Behind the Ben Heck Show

Behind the Ben Heck ShowA HACKER’S JOURNEY

Early WorkFull-time graphic artist with side hobby in independent film.

Was interested in electronics as a child and got back into the hobby in 2000.

Wanted to build something that harkened back to the videogames I enjoyed in my youth.

Atari 2600 PortableFound old game system in a garage, decided to hack it as side project.

Used my limited electronics skills from childhood + recent skills in graphic design and CNC fabrication.

Result was a very slick throwback to 1970’s gaming with a modern, portable twist.

Prototype

The Power of the WebBlogged my work on a small, free Geocities site (yes, it was that long ago!)

Was amazed at the incredible response to something I had done “just for fun” and shocked to find an audience for such a niche topic as retro gaming.

Started getting hundreds of emails a day requesting to buy what I had built, and thus, took on side projects.

Leveraging Web 1.0• Create well-written, media-rich articles detailing projects.

• Manually fill articles with links to other content on your site to keep people engaged, since CMS’s weren’t readily available at the time.

• Keep any demo videos short, well-edited and to the point - since they’ll be downloaded off your site at your storage / bandwidth’s expense!

Leveraging Web 1.0• Update content on Tuesday evenings for best propagation on “Wednesday

Hump Day”. (people slacking off at work)

• Get projects noticed on popular sites who will then follow your future work, report on new projects and provide link backs. (makeshift social network)

• Have good relationships with service providers so your site can recover quickly from traffic floods off slashdot or Digg.

• Almost all traffic flowed through your site, rather than being spread over social media.

Hacking Videogame ConsolesWrote a book about making custom videogame console projects.

Writing the book was the transition from a normal day job to working for myself.

Designing the projects used in the book and wrote the book at the same time.

7 month process back in 2004.

A Growing Listof ProjectsStore kiosk prototyping.

Testing equipment for game developers.

Apple IIgs laptop.

Xbox 360 Custom Laptops.

Point-of-sale systems.

Work with AccessibilityContacted by a soldier wounded in Iraq who wanted to game after coming home.

Began work on gaming controllers for those with disabilities, specifically inability to use a two-handed controller.

Created sip & puff controllers for quadriplegics.

Created accessible Guitar Hero controller using foot pedals and modified instruments.

Created retail accessibility gaming product “Access Controller”.

Still making custom controllers today!

Ben Heck Show BeginsContacted in 2010 by ad agency about doing a video web series for Newark, an electronics distributor in Chicago.

Was finally able to combine my experience in video editing with electronics.

Steady client always great when you’re freelance!

Ben Heck Show Premise

• Bi-weekly web series centered about electronics culture, hosted by Ben Heckendorn.

• Episodes attempt to solve real-world problems (albeit small ones) with creativity and electronics.

• Episode/build ideas sent in from viewers and element14 community.

Early Ben Heck Show

• Filmed at residence in Verona, WI• Single camera, single actor setup. Assembly editing also done by myself.• One episode every other week (26 a year)• Early projects included:

• Accessibility controller for John Madden Football• Automatic soda can crusher• Folding screen laptop that works well in cramped coach airline seats• Halloween Costume “Portal Shirt” that uses an LCD to make person

appear to have a hole through their body.

Evolution of Show• Schedule changed from bi-weekly to weekly, to drive viewer engagement.• Episodes filmed in shop space on east side, versus spare bedroom in a

residence.• Shooting schedule went from 2 days a week to 5.• Full-time cameraperson added early on, local technical assistant added

Season 4.• More complex projects added, spanning multiple episodes.• On-the-road episodes created around industry events such as Design West,

Maker Faire, E3 and CES.• Episode length ballooned from 12 minute targets to as high as 25 (trying to

get it back down!)

Current Form of Ben Heck Show• Felix Gardener – Research and technical assistant• Backflip Films – Local video production & assembly editing• Element14 – Production editing & distribution

• Show available on element14 and YouTube• YouTube Subscribers: 413,827• YouTube Views to date: 26.5 million

Ben Heck Show Projects




Question & Answers

Technology

Behind the Ben Heck Show