We won't post notice of every new film to the blog, but this one's a bit special -- an animated rat dissection. We receive relatively few biology films, so one of this standard is all the more welcome. It's informative, entertaining, and short, so it has the SciCast rules covered, then.

Animated Rat Dissection. No rats were harmed during the making of this film.

When he isn't judging SciCast, geologist Iain Stewart manages to squeeze in a series or two for the BBC. His latest starts on BBC2 tonight, and there's an astounding sneak preview.

Iain travels to the Naica Cave in Mexico, where he and his crew battle 50°C temperatures and 100% humidity to bring remarkable footage of the world's largest crystals, in a deep underground cavern. It's phenomenal stuff.

I can't embed the video, sadly, but do check out the link. You'll be glad you did. And remember, we do have a geology category for the SciCast Awards...

[update 20^th Jan: 3.5 million viewers! The highest figures for a science programme on BBC2 in four years, according to the Guardian. Fantastic news -- congratulations Iain!]

"What camera should I buy?" is just about the most common question I get asked by prospective SciCast film-makers. My usual reply is "What have you got already?" -- most people, it seems, have a mobile phone that can record video, or a stills camera that has a video mode, or a mate who has a video camera, or there's something stashed away in the back of the cupboard in school, or...

When people actually want an answer, however, things get trickier. Broadly, you get what you pay for. We've some basic notes on the main SciCast site to get you started, but it's hard to know what you're actually getting for your money.

Enter the BBC. Springwatch last week featured an excellent story with a pair of teenage brothers who are keen wildlife cameramen. It's a lovely piece, but it's also interesting (and useful) since it sets footage from their cameras alongside professional equipment. The brothers are using cheap-and-cheerful Sony miniDV cameras, and the footage from them looks rather flat and blurry, and somewhat purple-edged, next to the shots from the 'proper' camera.

But you know what? Once the clips are compressed down to web video quality, it doesn't make anything like as much difference as you might expect. Having a good eye is more important than having the 'best' camera gear.

Don't believe me? You've three more days to catch the film on iPlayer. It starts about 24 minutes in.

Here's an experiment you probably shouldn't repeat at home. Not because it's particularly dangerous, mind -- more that it's going to really really hurt. Lots.

Tom Scott tests out the often-repeated notion that you can remove your fingerprints by soaking your hands in pineapple. His film is brilliant, even if the experiment... umm... isn't the most sensible I've ever seen.

Credit for dedication, though.

Here's a terrific video of an elegant way of synchronising metronomes. More along the same lines here and here.

Remember, if you wanted to enter a film of this terrific and unusual demonstration into the SciCast Physics competition, you'd have to write an explanation of what's going on. Which should keep you busy for a while, I'd have thought.

(found via Kottke, who notes 'if you watch only one metronome video in your life, make it this one.')

[update 30/5/2008: YouTube-embedded video removed, on account of their suggestions for further viewing appearing to be... er... 'not suitable for all audiences.' The situation isn't as alarming as that description might suggest, but some readers here have expressed concerns that we've been taken over somehow. We haven't.

However, it looks like embedding video from YouTube is no longer an option for us, since we don't get enough control over what you see on this site, let alone at theirs. This is, of course, one of the reasons SciCast isn't built on YouTube in the first place.

Now would also be an appropriate time to remind everyone that we can't be responsible for external websites. We'd never knowingly link to anything offensive, but we can't guarantee that the pages to which we link will still be the same when you click through to them.

If, as here, you find something offensive, please alert us to the issue, either in comments, or by email. Our thanks to the readers who informed us of this situation.]

Media from last Friday's Awards event is starting to come through: Coseley.TV, nominated in the 'Best Unpublishable Film' category, have put together a terrific film about their trip to London. It includes a taste of the ceremony, an interview with their local radio station, and even a little sightseeing.

Excellent!

Friday's SciCast Awards event made the news bulletins on Irish broadcaster RTÉ last Friday - story here. Scroll down for a link to the clip, which requires Real Player.

The team from St. Joseph's College in Lucan, County Dublin, flew over for the event and to celebrate their nomination in the Physics category with 'Central Locking'. They were pipped to the trophy, but seemed to be having a blast when I caught up with them afterwards.

Thanks to the IoP in Ireland for pointing us to the story online; we look forward to a deluge of entries for 2009!