Tag Archives: filming

Use Video to Augment Your Scholarly Pubs

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In recent posts, I’ve been providing reasons why scientists might want to use videography to draw attention to their scholarly articles and to meet funding requirements.

I pointed out how the National Science Foundation and other science funding agencies expect scientists to develop outreach products and activities that inform a wider audience about the value of their science and to generally increase the public’s understanding of science (the Broader Impacts criterion).  I also showed how videos and images can put your scholarly article at the top of a Google search page, when your text-based document is buried on page 43.

Journals are also increasingly using video to illustrate methods or to visually show the results of a study they’ve published.  Such videos, which are often included in the supplementary online material, are linked to your published article on the journal webpage where specialists in your field will see it. Videos can also make your article and work more visible to students and others who may be searching for information on the topic using Google or other search engines. If you have the only video on the Web on your topic, it is going to be ranked high on the Google search page (see this post for an example of how this works).

In the current post, I provide an example of a recent paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that was accompanied by supplemental online material, including three videos illustrating their results.  The paper is titled, “3D Imaging and Mechanical Modeling of Helical Buckling in Medicago truncatula Plant Roots“.  The authors conducted a study of how the roots of the plant behave when they encounter a layer that is more resistant to penetration, a common occurrence in some soils.  They were able to view the change in root growth pattern by using a clear gel as a growth medium. Two gel layers were created, the lower one being of a stiffer consistency than the upper one.  The roots grew normally, that is, straight down, when in the upper layer.  However, when the plant roots encountered the more resistant gel layer, they began to curl and form into a helical shape.  This “helical buckling” provided more force at the root tip, which helped it penetrate the more resistant material.  Their modeling of the mechanics of root growth patterns predicted this greater force when roots grew in this helical manner.

This work showing how plant roots manage to grow through tough layers of material was illustrated using 3D imaging.  Below is a 3D, time-lapse video of the growth of a root through the upper, less resistant layer and then through the lower layer that caused the root to buckle and curl into a helical shape.

And here’s another example of a video done to accompany a paper published in the journal, Coral Reefs:

The paper that the above video illustrates is titled “The Use of Tools by Wrasses (Labridae)“.  The video shows a fish cracking open a bivalve by throwing it against a large coral head.  Although the video needed some close-up views of the action, it does get across the idea in a short visual clip (2 minutes).  On YouTube, the video has been viewed over 40,000 times.

Both of these examples illustrate how you can use video to augment your journal articles as supplementary online material on the journal website or on your own website.

Some journal publishers are now able to accept video embedded into the online article in a similar manner as photos, graphs, or tables.  Here is a link to an article in the journal, Cell, that has embedded video in the online version of the paper.

Having a video available to illustrate your research can often get your paper highlighted in the news section of the online journal.  For example, here is a link to a video reconstruction of the skull of Australopithecus sebida.  There is also a podcast with the author on the same webpage.

By having audio-visual components associated with your print or online articles, your work will be more visible to search engines, and journals are more likely to select your article to highlight on their webpage.

References:

Bernardi, G.  2012.  The use of tools by wrasses (Labridae).  Coral Reefs 31 (1): 39. DOI: 10.1007/s00338-011-0823-6

Nonaka, S. et al.  1998.  Randomization of lef-right asymmetry due to loss of nodal cilia generating leftward flow of extraembryonic fluid in mice lacking KIF3B motor protein.  Cell 95 (6): 829-837.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81705-5

Silverberg, J.L. et al.  2012.  3D imaging and mechanical modeling of helical buckling in Medicago truncatula plant roots. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Online (before print). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1209287109

How to Capture Your Video Audience’s Attention

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When designing your video and developing your storyboard, you want to ensure that it will ultimately attract attention.  Here are a number of ways to capture and keep your viewer’s attention, starting with the one I described in the previous post (be sure to select the HD version and the full screen option for best viewing):

View or download the transcript for this video:

Download (PDF, 23KB)

Videos of Interesting Animals

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I’m finishing up a video I worked on during Hurricane Isaac.  In the meantime, here are two interesting videos about animals.  One shows a feisty cat slapping an alligator (thanks to Mark H. for the link).  The other is of a clever heron using a piece of bread to attract a fish (thanks to Joy M. for the link).

These are examples of videos with amazing content but are poorly shot and edited. Both feature animals doing something unexpected.  Suspense is also a characteristic of both videos.  These features apparently override any deficiencies in the quality of the footage since they each have over 1 million views.

Food for thought when designing your next video….

Tutorial: Avid Studio for the iPad (Part 2)

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In this post, I’ve added the second part of the tutorial on using the movie editing program, Avid Studio, for the iPad.  With this app, which costs only $4.99, you can shoot and create professional-looking videos entirely with your iPad.  Avid Studio has more editing options than iMovie, which I covered in previous tutorials, but is a bit more challenging than iMovie.

Both are fine editing programs….each has their advantages and disadvantages.  If you’ve learned how to use iMovie already, however, you’ll have no problem with Avid Studio.  I’ve covered all the basics in this two-part tutorial, but have left some options for you to discover on your own.

So here’s the second and final part of the Avid Studio tutorial (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):

Tutorial: Avid Studio for the iPad (Part 1)

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Think you need special equipment, expensive software, and special skills to create a video about your work?  Well, if you already have an iPad 2, for just an additional $4.99 for a movie editing app for the iPad, you can shoot and create a professional-looking video. To help you along, I’ve also done a tutorial, linked below, showing how to use Avid Studio.

Previously, I did a tutorial series on the iMovie app for the iPad.  In this post, I talk about another excellent movie editing app for the iPad that you can use.  Avid Studio has more bells and whistles than iMovie, but is a bit more challenging to master and use.  But with this tutorial, you should be able to begin using Avid Studio immediately to edit your science videos.

Take a look at Part 1 (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):