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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 23, 2015 13:50:58 GMT
As I head into the fall and winter months, which will have clouds but hopefully less haze as wildfires eventually are extinguished, I've been thinking a lot about different kinds of broadcasts. Like most of you, I logon to NSN or VAL and see who's on and what they are doing with their broadcasts. Of course, the vast majority of them are "same ol same ol" - slewing from object to object with a few tweaks and mostly social chat. For me, sometimes, I'm looking for something else.
One broadcaster has a regular sketching show, which is very cool. That is maybe the most unique broadcast purpose I have seen so far. I love that idea and it inspires me to come up with other ways to spread Astronomy and applied Video Astronomy.
When a new Mallincam camera comes out, you can count on Chris to do live testing and even some tutorials on NSN. Jack will also do some testing. Hey, even I was fortunate to do some testing - being one of the first to get a Mallincam All-Sky Cam.
But outside of that, there is not much more from a "live" educational standpoint that I have seen. There are a lot of great YouTube videos, especially Ken's, that can give folks and education on-demand. But what about "live education"? Where people could interact and ask questions? I know Dr. Dave and a couple others will give a lot of details and information on the object that they are showing at the time.
I wanted to start a Live Spectroscopy Project this summer, but between an unusual amount of rain/clouds and haze from Canada and California, the number of clear nights (especially clear nights in a row when developing a project) was too few.
So, I guess I'm asking for your input on what you think broadcast viewers are looking for. What are they hoping to see? Just nebulae, galaxies, & clusters? Do they want to learn simple Astrophysics? Do they want to learn how to do Video Astronomy themselves? What questions do the guests and lurkers have?
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 25, 2015 11:47:41 GMT
Interesting questions Rick. I too wonder how I can improve my broadcasts and make them more interesting. All I can do is share my observations (pun unintended) with you and hope it helps: - I have considered doing a set program with all the objects that night pre-selected and use a script for the commentary, - I have also considered longer times on each object and doing an Astrophysics lesson on each object in great detail, - and I have considered detailed constellations nights, where I do a tour of objects in a particular constellation each broadcast, and do commentary on each object. I did do some short tests of each style and found out the same answer for each one. While they are great fun doing them, they don't work for the viewers. Any of these ideas may work when broadcasting at USA night time, but my night time for broadcasting is USA morning, Europe midday, and UK early afternoon making it hard for viewers to stay. I do have my regular 5 or so viewers that stay on for my whole broadcasts even when I do a 6 hour long show! but everyone else from USA, Europe, UK, and even here in Australia tend to stay for a very short time then have to either get to work, get back to work, lunch break is over, or knock off work and travel home. Other fellow Aussies have to get to bed So, as you can see Rick, I have to design my broadcasts for short term visits by viewers. I usually get a lot of viewers but the majority can only spare about 30 minutes to stay watching. And the 30 minutes are spread throughout my broadcasts. As some leave, more come in, and it rolls along like that all night. What this means is that I can't do a scripted program because people simply can't stay for it. However, what I have found with my viewers is that they enjoy asking to see things even though I showed it 15 minutes earlier, but most weren't watching 15 minutes ago, so I end up showing the same 15 - 20 objects over and over each time as the viewer list changes throughout the night. I find that the request method works best for my time slot. Because 90% of my viewers are from the Northern Hemisphere they want to see southern objects that they have no hope of even seeing. And it works well. But for your time slot Rick, you would tend to get long term viewers each night who have the time to stay and watch a 'show' or a scripted planned program.
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 25, 2015 14:39:09 GMT
Great thoughts, Ken. I didn't consider the differences in viewers based upon the time zone, that really makes a difference.
I love the idea of a script and it could even have a theme.
I also love the "constellation" study, that is truly an original one -- haven't seen that idea before anywhere!
I just need some weather luck to get on enough to poll the logged in users to see what they'd like to see. I tend to get a lot of guests, so maybe I just need to try something and see if I get any feedback. I wish I could change my channel name to Rick in NWArk. Sigh.
--Rick
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Post by Dragon Man on Sept 25, 2015 15:24:54 GMT
Rick, ask Joe to change your Channel name. Jim did it for one of the broadcasters. Joe should be able to too.
Yeah, with the constellation broadcasts, I selected a constellation for the night and showed as many objects as possible in that one constellation and explained what each object was and how they affect other objects in the same constellation, etc. I did it on two occasions using 2 different constellations but it didn't work due to the reasons I posted above, and I abandoned the idea.
But it would work well for you. You would have your viewers for hours.
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Post by davy on Sept 25, 2015 17:03:27 GMT
great discussion guys. my insight to the broadcasting is it's a bit hit and miss just now,the time zones are a pain in the backside,i go on to nsn and there are no broadcasters, I try later and all I get is solar astronomy,,sorry guys no disrespect,i just haven't been bitten by the bug yet,,it may also be a fear factor,,only got one decent eye to work with and I have the fear it will be burnt out my head with a dodgey solar film on a scope lol . there are a lot of good broadcasters on nsn im not kissing the proverbial when I say two of my fave broadcasters are ken and dr dave,this is because of there different styles of broadcasting,,,, ken's are relaxed and informal with great banter then we have dr dave with his broadcasts and his vast knowledge of space ect.. tutorials,,,great idea you get first hand advice on set ups and how to do it,,some nights you will have fantastic views other nights you cant get a decent view of the moon because of bad seeing conditions,software problems,equipment failure....even this is great we get to see va in all it's glory and failures. me personaly I would like to see tutorials on observing the moon with va,you could spend a lifetime looking at the moon and not get bored,,can tell im a big fan of it,i don't know what it is I just love looking at the moon,,,must be a werewolf or something lol. education,,yip we could do more and in fact we should,,we should try and bring it all together by helping nsn and val (video astronomy live ) do this to ensure video has a future,not that I don't think it will,video astronomy is growing more popular month by month ,viewing guests have grown quite well and we no find new members posting having said they have been reading our forum posts,,so new must be doing something right. beaming live video into a classroom how amazing would that have been when we were at school,having the ability to educate is a true gift and we all should promote this.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2015 23:46:37 GMT
Hello Rick,
This is an interesting thread for me as I've also been thinking along the same lines and I mention this on the VAL home page about how a broadcaster may be doing a live tutorial or simply chatting astronomy via his or her webcam. I have also had some inquiries recently from astronomy clubs looking for a channel to do live talks and lectures. For me this is quite important as we are not then completely reliant on the weather! I am also now looking into having a live video chat room for say up to 8 screens on one page. This could be planned for like a meeting with schedule of topics or just a general chit chat... Anyway I'm pleased you brought it up and I'll keep peeled to see what other ideas come up.
Thanks
Karl
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Post by davy on Sept 26, 2015 8:13:36 GMT
great idea for a multi chat setion on talks ect,,,great idea,,, would be good seeing lectures beamed into your site from other astronomy clubs,,,big thumbs up on that idea. davy
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Sept 28, 2015 21:15:14 GMT
I agree, Karl, those are some great great ideas!
I am simply a fan of "freedom of broadcasting" as long as it is furthering Astronomy, Astrophysics, Video Astronomy, Imaging, etc. etc. etc. its good. I know people can fall into patterns where they expect a certain number of objects seen per hour. But even that is now changing as more people start using AstroToaster (stacking). Even Miloslick was "cheating" for some broadcast sites.
I think at the end, if you set viewers expectations ahead of time, there will be few complaints. The upside is much higher.
--Rick
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