Local film crew teams with RU scientists to create new documentary

Rutgers University has prided itself on its newfound slogan, “Jersey roots, global reach.” In 2009 a team of RU scientists brought this global reach to life in a historic trek across uncharted borders.

The team from the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences designed and build a nearly 8-foot, 134-pound missile- shaped robot, then piloted the ship remotely across the entire Atlantic ocean, reaching depths of up to 6500 feet below sea level.

 

The robot, RU27, was nicknamed “Scarlet” by its creators, who describe it as the most autonomous underwater vehicle in the world and the first to undertake such a lengthy mission. Scarlet has earned itself an exhibit in the Smithsonian opening this December.

 

Following the robot along its journey was a documentary film crew led by local filmmaker Dena Seidel, Director of Digital Storytelling at the Writers House of Rutgers University. She and her team of student filmmakers captured over 450 hours of the mission’s footage and created an award-winning 80-minute documentary thriller, “Atlantic Crossing: A Robot’s Daring Mission.”

The robot’s journey began on April 27, 2009 with its launch from the shores of Tuckerton, New Jersey.

 

Scarlet traveled a total of 221 perilous days and 4,594 miles before heroically reaching its destination of Baiona, Spain last December with a stockpile of oceanographic data that will become extremely useful in predicting future storms and hurricanes.

 

The documentary uses no narrative throughout the film; the story is told from the mouths of the scientists themselves as they struggle to achieve a mission that they predict had only a 5 or 10% chance of success.

The audience is shown their emotions first-hand as they use satellites to communicate with their treasured Scarlet in its travels along the ocean – maneuvering the ship through fishing nets, stormy seas, and schools of sharks.

One of the most riveting moments of the film occur after the crew loses clear communications, due to a buildup of marine life that has attached itself to RU27. Seidel and her underwater camera operator join Tina Haskins and Chip Haldeman, glider technicians, as they travel to the island of Faial and set out on a 52-foot boat in the midst of Hurricane Bill in hopes of rescuing their glider.

They spend three days risking the stormy weather before they locate RU27. Divers leap into the shark-infested water to clean the robot as tests are run by the observation team back at Rutgers. After a tedious effort the robot is still not diving properly, but just when the crew feels as though their mission may have failed, RU27 begins to run smoothly and it is clear that the entire crew is elated.

 

The film has received numerous awards and citations in a variety of 2010 film festivals: it was selected to appear in the LaFemme and FILManthropy festivals, and was also a finalist at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in 2010. At the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival it was the winner for “best visual effects” and took second place for best documentary feature. In addition, the film has won a John Muir Film Award, and the Chicago International Film Festival awarded it a Certificate of Merit in science, research, and technology.

 

‘Atlantic Crossing’ along with the heroic robot itself, will be appearing at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City this weekend for public viewing. It will then soon be moved to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, where it will be displayed, along with excerpts from the film, opening Dec. 9th.