vizualizing science primer for CUNY_tmcnamara

VISUALIZING SCIENCE: HOW TO TURN RESEARCH INTO VISUAL MEDIA

developed by science filmmaker tom mcnamara

tommcnamarasciencestudios.com/ //

thomas.r[email protected]

INTRO

A lot of research grants have media and science communication requirements. For example, “broader

impacts” associated with National Science Foundation funding.

Useful primers provided by the NSF:

● Broader Impacts Overview

● Broader Impacts 101

Having worked on media strategies with scientists over the years, I’ve seen first hand what a dynamic

multimedia and science communication plan in a funding proposal can get them: mainly, awarded

grants. Also, before you ever even write a grant, having a demonstrated history of compelling

SciComm—whether it’s making YouTube videos, posting to Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, or

producing a podcast—will only make you that much more likely to receive funding, no matter when

you apply. Perhaps more importantly, developing your SciComm skills can lead to greater awareness

of your work, sharpen your communication skills, generate discussion within your scientific

community, and possibly create opportunities for collaboration.

Ten or twenty years ago, a scientist's media plan often promised twitter threads or Wikipedia style web

resources. But, increasingly, many scientists are now amazing photographers, filmmakers, designers,

and podcasters. It’s no wonder. Through your work as a scientist, you’ll often find yourself in worlds

the rest of us can only see in a Planet Earth documentary. You have high powered microscopes. You

create machines that float in space. A 100 micron resolution MRI brain scan might be integral to your

research, but it’s also something no animator could ever make on their own.

Edlow, Brian L. et al. (2019), Data from: 7 Tesla MRI of the ex vivo human brain

at 100 micron resolution, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.119f80q

When I got a chance to photograph a cheetah in the wild, I looked through my camera roll and

thought, “I bet it’s hard to take a bad picture of a cheetah.” To be sure, a great photographer is a great

photographer. But, in my opinion, what often separates a National Geographic photographer from

everyone else is access (having a budget, of course, helps too).

Cheetah in Serengeti National Park, 2018

As a scientist, you often have that access built into what you do. So, if you think you can’t take a good

photo or record an interesting video, you’re in luck—your subject matter, your field of research, is

probably pretty cool looking. Kibble balances look like time machines. Pond scum under a microscope

is one of the more beautiful things on Earth. And a cheetah, even if it just ate and is covered in blood,

never looks bad. So, take that picture. Record that video. The USGS Bee Inventory on Flickr is one of

the best SciComm projects I’ve ever seen—and it’s just a static image database.

Whether you’re trying to secure funding or trying to get your work covered in the press—or simply

trying to communicate your science because science is for everyone (and not just for publication in a

journal)—making and providing engaging SciComm multimedia has never mattered more.

What follows is a brief video primer for scientists and students alike that fall somewhere between

multimedia novices and phone camera pros.

USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab

CREATING MEDIA ASSETS

No matter your skill level, you can document your work with a modest media production kit (keep

reading for equipment suggestions in a minute). What follow is a guide to making that happen, but as

you’re working keep in mind a few questions about what stories could be told with this content:

● Does it capture your imagination?

● Show strange structures or behaviors?

● Shed new light on an old debate?

● Relate to another field like art or economics?

● Help inform decisions in our daily lives?

Examples of simple but effective media you can make:

● Lab timelapses (low-fi) (hi-fi) - So much of science is invisible. It’s numbers. It’s gasses. So,

how do you show that? If your field of research doesn’t include animals or rockets, fear not.

Sometimes simply showing your labspace can be enough. My favorite shoot of all time was

in the basement labs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

● Nature camera traps (video) (interesting project)

● In the field photos and videos (Voyagers Wolf Project on Instagram)

● In the lab photos and videos (ParticleClara on TikTok)

● Photos and videos through the lens of your microscope (Biologist Sally Warring’s Pondlife

Instagram, which later turned into a video series)

Screenshot from @pondlife_pondlife’s Instagram account

How your media might be used:

● Seeker by The Verge on Instagram is an excellent example of the kinds of media scientists

are producing. Not only that, but the kinds of media that the members of the press are

interested in profiling and highlighting—because the majority of the social videos science

news organizations produce and share are created primarily with scientist-made media.

● Biologist Adrian Smith’s Ant Lab on YouTube is an awesome example of a scientist turning

their research into SciComm for everyone. As a cameraperson myself, Smith uses and has

access to equipment I could only dream of.

Screenshots from Ant Lab on YouTube

WORKING WITH YOUR SCIENCE COMMUNICATION COLLEAGUES

After years of work, your research will hopefully be published in a scientific journal. Your science will

also likely find its way to press release aggregators like AAAS’s EurekaAlert! Give their multimedia

page a look. Sometimes having a compelling image, infographic, or video clip that pops on this feed

will be the difference between getting your years worth of research covered in the New York Times’

Science page or not. For example, on any given day, more than half of the lead images for their

Trilobites column is supplied by scientists or science communication staff. Of course, all the research

profiled is interesting. But, because internet news lives and dies on images and video, the scales

might tip in your favor if a reporter is picking between fascinating research with multimedia and

fascinating research without.

The multimedia feed on AAAS’s EurekaAlert!

A resource that’s often underutilized or ignored by scientists is the science communication team at

their universities, labs, research institutes, and museums. Being a scientist is a lot of work. Afterall,

research comes first. Depending on where you are, you very likely could have an ace in the hole in a

SciComm multimedia producer or communications manager. Other types of organizations and

institutions might have science writers you can collaborate with. For example, the Field Museum’s

Brain Scoop project filmed with in-house researchers, and Columbia’s Climate School has great

writers on staff. Whatever the situation, the trick is to work with these folks early and often. They can

help write grants. They can assist with broader impact plans. They can document your work. They can

create multimedia projects out of your research. They can get your science noticed.

Amazing SciComm projects made by comms staff:

● The National Institute of Standards & Technology’s SI Redefinition microsite (one of the best

collaborations between comms staff and scientists I’ve ever seen)

● UNC Research’s Endeavors

● The American Museum of Natural History’s Shelf Life project

● University of California’s Fig. 1 project

● Cal Academy’s bioGraphic

● University of Florida’s Becoming Visible project

(Left to right) UC’s Fig. 1, Cal Academy’s bioGraphic, AMNH’s Shelf Life

Of course, the real trick is having colleagues as well as the institutional investment to pull off

projects and collaborations like this. Which, oftentimes, is easier said than done. Still, the only way

to find out if projects like the above are possible is to reach out and talk with your SciComm

coworkers.

SIMPLE MEDIA KIT: OVERVIEW

If you’re looking to turn your science into media, consider the following tools as a starting point. If

anything here sounds useful, research what brand fits your budget and makes sense for you. In the

next section, I’ll do a deep dive into camera equipment. If you have any questions, please reach out.

I’m at thomas.r[email protected].

Clip on macro

lenses for your

phone can improve

any field

photograph.

GoPros are great for

setting up lab

timelapses.

A steady shot is one

of the most

important things in

filmmaking—they

even make tripods

for your smartphone.

Then again, not all

science stands still.

A gimbal mount for

your phone can

steady any handheld

shots—this can give

a real pro look to

anything you film.

The next step up

from your phone

camera on a gimbal

is a built-in

camera-gimbal

combo.

They make

microscope camera

adapters for your

phone and

pro-cameras alike.

If you think about it,

a lot of science

happens on

tabletops. So do a

lot of YouTube

videos (think

unboxing content).

Because they make

overhead table

mounts for your

phone, try setting

something like this

up for your next

dissection or lab

experiment.

Light sensors and

color correction

technology on your

phone is so

advanced now that

even if you’re in a

lab with a few

burned out

lightbulbs, you can

probably get away

without having to

buy additional

lighting equipment.

Then again, they

make pocket lights

like the example in

the photo that can

come in pretty

handy. I’ve also used

camping headlamps

to light entire shoots

at night or in caves.

Using your phone's

audio jack or

lightning port, you

can attach pro level

microphones. Costs

can vary—same

goes for your audio

needs—so you

should also consider

the pro level option

for audio, especially

because clear audio

can really make or

break any media

project. Here’s a

pretty affordable

option from Zoom.

I edit video on

Adobe Premiere. I

edit audio on Adobe

Audition or Avid’s

Pro Tools. If you are

a student or work for

a university, it’s very

likely you’ll have

access to this

software for free or

at highly discounted

prices. I always

recommend learning

on the industry

standards—it’s

pretty

straightforward and

you’ll save time in

the long run.

If cost is an issue,

look no further than

the free DaVinci

Resolve software.

VIDEO EQUIPMENT OPTIONS FOR SCIENTISTS: IN-DEPTH

All three cameras outlined below have great image quality at medium range in good lighting and

ultimately, I think you could make good videos with any of them. Here’s a helpful comparison video.

DJI Pocket 2 Creator Combo

Without knowing more about budget or what types of things you’ll need to shoot,

this is my top recommendation. Only reason to avoid this camera is if you’ll need

very good close-ups (and it’s admittedly more expensive than the GoPro).

PROS

● Creator Combo comes with very good wireless mic

● Built-in zooming function while you’re shooting video (GoPro can’t do this)

● Best of all models for low-light shooting

CONS

● Not great at close-ups

● Image stabilization not quite as good as GoPro (but still really good)

Sony ZV-1 Digital Camera (w/ Vlogger Accessory kit) or Sony ZV-E10

Mirrorless Camera (w/ Content Creator kit) (similar models)

Best option if most of what you’re doing would be talking to camera on a tripod

and shooting close-ups.

PROS

● Best option for close-up shots

● Best audio quality from built in mic

CONS

● Most expensive of the batch

● Worst image stabilizer on this short list (hence, this is a better camera for static, tripod

shooting)

GoPro HERO 10 Black

I really think of this camera more for action/outdoors shooting, but it is undeniably

the cheapest of the lot. If you decided to go with this, I’d recommend an external

mic, which would add appx $60-$200.

PROS

● Great image stabilization if you’re wanting to move around handheld

● Great cost point (and the HERO 9 and HERO 8 are even cheaper!)

● Great for timelapses

CONS

● Terrible at close-ups

● Poorest audio quality

● I find it awkward to hold without a grip. (Which, of course, you can buy separately.)

IF YOU’RE READY TO BE A STAR

The above examples and sample kits are starting points for capturing the world of your research. If

you’re comfortable being on camera, here are a few extra tips for recording yourself:

● Audio quality matters: If people can’t understand what you’re saying, they’ll scroll on past.

Make sure your microphone can hear you, so that your audience can!

● Explain any technical vocabulary. Don’t think of this as avoiding jargon. Cool new words and

concepts are fun to learn—just make sure you explain them. Share your script or

explanation with someone not in your field and if any words are unfamiliar, think of short

ways to explain those things. E.g., “When a researcher thinks they have a new species, they

need to pick out a single specimen that’s going to represent that species for all time. We call

that a holotype.”

● Be yourself! Get comfortable before you hit record. Reading a script will come across as

reading a script. This is stuff you know about, so have your talking points in hand, but try

and do at least a couple of takes where you just speak conversationally, rather than worry

about hitting every note perfectly. That’s what editing is for!

EDITING

There are plenty of simple video editing tools out there. YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok allow you

to edit in-app. As mentioned earlier, DaVinci Resolve (free) and Adobe Premiere (discounted for

students) are great options.

LinkedIn Learning—which is available free through NYPL and other libraries—offers tons of courses

on video production, editing, animation, etc.

LinkedIn Learning

ACCESSIBILITY

Viewers are increasingly consuming videos with captions turned on. Adding captions makes content

accessible to a much wider audience, and I’ve found they help underscore concepts that you may

be explaining on screen.

Most social media platforms—e.g., YouTube—have captioning abilities available. Make use of them

and don’t rely on auto-captioning. Particularly when it comes to science, you don’t want YouTube’s

less-than-rigorous bot to turn Boyle’s Law into boiled slaw.