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)):
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.
Here are a few videos that answer that question. These are good examples of footage that one might use to illustrate plant “tropisms”.
The first video shows the rapid movement of a carnivorous plant, Drosera glanduligera (sundew), from Australia, captured with a high-speed camera. The video is my compilation of footage posted online in the journal PLOSone with the article describing the phenomenon (access article here). This species has two types of tentacles, one with the sticky globules, which trap anything touching them, and non-sticky tentacles that fling insect passersby towards the center of the rosette where it gets stuck to sticky tentacles that then slowly pull the insect toward the area where it will be digested. That flinging movement is one of the fastest trapping mechanisms found in the plant kingdom. The speed is actually amazing when you think about it….this is a plant, not an animal with rapid-fire muscles.
For best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window).
By the way, I put together the video above in iMovie using the downloadable images and video footage offered on the open access article in the journal PLOSone. All such images published there are under a Creative Commons Attribution License, which means that anyone can use them without permission as long as the creators (authors) are acknowledged. This is a good example of how the scientist videographer can use published footage, images, and graphics to create a video about a science topic and without paying for or having to acquire the permission of the creators.
The second video is a time-lapse sequence showing Cuscuta reflexa (dodder) growing on another plant (Perlagonium sp.) in a phytotron in Norway. This type of plant is a parasite on other plants and can actually insert root-like structures called “haustoria” into the host plant. Once established and drawing resources from the host plant, the dodder’s roots growing in the soil eventually die, and the parasite then relies on its host for water and nutrients. The sequence in this video was shot over 14 days with each second equaling about 40 minutes of growth. Thanks to Joy Marburger for the link.
The last video is one based on footage I shot in Sri Lanka of a “sensitive plant” I came across in a parking lot. Using that (admittedly shaky) footage plus some text explanation, I created a short video about seismonastic movement in plants.
It’s difficult sometimes to make sessile organisms such as plants interesting to the general public because, well, they don’t move or appear to do anything interesting. However, the scientist videographer can use this fact to advantage and use footage that shows something unexpected, which as we’ve learned, is one feature of a video that appeals to viewers. Most people don’t expect plants to move, so videos about plant tropisms, which challenge that perception, can be quite effective. Moreover, adding the question as to why plants might have evolved movement raises the viewer’s curiosity and perhaps stimulates them to learn more.
Another point I’d like to make here is that I was able to produce these videos in a very short time. The sensitive plant video took about five minutes to pull together and another five minutes or so to export and upload to YouTube. The video on the carnivorous plant took somewhat longer (about 30 min), mainly because I had to read the paper to understand what the video footage and other images were demonstrating.
With a small effort, using your own or published (but public domain) images and video clips, you also can create short, informative videos.
As I’ve been trying to emphasize in past posts, visual story-telling using a good dramatic question can be a powerful way to spread sound science ideas to a diverse audience. Here’s a video that is highly effective in getting across the concept of the “domino effect in nature”. It was made by graduate student, Megan Callahan, who used simple props (dominoes) to create a compelling video:
The video was made during a workshop held by Randy Olson, scientist turned filmmaker (more about the workshop here). Let’s apply my features of a good video and see how this one does:
1. The video is short. Imagine a scientist getting across an abstract concept….by talking. This video does it in one minute, with minimal talking.
2. The information is presented visually as well as verbally. Yes. Even without the beginning dialog between the two women, the point of the video is clear.
3. The video keeps adding information at a steady but rapid pace. Yes. In this case, the video uses falling dominoes in different habitats to move the story forward.
4. There is constant motion going on throughout the video. Yes, the falling dominoes and cuts from one scene to the next create the impression of constant motion.
5. Colors are intense and dramatic. Not so obvious because the colors are those of nature. The video could have used a few close-ups of the images on the dominoes with dramatic colors (of a butterfly or flower, for example).
6. The text is minimal; only what is essential to understanding the message. Yes, a brief text segment at the end poses the key questions.
7. There is a dream-like quality about the video. No.
8. The video elicits an emotional reaction in the viewer, largely driven by the music, which is compelling and carefully keyed to the visual shifts. The music (mostly bongos) adds to the feeling of movement or motion, which along with the sounds of the falling dominoes, creates a mood.
9. All visual and audio components are rendered to the highest quality possible. Yes.
10. The video has people, animals, or cartoon characters that are doing something interesting, unusual, or surprising. In this case, the falling dominoes with attached images representing species are a surprising element.
11. There is an element of suspense. Yes. Where will the dominoes end up?
12. There is no traditional beginning, middle, and end. In this case, there is: the opening scene with the two women, the falling dominoes, the ending text sequence. However, it’s not really that obvious.
So this video clearly adheres to most of the elements I’ve identified as being important to creating an effective message. Let me hasten to add that these are not the only features that characterize an effective video. There may be some that break the rules (and these, I’m guessing, will be highly effective). The point is that there are some common attributes that the scientist videographer can keep in mind when planning a video project.
Use your imagination, as Megan did, and create something memorable. In this case, she took the name of the scientific idea (domino effect) and used it to develop a visual aid that reinforced the concept. She went a step further and attached pictures of organisms to the dominoes, which drove home the point that each domino represented a species. By putting the questioning woman’s picture on the last domino, Megan emphasized that humans are part of nature’s interconnectedness.
Many other scientific concepts lend themselves to such visual storytelling. We just have to be creative in finding ways to tell those stories.
A final point about Megan’s video: it did not require an expensive film crew, elaborate stage settings, exotic shooting locations, or a huge budget to create. The students had NO prior experience with film making. I’m not sure what equipment they used to capture the footage, but it would have been possible to shoot it with a smartphone. The students did their own acting. The only prop was a package of dominoes. Their “shooting locations” for nature scenes were different habitats in their region, apparently close by and easily accessible. This is a great example of how someone using minimal equipment and visual aids can create a compelling audiovisual message.
You want to make sure the information in your science video (or other science communication product) is remembered. This video describes several ways to ensure that the content of your video is remembered (for best viewing, select the HD version and full-screen options (see menu bar at bottom of player window):
View or download the transcript of the video here (just select the arrow to see it full screen).
One of the biggest obstacles for scientists is explaining our work in everyday language. How do you know if you are succeeding? In the next post, I describe a tool that will allow you to quantify the readability/understandability of your language.
