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Fabián, now a Cullman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum
of Natural History, was delighted when approached by Bayley-despite
the fact that it was only at the end of the conversation with Bayley
that he understood that he had 48 hours to pack and join the crew
in Caracas!
Fabián
knew well the locations shown in the film. He had been to Roraima
over 20 times, and 8-10 times to the other sites featured in Lost
Worlds. But it was a novelty going to these places with a film
crew. He was fascinated by the complexity of the IMAX equipment and
even flew the helicopter once. Normally, his trips to Roraima allow
him to work at his own pace or with a few other scientists, but the
Lost Worlds experience was quite a contrast. Working with such
a different set of people and equipment required patience and flexibility.
When his friends left for vacations at Disneyland, the young Fabián
and his family would go camping in the Andes—trips that would
often incorporate his father's fieldwork. Fabián enjoyed participating,
helping his dad capture animals for study. This exposure to nature
and science made Fabián committed to a career in science. He
obtained a degree in biology from the Central University in Caracas—a
huge institution with over 55,000 undergraduate students—and
continued his studies, pursuing a doctorate at Cornell University
in the United States.
His childhood experiences engendered a love of fieldwork. To be a
good biologist, Fabián explains, you need to know everything about
the organism you study. And where better to see this than in its natural
habitat? He describes his job as a scientific researcher as split
evenly over four areas: fieldwork, lab work, data analysis, and writing.
Although Fabián recognizes that writing is crucial-scientific research
is worthless until it is communicated with others-he admits that fieldwork
is his favorite aspect of the work.
Fabián is a fan of IMAX movies. The superior sound and visual quality
of the large-screen experience, he says, help to make viewers feel
that they are actually there and connected to that place. And this,
he believes, helps people to understand and feel committed to the
issues surrounding the threats to global biodiversity. Fabián suggests
that this process is partly facilitated by the film's focus on the
work of regular scientists. This human touch makes a faraway, exotic
land full of weird plants and animals seem less foreign and isolated
to U.S. viewers. He's interested especially in the ability of IMAX
to influence young people—the scientists of tomorrow. Lost
Worlds, he hopes, will transmit general ideas that will spark
young peoples' natural curiosity about their world.
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Watch
Fabián talk about the film (4.5 mb)