Film 02
Why the Moon Changes Shape
This film has sound: narration and music. The words are also captioned in the picture. Nothing plays until you press play.
Chapters
Seven parts, one minute
- 0:00Look up tonight
- 0:07A ball of rock
- 0:16The Sun lights half
- 0:25One month around
- 0:35More of the bright side, then less
- 0:45New, crescent, half, full
- 0:53Only our view changes
With scripts on, choosing a chapter plays the film from there.
Goes with Sky Watch
Sky Watch is a world on the same subject. In the workshop. Planned for January 2027. That date is not final.
Transcript
Every word, as text.
This transcript is the text alternative to the film. It is the narration, word for word. The same words appear as captions in the picture.
0:00 Look up tonight: Look up tonight. The Moon is there. But it does not always look the same.
0:07 A ball of rock: The Moon is a big ball of rock. It does not make its own light. It shines because the Sun lights it up.
0:16 The Sun lights half: The Sun always lights half of the Moon. One side is bright. One side is dark.
0:25 One month around: The Moon travels around the Earth. It takes about one month to go all the way around.
0:35 More of the bright side, then less: As it moves, we see more of the bright side, then less. That is why its shape seems to change.
0:45 New, crescent, half, full: New moon. Crescent. Half. Full. Then back again. The same pattern, every month.
0:53 Only our view changes: The Moon never really changes. Only our view does. Go outside and look tonight.
End of film, 1:00
How it was made
Real maps, then a model, then a voice.
Start with real maps
The Moon’s colour and elevation come from public-domain NASA maps made by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Earth comes from NASA’s Blue Marble maps.
Build and film it
A 3D model of the Moon was generated from an illustration. The scene of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon was built, animated and rendered in Blender: 1,440 frames at 24 frames a second, 1080p.
Give it a voice
The narration is a synthesized voice reading a script in seven parts. Quiet music, labels, the corner view marked “From Earth” and captions were added on top.
The maps, the model, the voice and the renderer are named on the credits page.
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