Scientists Like Making Videos, Too

October 25, 2007

Where there were only podcasts and YouTube, now there are pubcasts and SciVee.

SciVee is a new YouTube-like website developed by the Public Library of Science, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Created by scientists for scientists, the site allows academics to upload videos that correspond to research published in peer-reviewed journals (hence: pubcasts) and also puts a lab cam on experiments, dissections (eewwww), explanations, and other sciency “tions.”

I like the “howitsmade” videos and also the videos that demonstrate something. But the pubcasts leave me feeling the way I do after a long day of listening to talks at a scientific conference: dumb and fuzzy brained.

The thing is, published articles ≠ pubcasts. Video is dynamic, made for motion and animations, and smiling. If you really want to “move science beyond the printed word,” as the site says, then think about the medium and think about the audience. In a word: production.

Now, I’m not saying, hire a director. But what I am saying is move around a little bit, tighten up the text, use less jargon, and get to the heart of the matter, and get there fast. You’ll improve your video, get your “most viewed” hits up there, and add to the viewer’s understanding. And that last bit is really what’s it all about, right?