of Hubble's Diverse Universe
Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11th, were the days of the premiere of the documentary film "Hubble's Diverse Universe". The premiere was held at the Museum of African American Technology in downtown Oakland, CA. The venue was small and seating was limited. On Friday there was an audience of about 40 people, and 20 people came on Saturday afternoon. There were a handful of children and teens in each crowd. The crowd was diverse consisting of mostly African Americans and the Q & A was lively.
The version of the film that was shown over the weekend was 35 minutes long rather than the full 45 minutes. There were three sections: Science, Outreach & Mentoring, and Diversity. The Science section has many images of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), detectors, and HST images. As part of all the screenings during IYA2009, there is a one page anonymous survey of before and after questions. There were many goals for the film and the survey helps us determine if they have been achieved. Though the survey results from the premiere have not been analyzed in detail, I read through the comments about the film. From a quick study, the majority of the comments focused on the enthusiasm and excitement of the astronomers and they way they described their work. Several people mentioned certain astronomers by name and commented about how they enjoyed their description of their scientific research in particular. As we go forward with re-editing the film we will keep all of these comments in mind.
Romeel Davé and I are the executive producers and interviewers for the film. The executive producer is the creative force behind the project and the financial source, too, since we co-wrote the NASA Education and Public Outreach grant (HST-EO-11751.03-A), which funded the project. Leading up to the film premiere, the University of Arizona interviewed Romeel and me three times which resulted in an article, a podcast, and a video. The producer of the film, Lisa Boags, was with me to answer questions about the film during the premiere. Ms Boags has her own production company that focuses on documentary films that focus on diverse communities. She has recently completed a documentary on the Tuskegee Airmen. The production team was critical to this project and using experienced documentary filmmakers was a plus. They handled renting all of the equipment, transporting it to the filming locations, lighting, sound, editing, and integrating all of the Hubble images into the film. The most common question people asked Ms Boags was how long it took to make the film. From writing the grant to the premiere was just short of one year. It was heart warming that many people wished us the best on our next film project focusing on the total solar eclipse on July 22, 2009, in the Marshall Islands, which is still pending funding!!! Ms Boags and I are ready to fly to the Marshall Islands on a moments notice!
Dr. George Carruthers was the featured speaker for the premiere. He gave a thirty minute lecture on the instruments that he built and helped build for the Apollo Space missions and the Space Shuttle missions. He has worked at the Naval Research Laboratory since 1964. He focused on the instruments and rockets, but made sure that how these advanced astronomy was included in his talk. In his presentation he showed images of the early detection of molecular hydrogen in our atmosphere (as seen from space), in comets, and in star formation regions in our galaxies. Dr. Carruthers is the inventor of the Far Ultraviolet Camera which was placed on the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts in 1972. Dr. Carruthers is quiet and unassuming, but lights up when he talks about his work. He was kind enough to tell us about his mid-West roots and his education. He agreed with many of the astronomers featured in the film that mentors were very important for a career in astronomy.
Hubble's Diverse Universe is meant to be used to inspire minority students to consider a career in astronomy. Thus, it is an outreach and education tool that is being highlighted during the International Year of Astronomy 2009.
Leave a Comment