About this project
This project combines art, science, history and marine conservation in unique, visually stunning and thought-provoking ways. It offers a chance to glimpse the ocean of 150 years ago, and compare it to the sea we share today. It will reach people who may not be interested in marine life, but are intrigued by the artistry of the Blaschka's glass work, and vice-versa. It's an adventure with meaning, focusing attention on little understood marine life.
We are a marine biologist http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/harvell/harvell.html and a marine filmmaker http://www.davidobrown.com living in Ithaca, NY. Ithaca is home to Cornell University, which houses an amazing collection of glass animals created by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka at the turn of the last century. http://blaschkagallery.mannlib.cornell.edu/index.php Working in Dresden, Germany, the Blaschkas produced perfect, anatomically correct glass replicas of marine life that were used in museums and universities around the world for marine education. These Blaschka glass invertebrates provide a time-capsule of ocean life of their time. We're are on a global quest to find and film living specimens of this collection of glass squid, jellyfish anenomes and other amazing sea creatures. We'll travel to locations where many of these invertebrates are still found, capturing footage by which the glass animals may be virtually brought to life. We'll make media modules documenting each expedition, as well as a segment about the lives and craft of the Blaschkas, and these modules will run on a dedicated website. Media modules are designed to be combined into a longer film for screening at the Smithsonian, other museums, public aquariums and in film festivals worldwide. Fragility is the thread running through the story; drawing parallels amongst the delicate glass, the exquisite organisms they represent and the threatened sea in which they live.
In development: pre production, scripting and website design are happening now. We'll be in production by fall 2012, and will have the first couple of media modules live online by summer of 2013. We'll keep producing media modules as long as we have the money to do so, and combine them for long-form release once we have critical mass.
You'll fund: development, pre production, website design and the first media module via Kickstarter.
Funds above our goal will enable us to cover more locations and creatures- the more time we spend in the water, the more incredible creatures we can find, film and share!
We're pursuing other funding in addition to the $39,800. asked for here, (filming underwater is not cheap)!
Perks include: credits on the media, live uplinks from the expeditions, limited-edition prints, media outtakes, invitations to screenings at the Smithsonian and other museums, media downloads, Drew-guided tours of the CU Blascka collection and even the opportunity to join us in the field!
Video and Underwater images by David O. Brown, photography of glass models by Kent Loeffler
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on March 7.
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Many thanks, acknowledgement on the website and regular project updates.
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Above plus behind-the-scenes postings from the field
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Above + downloads of media from the expeditions, including clips not to be seen in the final product
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Above + a credit on the final film
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Above + signed print of a Blaschka creature (add $10 shipping out of USA)
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Above + a live, interactive audio/video feed from the field. Come talk to us!
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Above + a VIP invitation to a screening of a Blaschka media module at the Ithaca Sciencenter or the Museum of the Earth. (travel not included)
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Above + a guided tour of the Cornell Blaschka collection by Dr. Drew Harvell. (travel not included)
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Above + an Executive Producer credit on the film (travel not included)
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Above + a day on Appledore Island with the crew! You'll be guests of the Shoals Marine Lab and us, watch the diving and check out the raw footage of that days work (travel not included)
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Rewards 1-9 + an exclusive VIP pass to a media screening at the Smithsonian (travel not included)
Project By
Connected as David Owen Brown (214 friends)
I'm a producer, videographer and photographer, with work aired on NBC, CBS, National Geographic Channel and Discovery. My specialty is shooting underwater and marine subjects, and I've had the privilege of working on every continent, from pole to pole and throughout the tropics. While I love working with "charismatic megafauna" like whales and sharks, I'm equally intrigued by ocean life like the octopi, jellyfish, squid and other marine invertebrates we'll film for this project. I was part of Cousteau teams traveling globally to make the series "Cousteau's Rediscovery of the World," then founded a marine documentary company called Passage Productions. Recent work includes conceiving and filming a virtual submarine voyage from inland to ocean, a museum exhibit that will tour North America over the next seven years, and a media series in production to raise public awareness about New England's rocky intertidal habitat.
