My video-Documentary: June 2010

Monday, June 28, 2010

National Geographic - Inside Rio Carnaval

At the center of the world famous Rio Carnaval is the Samba Parade — a fierce competition of vast scale among 13 neighborhood samba schools. Watching them are a panel of expert judges, more than 60,000 spectators and a TV audience of nearly half a billion. The unexpected is always expected during one of the largest parties on earth, and INSIDE is right there to find out how Rio survives and Carnaval continues to thrive.

BBC - Biology of Dads

'Every child needs a father' is a phrase heard often enough, but is there any evidence to support it? In this enlightening documentary, child psychologist Laverne Antrobus goes on a quest to discover why a dad's relationship with his offspring is so important. She uncovers fascinating new research which is shedding light onto the science of fatherhood.
Laverne meets a new dad who is experiencing Couvade Syndrome, a condition sometimes known as 'sympathetic pregnancy'. She is keen to explore if the symptoms - which are similar to those felt by pregnant women, such as nausea and sickness - might be physiological as well as psychological. The dad takes a blood test shortly after the birth of his third child and Antrobus discovers that hormones could be the cause of his symptoms: possibly nature's way of 'priming' him to become a more nurturing father.
Laverne then meets one of the UK's leading experts in the father's role within the family. While observing father and toddler play in his lab, she finds out how the rough-and-tumble play they witness is classic 'dad behaviour'. It is believed that this type of fatherly play is essential in teaching toddlers the boundaries of aggression and discipline.
In the final investigation, Antrobus looks into recent research which claims that men who have a good relationship with their daughters can influence the kind of husband the daughters choose. The study also found that girls whose fathers were absent during their formative years tend to reach puberty sooner and age quicker. Laverne recruits a team of married women to take part in one final, fascinating experiment.

National Geographic - Inside Vegas Mafia

In the 1950s, Mafia-built Las Vegas became a cash cow for organized crime, but when the richest man in the world arrived, things changed and the feds blew the lid on the original Gangster's Paradise.

National Geographic - Science of Dogs

With 400 breeds and counting, the dog is more varied in size and behavior than any other species. Follow man's evolutionary manipulation of dogs' appearance and talents, and see how nature and man have partnered to create new and specialized breeds.

CNBC - Escape from Havana An American Story

Our CNBC original documentary, Escape from Havana: An American Story, tells the fascinating story of a little-known chapter in American history. It was at the height of the Cold War when Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. It was supposed to be a democratic revolution, but Castro soon turned to communism and dictatorship. Rumors began to spread among the elites and middle class that Castro would take their children away...

Enzo Ferrari: Passion For Speed

Enzo Ferrari was born at the 18th February 1898 in a small mountain village close to Modena in the north of Italy. There has been a huge amount of snow that it was not possible for his father Alfredo to register the birth of his son. Therefore the official date of birth is registered to the 20th February 1898...

The Antarctica Challenge - Global Warming

An up-to-date look at the climate change research currently being done by the scientists stationed in Antarctica.

Monday, June 14, 2010

National Geographic - Gulf Oil Spill

http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/Images/ixtox1.jpg

It's one of America's biggest environmental disasters and the largest oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico since 1979. As experts scramble to stop the leak, find out what happened to the oil rig Deepwater Horizon as a blowout tore it apart, killing 11 of 126 men on board and sending oil toward Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coastlines. The special contains never-before-seen footage obtained from the U.S. Coast Guard, NGC's production crew and emergency response crews of the aftermath.

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Salvage Code Red Special-Gulf Oil Disaster 2010

This documentary follows the progress of the early response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, where a rig operated by BP blew up and killed eleven workers in the Gulf of Mexico, USA.

Interviewing Coastguard, salvage experts and workers from the rig, National Geographic Channel shows exclusive footage of the fires, the rescues and the efforts to contain the resulting well spill.

Rescue workers and specialists sea firefighters are visibly moved by the magnitude of the tragedy in front of them as it becomes clear that neither the missing crew nor the burning rig will be saved.

Diagrams also help to explain the construction of the rig and the way in which the situation evolved from a fire on a rig to a major oil spill.

Perhaps because of the impending legal marathon ahead of the rig’s operator, BP (British Petroleum) is not mentioned once in the program.

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BBC - We Have Ways of Making You Talk

A disturbing and candid BBC documentary that explores the history of modern interrogation techniques and the rise of modern torture, including its use by the US.

Filmed in France, Israel, USA, Algeria, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa and the UK, this disturbing and candid BBC documentary explores the history of modern interrogation techniques and the rise of modern torture using revealing interviews with state interrogators and state torturers.

The legacy of this history continues to shapes our present, especially in the United States, and some of these techniques have now become routine in the war on terror - be it the use of dogs, water-boarding, or sexual humiliation. This long, unbroken line of inhuman cruelty connects Nazi Germany to Abu Ghraib, and is an essential issue in today’s political landscape.

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Enron dives from the seventh largest US company to bankruptcy in less than a year in this tale told chronologically. The emphasis is on human drama, from suicide to 20,000 people sacked: the personalities of Ken Lay (with Falwellesque rectitude), Jeff Skilling (he of big ideas), Lou Pai (gone with $250 M), and Andy Fastow (the dark prince) dominate. Along the way, we watch Enron game California's deregulated electricity market, get a free pass from Arthur Andersen (which okays the dubious mark-to-market accounting), use greed to manipulate banks and brokerages (Merrill Lynch fires the analyst who questions Enron's rise), and hear from both Presidents Bush what great guys these are.

Aviation Military Airplane: Su-27 Flanker

The Sukhoi Su-27 (NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a one-seat Mach-2 class jet fighter originally manufactured by the Soviet Union, and designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large United States fourth generation fighters, with long 3,530 km range, heavy armament, sophisticated avionics and high agility. The Su-27 most often flies air superiority missions, but is able to perform almost all combat operations. Complementing the smaller MiG-29, the Su-27's closest US counterpart is the F-15 Eagle

National Geographic - Inside Bloods and Crips L.A. Gangs

NGC takes viewers to the streets of South Central Los Angeles as it charts the rise of two of the most notorious gangs in America: the Bloods and the Crips. Follow along as an emerging cocaine trade fuels staggering levels of bloodshed and the streets of Los Angeles begin to resemble a war zone. Exclusive interviews include Bloods founder T Rodgers; original Crip Angelo "Barefoot Pookie" White; former LAPD chief Darryl Gates; and LAPD gang unit veteran Tony Moreno

Discovery Channel - Wings of the Red Star - MiG 29

he Mikoyan MiG-29 is a 4th-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other nations. The NATO name "Fulcrum" was unofficially used by Soviet pilots in service. The MiG-29, along with the Sukhoi Su-27, were developed to counter new American fighters such as the F-15 Eagle, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon

BBC For Queen and Country

Documentary following the Grenadier Guards as they prepare to lead the 2010 Trooping the Colour. But these men have had precious little time to prepare; as fighting soldiers, they have just spent six months on the front line in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Trooping the Colour is one of the greatest ceremonial events on earth. It's a dazzling occasion, but this is an event that's far more than pageantry; at the roots of the ceremony are discipline and survival.

The ceremony is based on the tradition of carrying, or 'trooping', the Colour - or flag - of the regiment through the ranks of soldiers, clearly visible above the smoke and dust of battle, rallying the men. This year it falls upon 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards to perform this prestigious role.

This is the story of how one and a half thousand men and women join together to create one of the greatest military ceremonies on earth. It is a ceremony with just one standard: Excellence.

BBC - Paul Merton Looks At Alfred Hitchcock

Documentary in which Paul Merton explores Alfred Hitchcock's early British films. Merton sees Hitchcock as a man immersed in the visual language of cinema, who understood how to use camera movement and lighting for dramatic effect.

Using clips and archive interviews with Hitchcock and those who worked with him, including actress Anna Massey and cinematographer Gil Taylor, Merton weaves together a playful narrative of the director's early career, revealing a man with a great sense of humour.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Salvage Code Red Special-Gulf Oil Disaster 2010

BBC - Modern Masters : Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol
The first in a four-part series exploring the life and works of the 20th century's most important artists: Matisse; Picasso; Dali and Warhol. Art critic Alastair Sooke sets out to discover why these artists are considered so great and how they still influence our lives today. He begins with Andy Warhol, the king of Pop Art. On his journey he parties with Dennis Hopper, has a brush with Carla Bruni and gets to grips with Marilyn. Along the way he uncovers just how brilliantly Andy Warhol pinpointed and portrayed our obsessions with consumerism, celebrity and the media, and then went on to re-invent them.

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Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wild Asia: Monsoon India God of Life

Monsoon - India's god of life is a fascinating chronicle of how the wild animals of India cope with the hardship of summer and how the arrival of the monsoon transforms their lives and the land they live in. The monsoon is a great benefactor that replenishes water and rejuvenates the land. But sometimes it can also overwhelm with its abundance, unleashing floods that cause death and destruction. In India's far north east, the rare great Indian rhinoceros lives on a flood plain that swings between the extremes of too little water ... and too much. Lying to the south of the great Brahmaputra river, the rhino's home is literally reshaped by the force of every monsoon. As the summer advances, and the waterholes shrink, the normally solitary rhinos are forced together into tiny wallows to escape the heat. The days drag on with little respite and tempers flare as the great beasts jostle for space. When the summer monsoon finally arrives after weeks of anticipation, it makes its first landfall not in the north east, but at the tip of southern India