Howtomakescience&Naturefilm

Copyright © 2014 by Rob Nelson & Dan Bertalan Published by Untamed Science, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be re- produced in any manner without the express writ- ten consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles Every effort has been made to supply complete and accurate information. However, Untamed Science along with their authors assumes no responsibil- ity for its use, nor any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which would result. Untamed Science A nonprofit organization 2430 Belmeade Drive Charlotte, NC 28214 Printed in the United States of America Editors: Lauren Ray Burn; Tommy White Graphic Layout: Meredith Ray Special Help: Haley Chamberlain Nelson Illustration: Rob Nelson Contents Foreword by Roland Kays..........................................................vii Introduction.........................................................................................1 1. Getting Started...................................................................5 2. Making Initial Plans..........................................................13 3. Pre-production.................................................................29 4. Production.........................................................................49 5. The Art of Shooting.........................................................69 6. The Art of Directing........................................................91 7. Post-production................................................................97 8. Videos for YouTube........................................................103 9. Ethics in Filmmaking......................................................113 10. More Education..............................................................119 Resources - Advanced Camera Techniques Underwater Video....................................................127 The Basics of 3D.......................................................136 Shooting with a Long Lens......................................140 Animation for Science Docs...................................142 Time-lapse..................................................................149 Macro Video...............................................................154 High-speed / Slow Motion.......................................160 Moving Shots: Cranes and Dollies..........................163 DSLRs..........................................................................167 A Farewell Message................................................................171 Legal Stuff.................................................................................173 Foreword Welcome to the new world of science communication By Roland Kays. cience lover, look around you. Better yet, go outside and find some non-scientists. What are they doing? Chances Sare, many of them are looking at a screen. The younger they are, the more likely they are looking at a screen. Check on them at home and you might find two screens going at once. If you want to get your message out to these people you need to get it on their screens. We are smack-dab in the middle of a golden age of video, and nothing looks better on a screen than a well-produced video. Making your video look and sound good has never been easier. The tools you need are now cheap, high defini- tion, and some even fit in your pocket. If you have a story to tell, the limiting factor is not going to be your equipment budget, but your know-how and your creativity. If you are a scientist, you want your own work to be known past the narrow audience of your peers who read your jour- nal articles. The old standard of writing a few popular mag- azine articles about your work is no longer sufficient. Of course you think you don’t have time for this, but making x effective videos doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Try a Vine video. For example, see if you can tell the world about your favorite scientific discovery in seven seconds using the Vine App. Post the video using #GreatestDiscov- ery and #6secsci and check out other’s contributions. Six seconds - you have time for that. If you found that fun, try a short edited video. Keep it simple, you could even shoot and edit it all on your phone. This book will help you make your videos better, and your production more efficient. This book will help you get started with video; how far you take it from there is up to you. If you are a science enthusiast, you want to share your passion for a field with others, and maybe even change the world. Compared to the scientist, you get to jump around different subjects. You have the flexibility to dive into the research on one subject, then switch to something else that sparks your excitement and become an expert on that. This research phase lets you never stop learning, and will lay the groundwork for your video production. If you are coming at this as an enthusiast, and not a full-time scientist, you will have more time to put into your production. Maybe you’ve made some small videos and want to go bigger, maybe you’ve participated in larger productions but want to lead your own effort. This book will show you the different ways you can scale up your effort to make a more professional and more effective video. There are millions of crappy videos out there. You don’t want to make a crappy video. No one else wants you to make a crappy video. This book will help you not make a crappy video. In fact, the world really needs you to make an awesome science video. Although professional researchers con- xi tinue to push the limits of knowledge and make amaz- ing discoveries, much of the non-scientist ‘general pub- lic’ don’t have any idea of how the process works. There are even some people that are anti-science, fearing how critical thinking jeopardizes their own particular status quo. Reaching them with your pro-science message will be difficult, but could have a real impact. But these science-haters are a minority, there is actually a giant audience of people open to learning more about the world through the scientific lens, as told through your camera lens. Science communication has never been more important for our society, but also never been so difficult. The var- ious fields of science are each barreling down their own paths of specialization. The faster a scientist pushes into the unknown of their specialty - be it chemistry, ecology, Dipteran Transcriptome genomics, or whatever - the more likely they are to discover something new. However, these paths to discovery also lead to such a specialized language of jargon and high-brow concepts that anyone who’s not traveling down that same path is not going to understand what the heck they are talking about. Effec- tive science communication requires a type of translation skill that’s not unlike serving as a language interpreter at the United Nations. Not only do you need to understand what the scientist is talking about, but you also need to translate their findings into the language of people who are way, way back down the science jargon path. Yes, you need to learn the jargon of the field you are covering, but you also need to remember the language you spoke before you got so smart. My own science career has taken me down the ecology and evolutionary biology path, leading to regular geeky, jargon-filled lunch conversations with colleagues where xii we talk about the latest phylogenetic methods using SNP data or the implications of indirect predation effects on trophic cascades. Talking shop with my science friends is great fun and helps us all move the field forward. But when it comes time to tell non scientists what I’m work- ing on I need to mentally shift-gears and think about who I’m talking to, what their background might be in my field, and what aspect of my work might have any rele- vance to their lives. The more I talk with non-specialists about my work, the easier it gets, and the better I get at translating my own jargon into science messages and stories that others can relate to. I’m lucky to have a job at a museum where com- municating about science is as important as doing science, and I have plenty of opportunities to practice my craft, including dozens of talks a year and a number of videos in collaboration with Untamed Science. My work ‘on the set’ with Untamed Science has included midnight drives through the back roads of North Car- olina, baboon trapping in Africa, and chasing animals through the rainforests of Panama. These have been ad- ventures, and they were fun times. My scientific objec- tives were accomplished in these trips, but I think the key to the success of Untamed Science of turning these expeditions into compelling videos has been to have fun in front of the camera, and to keep the energy high. Scientists are not typically good actors, so we aren’t going to be as good at faking it in front of the camera. How- ever, if you, the filmmaker, can create a scenario that is naturally fun you will bring out the charisma and energy from even the stodgiest scientist. Untamed Science uses a recipe including adventure, travel, sports, and nature to cook up the fun. As you plan your own productions, be xiii sure to think about the fun factor. The ingredients you bring to keep the production fun and exciting will define your video style, keep any on-camera scientists engaged, and grab your audience through their screens to connect them with your message. Introduction The power of filmmaking awaits you. ongratulations. By reading this book,

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