Seeing In The Dark- a film by Timothy Ferris.

[Suzy]

Hi everyone

For quite a while now I've been trying to get a hold of the film, "Seeing In The Dark" by Timothy Ferris.
Haven't had any luck.

Would anyone know where I could obtain a download or buy this DVD (Region 4 for Australia)? No torrents please, the hubby doesn't allow me.

Here's a preview, it's looks so good with Stephen O'Meara, Robert Gendler & Timothy Ferris.

Preview Here.

[Suzy]

Never mind, I eventually found it.
Why do I feel like I'm talking to myself on this thread.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Never mind, I eventually found it.
Why do I feel like I'm talking to myself on this thread.

Suzy, it is the first sign of madness when you talk to yourself. The second sign of madness is when you argue with yourself! You know when you are completely mad..........when you lose the argument!!!

[alistairsam]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Never mind, I eventually found it.
Why do I feel like I'm talking to myself on this thread.

Hi Suzy

That doco does look good
Where did you find it?

Cheers

[xstream (John)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Never mind, I eventually found it.

Hi Suzy, I'm also interested to know where you found it.

[Suzy]

Petra (space zebra) got a hold of Timothy Ferris on facebook and asked him. He doesn't seem to post much on fb so I didn't bother trying , so anyway as I too am a friend of his on facebook I was able to see his replies to Petra's questions which were done on my behalf. Thanks Petra for going to all the trouble.

This is what Timothy Ferris had to say:

I don't know whether the DVD has been released in Australia. If so they didn't send the production company a copy as we have no Region 4 copies here. Is it available as a Netflix streamer, perhaps?

Do you have access to a Blu-ray player? The film really should be seen in HD anyway, and my impression is that most good BR players handle multiple zones.

... so hot on trail of that I promptly rang Panasonic and they told me that my bluray player is multi region zoned for dvds. Take note: This does not apply to bluray discs being multi zoned.

You can purchase the move from the PBS shop (U.S.A.) here.
I'm going for the book & dvd combo for $33.99.
The dvd on it's own is $24.99 so I think that's good value.

It's also available on Amazon.com (link below where it says "Buy").


From his website...

Seeing In The Dark Buy "A rhapsodic sight-and-sound odyssey into the night sky." — Frazier Moore, Associated Press
"The high-definition astrophotography looks like something out of Star Wars. Who remembered that our real universe could look that way, too?" — Joshua Zumbrun, Washington Post
"A charming love letter to the backyard astronomer in all of us: Grade A!" — Gloria Goodale, Christian Science Monitor
"This is not your standard one-dimensional, expository science documentary. Seeing in the Dark is more like a reality show from inside a love affair. — Dave Brody, Space.com
"Spectacular! ... An inspiring and family-friendly production. Watch it with the kids." — Michael Storey, Arkansas Online
"Terrific! Accompanied by music from Mark Knopfler and Guy Fletcher, this special is beautifully photographed and paced — like a night out under the stars." — Frank Roylance, Baltimore Sun


Here's a review on the book ...

Reviewed by Rick Kleffel © 2002

http://trashotron.com/agony/images/f...n_the_dark.jpg

REFERENCES
COLUMNS
Non-Fiction, Science Fiction
09-11-02
The typical picture of the astronomer in my mind, and the minds of most readers, is that of a tall man wearing a white lab coat and carrying a clipboard, occasionally bending over to peer into the eyepiece of an enormous, expensive telescope in a remote mountaintop location. This is the scientist at his most scientific, a man who never leaves the earth but only studies that which never comes to earth. This is remote and academic, accomplished and incredibly intellectual. This is patient and productive, professional and professorial. But there are scores of astronomers who are anything but professional or professorial, and yet they are making huge contributions to the science. A case in point is the gentleman who only yesterday announced that he had discovered that the earth has a second moon. In 'Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril', author Timothy Ferris makes a case for the amateur astronomer's contributions to science. But most importantly, he tells a compelling tale of interesting people in gorgeous language. Whether you're interested in astronomy or not -- and it's hard to come away from this book without being interested in astronomy -- the people and the language that Timothy Ferris summons are a compelling reason to read this book.
I haven't read Ferris' other work, though I might be inclined to do so now. But 'Seeing in the Dark' is certainly not what I expected of a "popular science" book about astronomy. It's a very personal seeming work, which begins with Ferris' reminiscences of his Florida childhood, building models of rockets and looking at the stars. He then heads out on a carefully crafted tour of the universe, via the amateur astronomers who are studying it. The book is very cleverly written so that no section is dauntingly long, and each is filled with portraits of the fascinating people who are studying the stars.
These portraits of the people are interspersed with advice and effective inspiration to get the reader out and looking at the sky, even if you're only using your bare eyes. Ferris is gifted at giving the reader hints on how to make the transition from clueless novice to interested amateur. For example, one suggestion he has is that the beginner make a list of what he intends to see on a given night. It's something that might never have occurred to me, but in itself it really pulls the whole enterprise out of the hall closet and onto the back porch. Ferris debunks the myths that you need an ultimately clear pitch black sky to see interesting astronomical phenomena. In fact, you can even gather crucial scientific data in a citified sky. And he interleaves his suggestions with personal anecdotes and ten years worth of interviews that he manages to string together seamlessly, to create a big complicated picture that is disarmingly easy to read.
Ferris is credited with publication in The New Yorker, and it's easy to see why. His prose constantly verges on poetic, and he's remarkably capable of turning science into entertainment. As we visit with Stephen O'Meara, the man with simply remarkable eyes, or John Dobson, the San Francisco monk who invented a whole new class of telescopes and plunked them down in the city streets to delight passers-by with the rings of Saturn. If you are remotely interested in astronomy or in reading about fascinating, slightly odd people, then 'Seeing in the Dark' is likely to reward you with view not only of the universe, but the remarkable humans who gaze upon it.

And, while I'm at it here is the link to Timothy Ferris' "How To" videos page (for starting out in astronomy) if anyone is interested.

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by Stardrifter_WA

Suzy, it is the first sign of madness when you talk to yourself. The second sign of madness is when you argue with yourself! You know when you are completely mad..........when you lose the argument!!!

I'll say!
No-no-no, I really don't know what you're talking about.

[xstream (John)]

Thanks Suzy!

[mikerr (Michael)]

Suzy, in the combo pack you ordered is the DVD a Blu Ray DVD or just a conventional DVD? I hope that makes sense.

Michael.

[Suzy]

Hi Mike,
It's a DVD.
DVDs it seems will play multi region on most bluray players (check with the manufacturer for your particular model). My Panasonic model does.

As said earlier, this movie has not been released in Region 4/Australia, so bluray players will not support this bluray disc. Unless you have a zone free one but then Panasonic told me they don't make zone free bluray players.

[Satchmo]

Theres been a 720p HD Torrent of it available for years. This is is typical example of why 'piracy' flourishes. Traditional means of media delivery are just not keeping up with the times ( look at the success of the Itunes model ) . Its a ridiculous situation when people have to wait years for some executive somewhere to decide some portion of the world should now be able to see something or not.

Its a fun documentary but leans heavily towards profiling amateurs who are doing supernova searches and serious 'science' etc with lots of gear inside well set up observatories. You could be forgiven for thinking the movie was sponsored by Meade. For me , there was not much there to inspire the average person new to the hobby who will never do any `science'- it kind of glorified the complexity that amateurs can get themselves into- something that can lead to a lot of stress and debt for some . It was interesting watching it once but I've never had the inclination to watch it again.

[mikerr (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

Hi Mike,
It's a DVD.
DVDs it seems will play multi region on most bluray players (check with the manufacturer for your particular model). My Panasonic model does.

As said earlier, this movie has not been released in Region 4/Australia, so bluray players will not support this bluray disc. Unless you have a zone free one but then Panasonic told me they don't make zone free bluray players.

Thanks for the explanation Suzy

Michael.

[Suzy]

While you all are having a look at the PBS site can I just take a moment here to suggest a couple of other goodies from their site.
Nova/PBS docos are amongst the best docos I've seen- fantastic quality content, I'm a big fan of them. Some of them are available in full length on youtube also.
So for what it's worth here are a couple of my recommendations :

Death Of A Star (Supernova SN1987A) US$19.95
Especially if you witnessed this rare event naked eye, you will want to watch this excellent one hour documentary. It was made I think around September of the same year. Everyone that was involved in the discovery/observations of this event are interviewed on this dvd. Don't forget we are also coming up to the 25th Anniversary of sn1987A on the 24th of February. There's a wonderful write up of it in "Astronomy Australia 2012" book.

NOVA: Death of a Star
Witness one of the most spectacular events since creation, the supernova. Supernovas are as spectacular as they are rare. In early 1987, a giant star exploded in the sky one of the most violent celestial events since the creation of the universe. Why did this phenomenon fascinate, baffle, and delight astronomers? Journey to space and around the globe for an astounding look at the true meaning of star power.

YouTube link for complete doco here


Hunting The Edge Of Space
As you can see on the link above, this is only available as a package offer from PBS (it seems), but YOU GET "Death Of A Star" and two other dvds for US$68.99.

This documentary celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Telescope. It explores all the instruments we've used todate to see our universe, from Galileo times (we even get to see his original telescope and how it was made), the story of the Herschell's etc and how John Herschell made hs mirrors/scope, right through to modern times with our array of observatories in space (Hubble etc). It's an extensive 2 hour doco.

NOVA: Telescope: Hunting the Edge of Space
Hunting the Edge of Space celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, and takes viewers on a global adventure of discovery, exploring the rich history of the telescope. Then NOVA turns its attention to a new generation of ever-larger telescopes, poised to reveal answers to longstanding questions about our universe, and, in turn, to raise new questions.

YouTube link for complete doco... Part 1 Part 2

[Suzy]

John, by the way, I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this to you before, but thank you so much for your recommendations for me getting in touch with Peter from SDM re the purchase of my Stellarview Finder. I've purchased it through Peter back in December and he was a delight to deal with, kept in touch all the way through and happily helped me to no end and offered suggestions - those parts are confusing!) Thank you!

[Suzy]

Hi Mark,

As always I look forward to your comments/reviews, thanks so much.
I did take it that it was more about telescope observations from the everyday astronomer rather than "pretty pictures" of space, as I enjoy the science behind it all. So your wonderful review of it all will perhaps suit me down to "T". Agreed, probably wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea though from what you've described.

Yes, why can't more documentaries be shown through i-tunes! Keep up with the times people as Mark said so well. grrrr!

[xstream (John)]

Originally Posted by Suzy

John, by the way, I'm not sure if I've already mentioned this to you before, but thank you so much for your recommendations for me getting in touch with Peter from SDM re the purchase of my Stellarview Finder. I've purchased it through Peter back in December and he was a delight to deal with, kept in touch all the way through and happily helped me to no end and offered suggestions - those parts are confusing!) Thank you!

Thank you Suzy, you're more than welcome.

Peter is one of natures gentlemen and one I class as a friend.