Well, having read about and thought through the documentaries I want to make this year, I've finally sent out emails to selected paleontologists asking if they want to get involved.
It's always a bit scary doing this first contact thing - hoping that your ideas are good - that the research you've done doesn't make you sound like an idiot - that the people you're talking to are interested, that they're the right people and that they're actually still at the addresses you've found online.
That's made worse as I'm trying to do four documentaries at once.
The response so far has been great - lots of people have got back to me and almost all have been positive - even those that can't help have passed me on to people who can and the research they're all doing is fascinating.
That's the great thing about doing science reporting - people are enthusiastic and they all believe in the freedom of information - they want to talk about stuff and they're glad to share their ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm.
There's a real childlike joy in everything and it's infectious. They're also usually pretty pleased when they see that I'm not out to create a "cheap thrills" style documentary which just goes on about the same old things "ooh, isn't Trex big - let's see what would happen if it ate a car"...
The only downside right now is that so many of my potential interviewees work at the natural history museum and although the scientists are generally keen, the organisation itself is a little difficult to navigate...
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