The Ark In Space

The Story of the Dinosaurs

Sunday, 20 September 2020

Most people know that the age of the diniosaurs ended with the impact of a huge meteor that ravaged the earth and was responsible for the extinction of 90% of the species around then. What fewer know is that the age of the dinosaurs also stared with a mass extinction. This wonderful animation, designed and directed by The Brothers McLeod.for the BBC tells is the whole story, spanning many millions of years and covering the three period of the Mesozoic, the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.

What is Symbiosis?

Did you know that symbiosis is one of the most important words in the English language? Why? Because without symbiosis it is possible that most life on earth (ourselves included) would not live. This is the first in a series of short films exploring the amazing science of symbiosis, a mutually beneficial relationship between two or more species. In this episode - Symbiotic Super Powers – we get to learn what symbiosis is, discover why it’s so important for life on Earth, and meet some of the scientists who are working hard to understand it. This very cool short was created by Day’s Edge Productions.

The Billion-Bug Highway You Can't See

Friday, 24 April 2020

Look up at the sky and what do you see? Well, blue, yes. And maybe a plane or a bird, but otherwise ... nothing. Or so you think. It turns out that right above you, totally invisible, is an enormous herd of animal life -- tiny bugs riding the wind currents.

According to research done by British scientists in a six mile square space about our heads there can be as many as three billion insects.

That is quite some figure. This amazing animation takes you through the reasons why. Some of the heights that these insects reach is pretty spectacular to say the very least. It certainly answers the question how high can insects fly?

The Hidden Life of the Burrowing Owl

Sunday, 13 January 2019

We don’t usually stray away from live action on Ark in Space, but this is really something rather wonderful. Mike Roush, an animator living in California, has created this animated record of the life and loves of the Burrowing Owl. Although it does veer in to the anthropomorphic it also faithfully records many of the details of how burrowing owls survive in the wild. If this wets your appetite for the real thing then why not take a look at our feature article on the burrowing owl.

The Story of the Mountain Pine Beetle

Sunday, 29 April 2018

This is the story of a tiny insect smaller than a grain of rice – in a way it’s the circle of life writ very, very small. A native of North America, the species has recently been having something of a feast and the mountain pine beetle has reproduced to plague proportions. They have now killed most of the mature pine trees in an area the size of Wyoming. The people at the Ruckelshaus Institute guide us through the story and the possible future of the mountain pine beetle.

Breaking the Rules: Pollen Thieves!

Sunday, 19 March 2017

This is a pretty amazing animation which shows that nature was many millions of years ahead of us when it comes to some traits that we consider human. In this case, it is theft. Some plants have evolved so that a particular insect can take its pollen from it flowers and so further the species. However, there are a number of species out there who pay little or no attention to the ‘wishes’ of the flower. They sense pollen and they want it!

What do they do? They grab hold of the flower and rip it open, so gaining access to the corolla tube and then they access the precious nectar from there. However, sometimes their act of desecration will still result in pollination, as this amazing video shows. Breaking the Rules was created by Divulagare.

Deep Dance

Sunday, 29 May 2016

A world without light, a world dominated by darkness and threatening silence: the deep sea. Driven by their instincts, we pursue two contradictory characters and witness a struggle for life and death. We become victims of the illusion of light. Deep Dance is an animated short set in the deep sea. It's a story about survival created by Marco Erbrich. This film was part of the diploma at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

Cool Facts about Snails

Saturday, 2 May 2015

If you have ever wondered how snails get about, which of their ‘eyes’ they use to see, how strong they are or even how long they live then you have come to the right place! This is the first episode of The Macro Life by Rubber Knife Productions and features all those essential facts about snails that you always meant to ask but never quite got around to. With a jocular narration by Jeremy Linn, this look at the macro life of snails is hugely enjoyable.

Monster Fish - In Search of the Last River Giants

Saturday, 11 April 2015

Are there still enormous fish swimming in our lakes and rivers?

To find out the answer you will have to watch this short film animated by Daniel Gies.

It was made for the National Geographic Museum.

This is a beautifully made piece. I am sure you will enjoy this.

Quagga

Friday, 28 June 2013

You may not have heard of the Quagga and you might suspect that it never really existed. However, it did but the last of its kind died in the 19th century. It joined an ever growing list of animals made extinct by our direct intervention in its habitat.

This animation by Olga and Tatiana Poliektovs re-introduces us to the quagga and some of his friends by way of a little boy having an adventure with his camera in his woods. He manages to capture a picture of these shy animals but when he shows it to his mother the animals have all disappeared from the picture. Take a look at the animation: it may make you sad but hopefully it will encourage you to help those species that we still can save!

The Sloth Life, It Can Changes

Saturday, 11 June 2011

When I first saw the title of this (very funny) animated short I thought that perhaps it was a typo made by someone who does not speak English very well. After all, The Sloth Life, It Can Changes is poor English, innit?

I wasn’t far wrong but the words are from the mouth of the hero of this piece, a slow moving (and perhaps even more slow witted) sloth. Perhaps the age of the lolsloth is upon us?

Or perhaps not. This animation allows you to get to know the sloth and get to like him a lot too – and then drops one almighty bomb on you. Perhaps one of the silliest starts to an animation I have ever seen leads to something quite jaw-droppingly sad – and an important environmental message is imparted too. Great work from all involved at Slothvision.

The Luminous Deep

Monday, 18 April 2011

The Luminous Deep is a short animated documentary made by Kevin Adams and Amy Scott-Murray, two final-year Animation students at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.

The fact that it was made by two undergraduates makes it even cooler in my opinion – the quality of the animation is awesome, particularly when you realize that their budget was hardly Spielbergian. The documentary was made with the assistance of researchers at Aberdeen University's Oceanlab.

During the short animation, we learn the fate of a dead whale that sinks to the darkness of the seabed, and how its carcass can come alight by nourishing a huge interconnected community of scavengers and predators. Most of these creatures produce glowing lights that researchers theorize would create a brilliant firework display in the abyssal night.

Birds on the Wires

Saturday, 18 September 2010

One day Jarbas Agnelli was reading his newspaper when he saw a picture of birds on electric wires which immediately fascinated him.. He noticed that the positions of the birds looked like a pice of musical notation. He set about recreating the melody based on where the birds were perched.

He contacted the photographer who had taken the original picture who was also intrigued by the music. He informed his Editor and the whole idea was turned in to a story in the newspaper. Agnelli, spurred on, then created this animation with the photo, the music and the score.

There is absolutely no Photoshop involved here - the melody is created from the exact positions of the birds on the wires. It's a lovely little tune, too!

What is Biodiversity? Cool Animated Explanation

Sunday, 22 August 2010

What is biodiveristy? That is a very good question and it demands a good answer. So, no doubt that is why many teachers and parents alike have shrink away from answering this and point to the internet for an answer. Well, they came to the right place.

Help is at hand and what is even better - visual help. If you are asked what biodiversity is, you can simply point your interrogator to this very cool explanation. The animated short film was made by students of the Vancouver Film School.

The students involved in the project were Amanda Healey, Jesse Lang, Juan Carlos Arenas and Robert Ramalho and they created it through the VFS Digital Design program. Congratulations to all of them - this animation should be sent out to schools immediately! What about a text based explanation, however?

Wikipedia defines biodiversity like this:

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or on the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The year 2010 has been declared as the International Year of Biodiversity.

It certainly makes sense, but which explanation do you prefer?

Yup. File under better explanation than Wikipedia.

Octopi - Oscar Nominated Animation

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

or in the original language Oktapodi. This is a short, very funny animated movie about how resilient and faithful two creatures can be.

Oktapodi is a 2007 French computer-animated short film that originated as a Graduate Student Project from Gobelins L'Ecole de L'Image. The short is about a pair of love struck octopuses who through a series of comical events are separated and find each other. Oktapodi was directed by Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, and Emud Mokhberi. Music was composed by Kenny Wood.

Oktapodi was well received, winning a number of awards, as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film (Animated) for the 81st Academy Awards in 2009.

Lance The Seahorse

Saturday, 8 May 2010

This is a really sweet story about a seahorse called Lance.

He gets quite bored at the sea bed and begins to fantasise that he was a real horse.

The ending is up to you to discover but this cute tale from Vimeo user George Shelbourn might just touch your heart.

A Clockwork Corn

Sunday, 11 April 2010

Squirrels + Corn = Video Opportunity. Watch this marvellous time lapse video of a bunch of squirrels (can't just be the same one, surely?) attacking their favorite food of the winter - good and healthy corn straight off the cob! And boy, do they tuck in!

The time lapse technique is used wonderfully here and it is fun watching the cob spin around as the squirrels devour it (hence the brilliant name for the piece I guess!). One to watch again and again!

This video was made by Vimeo member Mark Svoboda and was shot in an approximately two hour period. As it is produced by Backyard Boredom Pictures, we are assuming that it was shot in Mr Svoboda's back yard - but of course we could be wrong on that point. Wherever it was shot - thank you for a few minutes of great fun!

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