Must See NASA-TV
Tue, December 08, 2009 Filed in: NASA | Television
Making pocket protectors entertaining and not looking too stupid in the process. In short, That’s what NASA Edge has to do. Also, make it cheap...to produce. Edge does this pretty well. Well, I’m assuming they are making it cheap since they are still around.
“RUN THE VIDEO FILE....AGAIN”
“NASA Edge” is a NASA-TV show. NASA-TV doesn’t have much of a viewing audience outside of when a shuttle is flying, and most of it’s viewership seems web based. The channel doesn’t program itself in a way to make it something you sit down to watch. It’s random to say the least and the last channel that tried that is rethinking their whole organization. One of the saving graces for NASA Edge is it’s also a podcast, available on iTunes, the NASA site and the usual pod channels. Otherwise, you would have no idea when it’s on, being the TV equivalent of the Mars Climate Orbiter.
One of the producing challenges of a show of this type is how to interview dry, scared, acronym-speaking overachievers and not make it a college poly-sci lecture with all of it’s tryptophanian features. Ok, to be fair, not every rocket scientist at NASA is dry, but as I type this, I am 7 minutes into an NASA-TV show interview about space food. Maybe it’s the constantly looping vamp music has got me just about ready to take a life. Assuming making fun of your guest it not an option, you have to find the fun another way. NASA Edge turned to a tried and true “Abbott and Costello” style team, with primary hosts Chris Giersch and Blair Allen. The Costello character is not that easy to pull off. Being an effective goofball is hard work. It’s very easy to end up looking just plain stupid...unwatchably stupid. The alternative is the type of host who, well....NASA TV also seems to have it’s own robotics program.
“YOU MUST BE USING A FILTER”
Chris plays the straight role, while not coming across as a know-it-all, and Blair Allen does a really nice job being the likable buffoon. You get the idea that he’s not really stupid, he just misses some things along the way. He doesn’t take the character too far, and that’s a trick that’s hard to master. While goofing around in an Aries simulator, you still get good info on what it’s like inside the thing. Chris’ interviews have good questions and it truly comes off as a conversation and not a list of questions he was told to get through in a minute-30. The rest of the on-air team of Franklin Fitzgerald and the recently added Jaqueline Mirielle Cortez mix in pretty well, especially Franklin, although I think four hosts is pushing it. To me that waters it down a bit. My gut tells me Jaqueline was added to have a woman on the show and they haven’t quite figured out what to do with her yet. And every so often, Chris comes off as a bit too nasty to Blair. My vote would be to keep Blair as the crazy uncle you just smile at and ignore.
On some technical notes, the show looks and sounds great. Good sounding lav mics, quality field audio (not easy to do), nice camera matching, edits in all the right places, lack of cheesy cutaways designed to make it look “cool” and the biggest sin of many NASA-TV shows...insipid soundtracks and sound effects. Watching NASA-TV shows is a tour of every “zip” “zoink!” “eek! eek!” and “woooop!” ever created. NASA Edge also keeps the funny even in the technical. One show had Blair up against a movie screen doing some silly presentation. The projector light was half across his body, but they let all that bad lighting and blown out video stay in the shot. It was part of the funny. It may seem like a simple thing, but trust me, not many producers let reality be funny. The NASA Edge logo is a bit....well....and I have grown tired of the “inside outside look at all things...” line. It’s said too many times. But the show open is very well done. I do wonder why Franklin got stuck being an SRB hitting the water. He deserves better.
WHERE IS CRAFT SERVICES?
The show’s web site lists Ron Beard and Don Morrison as pretty much “the crew”. I would think there are a few interns tossed in, but I can imagine most of this show is done by a very small team. And, sorry guys, I know you will disagree, but this keeps the show looking tight. Not so many hands in the Final Cut Pro timeline.
I hope this show gets to stay around for awhile. They travel, so I know they have a larger budget then, say, “Focus on Marshall”. If Aries goes away, there’s not going to be much to talk about. They say NASA makes things look easy, few really know how hard the job is. I think it’s safe to say the same thing about NASA Edge. I’ve done TV for.....awhile. I’ve done what they are doing. It’s not easy, but they make it look like just four people wondering around. Easy, right?
Ok, now who has questions about space food. I am sooo schooled.
“NASA Edge” is a NASA-TV show. NASA-TV doesn’t have much of a viewing audience outside of when a shuttle is flying, and most of it’s viewership seems web based. The channel doesn’t program itself in a way to make it something you sit down to watch. It’s random to say the least and the last channel that tried that is rethinking their whole organization. One of the saving graces for NASA Edge is it’s also a podcast, available on iTunes, the NASA site and the usual pod channels. Otherwise, you would have no idea when it’s on, being the TV equivalent of the Mars Climate Orbiter.
One of the producing challenges of a show of this type is how to interview dry, scared, acronym-speaking overachievers and not make it a college poly-sci lecture with all of it’s tryptophanian features. Ok, to be fair, not every rocket scientist at NASA is dry, but as I type this, I am 7 minutes into an NASA-TV show interview about space food. Maybe it’s the constantly looping vamp music has got me just about ready to take a life. Assuming making fun of your guest it not an option, you have to find the fun another way. NASA Edge turned to a tried and true “Abbott and Costello” style team, with primary hosts Chris Giersch and Blair Allen. The Costello character is not that easy to pull off. Being an effective goofball is hard work. It’s very easy to end up looking just plain stupid...unwatchably stupid. The alternative is the type of host who, well....NASA TV also seems to have it’s own robotics program.
“YOU MUST BE USING A FILTER”
Chris plays the straight role, while not coming across as a know-it-all, and Blair Allen does a really nice job being the likable buffoon. You get the idea that he’s not really stupid, he just misses some things along the way. He doesn’t take the character too far, and that’s a trick that’s hard to master. While goofing around in an Aries simulator, you still get good info on what it’s like inside the thing. Chris’ interviews have good questions and it truly comes off as a conversation and not a list of questions he was told to get through in a minute-30. The rest of the on-air team of Franklin Fitzgerald and the recently added Jaqueline Mirielle Cortez mix in pretty well, especially Franklin, although I think four hosts is pushing it. To me that waters it down a bit. My gut tells me Jaqueline was added to have a woman on the show and they haven’t quite figured out what to do with her yet. And every so often, Chris comes off as a bit too nasty to Blair. My vote would be to keep Blair as the crazy uncle you just smile at and ignore.
On some technical notes, the show looks and sounds great. Good sounding lav mics, quality field audio (not easy to do), nice camera matching, edits in all the right places, lack of cheesy cutaways designed to make it look “cool” and the biggest sin of many NASA-TV shows...insipid soundtracks and sound effects. Watching NASA-TV shows is a tour of every “zip” “zoink!” “eek! eek!” and “woooop!” ever created. NASA Edge also keeps the funny even in the technical. One show had Blair up against a movie screen doing some silly presentation. The projector light was half across his body, but they let all that bad lighting and blown out video stay in the shot. It was part of the funny. It may seem like a simple thing, but trust me, not many producers let reality be funny. The NASA Edge logo is a bit....well....and I have grown tired of the “inside outside look at all things...” line. It’s said too many times. But the show open is very well done. I do wonder why Franklin got stuck being an SRB hitting the water. He deserves better.
WHERE IS CRAFT SERVICES?
The show’s web site lists Ron Beard and Don Morrison as pretty much “the crew”. I would think there are a few interns tossed in, but I can imagine most of this show is done by a very small team. And, sorry guys, I know you will disagree, but this keeps the show looking tight. Not so many hands in the Final Cut Pro timeline.
I hope this show gets to stay around for awhile. They travel, so I know they have a larger budget then, say, “Focus on Marshall”. If Aries goes away, there’s not going to be much to talk about. They say NASA makes things look easy, few really know how hard the job is. I think it’s safe to say the same thing about NASA Edge. I’ve done TV for.....awhile. I’ve done what they are doing. It’s not easy, but they make it look like just four people wondering around. Easy, right?
Ok, now who has questions about space food. I am sooo schooled.