Robots x National Museum of Scotland

Role: Writer
 I Creative Director I Executive Producer
Digital Documentary Short Series

Formats Delivered: 7m Documentary Short Exhibition Opening Film

Scope: Director Level Stakeholder Engagement I Brand Partnership I Production Design
I Art Direction
I Cinematography


Overview
The National Museum of Scotland’s 2019 blockbuster Robots exhibition invited over 2 million visitors into the most comprehensive assembly of humanoids ever made. Science fiction's most iconic robots, including Maria from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, to the T-800 from The Terminator, stood alongside cutting-edge humanoids like RoboThespian and Inkha inviting reflection on humanity's 500-year quest to create machines in our own image.
Due to highly restricted access to it, NASA's Valkyrie humanoid, then the most advanced humanoid in the world, could not be released for physical presence at the Exhibition.
Instead, my documentary film on Valkyrie featured as the Exhibition opener, allowing 2,1m exhibition visitors access to Valkyrie and our client's work.


The Work
My work, Project Valkyrie: One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for...The Journey to Mars, was selected as the exhibition's cinematic opening piece. A 7 m short on Valkyrie, a bipedal humanoid built by NASA to be a companion robot to humans in humanity's next great space frontier: The Journey to Mars. The film acted as a sensory and conceptual gateway to the exhibition experience.


Execution
--C-suite briefing attendance for purposes of story world building and contributor awareness
--Crafting complex narrative documenting arrival from NASA Mission Control in Houston of robot in flight cases and subsequent manual modular build into 6'2" humanoid form by Johnson Space Centre team in Edinburgh.
--Art directed and integrated motion graphics sequences to communicate Mars-Earth signal travel time thereby extending story outside of the robotics lab into deep space.
--Documentary cinematography with speculative sci-fi references to signal the future-now themes of the mission.

--Filming under strict access limits, achieving multi-camera coverage in an active robotics lab with a minimal crew due to sensitivity of the site and prototype Valkyrie units.

--Supplying client with file formats compatible for Museum haptic screen displays with ability for touch screen commands for pausing play, zooming in, and performing 360 degree rotation of content.
--Cinematic trailer & teaser suite for multi-channel deployment, including Edinburgh Science Festival, institutional screenings, and NASA internal comms.



Results:
--Exhibition opening film positioned as Exhibition Opener for viewing by every visitor to National Museum and engage entry in full Exhibition Room.
--Audience Reach: Over 2.1 million exhibition visitors
--Press Coverage: Featured in The Herald, The Scotsman, The Courier, and The Sunday Post, highlighting the exhibition's blend of historical artifacts and futuristic technology

Broadcast Segments:
Covered by BBC Radio Scotland and STV News, emphasizing the exhibition's significance in contemporary discussions on robotics and AI

Institutional Legacy:
Film retained in National Museums Scotland’s learning and engagement archive for future education and outreach initiatives.

See the National Museum of Scotland's profile of the importance of Valkyrie at Robots: https://blog.nms.ac.uk/2019/03/12/robots-mission-to-mars/https://blog.nms.ac.uk/tag/robots/