Award-winning documentary filmmaker David Conover ’83, who is slated as Bowdoin’s Coastal Studies Scholar for 2014-2015, comes to campus this week to present an April 2 lecture in Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center, at 7-9 p.m.
“We’re thrilled that Dave Conover will be joining us as Coastal Studies Scholar for the coming academic year,” said Professor of Biology and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Barry Logan, who noted the strength of Conover’s “creative sensibilities, knowledge of climate change impacts on the oceans and coasts, and commitment to effective communication through film.”
In this week’s talk – sponsored by the Film Studies Program and open to the public – Conover offers a preview of his background and expertise, sharing stories and clips from 25 years of filming the dynamic interface between land and sea. Conover has toted a camera along some of the most extreme coasts on earth, from Newfoundland to Madagascar and Svalbard to the Galápagos. His past includes adventures such as an around-the-world voyage with geneticist Craig Venter, an excavation of the pirate Captain Kidd’s ship, and the journey from an analog era into the digital age.
As Coastal Studies Scholar, Conover will be teaching a fall course titled “Seashore Digital Diaries,” exploring digital multimedia as a tool of inquiry on the coast. His spring course “Science to Story, Digital and Beyond” will examine how complex science can be translated into stories that engage the public, particularly through digital media. For case studies Conover and his students will focus on climate change science, including issues related to biofuels, ocean acidification, rising sea levels, and superstorms.
A resident of Camden, Maine, Conover operates the production company Compass Light (view some samples of his films). He has pioneered a documentary style called “Experiential TV” through projects such as the ongoing Sunrise Earth series in HD – which showcases the sights and sounds of nature without a single word of narration – and has taught documentary film courses for Maine Media Workshops.
