Animated film explores bowhead whales
January 12, 2015
907-474-6941
1/12/15
A new animated film produced by the University of Alaska Museum of the North explores the annual migration of bowhead whales across the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas. "Arctic Currents: A Year in the Life of the Bowhead Whale" takes its narrative and title from the 2013 calendar edited by University of Alaska Fairbanks oceanographer Steve Okkonen.
The museum will host a special Fairbanks premiere of the film on Friday, Jan. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the museum auditorium. The film will also be featured during a special program at the Fairbanks North Star Borough Noel Wien Library on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. The film also will be available for high definition download and as a DVD.
UAMN head of exhibits and digital media production Roger Topp said the film’s creators hope it will improve public understanding of these iconic animals and their role in the Pacific Arctic marine ecosystem.
“The museum has made an educational film from the ground up,” Topp said, “writing, modeling, animating, and partnering with a wide array of expert perspectives — from whaling captains, students and communities in rural Alaska to researchers around the country.”
The film investigates bowhead whale taxonomy, physiology, diet, behaviors and movement through subarctic and arctic waters. It also describes ongoing tagging and aerial observation programs and the extensive body of traditional knowledge of indigenous whaling peoples. It is created entirely from original artwork, computer animation and recorded sounds produced by the museum’s digital media team.
Narration for the film is recorded and presented in English, Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik. Funding was provided by the Cooperative Institute for Alaska Research, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research and the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Project funding was administered by the University of Alaska Coastal Marine Institute.
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Roger Topp, UAMN head of production, at 907-474-6985 or via email at rmtopp@alaska.edu; Steve Okkonen, UAF oceanographer, at 907-283-3234 or via email at okkonen@alaska.net
ON THE WEB: Arctic Currents
TB/1-12-15/156-15