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UCL student Alvina Kuhai brings UCL physics research to life with Phys FilmMakers

9 June 2016

The UCL Physics Building was filled with the aroma of popcorn on Tuesday 7 June for the inaugural screening of

UCL student Alvina Kuhai brings UCL physics research to life with Phys FilmMakers google.com/site/laurakmckemmish/teaching-e/phys-filmmakers">UCL Phys FilmMakers student movie series - a new initiative to showcase the amazing discoveries and breakthroughs being made within UCL Physics and Astronomy.

Alvina Kuhai, a second year Medical Physics MSci student, was one of the 11 student filmmakers who had her movie screened this week to great acclaim from UCL researchers. Her filmmaking team was made up of fellow students, Sindy San and Harriet Robertson, all of whom worked together to produce and host a series of YouTube style videos, the first focusing on Rydberg-Stark States.

The reception for the video was overwhelming positive, as Alvina explained, "The atmosphere at the screening was very receptive. We had popcorn, cola like in a proper cinema. At the end of the screening some of UCL researchers even told me they wanted to create a film about their own research.

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She added, "The research covered in our video is an extension to what we have learned in Atomic and Molecular physics module this year. Having learned Stark effect in lectures, it was amazing to see how this knowledge is applied here at UCL.

"Learning about a scientific concept is one thing, but actually seeing it being used in practice is a completely different experience. I feel like having taken part in PhysFilmMakers course, I have greater understanding of my degree than I had before. Just as importantly, by creating these videos we open our lab doors to the world."

Opening up new frontiers in science communication

Detailing how the idea for the video originated, Alvina explained, "We started from the idea of a having typical YouTube blogger-style video (clean background, pop-ups, pictures ext.) and added a bit of humour into it. I feel like adding humour always helps not to lose the audience."

Alvina is encouraging other UCL students from the department to take part in the course. She said, "PhysFilmMakers encourages you to interact with scientific research group. I was able to come to a lab, see how the experiments are performed and take a look at the results, and also come to researcher's office. This is not something you do on a daily basic as an undergrad. It opens up new frontiers in science communication."

The Phys FilmMakers course has been developed by Dr Laura McKemmish, a Research Associate in UCL Physics and Astronomy and Rebecca Coates, Twinkle Space Mission. It was born out of a struggle to show the research that takes place in the department which visitors rarely get to see due to health and safety risks and space limitations.

Through the course students have learnt how to shoot narration and B-roll footage, edit together videos, research and write scripts. They were taken on lab tours by PhD and post-doc members of the research group in order to develop ideas into something easily captured on film.

Bringing the UCL Connected Curriculum to life

Course founder Laura McKemmish said, "Phys FilmMakers is a course that science communicator, Rebecca Coates and I have developed and run since January 2016. The course was funded as part of the UCL ChangeMakers and it tries to bring many of the UCL Connected Curriculum objectives to life, merging research with teaching.

"Phys FilmMakers 2.0 for undergraduate students will start in October 2017. Dr Phys FilmMakers for PhD students and other staff members within UCL Physics and Astronomy are also currently under discussion. Our dream is for a 4-8 week summer school in 2017 where undergraduate students are linked to research groups, taught how to make films and then produce videos on the research within their linked research group."

Phys FilmMakers is also influencing the development of curriculum within the compulsory UCL modules including the compulsory Physics and Astronomy communication modules.

For more information visit Phys Filmmakers or email l.mckemmish@ucl.ac.uk.

Rachel Heatley, UCL Communications and Marketing