The Challenge: Awareness (Engaging the Public with Interesting Science)
Whether the project starts with a podcast interview, a single research paper or an interesting story, executive video producer, Eliene Augenbraun, gives me the heads up about content she feels will be of interest to a wide audience.
These short videos are great tools for introducing an audience to new science, a concept, theory or idea. They also work well for providing a different spin on an old topic.
Nine projects and over 500K views later, here are a few links and lessons from our favorites.
By the time I’m on the scene, narration, interviews and research have already been completed and transcripts are available for me to start the animation process. When I’m finished, all those raw animation files go back to SciAm, where they add any additional sound effects, make any additional edits and add their watermark, bumpers and credits. They’ll generally render the completed animation on their end (i.e. process it) and it somehow magically appears on the web.
Science Communication 101:
Scientific American prides itself on presenting interesting science to a lay audience. And, although the science media giant produces content covering a broad range of topics, there are distinct similarities across their videos.
1. They capture the audience’s attention quickly.
There’s some kind of hook, and it comes early. SciAm’s 60 Second Science episodes generally start with teasers.
It might be a bold statement.
It might be a question.
It might be a quick story.
“What Makes Spiders Scary” starts with Psychologist Labovich chatting casually about the incident that sparked the study.
“Why Whale Waste Matters” starts with narrator Christopher Intagliata provocatively suggesting the unraveling of an entire food chain because of the disappearance of whale poop.
What?
Now you’ve got my attention.
2. They acknowledge that scientists are people.
Crazy, right?!
They grew up with dreams, have families, distinct personalities and yes, they even have fears. In these episodes we learn that Labovich is terrified of spiders. We learn that Joe Roman is known mainly as the “Whale Poop Scientist” amongst his daughter’s friends. And, with that single sentence, we view him as a family man with a sense of humor.
These snippets don’t dominate the episodes, but they give you a slight glimpse into the lives of scientists as real people.
Before you tell me this isn’t important, allow me to suggest to you one reason it is.
We seem to have hit a time where mistrust of science and the people who conduct it is at an all-time high. One way to combat this is to get the public to start seeing scientists as real, fallible people.
Not just robots conspiring with big pharma to kill you.
When viewers can relate to those conducting the science on some emotional level, some of those barriers start to fall.
Scientists need to do more of this.
3. If appropriate, they end with a sense of what’s to come.
This one can be tricky.
Science is an on-going process. Questions spark hypotheses and studies, which spark new questions. There are almost always more questions than answers. Old theories are tested and updated as new information comes to light. This is what I loved most about being a scientist – the endless questions and the possibilities at where those questions might lead you.
The problem is that science is almost never ‘done,’ and most of it isn’t causative. Most studies point us in the direction of what the future ‘might hold.’
Those responsible for reporting it need to respect that.
Roman can’t promise that the reduction in the numbers of whales and their poop can be reversed. But, he can suggest that we simply allow them to move about freely, and let nature take its course.
Labovich can’t declare that she’s discovered the only reason people fear spiders. But, she can suggest that, for a subset of people, there may be ways to diminish those fears in the future if we know what’s causing them.
What Makes Spiders Scary?
Why are some people so afraid of spiders? Do they perceive them as massive, creepy, 8-legged monsters? In this episode, Psychologist Tali Labovich explores the possibility that some arachnophobes believe spiders are physically larger than they actually are.
What Makes Spiders Scary?
Why are some people so afraid of spiders? Do they perceive them as massive, creepy, 8-legged monsters? In this episode, Psychologist Tali Labovich explores the possibility that some arachnophobes believe spiders are physically larger than they actually are.
Why Whale Waste Matters
Less whales means less whale poop.
Obviously.
But, what if we were to suggest that the disappearance of whale poop has the potential to disrupt an entire food chain? Follow Biologist Joe Roman as he discusses the importance of whale waste.
The Color of Noise: What Do Hues Have to Do with Sound?
You’ve probably heard of white noise, but do you actually know what it is? Did you know there’s also such a thing as pink, violet, brown and blue noise? This video dives into the noises we live with every day.
The Color of Noise: What Do Hues Have to Do with Sound?
You’ve probably heard of white noise, but do you actually know what it is? Did you know there’s also such a thing as pink, violet, brown and blue noise? This video dives into the noises we live with every day.
Epic Math Battles
A fun series designed to get the audience involved in a little math trivia. In this episode, legos are pitted against the trees of the earth to determine which is larger: the number of legos to build the great pyramid or the number of trees on earth.
How to Calculate a Bigger Slice of Pi
People have struggled for thousands of years to determine the exact value of pi. Watch how mathematicians from Archimedes to today have gotten closer to its true value using circles.
How to Calculate a Bigger Slice of Pi
People have struggled for thousands of years to determine the exact value of pi. Watch how mathematicians from Archimedes to today have gotten closer to its true value using circles.
“A great outfit for artistic and elegant animations. They’re remarkably scientifically accurate and whimsical at the same time. Sciconic is a great partner for Scientific American and our parent company, Nature Research Group.”
Eliene Augenbraun DO PhD | Multimedia Managing Editor, Nature Research Group
“A great outfit for artistic and elegant animations. They’re remarkably scientifically accurate and whimsical at the same time. Sciconic is a great partner for Scientific American and our parent company, Nature Research Group.”
Eliene Augenbraun DO PhD | Multimedia Managing Editor, Nature Research Group