by Don Burnett
A Unique Cross-Platform Silverlight Solution at University of Michigan- Ken Arbogast-Wilson The Interview
By Don Burnett
Ken Arbogast-Wilson was nice enough to sit down with me and let me interview him about the College of Architecture and Urban Planning new use of Microsoft Design Tools and software, as well as, Silverlight to solve a huge cross-platform content delivery dilemma. We plan a more in-depth look at this solution and how it was implemented in an upcoming video netcast..Thanks Mr. Arbogast-Wilson for allowing yourself to be interviewed... So here we go..
Question One:
So Ken what’s your relationship to the university and school etc..
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: I am the manager of media development and production at the University of Michigan College of Architecture + Urban Planning. I am essentially responsible for the college's web presence, as well as assisting in technology development used by our six programs. With over 600 students, 65 faculty, and 30 staff, we are constantly looking for new ways to leverage technology to help improve the educational environment and make our instruction more accessible.
Question Two:
I hear they are going to start using Silverlight for their Lectures?
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: The college turned 100 in 2006, and we had a year or high-profile events that necessitated web video, both on-demand and live streaming for several lectures and a three-day conference. In spite of settling on using windows media multiple bit rate streaming for these events, we also created quicktime versions for audience members with Macs. Lets just say we spent a lot of time encoding last year. I started dabbling in Silverlight video just recently, and by using Expression Encoder, I was able to create a cross-platform video with its own player that would execute right in the web page.
Question Three:
What kind of content?
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: We have a variety of content, but essentially public lectures by noted architects and planners. We also have some projects created by students as part of their coursework, and recruiting videos. A lot of our architecture students create 3-D animations of their work in 3D Studio Max, I could see making those more accessible through Silverlight too.
Question Four:
Why Silverlight?
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: Simplicity and power in one package. I like that I can encode my footage one time, have the player already configured, add a leader and trailer, and get everything I need to go live. With the possibility of up to 720p quality output, I can create work that would not only be usable on the web, but in a studio course, or for student reviews. What's more, I can customize the whole project in Expression Blend, adding even more functionality, and improving the user experience for our audiences.
Question Five:
How is it being received so far?
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: Our IT manager was stunned when I showed him. I expect we will receive very favorable reactions from visitors to our site when we release a series of lectures on diversity later this month.
Question Six:
How easy was it to do a Video Project in Silverlight?
Ken Arbogast-Wilson: It was very easy. I am a designer first, and tech guy second, and I was pretty excited that I could see my intention show through with very few compromises to the design aesthetic. Between Expression Encoder, Blend, and Design, I have a suite of pretty tightly integrated tools to accomplish nearly anything I can dream up.
Wow that's impressive. Thanks Ken for your time..We will be visiting Ken again soon, with a more in-depth look on our new netcast.
