Derek tastes of earwax

My friend Phil Easey sent me a link to this, it's worth a look if you haven't seen it before - fascinating!

BANG in Brighton

I had a lovely time in Brighton on Sunday, speaking at the Brighton Animators Network Group (BANG), at an event about animating the mind. My film was in excellent company; Ryan, A is for Autism, and several really interesting new films from the RCA and local film makers. It was organised by Sarah and Abbie from BANG and the incomparable Kate Genevieve who makes such beautiful work herself.

the screening at the King & Queen Pub, Brighton

Neuroscience & Guitar : teaser from kate genevieve on Vimeo.

Flip animation Festival 10

Last weekend I was in and out of the Flip Animation Festival, the West Midlands' festival of all things animated. The opening event in Birmingham's Millenium Point on Thursday evening was a little bathetic for us because at the start of Ravi Maheru's second year short film Sentry the projector malfunctioned - aarg! Luckily Rav wasn't too emotionally scarred by the experience and the rest of the festival at Lighthouse in Wolverhampton went much more smoothly.

Highlights for me were;

kids animation workshop at Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Claire Kitson's programme of her favourite films - I loved watching Hedgehog in the Mist on the big screen

The showreel reviews which were nail bitingly X-factor-ish to watch but really useful- this is Chris Chidlow, a graduate from Wolverhampton last year who worked as production assistant on Eyeful of Sound

The shorts programmes which was really strong, Lizzy Hobbs' Little Skipper was wonderfully simple & beautiful

Seeing the students get into the swing of being part of the animation community

Neurogenesis

Reasons for hope as we get older number 6,473:

Images of actual neurogenesis (the formation of new brain cells in adult brains) captured by Jason Snyder via the Beautiful Brain gallery. Read the full article here.

Submissions Open for Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Filmmaker Fund

There's an interesting opportunity for film makers working in the science field to get funding to develop/progress/finish a science-based feature film from the Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Filmmaker fund, see below for details;

"The TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund seeks exceptional narrative work that is scientifically relevant, accurate, and exciting.

In 2011, the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund will provide grants of $10,000 - $40,000 in support of narrative feature film projects that explore scientific, mathematical, or technological themes in their storylines, or that feature a leading character who is a scientist, engineer, innovator or mathematician. In addition to funding, TFI provides guidance, introductions and industry exposure to help move the selected projects closer to completion."

See their website  for rules and regs, submission form and examples of past awardeees.

Nature Journal review

From the review of the Imagine Film Festival in Nature on-line journal by Carl Zimmer.

"The 2010 Nature Scientific Merit Award went to An Eyeful of Sound, which joyously imagines the world as it is seen by people with synaesthesia. It makes those of us with ordinary brains jealous of those who can't help but mingle sight and sound."

Carl Zimmer writes about the sometimes uneasy relationship between film and science. He cites the dodgy science so often bastardized by Hollywood in the pursuit of a lucrative story line as a one way street where scientists do all the giving.
"Tornadoes, volcanoes, spaceships, viruses: all obey the laws of Hollywood, not the laws of Newton or Darwin."

However he does like the films screened in Imagine, including Skhizein "which won an honourable mention (see 'Science Oscars'), uses sophisticated computer graphics to transform the world as its hero descends into schizophrenia".

I've seen Skhizein (click on the title to see on Shorts Bay) at another festival and absolutely loved it knowing nothing about it. Knowing that it is about a man coping with the descent into schizophrenia doesn't detract from the absurd central concept but instead enhances and enriches it.

Beautiful Brain

I found this great on line resource called The Beautiful Brain, a magazine for the convergence of art & science. I particularly like their gallery section where they show and discuss art inspired by neuroscience.

They also have a series of podcasts which I'm looking forward to catching up with on one of my (many) train journeys.

The 'brain tree' image above is by British artist Andrew Carnie, whose work featured on the Beautiful Brain site a few months ago.