Alpha

One of a series of three films on mathematics conceived and produced by the Eames Office with Ray Redheffer, professor of Mathematics at UCLA. A stop-motion animation film, it begins with an algebraic expression, elaborates on it, and then reduces it to its original form. Told without narration, the film was designed to be supplemented with the explanation of the classroom teacher. Columbus International Film Festival Bronze Chris Plaque Award-C, 1975.

1 minute, 16 seconds.

A stop-motion, animated sequence that begins with an algebraic expression, elaborated on it until the screen is filled with symbols and numbers. The film has no narration and was designed to run as a continuous loop, either forward or backward, that could be augmented by the explanation of a classroom teacher.
It is the first in a series of three films on mathematics conceived and produced at the Eames Office by Raymond Redheffer, a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, who had served as a consultant on the Eames Office MATHEMATICA exhibition.
Contributors: Raymond M. Redheffer; John Neuhart; Charles Eames; Ray Eames; Office of Charles and Ray Eames.
1972
1 minute, 16 seconds.  Color

A stop-motion, animated sequence that begins with an algebraic expression, elaborated on it until the screen is filled with symbols and numbers. The film has no narration and was designed to run as a continuous loop, either forward or backward, that could be augmented by the explanation of a classroom teacher.

1972
Alpha is the first in a series of three films on mathematics conceived and produced by Raymond Redheffer, who was a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a mathematics consultant for Charles and Ray’s 1961 exhibition, Mathematica . . . A World of Numbers and Beyond.
Charles advised Redheffer to search out the aesthetic character of his discipline. The Eameses invited him to use their equipment and explore his ideas through film. Taking their advice seriously, Redheffer created Alpha with the design and technical assistance of Eames Office staff members.
The stop-motion, animated sequence begins with an algebraic expression, elaborates on it until the screen is filled with symbols and numbers, and then reduces it back to its original form. Alpha has no narration and was designed to run as a continuous loop that could be augmented with the explanation of a classroom teacher. They produced the sequence by photographing cut-out characters and symbols against a glass plane; the symbols were moved step-by-step through the action.
IBM Corporation Film Library included Alpha in its collection to be made available to schools and interested institutions.

1 minute, 16 seconds.  Color.