Question: Could you give more information about what the video you'd make if you won the money would be like?

Matthew Malek answered on 8 Mar 2014:

Sure! There are quite a few “history of the universe” videos out there. They are a bit of a staple feature at many planetariums, for instance. I was in New York City in December and saw a pretty good one at the Hayden Planetarium. In the Internet Age, they’re easy to find, too — a quick web search will turn up several.

So why do I want to make one more? What can I add that isn’t already easily accessible. Your typical “history of the universe video” takes you from the tiniest fraction of a second after the Big Bang, through the formation of the first particles, the development of neutral atoms (which is when the universe became transparent to light), on to the formation of stars, galaxies, clusters, and so on.

Now for a group experience at a planetarium, that’s great. But for online viewing at home by one person, we can do more. I’d like to make spin-off videos and pop-up info boxes that you can reach by clicking on items during the main video. This way, you can gloss over the bits that you don’t find as interesting, whilst getting a more detailed explanation of the parts that grab you. Perhaps the “freeze out” of dark matter particles shortly after the Big Bang isn’t your thing… but galaxy formation is. Well, you don’t have to click anything during the first part, but could get more explanations during the second topic.

I’d also like to experiment by having different “modes” for the additional explanation. I’ve done a lot of outreach work and am used to explaining science to a wide range of people, from children in schools to PhD scientists in other fields. You have to learn to tailor what you say appropriate to the audience you are addressing. So far, most (all?) history of the universe videos are pretty basic, to appeal to a wide audience. In an online format, there could be the option to use “basic”, “intermediate”, or “advanced” mode, with explanations that get progressively more complex for each.

Anyway, that’s my idea. Hope it fleshes the concept out a bit for you! Thanks for asking!