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Clarification
Before we go too far here I think I should calrify a few things. First, I agree with Chris - getting good video is an art. Even with only one camera it is not the easiest thing to do, and with multiple cameras, you need a producer to call the shots. Who hasn't gotten motion sickness from watching amateur home video?! Yes tripods can help, but selecting and framing shots well is truly a skill that must be learned. That aside . . .
The webcasts are one of NASA's many contributions to FIRST and at each event NASA puts a considerable amount of effort into pulling them off by coordinating with FIRST staff, networking staff on-site, and the FIRST-contracted AV production crew. But at this point there is really no way to turn the webcasts into productions of their own. There are limited financial reousrces along with limited "people" resources, not to mention that all of the NASA people handling the webcasts have "real" jobs to do before and after the events.
So we ARE interested in figuring out how we can make the webcasts better, but there is very little chance of implementing any sort of large-scale web-based production - reality is that the webcasts are a "bonus" and not a critical element to the success of individual events. So keep the suggestions coming - I can promise you that we are listening and that all of us here at NASA doing the webcasts are avid FIRST supporters ourselves. Just don't be too disapointed if the webcasts won't be winning any Academy awards too soon! They are designed to be one way of allowing remote team members and other interested people to be able to be a little more connected to the event, but they will never be prime-time (or at least not any time soon!).
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