Film Info3 minutes
Available for Free AND Ticketed Events! Synopsis: One night, out of boredom, filmmaker Wylie Overstreet decided to take his telescope out to the street to look at the moon. Soon people began to wander over, curious to see for themselves. "A New View of the Moon" is the reminder we need to keep looking up. Action Items
Filmmaker Q&A● What inspired this story?
As the film recounts, it came from boredom. One evening I decided to take my telescope to the sidewalk and look at the moon, simply because it was up and I couldn't think of anything better to do. Soon passerbys started walking up, and their consistent expressions of wonder and awe is what gave rise to this idea. That and a little Debussy. |
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● Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film.
Getting good audio in a loud urban environment is tough enough already, but to do so while hiding the mic and keeping the recording clandestine made it even harder.
● How do you approach storytelling?
When I began making short science films, it was out of dissatisfaction with the status quo: zany hosts in white labcoats, overproduced programming and editing, writing that bogs down in abstruse terminology and facts. These approaches detract substantially from the beauty and grandeur of Nature that science allows us to understand. Our films by contrast focus on simply expressing that beauty and grandeur, with minimal exposition.
● What impact do you hope this film will have?
I hope it inspires people to look up, be curious, and discover the cosmos they live in.
● Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
Too many to list. For every reaction you see in the film, there were a dozen more nearly as good that ended up on the cutting room floor. The amazement was truly universal.
● Anything else you would like people to know?
It's time to go. To the moon, to Mars. To space and beyond. Humankind needs a new adventure to bind our civilization and inspire our future. That adventure is exploration of space, and its time has arrived.
● What next?
We're working on the next episode of our To Scale: series, which will feature a physical model of all 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution stretched across several miles of the Mojave desert. We're very excited to release it in the coming months.
