How to Insert a Watermark Into Your Science Video

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Those of us who make science videos put a lot of time and effort into our projects.  So it is very annoying when someone uses our video content without attribution. Most of us want people to use our videos but it’s important to be credited for our work, just as we expect people to credit our technical publications when they describe our research findings.

Although video sharing sites such as YouTube recommend that users credit YouTube as the distributor AND the video content owner, no one is required to do so.

One way to protect your content is to insert a watermark into your video. Inserting your name or a logo that appears in every frame in your video effectively identifies you as the content creator and owner. This will not guarantee your work won’t be taken and used without attribution, but it will make it a bit more difficult.

What should be used as a watermark and how do you add it to your video? This tutorial shows three ways to accomplish this. I will be using Screenflow and iMovie 11 to illustrate, but you can adapt these methods to any movie-editing application. Be sure to select the HD version and full screen for best viewing.

Don’t Let Perfectionism Stop You

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DSCN0357Many of us in science tend to be perfectionists. This characteristic can be a double-edged sword, however. On the one hand, it drives us to produce outstanding work. On the other, it can paralyze us and prevent us from even embarking on a project because we anticipate that our efforts will not be perfect.

Perfectionism is what underlies writer’s block and other artistic blocks. Novice writers think that each sentence has to be written perfectly the first time and that all the content must immediately flow together just so and make sense right from the start. I know of few successful authors who write this way. It is an impossible standard. Moreover, such thinking stifles spontaneity and creativity and causes people to freeze up. Some become so paralyzed that they never put pen to paper. I know a lot about writer’s block because I’ve suffered from it and have overcome it. I’ve also helped perfectionist students trying to write their first paper or thesis overcome it.

What does perfectionism have to do with science videography? Well, I imagine that a number of you are hesitating to even try to make a science video because you think it has to be of Hollywood quality (or at least as good as those slick science videos published by media professionals). That standard is the wrong one to be comparing your work to, as I’ll get to in a minute.

First, I’ll let you in on a secret. Your videos (and any other information product) will NEVER be 100% perfect. You can strive for perfection, but you’ll never get there. No matter how hard you try, there will be mistakes and parts of your video that might be improved by reshooting, or reorganizing, or by making some other change. Also, you will never produce a video that everyone absolutely likes and finds no fault with. There always will be someone who will take issue with some part of your video.

The point is:  if you believe your video must be perfect (or meet some over-the-top standard) to be any good, you’ll never finish a video. You’ll either never get started, or you will start something but never finish. You’ll continue to revise and tweak and agonize….and eventually will shelve the project.

How do you break such a block? It’s simple. Silence the censor in your head. The one that looks over your shoulder and scrutinizes everything that you try to do. How do you do that? I teach students how to overcome writer’s block by having them practice something called “spontaneous writing”. I give them a topic and tell them to write about it for five minutes as fast as they can, without stopping to correct punctuation or grammar. Their goal is to get their ideas down quickly and without stopping to think (which does not give their censor time to disapprove). If the student follows through, the result is usually a revelation to them. They discover that their spontaneous output is creative, interesting, and surprisingly compelling…despite not being technically perfect. I then have them revise their work by correcting grammar and punctuation and reorganizing to improve the flow. This exercise usually breaks through their paralysis and allows them to begin writing; the writing practice leads to improvement; each piece they complete gives them the confidence to write more.

For video, the solution is also to ignore your internal censor. Pick a simple topic and just shoot some footage. You might ask fellow students a single question and film their responses. “What do you like best/least about graduate school?” Shoot some B-roll around campus and in your department. Cut out the really bad parts and assemble the various clips in random order. You’ll likely be surprised at how interesting your video turns out to be. And, most importantly, you will have improved your videography skills and gained some confidence.

The block may manifest as a difficulty in selecting a video topic or getting started on a project that seems overwhelming. The problem with selecting a topic is often due to too many choices. When there are too many options, we have difficulty making choices because we are afraid that we will regret our selection later. The anticipated regret is greater with many choices compared to few choices. The solution is to set restrictions, e.g., on the topic, the style, or the length of the video. You might limit yourself by making a video that is one minute in length, for example. That restriction automatically removes a lot of options. You could also restrict yourself to a particular format such as the interview example above. If the job still seems overwhelming, then breaking it down into smaller jobs often helps.

You are probably still thinking about those great science videos with slick animations and soaring music and that this is the standard you need to meet. You are quite wrong there. All you need do is watch a few viral videos on YouTube to see that video popularity is not determined by technical or artistic quality. Many viral videos are poorly shot and appear to be unedited. To be successful, your videos need only be good enough, i.e., good enough to satisfy most of your viewers. That standard is still fairly low because most video online is not anywhere near Hollywood quality. Your video need only exceed a certain threshold to be acceptable to most viewers. And that threshold is nowhere near the Hollywood or Discovery Channel standard. That may change in the future as more people become better skilled at shooting video, and expectations rise. But for now, the bar is pretty low.

Let me hasten to add that this advice is not meant to be an excuse for sloppiness. You should still strive to make the best video possible. If you can reach that Hollywood standard, then great…as long as you don’t let it stop you from finishing your project in a reasonable amount of time. However, if you are feeling blocked, perhaps you need to dial back your goal from Discovery Channel-worthy to something more achievable (at least in the short-term).

In summary, You will find that your less-than-perfect videos will be quite successful….if they meet or exceed the quality of most videos out there. So, get your less-than-perfect videos finished and online. I guarantee that you will learn something with each project, and the next one will be better than the previous one.

Sometimes, Less Is Better

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In creating science videos, we usually are tempted to cram in as much information as possible. However, sometimes we are better off keeping things simple and unencumbered by a lot of facts, figures, and explanations. I decided to see if I could create a one-minute video about a science topic with no narration and minimal text. Putting such restrictions on ourselves can often help spark our creativity.

I was in Duluth, Minnesota last week for a conference and had a chance to drive along the shoreline of Lake Superior. There, I saw an example of primary succession from bare rock (basaltic lava) to lichens, mosses, small herbs, grasses, and shrubs and trees and thought this might be a good opportunity to do a “minimialist” video.

So how does one get across the concept of primary succession without voice-over narration or a “talking head” appearing on camera? After thinking a bit about how to go about this, I decided to walk from the rock outcrop at the lake edge to where the forest began and film my feet as they passed over each vegetation sequence. The idea was to use the spatial sequence of vegetation to illustrate the successional sequence, which is how scientists have traditionally studied succession. Then all I needed to do was trim the footage, insert brief text indicating the changes in major vegetation types, and add music. I included a more technical explanation in the description of the video for anyone interested in more scientific detail (watch on YouTube to view the description).

Some Guidelines for Science Video Reviewers

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Constructive criticism helps us improve our individual communication products as well as our overall communication skills. If you plan to publish your video, either on a video-sharing site or as online supplementary material with a journal article, it’s a good idea to first get some feedback from potential viewers.

Many of my science videos have gone through a formal peer review process, which involved comments from at least two colleagues, followed by review and approval by officials at several levels in my agency. You don’t have to go to this extreme, and, in any case, there are few mechanisms currently in existence that offer peer review of videos comparable to that of scientific journals. And, not all videos require peer review. You certainly don’t need a formal, collegial review of a video tour of your laboratory facilities to put on your website. However, you do want to know if your tour video is likely to attract prospective students and postdocs, for example. In that case, you might want to show it to a few students and ask them what they think. If their response is not what you expected, then you’ve gotten some useful feedback and perhaps need to rethink your video.

Similarly, if your video is to be submitted to an online journal, it would be wise to show it to a couple of colleagues first. Or, if your target audience is the general public or some other non-specialist group, you might want to ask members of that group to preview your video before you publish it. Your goal is to determine if the content is understandable and interesting to your target audience. You (and your colleagues) probably are not the best judges of whether your video is engaging and whether the content is presented in a way that is easily understood by a non-specialist. The only way to determine this is to solicit feedback from your target audience.

If after viewing your video, a target viewer expresses confusion over a key concept, then you know you’ve still got some work to do. Or, your student reviewer might say, “I really liked the part with the students collecting samples; I wish there had been more of that instead of the scientist talking about the carbon cycle.” Again, this would be very good feedback. In response, you might want to change your video by intercutting more footage of students working while the scientist’s voice is heard explaining how what they are doing relates to the carbon cycle. That would be an easy editing job, and the change will likely make your video more appealing to its target audience.

However, I find that some of my colleagues are uncertain about how to review a science video and, consequently, fail to provide useful feedback. They either try to review it like a journal article or want me to change it to something that will not appeal to my target audience (usually by adding citations or data). Because this is such a new area, there is virtually no guidance available to aid reviews of science videos. To help potential reviewers out, I’ve compiled a list of questions to help guide the review of a science video.

Here are twenty questions designed to provide useful feedback (and perhaps stimulate other comments) for your science videos:

1. Are all visual media (e.g., video footage, photographs, animations) of high quality (i.e., in focus, well-composed)?
2. Is the audio clear throughout and not obscured by extraneous noises?
3. Is all text legible and easily read within the timeframe provided?
4. Are all graphs, diagrams, or other illustrations of good resolution (not pixelated) and clearly labeled?
5. Are interviews (with scientists, students, others) professionally done?
6. If music or sound effects are used, are they appropriate and effective?
7. Are there any additional media that might improve the video?
8. Are sources of all external media (e.g, historical footage/images, music) clearly acknowledged?
9. Are proper safety procedures followed throughout the video (e.g., are laboratory personnel wearing lab coats and appropriate footwear, safety glasses, etc.)?
10. Does the video address an important issue or interesting topic or provide useful instruction?
11. Does the title of the video accurately reflect the content?
12. Is the scientific content accurate and appropriately attributed?
13. Is the length of the video appropriate? If not, where might it be cut or expanded?
14. Does the video clearly identify a central question, objective, or concept?
15. Does the video capture the viewer’s attention early and hold it throughout?
16. Does the video have a clear storyline or logical path that is easy for the viewer to follow?
17. Will the video be understood by the target audience? If not, which parts need to be revised?
18. If for a non-specialist audience, is scientific jargon minimized and are all essential technical terms defined or explained?
19. Does the video achieve its stated or implied purpose (inform, instruct, engage)?
20. Do you have any other suggestions for improvement?

How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation with Screencapture Software (Screenflow)

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Many of us give talks at conferences and seminars, but these presentations are only seen once by a limited audience. What if you could record your presentations so that other people can easily access and view them? Having a recorded presentation (aka screencast) allows you to post it as a video on your website or send it to someone interested in your topic.

In the following tutorial, I show how to create a video of a slide presentation in which your voice is recorded along with a full-screen image of your slides. You will need three items to make a high quality recording of a presentation:

1. A slideshow created with PowerPoint or a similar application. Compile your presentation as you normally would for a talk and write out the script so that you can deliver your talk smoothly. You may need to practice beforehand so that it does not sound like you are reading.

2. Some type of screen capture software such as Quicktime Pro (Mac), Screenflow (Mac), or Camtasia Studio (PC or Mac) to record your computer screen, your voice, and your image (if you wish). In my tutorial, I will be using Screenflow, which is for the Mac, but the principle is the same for all these applications. These all record whatever is visible on your computer screen along with any audio. You can also record your own image with the built-in camera on your computer. Your image then can be inserted into a picture-in-picture window within your presentation so that the viewer sees you along with your slides.

3. A decent microphone to record the audio. The built-in microphones on most computers are not that good. The audio quality of your presentation will be greatly improved if you use a good external microphone (see previous post).

You also need a way to share your presentation once you’ve finished. The simplest way is to upload your finished file to a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo (see this post that explains what to consider in making this decision). If you are concerned about copyright, then be sure to include a watermark on your video file (or on your slides). Once published, you can take the embed code for your video and insert it into your website or send the link to someone (instead of the file, which likely will be too large to email).

This is a great way to create a permanent record of your oral presentations. You can also create lessons to augment a course you are teaching or record class lectures for students to review as many times as they wish. There are lots of possibilities. Virtually anything that you can show on your computer screen can be captured this way and published as a video.

Be sure to select the HD version and full-screen for best viewing (direct link):

Are you interested in learning more techniques like this? If so, check out The Scientist Videographer eBook, which is an electronic guidebook packed with information, tips, and tutorials and designed for the 21st century scientist, teacher, and student. Available in iTunes Store (fully interactive version for iPad, iPhone, & Mac), Smashwords (text version), and Amazon Kindle (text version).