Video Swithcer/Mixer Control Board

Video Switchers, also commonly referred to as Video Mixers, are an integral part of TV and video production, and yet are frequently prohibitively expensive, costing thousands of dollars for even just the control board.  As such, we've decided to build our own out of a Beaglebone Black and some rows of light up buttons, with a lever for fading built out of a linear slide pot.  All of this will then be placed inside a sloped box with the buttons/lights exposed and the Beaglebone within, possibly alongside a dedicated motherboard with capture cards to do the switching itself.  Alternately, the Beaglebone's USB can be connected to any computer with switching software.

This project has only just begun, and is being done by a team of amateurs with very little experience in programming, electronics, or embedded computing, so any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks!