The Shot That Got Away

posted in: Other Work, SETI, The Film | 2

In the last post, I revealed two of my favorite shots. I wish there was a third clip there.

The Golden Record
The Golden Record

When we were filming Jill Tarter at the SETI Institute’s offices in Mountain View, CA, we also had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Frank Drake, he of the Drake Equation. Drake also designed the Pioneer plaque with Carl Sagan and  was one of the astronomers responsible for selecting the sounds of earth that are contained on the golden record on the Voyager space probes. That record includes Blind Willie Johnson’s harrowing gospel classic “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground.” The Voyager probes have left our solar system, and so has Blind Willie Johnson.

But I digress, sort of.  Dr. Drake and Andy Bowley, the cinematographer on this shoot, spent several minutes off camera talking about orchids. It’s a wonderful memory, but I wish I had thought to press the record button. I must accept that not everything can be documented, that some things will exist as memory only.

I’m working on this.

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