X-Ray Run

THE SECRETS OF MOVEMENT

A cat jumps onto the laboratory bench – shown in super slow motion and through the animal’s skin and fur the movement of every single bone is visible. This spectacular footage is the result of a research project that’s unique in the world. Using a high-speed x-ray camera, the zoologists, doctors and biomechanics in Professor Martin Fischer’s team at the University of Jena are tracking down the secrets of running. The list of animals subjected to this more than skin-deep examination includes iguanas, birds, rats and even sloths – always with one big question in mind: how have the mechanics of movement developed from the first land animals 300 million years ago to the atrophied mobility of today’s office workers?

The film tells the fascinating story of how Martin Fischer’s team of scientists are cutting swathes through one research field after another. The new findings of the Jena biologists are in great demand. Sports medicine practitioners, veterinarians, robot researchers and even the American armed forces are all keenly interested.

TEAM
Written and directed by: Daniel Münter // Camera: Sven Kiesche // Sound: Ilhan Coskun // Film editor: Maximilian Dederichs // Sound mix: Alexander Weuffen // Production assistant: Katja Sträter // Production manager: Oliver Gontram // Executive producer: Thomas Weidenbach // Commissioning editor MDR: Hendrik Wenner