Escape Velocity

2003
Video
1 minute

If you throw an object straight up, it will rise until the the negative acceleration of gravity stops it, then returns it to Earth. Gravity's force diminishes as distance from the center of the Earth increases, however. So if you can throw the object with enough initial upward velocity so that gravity's decreasing force can never quite slow it to a complete stop, its decreasing velocity can always be just high enough to overcome gravity's pull. The initial velocity needed to achieve that condition is called escape velocity.
From the surface of the Earth, escape velocity (ignoring air friction) is about 7 miles per second, or 25,000 miles per hour. Given that initial speed, an object needs no additional force applied to completely escape Earth's gravity.
This film represents the journey from London to Glasgow as if you were travelling at 25,000 mph.

view low quality video (low bandwidth users) 1.0Mb
view higher quality video (medium to high bandwidth users) 4.8Mb
click to view screen shot

Where the flying saucers come from peace

2003
Video
6 minutes

This film takes a exerpt from the book Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and superimposes it over documentary footage of the Second World War. The text describes the books hero Billy Pilgrim watching a war film backwards, the video footage has been edited together and played in reverse to syncronise with the text. The film was shown in an abandoned gaol in Glasgow in 2003 on the day of the worldwide demonstrations against the war in Iraq.

view higher quality video (medium to high bandwidth users) 13.5Mb
click to view screen shot