Monday 4 January 2016

The Code on US Netflix

Very exciting that my 3 part BBC series The Code is now available on US Netflix. Some viewers have written to me very excited to have freeze framed an extraordinary pattern made by the flock of starlings that we filmed in Denmark, the so-called black sun (which I've posted above). Was this some amazing message the starlings were trying to communicate? Is the answer to life the universe and everything 6 not 42. So perhaps I should explain... When The Code first aired in the UK we ran an online competition which involved spotting clues in the show. It was made with the great game developer http://www.sixtostart.com/ who also do the fantastic Zombies, Run app. Here is an article from Wired about the competition. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-07/27/the-code One of the clues was the number 6 hidden in the flock of starlings. There was another clue for example painted onto the nails of one of the Rock-Paper-Scissors competitors. There were also online games you needed to play. One of my favourites was Master of the Mosaics, all about reading symmetry in the walls of Moorish Palace like the Alhambra. You can play an extended version of the game here http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/mathematics-and-statistics/mathematics/the-code-grandmaster-mosaics The Open University here in the UK helped create a lot of supporting material that you can find here http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/tv/ou-on-the-bbc-the-code It was a really great competition culminating in an extraordinary Code Book you had to download and complete once you'd unlocked the password. The first three to complete the book the were involved in a grand finale at Bletchley Park. The winner got a unique mathematical sculpture designed by Californian sculpter Bathsheba Grossman. You can find out more about the sculpture here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/…/…/2011/07/the-treasure-unveiled.shtml There is more here about the competition. http://www.sixtostart.com/the-code/ and a video here of the finale https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZvQDdPz-JM Marcus. https://www.netflix.com/title/80063658