Documentary Film Shows Science Behind Earthquake Prediction

Professor Isaac Kerlow (left), a pioneer in computer animation and former director of new-media techniques at The Walt Disney Company for many years, explained the making of the 20-minute film People–Coral–Mentawai at a screening Oct. 14 at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Art, Design and Media (ADM).

The film was directed and produced by Professor Kerlow with a student crew drawn from ADM, and is the first interdisciplinary collaboration between ADM and the Earth Observatory of Singapore. It shows how Professor Kerry Sieh (right), scientific colleagues from Indonesia and students from Caltech, gathered evidence from uplifted corals in the Mentawai Islands to arrive at their prediction that a large Sumatran quake can be expected within a few decades.

Professor Kerlow told the audience that the project "shows we can make films using very small crews and get the same emotional power" as in large films.

Media Coverage:

• Straits Times Razor TV [15-Oct-2009]: Islands of Mentawai