From Apollo Soundstages to High Orbit: The Long Road to Band on the Run

Band on the Run is Norm Levy’s debut novel, shaped by more than twenty-five years working at the intersection of Hollywood, music, technology, and space-adjacent industries.

While collaborating with major studios on large-scale film productions, Levy gained firsthand insight into how ambitious worlds are built, from logistics and design to music, spectacle, and audience experience. That vantage point inspired a story designed not just to be read, but lived, integrating original music, iconic technology, and cinematic environments from the ground up.

A formative chapter of Levy’s career took place at Grumman Studios in Bethpage, New York, located on the historic site where the Apollo Lunar Modules were designed and built, including the module that carried humanity to the Moon. Standing inside former aerospace test facilities while guiding filmmakers through the soundstages left a lasting impression, fusing storytelling and space history into the foundation of Band on the Run.

Levy’s career spans entertainment, immersive technology, and emerging platforms. He developed a voice-based social platform adopted by all major record labels and later served on the launch team for Nokia’s OZO Professional VR Camera, working with studios, sports leagues, and media organizations as virtual reality entered mainstream production. His fascination with space deepened while working with Virgin Galactic’s Zero-G Festival, where he witnessed firsthand how modern visionaries transformed space from abstraction into action.

A lifelong student of history and space exploration, Levy draws inspiration from physicist Gerard K. O’Neill’s vision of permanent human life beyond Earth. Shaped over years of research, revision, and real-world technological change, Band on the Run brings that vision into the very near future at a moment when rockets now routinely land themselves. The story is grounded in real science, lived experience, and the belief that humanity’s next chapter will be written by young voices bold enough to rise.

Norm Joins MindFly as Senior Advisor

I am working with an incredible company that is gaining traction, acceptance and demand in live sports.  You may have heard about them or seen ESPN deploy their tech recently; NHL Stanley Cup, NBA All-Star Game Events, Mens NCAA Baseball Worldseries, etc.

MindFly has developed AI-based bodycams that are a complete solution for capturing immersive video and audio from a player’s and referee’s perspective for games and from behind-the-scenes. MindFly transforms raw footage into engaging live feeds and video clips through its advanced AI solution. This technology stabilizes and autonomously directs the raw footage, mimicking the decisions of a human camera operator and director. The result is an entirely new, enhanced, and immersive viewing experience for fans.

The solution is perfect for live TV and social media and works for any sports rights holder – broadcaster, sponsor, leagues, teams and clubs.

Players and referees wear MindFly bodycams, which are vests with integrated cameras, similar to the GPS vests that players are accustomed to wearing. The camera and battery are seamlessly integrated into the vest. Thanks to the vest’s design, players’ safety and performance are maintained, while the content captured is stabilized and automatically directed by the MindFly software. This allows customers to broadcast the footage live or edit the clips for social media and other publishing channels.

Since launching its Live product in early 2024, MindFly has made significant progress by collaborating with broadcasters like ESPN, CBS, and NBC; leagues such as the NBA, MLB,  NHL, World Baseball Series, UFL, Premier League, and Euroleague; and teams including Manchester City FC, Juventus FC, and Redbull Salzburg. The company is now transitioning these commercial engagements into annual agreements. Additionally, MindFly will be offering an end-to-end solution to help teams and leagues create and monetize content, positioning itself as a partner rather than just a technology provider.

“It’s with great appreciation to the Florida Panthers and their willingness to explore Mindfly in the most important time of the year,” says Linda Schulz, coordinating producer, NHL on ESPN. “We are very excited to see a goalie warm up first-hand.”

Here are some links to some events in the last three months (all were paid commercial events)

NBA All-Star 2024
The NBA All-Star event had referees wearing the Live Bodycam during the game.  Our bodycams were also deployed during their Rising Star Challenge events, with the broadcast lasting an exhilarating 4 hours. Of note, star players Donovan Mitchell and Myles Turner also embraced this groundbreaking technology.

NCAA Baseball (Men’s College World Series 2024)

NHL (Stanley Cup Final 2024: ESPN Outfits Florida Panthers Goalie With MindFly AI BodyCam for Pregame Skate)

UFL (American Football)

NCAA All-Star 2024
At the NCAA All-Star event, Mindfly collaborated with ESPN and CBS Sports to deliver an innovative viewing experience. During the event, we provided four simultaneous live feeds capturing the dunking contest with ESPN and two live feeds during the game with CBS the next day. These included seamless transitions to Mindfly’s “court cam” views of the players, enhancing the dynamic coverage of the event.

MLBWe had successful initial events with MLB and we are in discussions for next steps.

Euroleague – player cam official games
It took us one year to do the first official game with a Euroleague player, and only two weeks to do the second official game with two players.