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LENS OF TIME

Film Info

  • Lens of Time: Jaw Jumpers (8:00)
  • Bumper Bees (6:46)
  • Slime Lapse (5:12)
  • Bat Ballet (8:32)
Spine Films, California Academy of Sciences, BioGraphic
Available for Free and Ticketed Screenings
Synopsis:
From the nearly instantaneous slime attack of a velvet worm to the invisibly slow life cycle of a coral, we live in a world in motion, but much of it remains hidden because it happens too quickly or too slowly for us to see. Lens of Time breaks free from the limitations of human experience, time traveling to the secret realms inhabited by other organisms. Our guides are scientists who have developed special high speed video or time lapse photography techniques that unlock hidden natural worlds so we can witness behaviors and understand biological structures that have previously remained unseen.  

Filmmaker Q&A

​●  What inspired this story?
A:  As science and nature filmmakers, we’re always searching for ‘veiled wonder’ - basically the marvels that are hidden in plain sight in the mundane everyday world.  In discussing ideas for a new short-subject science series, we realized that scientists who work in ‘time dilation’ – using high speed or time lapse cameras – have opened some amazing trap doors into those portions of the natural world that are typically unavailable to us.  These scientists are searching for the secrets of life’s inner workings that are obscured in the folds of time.  And every day they’re inventing new techniques (and technologies) that can take us to places we’ve never been and reveal some of life’s deepest and most profound principles.  We believed these stories would inspire viewers to look at the world with a fresh eye, and would remind them that there is so much wonder hidden right in front of them, and all that's required is an awareness to see what was previously unseen.

●  Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film.
A:  It is important to us that the story behind every episode in this series be told directly by the scientists themselves.  And equally important was that the scientists illuminate their process.  Where does the spark of their idea come from?  How do they design the experiments?  We want viewers to develop a sense of how we know what we know.  The big challenge with this kind of storytelling is surprisingly simple:  Some people are just more articulate than others.  Just because a scientist is brilliant, innovative and accomplished doesn’t mean they’ll be good at explaining what they’re doing.  We attempt to choose our scientists carefully, making sure they can communicate their passion for the subject and balance that with a clean explanation of process.  But sometimes it simply comes down to time:  We needed to add days, schedule remote recording of additional commentary, or simplify the story to make sure that the core question and the arc of the science remain clear and elegant.

●  How do you approach storytelling?
A:  For this series, we focus our storytelling approach on creating a sense of “time travel” in the narrative.  The central idea is that the viewer literally needs to slow themselves down (time lapse video) or speed themselves up (high-speed video) to enter the timeframe of a non-human species, whether that’s a slime mold or a jumping spider.  In each instance, the research scientists are the guides, recalibrating the viewer and instructing them on what they’re seeing in this new, foreign time domain.  Again, it is important to make sure that the scientists feel more like guides than containers of factual knowledge.  That allows the story to function as trip to a destination where a new behavior is revealed, and not simply a lecture by a “voice of authority” who elucidates facts.

●  What impact do you hope this film will have?
A:  Our goals with this series are simple:  1)  Demonstrate how simple observation and logical investigation can help to unravel the seemingly impossible complexity of the natural world.   And 2), demystify the scientific process and make it clear that anyone who keeps their eyes (and brain) open can visit species and territories of the Earth that have been invisible to them up to now.  If viewers watch an episode of Lens of Time and suddenly find their back yards more dramatic and interesting, then we’ve succeeded.
​
●  What next?
A:  We’re gearing up for a new short series on the greatest ideas in ecological science, the women and men who originated them, and the new generation of ecologists who are following in their footsteps, generating an entirely new set of ideas about the way the world works.
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307-200-3286

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SITEMAP

  • Home
  • About
    • Get Involved >
      • Donate
      • Become a Partner
      • Volunteer
      • Internships
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
    • Our Team
    • News Room
    • Shop
    • Contact Us
  • Summit
    • 2022 Summit >
      • Summit Photos
      • Program & Schedule
      • Transportation >
        • Airport Transportation
      • Speakers
      • 2022 Partners
      • About Burgenland
    • Summit Archive >
      • 2021 Summit >
        • 2021 Summit Sessions
        • Program & Schedule 2021
        • Speakers
        • 2021 Partners
      • 2020 Virtual Summit >
        • Speakers 2020
        • 2020 Partners
      • 2019 Summit >
        • 2019 Program & Schedule
        • 2019 Session Recordings
        • 2019 Programming
        • 2019 Exhibitors >
          • Exhibitor Workshops
          • XR Demos
        • 2019 Partners
      • 2017 Festival & Summit
      • 2015 Festival & Summit
      • 2013 Festival & Summit
  • Awards
    • Media Awards >
      • 2022 Media Awards
      • 2021 Media Awards
      • 2020 Media Awards
      • 2019 Media Awards >
        • 2019 Judges
      • Media Awards Archive
    • Special Jury Recognitions >
      • 2022 Special Jury
      • 2021 Special Jury
    • World Wildlife Day Film Showcase >
      • Conservation Heroes
      • Recovering Species
      • Forests
      • Biodiversity >
        • Biodiversity: Final Jury
      • Living Oceans >
        • Ocean Finalists & Winners
        • Living Oceans Final Jury
      • Big Cats
      • Elephants
    • Legacy Award
    • Rising Star Award
    • On Tour >
      • Films
      • Schedule
      • Host an Event
      • Tour FAQ
  • Frontiers
    • Media Lab >
      • 2022 Media Lab
      • 2021 Media Lab >
        • 2021 Media Lab Fellows
        • 2021 Media Lab: South Africa
        • 2021 Media Lab Mentors
      • 2020 Media Lab >
        • 2020 Media Lab Fellows
        • 2020 Media Lab Contributors
      • 2019 Media Lab >
        • 2019 Media Lab Fellows
    • Summit Fellowship >
      • 2022 Summit Fellows
      • 2021 Summit Fellows
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      • 2019 Summit Fellows
    • Cinematography Lab
    • Partner Labs >
      • African Conservation Voices >
        • Kenya
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      • 2020 Wild Women Media Lab: Africa
      • 2020 Summit Kenya Lab
  • Collective
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    • Action Coalitions >
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    • Gear Hub
    • Virtual Event Details
  • Blog