When does some thing become some one? With the heart’s first beat? With the brain’s first wave? Dutch filmmaker Jan van IJken has recently created a short film that might help you in your search for the answer to this difficult question.
“‘Becoming‘ is a short film about the miraculous genesis of animal life,” van IJken wrote. “In great microscopic detail, we see the ‘making of’ a salamander in its transparent egg from fertilization to hatching.”
Actually, the transparency of the egg was the main factor why van IJken chose to record the ‘becoming’ of the alpine newt in particular. “I filmed the egg in a Petri dish, in water,” he told Bored Panda. “To me, the biological aspects were the most challenging parts of creating this short. [Figuring out] how long do the processes take, what are the different stages of development, and so on. I had to become a bit of a biologist and a bit of a scientist.”
The first stages of embryonic development are roughly the same for all animals, including humans. In the film, the viewers are invited to observe the very beginning of an animal’s life, a single cell transforming into a complex living organism with a beating heart and running bloodstream.
“The salamander embryo (an Ichthyosaura Alpestris) was followed very closely in a combination of timelapse and film,” van IJken added. “All stages of embryogenesis can be seen in this film: cleavage, gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis. Time was condensed from about 3 weeks to 6 minutes.”
‘Becoming‘ has screened at more than 20 international film festivals, and even received the Award for best short documentary at the Innsbruck nature film festival 2018.
More info: janvanijken.com
Watch the timelapse to see it fully evolving into an organism:
The alpine newt, or Ichthyosaura alpestris, is a type of salamander
Image credits: maxpixel
Alpine newts are native to central and southern Europe and often sport a mottled brown color. During the mating season, however, males have a dark blue color on their backs, as well as white and black spots on their legs and a bright orange colored belly. It breeds in shallow water, where its larvae are born, hatch and feed on plankton, before sprouting legs and moving to land.
People were incredibly mesmerized by the film
This is just hypnotic- could not take my eyes off it for a second. The miracle of life.
Watched it 4 times now- the initial few divisions - wow. then when it implodes!
Load More Replies...And just to think, all humans start out that small as well. Unique little bundles of DNA that exist no where else in the universe, and they split and grow according to those one-of-a-kind blueprints into the amazing people we are.
If you're reading this - you looked similar to this at some point in your life. Fascinating.
This is amazing... Being a big science nerd, I couldn't remove my eyes for a second. I've never seen it happen in real life before my eyes on my laptop.
The fact that anti-abortion crowd is trying to use this as a reason to make abortion illegal is so baffling. Just enjoy the photos my friends, it’s not a political statement
This is the most astounding and humbling series of images I have ever seen! By far!!
Totally absolutely mesmerising. This is life, all life, including us.
I find it hard to believe something so complex came from nothing... If I said to you a spoon came from random chance, you wouldnt believe me.
Isn't it life that enables a cell to divide and become an entity/being/critter/person? If so, doesn't life begin when the cell is created/begun/catalyzed?
Of course, every cell that replicates is alive by definition. That has nothing to do with being a human. I can pull some skin out of a wound. The skin is alive and replicating. It does not make me a murderer...
Load More Replies...Nope nope nope nope nope. Not sure why...but this disturbs me on some weird level.
This Is So Mesmerizing And Beautiful! Oh...Hey Lazy Pandas! I Am The Random Bunny Lady From The Fried Rice Post!!! If You Know Me, Feel Free To Say Hi!
Tbh I thought frogs were the only ones that started out as (don't know if there is a different name for newts) tadpoles.
So what were those transparent flakes floating around later in the timelapse?
This Is awesome!
Why not just appreciate it without bringing those things up then?
Load More Replies...It isn't murder if the abortion is legal though. Murder: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.
Load More Replies...This is just hypnotic- could not take my eyes off it for a second. The miracle of life.
Watched it 4 times now- the initial few divisions - wow. then when it implodes!
Load More Replies...And just to think, all humans start out that small as well. Unique little bundles of DNA that exist no where else in the universe, and they split and grow according to those one-of-a-kind blueprints into the amazing people we are.
If you're reading this - you looked similar to this at some point in your life. Fascinating.
This is amazing... Being a big science nerd, I couldn't remove my eyes for a second. I've never seen it happen in real life before my eyes on my laptop.
The fact that anti-abortion crowd is trying to use this as a reason to make abortion illegal is so baffling. Just enjoy the photos my friends, it’s not a political statement
This is the most astounding and humbling series of images I have ever seen! By far!!
Totally absolutely mesmerising. This is life, all life, including us.
I find it hard to believe something so complex came from nothing... If I said to you a spoon came from random chance, you wouldnt believe me.
Isn't it life that enables a cell to divide and become an entity/being/critter/person? If so, doesn't life begin when the cell is created/begun/catalyzed?
Of course, every cell that replicates is alive by definition. That has nothing to do with being a human. I can pull some skin out of a wound. The skin is alive and replicating. It does not make me a murderer...
Load More Replies...Nope nope nope nope nope. Not sure why...but this disturbs me on some weird level.
This Is So Mesmerizing And Beautiful! Oh...Hey Lazy Pandas! I Am The Random Bunny Lady From The Fried Rice Post!!! If You Know Me, Feel Free To Say Hi!
Tbh I thought frogs were the only ones that started out as (don't know if there is a different name for newts) tadpoles.
So what were those transparent flakes floating around later in the timelapse?
This Is awesome!
Why not just appreciate it without bringing those things up then?
Load More Replies...It isn't murder if the abortion is legal though. Murder: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.
Load More Replies...
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