Then last Thursday at Best Buy headquarters I ran in to CAFN8ED who some of you may remember from back in the TE days. He mentioned that his coffee shop, Crow River Coffee Company, had a very large and very creepy basement as well as a concrete slab that we could put a C-Band dish on.
Later that day Cariann and I popped over to Watertown to take a peek at what he had. Saying it needs a ton of work would be an understatement. Check it out (and note the creepy handprints on the wall):
There are basically two rooms that will become one. There is a huge wooden wall that will come down, and all the stuff you see in the rooms will be pulled out and recycled/thrown away. From there the ceilings are about 9 feet tall… which is a wee bit strange. My concerns are that there is no HVAC in the room so it can get bitterly cold in there, we will need to carpet the whole place and make it acoustically sound, and I’ll want to put up some sort of light grid to get the lights of the way but I’m not sure there is enough height for that. Oh yeah, and one of the main support beams has a LOT of rust on it.
Being that is the a LOT less money than moving SVC to downtown Minneapolis, I’m game to try and make it work. Worst case scenario I’m just out some time and work that would go in to cleaning the place up. I’m excited because this is exactly what is needed to make SpaceVidcast grow even faster.
When it is all said and done we’ll have a studio that can be used for a ton of things including SpaceVidcast. Oh yeah, and we’ll have the resources to bring in a live audience and feed them! How cool is THAT?
I’d like to assume that a 9 feet tall room won’t be sufficient for a relaxed and happy studio. At least if you imagine all the lamps and stuff at the ceiling.
Besides, if there is an audience in the studio, I imagine them not to just sit on the same level row after row, but rather in seat rows that are rising with each row being on a slightly higher podest level. Maybe each row half a foot higher ?
I wonder if the room height would be still sufficient for that kind of audience “layout” ?
I would suggest to look for one more location and take a decision then.
Nice post. Thank you for the info. Keep it up.
Twostone: You make a good point. Honestly, though, I’m not sure just how many people would be willing to come all the way out to Watertown to come see us in person. I guess you never know. But other than that… the lights are not too much of a problem… we have some on their own stands, so it wouldn’t be horrible. Other than that, it really comes down to the amount of width we have in order to have more than one camera angle… more than you think. It may end up working, but at this point, we’re just not sure. I’m sure Ben will update here if/and/or when there is an update to be had…
-Cariann
so when are you going to hire me so i can come out there and work for svc full time
Wish we could all be there to help you make it work. ;P