FIELDS MEDALS
Profiles of the winners of the 'Nobel Prizes' of MathematicsA global project to unveil the winners of the Nobel Prizes of Mathematics.
Winners of the prestigious Field Medals, referred to as the Nobel Prizes of mathematics, remain a closely guarded secret until they are introduced by films during the International Congress of Mathematicians. The 2018 awards went to four of the world’s top mathematicians under age 40. Caucher Birkar of the University of Cambridge proved the boundedness of Fano varieties and contributed to the minimal model program. Alessio Figalli of ETH Zurich contributed to the theory of optimal transport, which has applications in partial differential equations, metric geometry and probability. Peter Scholze of the University of Bonn transformed arithmetic algebraic geometry over p-adic fields through his introduction of perfectoid spaces, and developed new cohomology theories. Akshay Venkatesh of Stanford University and the Institute for Advanced Study synthesized analytic number theory, homogeneous dynamics, topology and representation theory. In addition, four other math award films were made for the IMU. They are the Nevanlinna Prize (won by Constantinos Daskalakis), Gauss Prize (David Donoho), Cherns Prize (Masaki Kashiwara) and Leelavati Prize (Ali Nesin). I was contracted again to film the prestigious math medal winners in 2022.
Client: Simons Foundation for International Mathematical Union
Simons Foundation executive producer Philip Yam and Lance Murphey (The Story Speaks) traveled around the world for 10 weeks to film, interview and craft narratives of each of the winners. Facing extremely tight deadlines, Old Bridge Media creative director John Hubbell coordinated the team and guided the writing and edit of the project while film production continued around the world. The eight videos premiered at the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janiero in August 2018.
Role: Cinematographer, Field Director, Drone Operator and Editor
The videos were created by Old Bridge Media, led by creative director, John Hubbell, who served as writer and senior producer. Lance Murphey was cinematographer, field producer and director, drone operator and editor. Meredith Hogan provided business management, production and editing support and travel logistics, and Jennifer Smart provided video editing, animation and illustrations. Jonathan Kirkscey composed the music, and Kevin Houston was audio engineer. Philip Yam of the Simons Foundation served as executive producer.
Role: Cinematographer, Field Director, Drone Operator and Editor
The videos were created by Old Bridge Media, led by creative director, John Hubbell, who served as writer and senior producer. Lance Murphey was cinematographer, field producer and director, drone operator and editor. Meredith Hogan provided business management, production and editing support and travel logistics, and Jennifer Smart provided video editing, animation and illustrations. Jonathan Kirkscey composed the music, and Kevin Houston was audio engineer. Philip Yam of the Simons Foundation served as executive producer.
Winners revealed by short documentaries
The videos were unveiled during a carnivalesque Olympic-style opening ceremony at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 1, 2018. Each winner was revealed to their peers by a short documentary, which profiled their personality, goals and mathematical achievements.