So You Want to Win an Emmy?
Winning an Emmy is assuredly not an easy thing to accomplish … anywhere. But somehow, team members from NASA’s Johnson Space Center keep doing it with astonishing regularity.
The latest Emmy achieved was for “So You Want to Go to Mars?” an animated series designed to educate audiences about NASA’s upcoming plans to return to the Moon and journey on to Mars. The scriptwriting, art, animation and sound design were all done at Johnson, with Communications, Outreach, Multimedia and Information Technology Contract, or COMIT, team members John Streeter as producer, scriptwriter and artist, and animation by Nicholas Page and Edmond Toma.
From left are Nicholas Page, John Streeter and Edmond Toma, Emmy award winners in Graphics and Animation. Image Credit: NASA/James Blair
“It’s an honor to receive this Emmy Award and to be recognized by our peers in the industry,” Toma said. “(It’s) always a pleasure to work with John Streeter, one of the most creative talents at NASA.”
The “So You Want to Go to Mars?” productions are short, colorful and informational, and have been shared via to YouTube, social media and museums around the country.
The series was awarded the Lone Star Emmy Award for Excellence in Graphics and Animation from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Streeter, Page and Toma came away with three hefty Emmy statues for the win.
“This is our first Emmy under this category, and I was really pleased that we could earn this as a team,” Streeter said. “People don’t realize that video production like this doesn’t happen with one person. It takes a team that understands each other and can bring their skill and artistry to make the final product sparkle. It would not have the same result if any member was missing from the equation. We all get inspired with each other’s work. I’m very lucky to have co-workers here at JSC who are so talented; it makes it a real pleasure to be able to collaborate with them. I was so pleased that this won the Emmy. It was very gratifying to be recognized, and is a real testament to the teamwork behind the project.”
Page added, “‘So You Want to Go to Mars?’ was my first large-scale animation project at NASA. As an artist or creator, it’s always unnerving to put your work out there for the world to consume and judge. However, when you collaborate with talented people like John and Ed, you feel more confident in your work. Throughout production, we would chat about classic animation, science-fiction, comics and movies. We bonded and got to know one another very well. I think our friendship is not only crucial to our professional relationship, but also to producing this fantastic series. I couldn’t be more proud of what we have done.”
A SERIES OF FORTUNATE EVENTS
While this Emmy award is very new, the cosmic series of events that set it into motion were years, even decades, in the making.
“My dad was a WWII vet, and he used his G.I. Bill to get a degree in commercial art and advertising,” Streeter shared. “His art books were always around the house, and he gave me some pointers on perspective, shading, composition and other art concepts. He was pretty strict about it and wasn’t fooling around. It makes this award all the more special, as he’s really responsible for me being able to draw.”
Page, meanwhile, had wanted to be an astronaut, like many other children with stars in their eyes. As a youngster, he checked out as many books about space as he could from the library.
“While I didn’t understand much of the language, I was moved by pictures of humans in space,” Page said. “I watched many shuttle launches and was mesmerized by what humanity has achieved. One of my favorite keepsakes is a picture of my mother holding an infant — me — next to the Saturn V rocket at JSC.”
Now, Page passes that rocket every morning.
“I was able to find a different path to the NASA family,” Page said. “There are so many different ways in which one can contribute to human spaceflight. For me, it has been through graphic design and digital media. I hope that ‘So You Want to Go to Mars?’ will continue to serve as an educational and informative series for the public, and that it inspires the next generation explorers.”
INSPIRING STEM THROUGH ART
Art sometimes get a bad reputation among the STEM crowd, but it’s the oxygen that fuels inspiration in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Books, movies, TV shows and educational videos much like “So You Want to Go to Mars?” build excitement and give humanity hope and an impetus to reach for the seemingly impossible.
“In my job as video producer, I have always used my art skills for storyboards and concept art, but this is the first time where my finished art was utilized fully in a production,” Streeter said. “It is so much fun to see what (Page and Toma) come up with, and it’s always exciting to see the images come to life when they work their magic.”
That captured magic translated to an Emmy on Nov. 16. For this group, it’s doubtful it will be their last.
Click play to watch some of the award-winning episodes below!