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The Bit Player
The Bit Player tells the story of an overlooked genius, Claude Shannon (the "Father of Information Theory"), who revolutionized the world, but never lost his childlike curiosity.
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About the Film

In a blockbuster paper in 1948, Claude Shannon introduced the world to the “bit” and laid the foundation for the information age. His ideas ripple through nearly every aspect of modern life, influencing such diverse fields as communication, linguistics, genetics, computing, cryptography, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and cosmology. But when interviewed in the 1980s, Shannon was more interested in showing off the gadgets he’d constructed - juggling robots, a Rubik’s Cube solving machine, a wearable computer to win at roulette, a unicycle without pedals, a flame-throwing trumpet - than rehashing the past. Mixing contemporary interviews, archival film, animation and dialogue drawn from interviews conducted with Shannon himself, The Bit Player tells the story of an overlooked genius who revolutionized the world, but never lost his childlike curiosity.
Title
The Bit Player
Release
2018
Runtime
90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes)
Rating
Not Rated
Genre
Biography, Documentary
Directors
Mark Levinson
Origin
United States
Language
English
United States English

Reviews

In a delightful new film, Mark Levinson (PARTICLE FEVER) tells the story of Claude Shannon, the man who invented information theory. Through interviews, archival footage, reenactments and animation, THE BIT PLAYER brilliantly brings Shannon to life. THE BIT PLAYER is the perfect title for this fun film.
Toni Feder Physics Today Article

Creative Team

Creative Team

Director Mark Levinson
Writer Mark Levinson
Cast John Hutton
Cast Judith Ivey
Cast Kaliswa Brewster
Cinematographer Claudia Raschke
Composer Robert Miller

Bring this film to a theatre near you

Independent films don’t have the support of big production companies to get their films in all of the movie theaters. But, using Theatrical On Demand®, you can bring their film to a theater near you. All you have to do is find a theater, request the film, and if enough people commit to buying tickets, the movie will be screened at your theater.
Learn more about Theatrical on Demand®
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1. Find a Theater Near You Take advantage of Gathr's vast theatrical network and choose your preferred theatre.
2. Request the Film Create and send your inquiry in minutes.
3. Tell Your Friends Leverage your community to generate reservations and cover (and exceed) your minimum threshold.
1. Find a Theater Near You Take advantage of Gathr's vast theatrical network and choose your preferred theatre.
2. Request the Film Create and send your inquiry in minutes.
3. Tell Your Friends Leverage your community to generate reservations and cover (and exceed) your minimum threshold.
We are generally able to screen at most Venues, and add Venues to our network. Please email [email protected] with the info on the cinema, and we will reach out to them.
We generally are not able to move the expiration date because we need to give the theater time to book the screening, assign an auditorium, receive the content, etc. That being said, we can certainly move out the Event date which will automatically move the expiration date as well.
The tipping point is based on the amount it costs to rent out the theater for a screening. These rates are set by the theater, so we are generally not able to lower this number.
Yes, please email [email protected] and we can assist you with moving your screening to a new location.
Theaters generally do not like booking 2 screens for Gathr events on the same evening. If your Event is close to selling out, please email [email protected], and we will reach out to the theater in order to move to a larger auditorium to accommodate all of your guests.

Non-Theatrical

Purchase a community screening license to show the film anywhere, anytime -- or use Gathr’s Virtual Event Cinema. Add a charity from our database of all 2 million official US charities to create a fundraiser. Book Talent associated with the movie to program your post screening panel discussion. Search our platform for a venue, or add your own.
1. Request the Film Provide your screening details on a straightforward request form. Utilize standard ticketing or host an Events on Demand™ film screening. Learn more
2. Confirm the Film Once your film responds, review the booking terms, then confirm your booking - some films confirm instantly.
3. Screen your Film Leverage Gathr's complete event management suite to handle ticketing, event reminders, product sales, film playback and more.

Non-Theatrical

Purchase a community screening license to show the film anywhere, anytime -- or use Gathr’s Virtual Event Cinema. Add a charity from our database of all 2 million official US charities to create a fundraiser. Book Talent associated with the movie to program your post screening panel discussion. Search our platform for a venue, or add your own. Request Screening
1. Request the Film Provide your screening details on a straightforward request form. Utilize standard ticketing or host an Events on Demand™ film screening. Learn more
2. Confirm the Film Once your film responds, review the booking terms, then confirm your booking - some films confirm instantly.
3. Screen your Film Leverage Gathr's complete event management suite to handle ticketing, event reminders, product sales, film playback and more.
Absolutely! We can send you the correct format to screen the Film wherever the Screening happens to be.
Yes! Please email [email protected] to inquire about special educational licenses and pricing.
We generally have the films available in DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital format. Please email [email protected] if you have questions about a specific format.
Prices may vary depending on size of the audience, whether or not tickets are sold, etc. Please email [email protected] with any specific pricing questions.
Some Films are available for a preview before the license is purchased. However it is up to the filmmaker to decide if a preview is available. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in a preview link.
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