Hiya, backers. Some of you are probably wondering what ever happened to Big Questions. This is, while not a Big Question, certainly a fair one. The short answer is: Life. Life happened. Things intruded, time went by, and well, here we are. Let me assure you, however, that your dough remains well spent, and that Big Questions will, as planned, premiere here on the Web in the near future. It'll be worth the wait, I think, and I hope you'll agree. In the meantime, thanks for your patience, and, as always, for your support.

Where's Big Questions been? Excellent question! It's been being born, is the answer, although at this point I'm very glad I wasn't much more specific on a target date than "2010." Other projects, all more pressing, have intervened, and so has Life, in its way. But: The BQ train is still on the tracks and moving. Thanks for your patience, and see you later this year.

Yes we are. Here's a short promo video I shot for some friends as an exercise, and I'm more or less pleased with it as a test of the video and audio gear. That said, I see some things that can be done better. Basic camera technique, mostly. I'll be doing some original music for the pilot, or at least some original bumpers and cues, so don't be too alarmed about the obviously canned stuff you hear here. I'm also hoping to include some animation, but Final Cut may have the final word on that.

Next up: A two-track kind of deal, as I do lighting and sound tests and start editorial work on the pilot, starting with basic research and storyboarding. Oh, also: I've settled on a question, and it's maybe the biggest Big Question there is. Why think small?

Thanks for all your input, and stay tuned: Big Questions is coming!

Hello backers! It's spring and Big Questions is moving along in a post-hibernation mode. I'd always figured that the pilot would be heavily front-loaded with the kind of basic, learning-the-tools sort of work that would pay off in subsequent episodes... and indeed it is. I'm learning the tools, and also spending a good deal of time getting a separate large project off the ground. Once that's accomplished, work on the pilot episode of Big Questions will begin in earnest, and you'll all see the result later this year.

One other bit of business: Two of you have been waiting patiently for delivery of your custom Big Questions Pez dispensers, and I'm pleased to tell you they've just arrived from artist Steve White. So I'll be turning those around and getting them out to you this week.

Happy spring, everybody, and I'll continue to update you as the project moves along.

...because we are all about the info.

...continues apace, whatever that means, although to be honest (because I'm always honest with you, backers) at the moment pre-production mostly consists of clearing the decks. I'm getting another big project, this one in the old-fashioned dead medium of print, out the office door first, and then turning the full blinding power of my attention to a crash course in video/audio/Final Cut. Which should be fun*. My guess, or maybe it's my hope, is that the wheels of Big Questions will be really turning by spring. As always, of course, I'll keep you all posted.

*Hellish.

You know, the power and sophistication of Final Cut positively makes me long for the pokey little toy that is iMovie. What I'm saying is, there's a lot to learn. Add to that arcane concepts of lighting and audio recording and trying to remember which end of the camera to look into (hint -- it's not the big one, which tends to get smudgy with eye goo) -- well, pre-production continues. Hoping to get a quick and dirty camera test up this week so at least you can get a sense of how much more splendidly beautiful BQ video is going to be than the murky little webcammed updates I posted during fundraising. Yes, despite what I said below, you backers have a right to see what you paid for, no matter how maladroit it may be at this early stage. So stay tuned.

Dear backers: You break it, you bought it. Oh wait: you already did.

Many thanks!

As I wait for the last of the production gear to hit my doorstep (and I do mean "hit" -- I hid in the shrubs one day with a radar gun and clocked the UPS guy, proving that he throws harder than Nolan Ryan and runs away faster than Usain Bolt), I've been doing some camera tests. And here's what I've learned:

1) HD is not your friend if you're unshaven, haggard, or bloated from too many Cokes.

2) See #1.

I thought briefly about posting one of the tests here. Then I thought: No. No, I don't think I'll do that.

Stage 2 camera tests (with lights, offboard mics and maybe a wee bit of pancake for your host) later this week.

Hello, backers. A quick update to let you know that the first batch of premiums is in the mail and should be reaching you in the next week. The only ones that haven't shipped are the Pez dispensers, and I still hope to get those out before the end of the month. In other news, Amazon Payments finally got up offa that thing, "that thing" in this case being the pledged funds, and I ordered most of the project gear this morning. Next step will be to get accomplished with the hardware and software your pledges have paid for, and I hope to have achieved enough proficiency to actually start editorial work early in February. As always, I'll keep you posted. And as always, my thanks to you for your generous support of BIG QUESTIONS.

Just a quick note to let you all know that premiums are in the works. Books will go out this week, and I hope to have the wristbands and anti-robot keychains in hand for shipping next week. (The keychains apparently ran into some FCC issues at the border. I didn't get the story completely straight, but it seems the cloaking technology works on the same part of the frequency spectrum as a couple of major communications satellite and, well, long story short, they almost knocked DirecTV off the air during the BCS game. It's all straightened out now, though. As far as I know the wristbands are just wristbands.)

Thanks again for your support, and I hope the New Year is treating you well.

Hey backers -- While I'm waiting out the mandatory 14-day hold Amazon slaps on collected funds -- yes, that's right, it's harder to collect money from Amazon than it is to buy a gun -- I'm busying myself with some pre-production chores... one of which is settling on a Big Question for the pilot episode. What would you like to see me tackle in the pilot? Fire away, right here.

We celebrated New Year's around here by collecting your pledges to our successful funding campaign. Again: Many thanks. Your generosity has made the BIG QUESTIONS pilot possible, and it'll be coming your way a little later this year. Before that can happen, though, a few other things have to happen:

SWAG TIME!
Those of you who selected premiums to go along with your pledges will be hearing from me shortly. The custom Pezzes may take a bit of time, as they're created individually and to order by an actual Starving Artist. The other premiums will take a bit less time. I hope to have all the premiums out and in your hands by the end of January.

GEAR UP.
I have my eye on a good basic package of A/V equipment, including the following:

CANON VIXIA HF S100 HD VIDEO CAMERA: A high-end consumer camcorder. The quality of the consumer-grade cams is so good these days that the incremental expense required to buy a low-end pro model doesn't seem to me to be worth it at this stage. The Canon produces gorgeous video at a very reasonable price.
RODE STEREO VIDEOMIC: A solid external mic that can be used onboard or on a boom.
LAV MIC (WIRED): Still looking at possibilities here. The wireless models are sweet, but pricey.
A BASIC LIGHT KIT.
POOR MAN'S STEADICAM: An intriguing gadget built and sold by this guy. Properly used, it gives you thousands of dollars worth of picture quality for about forty bucks.
FINAL CUT: Apple's very good editing software.
DROBO: A sort of RAID, for you gearheads. For you non-gearheads, a device that backs up and protects the enormous quantity of data produced when you shoot high-quality video.

That's the package, more or less. (Those of you who have experience in this area, feel free to weigh in with suggestions or alternate ideas.) It should enable me to produce a great-looking product at a modest price, provided I...

STUDY UP.
I'll need to invest a little time in learning how the camera works, teaching myself the rudiments of lighting and audio, and getting proficient with Final Cut. The Poor Man's Steadicam also has a bit of a learning curve, apparently. The time invested here will allow me to put out the best-looking pilot possible.

REPORT IT.
This, frankly, will take the least amount of time, as it's the thing I've done in some fashion for my whole career. There will be fits and starts in the transition from print reporting to video, but on the whole this part of the process should go fairly smoothly and efficiently.

PRODUCE IT.
This part is a bit of a question mark. New gear, new software, new practices... It may go fast, or it may go slow. The stuff I learn along the way, however, will make the production of subsequent episodes go all the more quickly. (He said brightly.)

SHOW IT AROUND.
...for comment and criticism.

POLISH THAT BABY.
A last lick or two.

PUBLISH IT.
Woo-hoo.

Optimistically, all this may take a couple of months. Realistically, maybe a little more. I'll keep you backers informed as I go along, though, and your suggestions will always be more than welcome. In fact, why not start now? Which of the Big Questions posed in the pitch video -- or, for that matter, what other Big Question -- would you like to see me tackle in the pilot? Think big. That's the whole point, after all.

That's a quick sketch of where we go from here. None of it would be possible without your generous backing. So again, many thanks, and Happy New Year.

Dear backers: BIG QUESTIONS reached its funding goal at 9:50 this morning, 38 hours ahead of the New Year's Eve deadline. More to come after New Year's about the future of the project, but for now, just this: I'm sincerely grateful for your generous support, and I thank you. Happy New Year to one and all.

Happy mid-holidays, backers, from all of us at Big Questions: Marketing, Research, Distribution, the gals in the Steno Pool, the interns, and all the Gray Norways down on the Hazmat Level. We're reasonably sure if Dr. Kessel hadn't been killed in that solvent accident a couple of weeks ago he'd also join in our good wishes to you.

It's three days to the deadline and we're about 93% funded, so although I know never to take a victory lap too early, things are looking good. Again, many thanks for your support, and I hope to be able to get back to you shortly after New Year's with some detailed information about the future of Big Questions: The Pilot. In the meantime, all the best from here.