Welcome Andy, Julie, and Nate!
by Andrew Suprenant on 26 November 2007
Belatedly, we extend our welcome to Andy Swindler (Board of Directors), Julie Rotz (Event Coordinator), and Nathan Young (Development/Production).
We've been working with them for a few months now, and they've really added new energy to the team. Thanks, guys!
Benefit Announced / Tickets on sale!
by Julie Rotz on 16 November 2007
Lost Sounds and Found Films, the Annual Benefit for 137 Films, will take place on December 15th at Caro D'Offay Gallery in Chicago from 7-11PM.
We will announce more details soon, but, in the meantime, information on bands, tickets, and volunteer opportunities is available here.
Fermilab hits big screen as part of film workshop
by Nancy Gier, Daily Herald on 11 November 2007
A workshop on making documentaries offered Saturday at Geneva's first film festival prompted more discussion about science and its relationship to politics and culture than the how-tos of filmmaking.
Despite a small audience, the event was a clear indication that the far western suburbs can provide a venue for an enriching cultural event.
The workshop was presented by Chicago's Clayton Brown and Andrew Suprenant, who've nearly finished a documentary called "The Atom Smashers," about the race by Fermilab in Batavia to find a subatomic particle called the Higgs.
Mosaic Music to mix The Atom Smashers
by Andrew Suprenant on 19 August 2007
Mosaic Music, an original music and sound production company founded by Chicago-based composer/producer Rich Rankin, has signed up to mix The Atom Smashers.
Mosaic Music has created original commercial music for companies ranging from Microsoft, Target, Sea World and Corona, to Southwest Airlines, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Whirlpool and Gatorade. The company is also active with film scores, multimedia projects, original songs and album production.
We were impressed with Rich's easy professionalism and clear understanding of our needs, so we're very much looking forward to working with him to make the film sound as good as possible.
The New York Times covers the Higgs
by Monica Ross on 10 August 2007
Dennis Overbye (The New York Times) discusses the implications of calling the Higgs boson - a central, yet undiscovered component the Standard Model - "the God Particle," weighing the benefits of a rich, accessible metaphor with the difficulties of an irreverent and increasingly politicized label.
The story has been added to our research section.
The New York Times covers Fermilab
by Monica Ross on 24 July 2007
Dennis Overbye, Deputy Science Editor of The New York Times and subject of The Atom Smashers, writes up the race between Fermilab and CERN, CDF and D-Zero, and the influence of the Internet on rumors and discoveries.
The story has been added to our research section.
The Atom Smashers accepted to the IFP Market!
by Andrew Suprenant on 20 July 2007
We just got word that The Atom Smashers has been accepted into the Spotlight on Documentaries section of the IFP Market, which will take place this September in New York!
The market should be a great opportunity for us to meet with industry professionals, including financiers, producers, festival programmers, distributors, broadcasters, sales agents, and other filmmakers.
Hopefully this will give legs to The Atom Smashers and future projects. We will be in touch with developments!
Fermilab : Higgs :: 137 Films : Volunteers
by Jen Howell on 11 July 2007
Like parties? Live music? Science?
The volunteers at our last event had a lot of fun planning the night, greeting the guests, serving refreshments, and making a night of homemade film and music run smoothly.
We're looking for the next batch of helpers who can either lend a hand with long-term planning or drop in for a night to help with a single event. If this description interests you, please contact us!
The Economist publishes brace of Higgs-related articles
by Monica Ross on 17 March 2007
Last week's issue of The Economist published two articles outlining currents states of affairs at Fermilab, CERN, and the proposed International Linear Collider.
The bottom line? Fermilab, as we have seen, might have a shot finding the Higgs, and the ILC, wherever it lands, probably will not produce data until the 2020s.
Regardless, all three facilities can potentially offer significant insight into how the universe evolved and, fundamentally, how the world works.
Onwards and upwards
Plans to build ever-grander particle-smashers collide with reality
Higgs may fly
Physicists in America may have scooped their counterparts in Europe in the hunt for the source of universal mass
Thanks to Monica Metzler at the Illinois Science Council for bringing these to our attention (especially since our usual copy of the magazine didn't arrive last week)!
Welcome Ross Martens!
by Andrew Suprenant on 13 March 2007
We're thrilled to announce that Ross Martens, Chicago-based filmmaker, photographer, framing master, and musician will be stepping on board to help us finish The Atom Smashers.
If Ross sounds familiar, you may have caught him rocking the accordian and saw with I Ching Quartet at our last Lost Sounds and Found Films event.
Thanks, Ross! We look forward to working with you!
Reel Chicago runs down locally-produced documentaries
by Andrew Suprenant on 12 March 2007
We just caught wind of a January Reel Chicago article listing twenty-eight locally-produced documentaries.
With films following subjects ranging from Devon Avenue to Daniel Burnham, Chicago's new and seasoned producers are staying busy. Keep up the good work!
Election Day premieres at SXSW
by Andrew Suprenant on 12 March 2007
Congratulations to our friends at Arts Engine for taking the film to the festival! We wish them the best of success in their screenings.
Election Day follows twelve American voters over the course of 2 November 2004 to to look at the stories of the electorate.
Is Fermilab seeing the Higgs?
by Clayton Brown on 3 March 2007
New Scientist is reporting that Fermilab physicists are cautionsly excited that Higgs signals may have been detected by the Tevatron. More analysis needs to take place, but if the Higgs has been found, it may be more complex than predicted.
Higgs boson: Glimpses of the God particle
New Scientist
137 Films wins CityArts grant
by Andrew Suprenant on 3 March 2007
Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council just awarded us with a CityArts Program 1 grant to support The Atom Smashers and 137 Films.
We thank them deeply for support of our projects as well as the arts in Illinois!
Science budgets get interesting
by Andrew Suprenant on 20 February 2007
Fermilab made great strides toward discoveries in 2006, though their federal funding eroded due to Congressional action and inaction. Now that the funding situation has somewhat improved, time will what the facility can make of their resources in 2007.
Alone at the Top
Scientific American (purchase or subscription required)
Fermilab Will Stay Open
The Beacon News
Welcome interns!
by Andrew Suprenant on 18 January 2007
Welcome and thanks to Sarah, Stacy, Mars, Stephen, and Chris! We're thrilled to have you on board.
Chances of finding Higgs increase even as budgets drop
by Clayton Brown and Monica Ross on 16 January 2007
The CDF group at Fermilab recently announced that the mass of the Higgs boson may be lighter than previously expected, making the discovery of the particle more likely at Fermilab.
In the face of budgets frozen at 2006 levels by a Congress that has not passed new spending levels for science, Fermilab faces a potential shutdown for one month in 2007. Despite this, scientists are working hard, wrangling the accelerator there to record energies as they work to make a discovery.
For more information, you can visit our blog or review the following articles:
New CDF measurement suggests a lighter Higgs
Fermilab Today
Shrinking Higgs brings optimism to US lab
Nature Magazine (subscription required)
A message from the director: Continuing Resolution
Fermilab Today
Congressional Budget Delay Stymies Scientific Research
The New York Times (requires membership or purchase of article)
137 Films, The Atom Smashers Covered by Dialogue and Centerstage
by Andrew Suprenant on 16 January 2007
Jessica Herman of Centerstage talks process and product with directors of The Atom Smashers, while Northwestern University's Cara Lockwood found a dynamic relationship between current and former students working together.
Alumni and students work together to break ground (PDF, see page 13)
Dialogue
Lost Sounds and Found Films photos posted
by Jenn Yao on 2 January 2007
Thanks to everyone who joined us for the event! We had a great time and hope you did too.
Photos of the night can be found on our Flickr page. The event was very successful in raising funds for The Atom Smashers, so we're going to keep working on the film. Again, thanks!