Walking on Water
Surface tension, and why people can't do what some insects can
Walking on Water
Duration: 2:29
Views: 193
Team Walking on Water write:
The film investigates why some insects have the ability to walk on water whilst we as humans cannot.
St. Paul’s School have been stalwarts of the SciCast scene since our first year, and they turn in consistently well-crafted films. They write clear explanations, and are particularly adept at judging how much science to include. So their films end up actually telling you something, which is satisfying, but not rushed, because they don’t try to cram in too many ideas. They’ve even developed something of a house style.
If I’m being critical, I’d say that they could allow themselves a bit more fun. Perhaps ‘fun’ isn’t the right word — more like ‘indulgence’, maybe? It’s all too easy to take science and SciCast seriously, and while that’s commendable, sometimes just a little bit of indulgence can make a film more watchable. Here, for example, I’d have loved to have seen more of the paperclip-floating-on-water experiment. The blue-dyed water is gorgeously shot and lit, and when you can achieve shots of that quality it seems a shame not to relish them. While filming it, somebody must have said “That looks fabulous!” — listening to that instinct and running with it could have made this film, to me, something very special indeed.
So they’ll just have to settle for me thinking it’s extremely good. I know, I know, there’s no pleasing some people.
— Jonathan.