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Powers of Ten (1977)

| Documentary , Short
Powers of Ten Poster
A scientific film essay, narrated by Phil Morrison. A set of pictures of two picnickers in a park, with the area of each frame one-tenth the size of the one before. Starting from a view of ... See full summary »

Directors:

Charles Eames, Ray Eames

Star:

Philip Morrison
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1 win. See more awards »

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Cast

Credited cast:
Philip Morrison ... Narrator (voice)
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Storyline

A scientific film essay, narrated by Phil Morrison. A set of pictures of two picnickers in a park, with the area of each frame one-tenth the size of the one before. Starting from a view of the entire known universe, the camera gradually zooms in until we are viewing the subatomic particles on a man's hand. Written by Jean-Marc Rocher <rocher@fiberbit.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

national film registry | voice over narration | educational film | overhead camera shot | picnic | See All (10) »

Genres:

Documentary | Short

Parents Guide:

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Details

Official Sites:

Eames Office's powersoften.com

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Powers of Ten: A Film Dealing with the Relative Size of Things in the Universe and the Effect of Adding Another Zero See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Business Machines (IBM),Office of Charles & Ray Eames See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Won National Film Registry, National Film Preservation Board, USA 1998. See more »

Goofs

The narrator refers to Soldier Field as "Soldiers Field". See more »

Connections

Featured in De wereld leert door: Episode #1.43 (2013) See more »

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User Reviews

 
Wow...
6 September 2009 | by MartinHafer – See all my reviews

I agree with dynamite_xi--for a 1970s film, the animation is absolutely stunning. Even today with all our advances, such a film would be very impressive. It left me wondering how they managed to make such a professional looking thing with relatively simple technology.

The concept of the film is very simple and is one you could imagine being used by a science or math teacher to explain about the size of the universe, the size of atoms or about mathematical powers. It starts with a couple lying on a blanket in a park in Chicago and begins pulling back step by step to the power of 10. In other words, starting at the couple, the camera goes to 10 meters square, then 100, etc. until the solar system becomes a speck and beyond. Just how small and insignificant we all are is very well explained. Then, once it makes a return journey, then it goes to the negative 10 power--going deeper and deeper inside the human body to the subatomic level.

While this is not a particularly "fun" film, it's very educational and tops when it comes to animation. I am impressed.
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