The Science of the Silver Screen

This post was updated on August 28, 2014.

Science Friday recently partnered with KPCC and Southern California Public Radio for a special live event that explored the science behind movie magic. The show took place at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium on Wednesday, August 27, at 7:30 p.m.

Watch a video of the live production below:

Highlights of the show:

• Veteran animator Tom Sito explained how scientists and engineers kickstarted animation’s CGI revolution
• Avatar actor Stephen Lang and USC computer graphics expert Paul Debevec debated how far CGI technology can go
• Film and T.V. writers Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, An Inconvenient Truth), Zoanne Clack (Grey’s Anatomy), and Eric Kaplan (The Big Bang Theory) discussed how they balance science and storytelling
• Caltech physicist Sean Carroll shared his experience consulting on Hollywood blockbusters
• KPCC science correspondent Sanden Totten explored how Hollywood sci-fi can lead to real-life technological solutions

Plus, Sean Carroll and Ira challenged two teams of brainiacs to a game of movie science fact vs. fiction. And, we took a tour of a science prop shop packed with Tesla coils, knife switches, and brain stimulators.

Thanks to everyone who came!

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