Life in a Drop
A Year in the Lake’s Hidden World A whole world is hidden in a single drop of water. Life in a Drop is a science communication film that takes viewers into the invisible world of lake life. Over the course of a full year, it follows the transformation of plankton communities: from the winter world beneath the ice, through the changes of spring and the algal blooms of summer, to autumn and the return of winter.
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WATCH THE FILM
Reviews, Recommendations
“The movie wonderfully captures the beauty of these organisms. The algae are as I always imagined them. Thank you and congratulations to all the team.”
— Luigi Naselli-Flores, PhD Professor at University of Palermo
“Wow – I was blown away by this – the imagery was really so good! The script was also excellent and generally very accurate. I will share it with my plankton colleagues, my wife for her teaching, and also my kids to make them understand what I do.”
— Laurence Carvalho, PhD Section Leader at Norwegian Institute for Water Research
“Nice movie, thanks. It's excellent to teach the basis of plankton diversity and ecology and get people interested. I shall forward it to colleagues... who still have to teach!”
— Jean-Pierre Descy, PhD Scientific collaborator at University of Liège
“Indeed – an incredibly beautiful film, that gives an overview of the aquatic life in a temperate lake and its seasonal cycle. This film is a great introduction to Limnology, a superb teaching content for students, but also experts will enjoy watching it. I loved it!”
— Tamar Zohary, PhD Senior Researcher at Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research
“For us, who live our lives in the macroscopic world, we have no idea – nor can we possibly have one – of what goes on in the microcosm, at a scale beyond the reach of our eyes. If we have achieved nothing more than ensuring that, after watching our film, viewers are left with the realisation that the tiny creatures of this hidden world must also contend with challenges similar to our own – albeit using different means and on a different scale of time and space – then our work has not been in vain. If the message also gets across that, without these wonderfully beautiful little creatures, our world would never have come into being and could not survive – then we have truly achieved our goal. I believe that anyone who has seen our film will look at a single drop of water in a different light.”
Dr. Borics Gábor
screenwriter, production manager
Why Does Plankton Matter?
The tiny organisms that make up plankton are an important part of the food webs and nutrient cycles of lakes. Phytoplankton algae use energy from sunlight to produce organic matter. Through photosynthesis, they also play an important role in the lake’s oxygen balance, while serving as food for many members of the zooplankton community. From there, the food web extends to larger aquatic organisms. Changes in plankton communities are closely connected to factors such as water transparency, oxygen conditions, algal blooms and the living conditions of other organisms in the lake. The film therefore does more than introduce unusual microscopic organisms: it also reveals how closely connected the visible and invisible worlds of a lake really are.
A Year in the Life of a Lake
Winter – Life Beneath the Ice
The snow- and ice-covered surface of the lake may appear almost lifeless, yet beneath it lives a remarkable community. Among the algae adapted to low light levels and cold temperatures are chrysophytes and armoured dinoflagellates. Some species do more than photosynthesise: they can also engulf bacteria, an important survival strategy in the dim winter environment.
Spring – New Players Arrive
The ice melts, sunlight grows stronger and the waters of the lake begin to mix. Nutrients are carried into the well-lit upper layers, creating favourable conditions for rapid growth among diatoms, green algae and other planktonic organisms. Water fleas also begin to appear. These tiny crustaceans are giants in the world of plankton and are capable of filtering large volumes of water, significantly altering the algal community. The algae, in turn, may respond with a range of defensive strategies: some form larger colonies, while others grow longer spines.
Summer – A Diversity of Forms and Algal Blooms
As the water warms and becomes rich in light, an extraordinary diversity of forms emerges. As summer progresses, cyanobacteria – commonly known as blue-green algae – may become increasingly abundant. The rapid growth of their colonies and filaments can lead to an algal bloom. During these periods, oxygen conditions in the lake may fluctuate dramatically. By day, intense photosynthesis can produce large amounts of oxygen, while at night the respiration of the large algal biomass may cause oxygen levels to fall significantly.
Autumn – Collapse and Renewal
As summer comes to an end, conditions gradually become less favourable for cyanobacteria. Their viruses, known as cyanophages, may then become active and contribute to the collapse of the algal bloom. Bacteria, flagellates and ciliates take part in breaking down the dying cells. As light levels and water temperatures fall, many plankton organisms prepare for winter. Resting or dormant stages are formed, while other species begin to reappear. The cycle comes full circle: beneath the forming ice, the winter plankton community begins to establish itself once again.How Was the Film Made?
What You See Is Not Microscopic Footage
One of the distinctive features of Life in a Drop is that the microscopic world shown in the film is brought to life entirely through computer animation. The film contains no microscopic footage. The animations were created by Verona Lerf, István Attila Tóth and Tibor Kisantal, members of the Functional Algology Research Group at the Institute of Aquatic Ecology. The aim was not to create an imaginary fantasy world, but to use scientific knowledge to visualise the world of plankton in a way that allows viewers to experience it up close, in three dimensions and in motion. Science and visual storytelling come together to reveal a world that surrounds us, yet usually remains invisible.
The Filmmakers
Gábor Borics, Dsc
producer
Enikő Török-Krasznai, PhD
scientific consultant
Viktória B-Béres, PhD
scientific consultant
István Attila Tóth
animator / modeler
Verona Lerf
animator / modeler
Tibor Kisantal
director / animator
| Screenplay | Gábor Borics, DSc |
|---|---|
| Special Thanks to | Viktória B-Béres, PhD Enikő Török-Krasznai, PhD Verona Lerf Erzsébet Nagyné Tóth |
| Producer | Gábor Borics, DSc |
| Director | Tibor Kisantal |
| Narrator | Richard Drake |
| 3D modeling | István Attila Tóth Verona Lerf |
| Rigging and Look Development | István Attila Tóth Verona Lerf Tibor Kisantal |
| Visual Programming | István Attila Tóth Verona Lerf |
| Animation | István Attila Tóth Verona Lerf Tibor Kisantal |
| Film Editing | Tibor Kisantal |
| Music Editing | Tibor Kisantal |
| Scientific Consultants |
Phytoplankton Viktória B-Béres, PhD Gábor Borics, DSc Enikő Török-Krasznai, PhD Zooplankton Barnabás Álmos Becz, PhD Flórián Tóth, PhD |
| Social media | Stefánia Kiss |
Supporters and partners
Reviews, Recommendations
“The movie wonderfully captures the beauty of these organisms. The algae are as I always imagined them. Thank you and congratulations to all the team.”
— Luigi Naselli-Flores, PhD Professor at University of Palermo
“Wow – I was blown away by this – the imagery was really so good! The script was also excellent and generally very accurate. I will share it with my plankton colleagues, my wife for her teaching, and also my kids to make them understand what I do.”
— Laurence Carvalho, PhD Section Leader at Norwegian Institute for Water Research
“Nice movie, thanks. It's excellent to teach the basis of plankton diversity and ecology and get people interested. I shall forward it to colleagues... who still have to teach!”
— Jean-Pierre Descy, PhD Scientific collaborator at University of Liège
“Indeed – an incredibly beautiful film, that gives an overview of the aquatic life in a temperate lake and its seasonal cycle. This film is a great introduction to Limnology, a superb teaching content for students, but also experts will enjoy watching it. I loved it!”
— Tamar Zohary, PhD Senior Researcher at Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research