Under Pressure (2)
Experiments to explain pressure, and why it hurts when stepped on with stilettos.
Carbon-12
Duration: 2:29
Views: 101
Related Experiments
How to Destroy a MelonThese are original experiments designed by one of the team members; the ‘bolt’ and ‘nail’ were made using a lathe.
If you’re coming to SciCast from the Institute of Physics’ previous competition ‘Paperclip Physics,’ the style of this film will be immediately recognisable. And you know, it works just fine. It’s surprising just how much information you can pack into two and a half minutes, and using simple demonstrates to illustrate your explanation can help keep your film short and punchy.
This film is well-written, the demonstrations arising naturally along with the explanation, so none of it feels forced. If you’ll pardon the pun.
Criticisms? It’s a little formal. One of the basic problems of video is that it’s not always obvious to whom one is talking. In this case, the team appear to be performing towards an audience… but there clearly isn’t one, there’s a camera instead. Should the team have talked to the camera? It’s a tricky call. Did you find the team talking off to one side of the camera distracting?
The more ‘televisual’ way of doing this might have been to have only one presenter on camera at once, each building on the explanation of the previous speaker. Working like that can make your film simpler to shoot — you don’t have to work out how to frame three people and props all at once — and keep each section short, tidy, and self-contained. The opening of the film works well for precisely this reason, and is very nicely cut together.
Of course, there’s no right or wrong way of making a film, and what the team have done passes the most basic test — ‘Does it make sense?’ Yes, it does. Well, apart from the hats.
So: good job, Carbon-12.
— Jonathan
I didn't really get the hats and I don't think it deserves to be on the top rated. Sorry :(
JustAJudge, 11 Mar 2009
Boring!
Jim, 20 Feb 2009
Well, it okay....cause the illustration is a bit boring....though small area exerts large force =P
Lim, 07 May 2008
well done! really informative and easy to follow
Ian Rosalo, 24 Apr 2008
That wasn't very good.
Julia, 22 Apr 2008
very easy to understand and visually engaging
Michael Constable, 19 Mar 2008
So cute..
Daveth Thomas, 19 Mar 2008
pure class. see you at the oscars.
Eileen Dover, 19 Mar 2008
very good and well presented
Jack Hall, 19 Mar 2008
Extraordinary
naomi rahman, 19 Mar 2008
Perfectly executed and well written
Will Milner, 19 Mar 2008
Really loved it guys - much better than ours. Thanks guys
The Clown Fish, 19 Mar 2008
clap your hands if your happy
Simon Says:, 19 Mar 2008
Very well timed, punchy and to the point.
Dan G le balles, 19 Mar 2008
very nice costumes. the people, acting and script work are attractive and engaging
Michael (Leo) Bowden, 19 Mar 2008
Loved it - pure genius
Well done guys
Frank Goldstein, 19 Mar 2008
Hi guys, loved you all!! the physics seems so easy too.. you make as level look simple
Nick Waterman, 19 Mar 2008
very well done with an eye to the creative angle too!
Alessandra, 18 Mar 2008
Nice one guys; tongue-in-cheek, not stepping over the line into mockery but not taking it too seriously as well. You guys deserve oscars.
P.S. The 'snow boots' were comic genius!
Guy, 16 Mar 2008
I think it is literally the best thing since the apple that fell on Newton's head.
Chris Toumazis, 15 Mar 2008
I didn't understand everything because I'm French ^^ but, anyway, it seems very good.
Julie, 14 Mar 2008
Very good. My physics class actually submitted a different film, but i think that this one explains pressure in a way that i have been trying to do for years. Thanks for the inspiration - i look forward to you winning.
Victoria, 14 Mar 2008
Great start, clear and well paced development. Conclusion is a bit plane but well done to all of you.
Donatella Burr, 14 Mar 2008
Very instructive video and clear experiments. Well done!
Maria Marchitelli, 14 Mar 2008
I really liked it, maybe a bit too formal, but loved the watermelon experiment. Great. Love the hats as well.
Lewis, 14 Mar 2008
I liked it. You guys deserve to do well - good luck!!
Ruth, 14 Mar 2008
The video brought me back by 25 years! Very well made and concepts explained with good clarity.
Claudio
Claudio Galli, 14 Mar 2008
Use of good examples and well presented
Claudio Soddu, 14 Mar 2008
fabulous
they all look incredibly suave too
rosie coco, 13 Mar 2008
nice video, interesting
hannah, 13 Mar 2008
just fab!
John Cunning, 13 Mar 2008
good explanation and good example.
paola guariglia, 13 Mar 2008
clear and understandable through practical examples
Emanuele Guariglia, 13 Mar 2008
Nice job. Liked the whole watermelon idea. Good luck!
Graeme, 13 Mar 2008
Who are the 4 boys in this video?
Dr Jenny Taylor, 13 Mar 2008
Nice one ;)
Jamie, 13 Mar 2008
A bit stiff: to pull off the "zany" hats, a more jovial approach to the rest of the presentation should have been taken. The delivery is too serious for the quite simple subject matter; it might have been appropriate for a topic of greater depth. Well-presented all the same with solid practical exmamples, only the tone lets the film down.
Anon, 13 Mar 2008
whats with the top hats?
joe, 13 Mar 2008
Brilliant, all these years i've really struggled with some of the subjects in this film, and they've opened my eyes to a whole new world. It was so fantastic i had to watch it all the way from canada
Alex Mckenzie, 13 Mar 2008
this is a quality video explaining very simply and effectively, the effects of pressure.
jamie, 13 Mar 2008
Really enjoyed this!
Al, 13 Mar 2008
Loved it guys, well done. Love the hats and the humour - the physics isn't half bad too.
Kate, 13 Mar 2008
Well timed, good editing skills, not a word too many
Max Silverman, 13 Mar 2008
Short, snappy and to the point
Muhammed, 13 Mar 2008
Very vivid, the demo's are visually informative and entertaining
Will, 13 Mar 2008
Veryy informative and enjoyable
Kate, 13 Mar 2008
Really interesting and informative, thank you!
David, 13 Mar 2008
Very good! Entertaining and informative, I really enjoyed it. I just hope no one with stilettos stands on my foot! Thank you guys!
Doug Hamlisch, 13 Mar 2008
LOVE IT GUYS
XXX Oh Raoul you look so dashing on camera!
NW, 12 Mar 2008
I think that the Blue Peter style of the presenters works very well as a whole, with the experiments feeling very original and flowing with the whole script (as Jonathan says). I disagree with the comment that it feels a little static with an 'audience' being played to. The presenters make one fell as if they are engaged in the film and the interspersing of serious and funny makes it enjoyable to watch on a whole.
I loved the genious idea of using watermelons like that, one thing that i will definately be showing my year 9s when covering pressure. Those lathed bolt and nail can't have been easy to make, but as a whole, that demonstration worked very well.
Thank you very much, you gave me a lot of inspiration for making my own experiments in the future, and i love the hats - randomly placed, but funny enough to not matter.
Good luck!!
Justin, 12 Mar 2008
somewhat uninteresting if i'm to be honest
kevan patel, 11 Feb 2008