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FILMS

 

As a director, editor, videographer, animator, and writer, I tell weird, wild, and wondrous stories. Across more than 75 productions, my work has reached over 20 million viewers. Above all, I seek out one-of-a-kind narratives—whether rethinking organic chemistry, unpacking how the mole unit redefined the physical universe, or asking what happens to your body if you die in space.

 

Three and a Half Short Lessons About Organic Chemistry (Chemistry Shorts)

What Happens to Your Body When You Die in Space? (Popular Science)

A More Perfect Unit: The New Mole (Popular Science)

 

When aspect ratios change, I think up visually compelling ways to make audiences stop scrolling and take notice, like with these Instagram Reels made for the Wildlife Conservation Society. And because I design vertical templates, editing is streamlined for quick turnarounds.

 

First Voyage to the Hudson Canyon (Wildlife Conservation Society)

How Wild Tigers Keep Our Planet Healthy & the Return of Tigers in Thailand (Wildlife Conservation Society)

The Students Protecting the Hudson Canyon (Wildlife Conservation Society)

Photographing the New York Life Aquatic (Wildlife Conservation Society)

 

I make imaginative films, like “SCALE: A Brief Hallucination About the Brain” for Pioneer Works. Created in collaboration with executive producer and astrophysicist Janna Levin alongside animator Ramin Rahni, the film examines the brain across three distinct dimensions: MICRO (nanometer-sized neurons), HUMAN (our perceptual world), and MACRO (a brain the size of a planet). It’s Powers of Ten, built for neuroscience. SCALE was selected by Labocine for their Micrographia series.

SCALE: A Brief Hallucination About the Brain (Pioneer Works) - Labocine Selection

 
 

I produce editorial series you won’t find anywhere else, like the Webby-nominated Wild Lives for Popular Science (featuring animation by the incredible Beth Wexler). If you aren't intrigued by an episode titled "Frasier the Sensuous Lion," we need to talk.

 

Frasier the Sensuous Lion (Popular Science) - Webby Nominee

The Shearwaters, or: When Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ actually happened (Popular Science)

The Love Life of the Horseshoe Crab (Popular Science)

 

I’m constantly experimenting with narrative structure: explaining animal hibernation through a Peter and the Wolf performance framework, weaving three distinct stories around the geometry of nautiluses, or reimagining Laika’s spaceflight from the dog’s perspective using declassified Soviet archives. (You can read more about the award-winning Nautiluses on Sloan Science & Film.)

 

Laika, Our Hero (Popular Science) - Webby Nominee

Nautiluses (Popular Science) - Jackson Wild Media Award for “Finding Captain Nemo” segment

L’Orchestre d’hibernation animaux (Popular Science) - Webby Honoree

 

I create high-impact sponsored content—your brand, your story, your world seen through any editorial lens—like the “Driving With Scientists” series I made with the multi-talented Jason Drakeford for Popular Science and Continental. From pitching concepts with custom decks, to managing client relationships, to actually making the videos, my sponsored work at PopSci brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue.

 

Driving with Coyote Biologists (Popular Science + Continental)

Driving with a Firefly Researcher (Popular Science + Continental)

Driving with an Environmental Landscape Designer (Popular Science + Continental)

 

I film profiles for scientific institutions, such as Science for the Planet, a six-part series for Columbia Climate School. Shot across laboratories, field sites, and local communities, the series translates complex climate research into tangible solutions.

 

There’s Too Much Carbon Dioxide—What If We Sink It? (Columbia Climate School)

As Greenland Goes, So Goes the Planet (Columbia Climate School)

How To See Climate Change in Tree Rings (Columbia Climate School)

 

I’ve joined Field Museum researchers deep in undocumented stretches of the Amazon rainforest to co-produce The Brain Scoop’s Amazon Adventures. Alongside the amazing Emily Graslie and a ragtag research team, we shot the entire miniseries on a single DSLR camera, two lenses, and sheer resourcefulness. I also direct observational documentaries—from a Thrillist feature on a burlesque collective, tarot reader, and brass band, to archival deep-dives like my viral Science Friday short, Diary of a Snake Bite Death.

 

The Brain Scoop’s Amazon Adventure #1 (The Field Museum) - Webby Honoree

Trixie Minx, the Burlesque Queen of New Orleans and her Fleur de Tease (Thrillist)

Diary of a Snake Bite Death (Science Friday) - 2.2 million views on YouTube

 

Additionally, I produce media for institutions, including curator interviews, public service announcements, and exhibition trailers.

 

The Hidden History of Black Dolls (New-York Historical Society)

The Good, the Bad, and the Piping Plover (National Park Service)

MoMI-Sloan Student Prizes trailer (Museum of the Moving Image)

 

Drop me a line at thomas.r.mcnamara@gmail.com and say hello. I’m available to direct, edit, and shoot, as well as produce live events, consult, and teach. Click on work with me to learn more about collaborating and my camera package.