Origins of the Solar System

Premiere Date: February 16, 2011 1X60 min. documentary, NOVA scienceNOW w/ NEIL deGrasse TYSON on PBS
Did an ancient supernova explosion trigger the birth of the solar system? Scientists are finally closing in on evidence that, nearly five billion years ago, a supernova shock wave swept through a cloud of dust and gas and caused it to collapse, eventually forming the sun and the planets. Meteorite hunters have scoured the globe for space rocks containing evidence of this ancient supernova in the form of rare isotopes that could only be created in the intense pressure of a supernova explosion.  Watch full show instantly with subscription to www.Netflix.com.

ROBERT MCNAMARA R.I.P.

Robert McNamara, the wunderkind who fascinated President John F. Kennedy with his intellectual gymnastics while serving as his secretary of defense,  has died at the age of 93. McNamara, who also went on to serve President Lyndon Johnson, was a key architect of the Vietnam War.  See one of the last on-cam interviews he ever gave in AMERICA’S LOST H-BOMB.  The complete, 45 minute interview is included on the DVD.

Welcome To Marabella Productions!

Welcome! Take a look around. Love to hear what you think. Traveling from Hawaii, to the Philippines, to Paris to Cow Dung Road in Hanksville, Utah (yes, that’s the actual road), I’ll post weird and interesting anecdotes and pics as our team and I span the planet looking for the best science, nature, history, or current affairs stories to film around the world.

If you’ve got an idea for a series or documentary yourself, please let us know about it on “Your Ideas” page..

Also, please sign up for our iTunes podcasts and write a review. Enjoy surfing our brand new site!

– Mark

Finding the Origin Of Life

Premiere Date: February 11th, 2010 10 PM EST

1×60 min. documentary, National Geographic Channel

As far as we know, life is unique to Earth. So how did it come to be? And why here? We’ve all wondered about the origins of life, but one scientist in San Diego believes that he and his mentor found the answer. Dr. Jeffrey Bada at UC San Diego, sheds new light on renowned scientist Stanley Miller’s controversial experiment from a half century ago. Like Miller, Bada recreates conditions on Earth before life began 4 billion years ago. But this time, Bada introduces 21st century technology that Miller could only dream of. While cameras roll, the San Diego scientist mixes up a batch of “primordial ooze,” then, similar to the mythical Dr. Frankenstein, zaps it with a bolt of electricity—“primordial lightning.” The results? Amino acids, the building blocks of all life. It was this stunning experiment that first demonstrated that life could have evolved spontaneously from a combination of chemical processes present on early Earth. Still, how could these amino acids evolve to become bacteria, animals, and eventually humans? How did life start reproducing itself from something that isn’t alive?

Credits

FAIR USE & BEST PRACTICES: The Good, The Bad, and The Confusing

Fair Use & Best Practices The Producers Guild of America East Documentary and Seminar Committees organized a lively panel discussion to help answer the following questions:
- Do you use copyrighted material in your production?
- What rights do you need to secure?
- What are the differences between features, television, and new media?
- What is “Fair Use” of copyrighted material and how much will it cost?

Kozo Okumura, TV Director & Editor

Edit3.net Kozo Okumura has worked on a large variety of projects including documentaries, 30 seconds commercials, music videos and industrial videos. He is also a dancer/choreographer, which has helped his editing in terms of rhythm, pacing, and storytelling.

Petr Cikhart Films

petrcikhartfilms.com Petr films award-winning television series, feature-length documentaries, and both short and feature-length narrative films. He has worked in 80 countries and speaks 5 languages.

Iron Eye Productions

ironeye.com For over 10 years, Iron Eye Productions has produced award winning documentaries and provided production services to dozens of international filmmakers and television networks.

Michael Bratkowski, Director of Photography

bratkowski.us Michael Bratkowski is a director of photography and has worked on many Marabella Productions including Robocars.

Gary Griffin, Director of Photography

soc.american.edu An American University faculty member and award-winning cinematographer, Prof. Griffin won the Sundance Film Festival’s 2005 American Excellence in Cinematography Award for the documentary, The Education of Shelby Knox.