Make your own science videos and share your knowledge with the world
Category Archives: Science Video Tutorials
I produce tutorials showing how to make science videos, for example with an iPad. Other tutorials include how to do animations for your science video project, how to use the rule of thirds in video composition, and many other aspects of videography.
Have you wondered how people create and embed interactive maps into their websites like the one below? These are quite useful in showing not only where you have been sampling, for example, but to also link text descriptions and photographs of each location that pop up in a box when the placemarker is selected on the map (select the “view in a larger map” and click on one of the placemarkers for an example).
In addition to enhancing your website, these interactive maps might be incorporated into a video to show the locations of sites that will be described or where footage was shot. In this tutorial, I show how to create such a personalized map using Google Maps, which is free (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):
Scientists sometimes have difficulty explaining their work in everyday language that most people can understand. How do you know if the language you are using in your videos or other science communication products are comprehensible by a 10th grader, for example?
Most word processing programs have an option that allows an assessment of the “readability” of the text in a document. The science videographer can make use of this tool to check and modify the language you plan to use in your video project….essentially tailor it to a target audience. This tutorial shows how to turn this option on and how to use it to revise a technical explanation so that it is understandable by a broader audience (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):
View or download the entire script for the video here (click the arrow at the top of the document window for full page view):
In this post, I show how easy it is to shoot and edit a science video entirely with your smartphone. With an easy-to-use app, called Videolicious, you can quickly create a one-minute video about a new or on-going science project, a recent laboratory experiment, a field trip, a class exercise, or some other aspect of your work.
Using your phone’s camera, you shoot some video footage. You can also download animations, photos, or other film clips from public domain sites to the camera roll on your phone or upload any footage you’ve shot with another device. Then with Videolicious, you create your movie in three simple steps:
1) Select the video clips you want to include.
2) Record your narrative, again using your smartphone camera.
3) Select background music (optional)
Then Videolicious puts it all together for you. You can then share your movie by email or social media or upload to YouTube.
Here’s a video showing how it works and an example of a video I created with my iPhone (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):
In this video, I uploaded some footage I had shot previously, then recorded the narrative with my iPhone. However, I could just as easily have recorded all footage with my iPhone.
The basic version of Videolicious is FREE, but is limited to one-minute duration videos, 10 shots per video, and 20 video storage. For $60 per year, you can make 10-minute videos, use more shots and have more storage capacity, access to a music library and a few more perks. I actually like the one-minute limitation because it forces you to really refine your message and your video clips. If you want to make longer videos, you are better off using a movie editing program such as iMovie.
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):
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):
