Novel science film collaboration keeps it reel
11 July 2008
Science on Film - an innovative 10-day project run by the Wellcome Trust in partnership with the Documentary Filmmakers Group in early 2008 - gave eight scientists and eight filmmakers the chance to write, film and edit their own short documentaries inspired by science. The scientists and filmmakers paired up and worked as co-directors on the films - the first time such a collaboration is thought to have happened. The resulting shorts are now available to watch on the Trust site.
In the intensive project, eight biomedical scientists were paired up with eight filmmakers they had never met before. They then underwent an intensive six-day training programme that included masterclasses from leading filmmakers, producers and scientists to help them develop a shooting script for a five-minute film. The pairs then had two days to shoot their films and two days with a professional editor to edit them.
Dr Barry Gibb, a filmmaker who paired up with plant ecologist Dr Emma Pilgrim for the project, said: "Making films exploring science is now my life (after once being a biomedical researcher myself), so it felt very natural to be doing what I love whilst simultaneously opening up the world of media to scientists.
"It was a great course and much more creatively challenging and intense than we initially thought it would be. For a couple of months, there were no 'scientists' in the group and no 'filmmakers' - just people devoted to making science visually arresting."
The eight films are being shown at the Soho Shorts festival in London on 24, 25 and 29 July 2008.
Image: Still from 'First Blood', a film by Tom Mustill and Sarah Main produced during Science on Film