The immortal words of oceanographer, explorer, and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau are brought to animated life in another playful animation by Patrick Smith, the same New York-based artist who turned interviews with Leonard Cohen and Stephen King into distinctive animations. Smith’s latest is part of The Experimenters, a special series for Blank on Blank from PBS Digital Studios and Quoted Studios. The Experimenters series visually animates interviews with icons of science and innovation like Jane Goodall, Oliver Sacks, and Carl Sagan. For this particular edition, the source material is a rare 1978 interview wherein Cousteau and radio personality Roy Leonard talk Atlantis, Cousteau’s television show, the goals of his foundation, and cognac.
Surprisingly, the duo discuss the release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, and the surge of great white shark killings that occurred in response to the film. Cousteau illuminates the shark’s fragile existence and condemns fishermen actively targeting great whites. Then, Leonard asks Cousteau to describe an average day on his ship, the Calypso. “Well, the day starts in the evening,” Cousteau replies—his day is planned over a bottle of cognac the night before. What the video in full below:
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You can check out more from Blank on Blank on YouTube, and to learn more about the work of Patrick Smith, head over to his website.
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