Birth of Planet Earth

Running Time: 25 minutes

General Audience

Available Languages: English, German

Narrated by Richard Dormer.

Birth of Planet Earth tells the twisted tale of our planet's origins.

Scientists now believe that our galaxy is filled with solar systems, including up to a billion planets roughly the size of our own. The film employs advanced, data-driven, cinematic-quality visualizations to explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system's violent birth? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?

Produced by Spitz Creative Media, NCSA's Advanced Visualization Lab, Thomas Lucas Productions, Inc., in association with Tellus Science Museum. This project has been made possible with support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Greater Philadelphia Film Office; funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

Official show announcements
Spitz Press Release
NCSA Press Release

Read about it at
Spitz Creative Media Website
FDDB.org
NCSA's Advanced Visualization Lab
InPark Magazine

Show Accolades

Official Selection, 5th Fulldome Film Festival Korea, Gwacheon National Science Museum, South Korea 2020

Official Selection, Dome Under Festival, Melbourne, Australia, 2020

Best Scientific Visualization and Data Analytics Showcase for Photosynthesis in a Chromatophore, Excerpt from "Birth of Planet Earth", at IEEE Supercomputing in Denver, CO, 2019

Electronic Theater, Official Selection: Photosynthesis in a Chromatophore, Excerpt from "Birth of Planet Earth", SIGGRAPH Asia, Brisbane, Australia, 2019

Best Soundtrack Award, Immersive Film Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 2019

Honorable Mention, "For the value of the work as a whole... which involves detailed scientific visualizations associated with an enormous artistic beauty", Immersive Film Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 2019

Best Educational Dome Film, DTLA Film Festival, Los Angeles, CA, 2019

Official Selection, Immersive Film Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 2019

Official Selection, Astra Film Festival, Romania, 2019

Director's Award, Fulldome Festival Brno 2019

Electronic Theater, Official Selection: Photosynthesis in a Chromatophore, Excerpt from "Birth of Planet Earth", SIGGRAPH 2019

Best Astronomical Visualizations, Reflections of the Universe Fulldome Festival, Yaroslavl 2019

Official Selection, Macon Film Festival 2019

Computer Animation Festival, Official Selection: Formation of the Moon, Excerpt from "Birth of Planet Earth", SIGGRAPH Asia, Brisbane, Australia, 2019

Show Stills