Tag Archives: Science Video Tutorials

Using Graphic Novel Apps to Tell Your Science Story

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I’ve been experimenting with the graphic novel format to see how it might be used to tell a story about science.  The application I used is called MotionArtist, which is available for free (as the public beta version) until early next year (January 15, 2013) when the retail version will be offered for about $60–70.   You can watch a video here that shows what MotionArtist does and how it works:

As you can see, with MotionArtist you can create a graphic novel or web comic relatively easily.  There is a slightly steep learning curve, but the tutorials offered on the MotionArtist website provide enough information that most people can get started and then learn by playing around with the application.  It does help to already have some experience with other animation software, but most of the tools are fairly intuitive.

I decided to learn as much as I could about the various tools, panel options, workflow, etc. by creating a short project.  That has been my approach to learning videography:  pick a project that requires some new technique or software that I want to master and then learn by trial and error in the process of creating my project.

In this case, I wanted to use a science topic but one that I could have a bit of fun with and that would be complimentary with the graphic novel/web comic format.  So for my project, I chose an environmental phenomenon known as “brown marsh”, which refers to sudden dieback of coastal marshes.  Instead of telling the story from the viewpoint of scientists, however, I decided to use marsh snails as the protagonists in my story.  Although I set out to tell quite a different story, once I “created” the snail characters, they took over and told a very different story from the one I had initially envisioned (funny how that happens).

I used MotionArtist to set up the panels, import images and some video clips, and add text boxes.  If you want to animate, you will need to set up layers so that individual components can be moved independently.  I wanted to animate the snails and have them moving around.  I started with photographs of marsh snails and removed the image backgrounds as I’ve shown in a previous tutorial.  I used Photoshop to develop layered images of snails, marsh grass, and backgrounds.  These could then be imported as individual layers in MotionArtist or as a composite image.  I also used Photoshop to “cartoonize” some of the images prior to importing them into MotionArtist.

Once complete, the project can be exported as a video or as HTML5.  However, I exported as a video because the HTML5 did not seem to work with my content (except for the opening scene); perhaps this glitch will be “fixed” in the retail version of MotionArtist.  Although you can add audio and voiceover in MotionArtist, I used iMovie to add some sound effects and music and then to render the video.

Here is the final version, which I titled “Brown Marsh Apocalypse”:

I see a lot of potential for creating interactive graphics with this software to illustrate science concepts and will be giving this a try in the future.

How to Create and Use an Electronic White Board in a Science Video

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In the last post, I described how useful virtual white/black boards can be in creating content for a science video.  In this post, I offer a video tutorial to show how to create a virtual white board and instructions for using it to create content for your videos.  I provide a step-by-step description of how to create a background image to use as a virtual drawing pad, what applications and equipment you will need, and how to record your screen and voice.

See the tutorial here (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window)):

You can download the transcript here:

Download (PDF, 36KB)

Science Videos That Use Electronic White Boards

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Many of you may have seen the math lesson videos (e.g., by Khan Academy), which employ an electronic blackboard where the teacher works through a math problem, drawing onscreen, step by step (not sure what the Queen of England has to do with math, but whatever….).

Or you may have seen science videos that employed an electronic whiteboard, and the narrator draws text or images on screen while talking.  The video below illustrates this approach, which can be effective at getting a science concept across in an entertaining manner.

Why do videos done with electronic blackboards or whiteboards work so well?

They engage the viewer.  Seeing someone drawing or writing on screen makes the viewer feel as if there is more of a connection with the narrator, and the experience feels somewhat participatory.  It’s almost as if we are looking over their shoulder as they explain the material to us.

They have constant movement.  The continual movement of the electronic pen draws the eye and makes the viewer feel that something new is being revealed in a relatively rapid manner (which as we’ve discussed previously, is a key ingredient for a successful video).

They focus the viewer’s attention on the information being discussed.  When the narrator appears on screen, the viewer may be distracted from what is being described.  The viewer may be looking at how the person is dressed or their mannerisms, instead of the focus of the video.  With the electronic white/black board, there is nothing to distract from the information, at least visually.

They are different from the traditional video.  Not that many people have figured out how to do these or have decided they are worth the effort.  Consequently, those who use this approach have a better chance of creating something unique.

I find the experience of watching such videos strangely satisfying….but then, I was always an attentive student who hung on every word my teachers spoke.  The video narrator is anonymous (we can’t see them), yet the experience is very intimate, as if the narrator is talking only to us and showing us something really cool.

For the scientist videographer, doing a video with an electronic white board has several advantages, in addition to the one mentioned above about allowing you to create something different and that will stand out from other science videos.

One big advantage is the huge flexibility it provides in creating content for your video.  You don’t need to worry about finding a public domain image or footage of the earth, the moon, and the sun to talk about tides, for example.  Just draw three spheres on the white board and label them “earth” “moon”, and “sun”.  You don’t have to travel to a seashore to film the tide moving in and out of a bay; just draw a shoreline and waterline on your white board.  As the video above shows, it’s possible to illustrate a very complex topic drawing simple stick figures.  So if that is the level of your drawing ability; never fear; you can still use a white board.

Another advantage is not having to find people for your film or convince them to appear on camera.  Just draw a stick figure and label it.  The viewer will accept it, as we saw in a previous post (Bully Triangles and Terrified Circles).  If you have some talent at drawing (and many scientists do), then this technique can be really useful to you.  Those of you who are professors or instructors are already accustomed to drawing on a real blackboard, even drawing elaborate illustrations of organisms and other biological objects.  Engineers are especially capable of drawing diagrams, models, and other illustrations.

The electronic white board also allows you to remain off camera while narrating.  Some of you may be reluctant to appear on camera or have a fear of the camera.  Don’t let this stop you from participating in your own video.  With a bit of practice, you can learn to narrate while drawing, especially if you have a script at hand (although I’ve found that once you get started, you stop relying on notes and simply become immersed in explaining your material).  When you don’t appear on camera, you don’t have to worry about your appearance when creating your videos.  You can do a video in your pajamas if you want.

The biggest drawback to the electronic white/black board technique is that it takes a bit more planning and practice at drawing and narrating at the same time.  However, like everything else in videography, once you work out the method and apply it a couple of times, it becomes second nature.  You may also need some software (Photoshop, Screenflow) and an electronic drawing tablet to make this method work smoothly.

The electronic white/black board approach won’t work for all science videos, but is just another tool in the scientist videographer’s toolbox.  Even if your project can’t be done entirely with this approach, you might employ it to illustrate a specific concept within a larger video.

So exactly how do people create videos using a white/black board?  In an upcoming tutorial, I’ll show a relatively easy way to do this.

How to Use NASA Multimedia in Your Science Videos

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The US space agency, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a great resource for a variety of images and footage of the earth and its atmosphere, as well as various processes affecting them.  For example, their multimedia gallery of videos contains footage showing ocean currents, hurricanes, solar flares, temperature anomalies, time-lapse images shot from the space station, phytoplankton blooms, and much more.

Here are a few examples of videos in the NASA multimedia gallery that the scientist videographer might find useful for a video project:

Perpetual Ocean:

Solar Flare:

Hurricane Isaac transiting the Gulf of Mexico:

South America Fire Observations:

You can download these videos and because they are in the public domain can take segments from them for your video projects. For example, you might want to talk about the Gulf Stream and how this relates to something you are studying. You can easily download the video “Perpetual Ocean” (above) from the NASA video gallery and using a movie editing program, you can extract the footage that includes the Gulf Stream. Or you might want to talk about impacts of hurricanes on coastal habitats. There are several animations of hurricanes and cyclones as well as footage shot by NASA’s hurricane hunters that can be downloaded and used. Once in your movie editing program, you can then add voiceover and/or text to connect it to your topic.

Below is an example from one of my video projects in which I used two NASA animations together with my own images, footage, and voiceover to introduce a video on sea-level rise and wetlands.

Create an Interactive Map to Illustrate Your Study Sites

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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).


View Flood 2011 Sampling Sites in a larger map

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):