BLAST! Film Explores Struggle, Religion Behind Scientific Efforts

The scoop: Emmy-award winning filmmaker Paul Devlin recently premiered a movie about a telescope on a balloon called BLAST! and it stars his brother -- cosmologist Mark Devlin.

Paul from Blast: Hi Dave. I haven't chatted online in awhile. Any advice?

Dave on Earth: Howdy! Just pretend that a bunch of people won't read this...

Paul from Blast: Thanks. Hoping Mark will show soon... want me to call him?

Dave on Earth: That'd be great.
While we wait, can you tell where are you chatting from?

Paul from Blast: From my apartment in Manhattan. Our family has had this place for ages, so the rent control is still going strong.

Dave on Earth: Ah, I'm in Queens but can see the skyline out the window -- lots of smog over there right now.
Regardless, still very jealous of your rent situation.

At 9:43 AM Mark from Blast joined the room

Paul from Blast: Hi Mark.

Mark from Blast: Sorry I'm late!

Dave on Earth: Hi, and no worries.
We were just talking about Paul's fortuitous rent situation.

Mark from Blast: Yeah... he is the envy of all New Yorkers.

Dave on Earth: That would include me. Mark, where are you typing from?

Mark from Blast: I'm in my lab at Penn (University of Pennsylvania).
No exciting view. In a basement.

Dave on Earth: Ah, so that's where Penn sticks all of its cosmologists...

Mark from Blast: Actually, most of them are on the top floor.
I have an office there too, but my labs only fit down here.

Dave on Earth: Gotcha.
I suppose this one's for Paul, and Mark feel free to follow up: What is BLAST! the movie about, and why should anyone see it?

Paul from Blast: I like to describe BLAST! as astrophysics Indiana Jones-style.
It takes you on a journey around the world and across the universe to launch a revolutionary telescope on a high-altitude balloon.

Mark from Blast: Well, I just watched the new Indiana Jones movie with my kids last night.
I wouldn't say it's *that* wild, but I think it's much different than most people's view of what scientists do.

Dave on Earth: No aliens, spaceships and ancient temples?

Mark from Blast: Nope.
No aliens, unless you include my collaborators.

Paul from Blast: It's really about the crazy life of scientists.
That's something we rarely see -- their obsession with understanding the universe, their personal and family sacrifices, and their philosophical/religious questioning.
Gives some emotional resonance to a suspenseful story of scientific pursuit.

Dave on Earth: Thanks.
Mark, you said the movie shows a view different of scientists than what most people think -- care to elaborate?

Mark from Blast: Well... think GEEK.
We're relatively geeky on an absolute scale, but also realize that to accomplish what we want requires a bit more dedication and sacrifice than the average researcher.
I mean, there is only so much you can get done sitting at a lab bench.
Also, while astronomers can apply for time on an existing telescope and watch the data roll in; we are not in that position.
We need to decide what we want to do, design an *experiment*, build it and then get the data.
It usually takes us to extreme locations.

Dave on Earth: Thanks. Now, you two are brothers.
If experience with my brother James serves me well, I'd say you guys got sick of each other during filming.

Paul from Blast: Never... ;)
Actually there were some very tense moments. That's true of any subject of a documentary -- about halfway through they get sick of the filmmaker.
But Mark and I have had a lifetime of being sick of each other. Since we're still speaking I guess we got through it ok, though.

Mark from Blast: Yes, we got sick of each other.
BUT, after the 10th time Paul tried to get me to say a line the way he wanted (read: dumbed-down), I learned to appreciate how hard it is to get this across to the lay audience.

Dave on Earth: Good -- then we won't need to do any chat room therapy.
So you two, especially Mark, went all over the place to do BLAST, and film the movie. Where all did you go?

Mark from Blast: Let me list: Philadelphia, Rhode Island, California, Toronto, Vancouver, Cardiff University in Wales, Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, Palestine, Texas, Kiruna, Sweden... then Antarctica.
I travel a lot.

Dave on Earth: Paul, how would you rate Mark as a big-time movie actor?

Paul from Blast: He's surprisingly effective on-screen. I was concerned about that because characters are some important to the movie and scientists are so stoic...
Mark is no exception. In the face of catastrophic failure, he shows minimal emotion.
But as we delve into his family life and the personal sacrifices he makes, I think we develop a very sympathetic character. We've gotten some very good feedback.

Mark from Blast: I would suck, as an actor that is.

Dave on Earth: BLAST! is about launching a telescope on a balloon.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say strapping doing such a thing would qualify you for checking into a mental institution.

Paul from Blast: It is pretty crazy.

Mark from Blast: Well, I've been doing it for so long, that it seems pretty natural.
On the other hand, even among astronomers, what we do is considered a bit nuts.
BLAST is my third payload. I've launched about eight or nine balloons total.

Dave on Earth: These balloons -- how high do they go? And why put a telescope on them?