WGBH Lab Blog

Updates from WGBH Lab RSS

• 11:48:01 am on December 10, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  Hey WGBH Lab Friends,

  Still thinking about submitting a Life Story to The Lab?  We hope so, and it’s not too late! We’re accepting submissions until December 31st, 2009.  Remember, your work may be broadcast in conjunction with NOVA programming on life and evolution.

  Visit The WGBH LAB for details: http://lab.wgbh.org

  —————————————————————–

  The winners of our iPod Nano contest have been announced.  We’d like to invite you to watch their Life Stories, and leave your comments:

  NOVA: Becoming a True Human Being, by: Linda Flanders
  International Feldenkrais trainer Russell Delman explains how the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais is the fastest way to alter compulsive patterns of behavior.

  http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/nova-becoming-true-human-being

  It’s All About Apples, by: Joanie Tobin
  Coleman’s age and health, along with the increasing cost of production, make him think about finally slowing down – one of these days.

  http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/its-all-about-apples

  Lock and Key, by: Chelsea Spear
  Why keep a journal? Three women talk about their diurnal diary habits.

  http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/lock-and-key-0

  —————————————————————–

  Don’t forget to visit the site, watch Life Stories, submit your own, and leave your comments.  Chris Hastings loves this one:

  Steven’s Log, by: Steven Hughes and Diane Adams
  Steven shares his views on evolution as well as what he believes may be happening in the future.

  http://thewgbhlab.org/nova_video/stevens-log

   

• 01:58:34 pm on November 23, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  Hey WGBH Lab friends,

  Have you commented on a Life Stories video submission yet?  If not, today’s the day to do so.  The 1st round of comments to be eligible to win an iPod Nano, are due by the end of the day.

  So take a few minutes, watch some videos, and leave some comments for your favorites!

  Today is also the FINAL day for the 2nd round of video submissions to be in for the next iPod Nano contest.  Comments for the 2nd round of submissions must be in by EOD on Monday, the 30th.

  Get your video up today, and spread the word to get the comments rolling.

  Review of the rules and eligibility guidelines: http://thewgbhlab.org/ipod-giveaway

  Best of luck!
  The WGBH Lab

   

• 12:08:31 pm on November 18, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  

  This is Aravind.M (Coordinator/Co-Director) from the Indian HEATING UP team, finishing up the project: LOOK BACK, BLACK-CARBON. The Indian Peninsula, home to the great Himalayas, is an area highly threatened by global warming. Our team learned that the Chullas, or the traditional stoves, were hazardous to our health, yet there were no effective measures being taken to tackle the issue, nor was research being conducted on the issue of Black Carbon pollution in India. We took time to understand the big-picture, and spot the right support.

  In early meetings, we understood the script had to focus on the present condition, and high-time need, which are the avoidable respiratory ailments with cooking due to acute lower respiratory infections (or ALRI). During our quest, we had the opportunity to meet environmentalists like Dr.Vandhana Siva: Director of The Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy, during a conference at Loyola College, Chennai, and were given advice on the Black Carbon and global warming issue. After our meeting, we developed our script.

  We spent a lot of time recording the voice-over (which involved a lot of revisions), experimented directly in camera mic, a friend’s studio, and finally in a professional studio. Our many try-outs were in vain due to a lengthy script (around 7 minutes), nearly double the expected time.

  Once the voice over was finalized, we had no trouble shooting the scenes. We were in Delhi for the shooting of the flooded Yamuna River, and also captured some excellent shots of the slum sequences, which are areas still using the traditional stoves. We wanted to show the recent calamities of the climate change, especially that of the Yamuna River flood, which put Bihar and other North Eastern States into trouble, and contributed to the vanishing/submerging beautiful Sunderband Bio Diversity. Our idea was to get the visuals from television, but later learned that it wasn’t easy. In wondering how to show these disasters, visually, Vivek suggested we capture the videos directly from the site to the computer. I (Aravind) captured the pictures of the fishermen at Nagapatinam, TamilNadu. For the glacier shots, our dear friend Ryan (from Delhi), came forward to go to Leh and bring us some wonderful images.

  We started posting the visuals in sync with the voice overs. Our designer brought us three interesting 2-D Graphics: the graphical chart of different green house gases, the Earth and Black-Carbon effects, and the beautiful wipe Green at the Dark Earth, which may be noted in the last frame of the video. We were very happy that our collage worked out. We believe our video highlights sustainable solutions, and support from the Government and NGOs working on clean fuels.

  Additionally, as per Article 6 of UNFCCC, which calls for Education and Outreach, we organized an event called CLIMATE COLLAGE, at Chennai. Scholars from various fields such as: Bio Diversity, Coastal and Marine Eco-system conservation, Solar and LED lights, E-waste management, Air Pollution, and Rain Water Harvesting, spoke freely about the issues at hand.

  We look forward to comments from other HEATING UP teams on our video and also would like to work together for this high-time noble cause.

  Love to The WGBH Lab and Cheers to all.

  Aravind M

   

• 02:29:13 pm on November 11, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  

  So, you’ve submitted a Life Story. Or, maybe you’re going to submit, but aren’t sure when. What now?

  Now is the time to submit, and get people to comment on it, because The WGBH Lab is “Sweetening The Pot” for you. We will be giving away 1 iPod Nano to each of 3 people who have submitted the videos that have the most comments.

  That’s right, people talk about your work – you win.

  Here’s the quick rundown:

  1) You submit to The WGBH Lab Open Call: Life Stories.

  2) Your submission follows our Eligibility and Guidelines.

  3) Your video gets comments. Lots. And remember, all comments must come from REAL people, and not from spam robots.

  (Just tell ALL of your friends that you need a favor!)

  In addition to receiving an iPod Nano, your submission will also be featured on The WGBH Lab site, and potentially broadcast with NOVA programming on life and evolution.

  Remember, We are looking for videos that capture “life”. Happy, sad, any emotive… just as long as it’s organic, it’s nature, and it’s life.

  You can’t win, if you don’t submit. You can’t comment if you don’t register. Submit! Comment! Vote!

  Please visit the site for complete details, and submission deadline dates: http://thewgbhlab.org/ipod-giveaway.

  Good luck, and thanks for following!
  The WGBH Lab

   

• 02:19:55 pm on November 11, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  

  When Charles Darwin looked at life, he saw that all living things—from the tiniest ant to the largest whale, and even human beings—are related. In his view, everything alive today descended ultimately from one common ancestor, like relatives on a family tree.

  Do you find this idea beautiful or disturbing? What do you see when you look at life?

  We’d like to know.

  This fall’s Open Call is a chance to share your vision with the world. We challenge you to make a three-minute video that offers a compelling perspective on the living world.

  Do you think life is a battle for survival? A harmonious web of interconnections? A fleeting chance to realize your dreams?

  Be creative in your thoughts. You may want to tackle something profound, something political, or just tell a story about your dog.

  This Open Call is inspired by a series of NOVA films on Darwin and Evolution that will air this fall and winter on PBS, and your work may be presented, via broadcast and broadband, in conjunction with this event.

  Visit the site for more information: http://thewgbhlab.org/nova-splash

   

• 12:56:02 pm on November 11, 2009 | 0 | # |
  
  

  Dear friends of The WGBH Lab, I want to take a moment to draw your attention to the POV, PBS premiere of the film The Way We Get By, produced by Filmmakers-In-Residence alum Aron Gadet, and Gita Pipillay. The Way We Get By is a touching film about 3 elderly troop greeters in Bangor, Maine, that tell their stories of living while supporting our nations troops in the best way that they can. I’m so very proud of the work that Aron and Gita have accomplished with this film. For the year and half that they spent with The WGBH Lab, we had the pleasure of witnessing amazing artists polish a wonderful film. They nurtured this story as only parents of newborn child could, and the results are telling. The Way We Get By airs today, November 11th, Veteran’s Day, at 9pm (check local listings) and will be online in the PBS Video Portal on November 12th. Thanks, Christopher Hastings Producer, The WGBH Lab

  Bill Knight, Jerry Mundy and Joan Gaude have greeted over 900,000 returning troops over the last 5 years

   

• 02:11:27 pm on August 29, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: Orthodox Jewish, Unorthodox, WGBH
  

  Unorthodox Screening This Tuesday

  Anna Wexler has been a Filmmaker in Residence here at the WGBH Lab for the past 9 months, working on her film Unorthodox: a film that follows 3 Orthodox Jewish subjects as they experience a unique phenomenon within the modern Orthodox community — the year in Israel — and watches as they come to terms with their beliefs and themselves.

  This Tuesday, Anna will debut a 20-minute Work-In-Progress cut of Unorthodox that offers an idea of the progress she has made and where the film is headed. The screening will be free and start at 6 PM in the Joan Jonas Performance Hall. Support independent film and stop by to see how the film is turning out!

  For more information, visit the all-new Unorthodox website:
  http://www.unorthodoxmovie.com/

   

• 12:30:44 pm on August 25, 2008 | 0 | # |
  
  

  Need Election Footage? Check the Sandbox

  We know that everyone (and their tech-savvy mother) is making video about the election. Heck, we’re doing it ourselves. But what if you want to make a web video and you don’t have much footage? We’ve got the answer.

  Today we’ve added 50 new clips from the WGBH Archives related to the election (quality b-roll of DC and newsreel footage) to the Lab Sandbox. What does that mean to you? That means you can take all of that footage, download it in high quality, and edit it however you like! It’s totally free so long as you don’t sell what you make. So check it out!

   

• 11:04:57 am on August 18, 2008 | 0 | # |
  Tags: Election 2008, PBS.org, Vote
  

  WGBH Lab on PBS.org

  In a cool turn of events, “Voting Schmoting,” one of our Election 2008 Open Call shorts, got featured on the PBS Vote 2008 site. Check it out:

  

  This may be the first of many, so check back soon to hear more!

  Edit: Looks like it got changed out for another video feature over the weekend, but you can find a screenshot above and you can still watch the short on the WGBH Lab website