Why make films?

What’s in it for you?

Making films is fun.

No, really, it is. There’s a tremendous sense of achievement to be had in pointing to a finished film and saying ‘I made that.’ For many of us, this is all the excuse we need, but if you still need convincing…

Taking part in SciCast, you’ll:

Encourage teamwork, problem solving, and creative thinking, within a science context.
Contribute to a growing resource of free, high-quality, entertaining and informative films.
Use digital technology in the lab, classroom… or outside in the sun.
Explore collaborations between different disciplines.
Find out about copyright law, and how to use it.
Make a permanent record of achievement.
Help inspire the next generation of scientists and film-makers.

What’s ‘educational’ about it?

In addition to all the above, we believe that trying to explain something in a film is hard. Not ‘I can’t be bothered with this’ hard, but ‘that’s a challenge’ hard.

To explain something well, you have to understand it. Making a short film focuses your attention on detail and clarity — you have to decide what to put in or leave out, and how to approach a topic to make the most sense of it.

SciCast Awards

SciCast is also a competition: our annual Awards celebrate the best films received through the year with a glittering ceremony and even more glittering trophies, and Amazon vouchers to spend how you please. Take a look at the photos from our first Awards Ceremony and the Reception that followed: that could be you. Ooooh!