This is basically the full 7 hour install of the two FTA satellite dishes we put in for SpaceVidcast.com. There was a bit of a connection issue so it got broken in to two sections. Might be best to skip through them a bit to see the progress. Enjoy!
Earlier I posted that I was using Bluefox to design my live show graphics for SpaceVidcast.com (which was earlier called NASASpaceCast.com and may change names again before we launch.) The problem with using a talented graphic designer is that they are super busy all day and night designing, so it can be hard to get extremely fast yet pretty graphics out of them.
Yesterday I decided I should probably have a plan B and designed my own live streaming graphics. This is what I came up with:
Not bad but really nothing different than what anyone else has done. Later in the evening around 2:00am or so I was able to meet up with Bluefox and a couple hours later he was able to crank this out:
That’s pretty freaking cool but doesn’t quite work with the graphics. So a few minutes later this came my way:
That’s even better. Logo is a bit smaller to allow for more text and there is more usable area for objects at the bottom while still remaining very sleek and web 2.0 looking. Finally Bluefox thought that there may be a way to reduce the footprint even more and still allow for text, or possibly use both the last image and the following image in two different scenarios:
Even smaller logo but it still comes across in the stream beautifully and an even smaller footprint but you’ll see we were still able to fit all of the text on there in the same font size.
Bluefox isn’t done but it got to be around 4:00am CST and we were both tired and called it a night. The graphic at the top that I did doesn’t even begin to compare to a couple hours work for Bluefox. This is why I use a pro graphic designer, and you should too. My next task for Bluefox: fix my blog theme!
I am working on a new personal project which right now is known as NASASpaceCast.com (no domain there yet so no actual link). This will be a weekly live video podcast on all things space flight as well as live coverage of NASA space missions including the upcoming STS-123 flight to the International Space Station.
So far I have many pieces of the puzzle in place. I already own all the audio gear myself (I have some pretty kick butt gear), I have the computer but what was missing was the video side and the show image. The video portion of the show is near completion with a new revision of CamTwist from Steve Green (it is going to be uber cool). The show image (branding) is being worked on by BlueFox AKA Sean Blake (one of my favorite designers) and below is the first draft of what you’re going to start to see.
This of course is just the logo and will be the basis for what all of the show graphic, advertising banners and templates look like. I also need to make a final decision on domain name. The options I have are: NASASpaceCast.com, SpaceVideocast.com, SpaceVidcast.com and SpaceFlightCast.com. If you have a preference please leave it in the comments below. Personally I go between NASASpaceCast.com and SpaceVidcast.com. What I really want is Spacecast.com but that’s not going to happen as it is already taken by a TV network (curses!)
The final steps will be to create a theme song, which I’ll start working on soon and finish up the show outline. I’m really close to release, about 80% there. Then again I was 75% of the way there about 2 months ago. I’m in the stages where one element can hold up the whole thing. Unlike other live videocasts and podcasts I want to ensure that I have fantastic production values and make a show that is fun and interesting to watch week after week. Content is king but it needs to be fun too!
Keep watching Bencredible.com for more interesting announcements and behind-the-scenes info on NASASpaceFlight, the Compass Networks (more on that soon), and the resurrection of the old TechnologyEvangelist.com podcasts under a new brand. Very exciting stuff is headed your way soon! I’ll keep updating everyone on the progress of these projects here.