Evolutionary Jerks & Gradualist Creeps

In parallel interviews, the biologists Niles Eldredge and Armand Marie Leroi discuss Eldredge's theory of Punctuated Equilibria (the idea that species evolve in sudden jumps) and Leroi's Darwinian study of revolutions in the history of pop music. Taking in Eldredge’s work on trilobite fossils, his vast collection of brass musical instruments, and Leroi's algorithmic cultural genealogies, the film reflects on the analogies and differences between biological evolution and cultural change.

Camera, sound and edit by Duncan Marquiss. Sound mixed by Derek O'Neill. Commissioned by Glasgow Film Festival & LUX Scotland through the Margaret Tait Award.