Faces of Philadelphia Science

To paraphrase Sesame Street, scientists ARE the people in our neighborhood. What inspires these people? Why do they do what they do?

In celebration of the Philadelphia Science Festival, PaSWA is beginning the “Faces of Philly Science” video campaign to inspire the next generation of young scientists and science enthusiasts. We want people to take a greater interest in the science and engineering issues that are an important part of their world.

How do I participate?

Participating is easy. Simply record a one-minute (or so, shoot for between 45 and 90 seconds) video—meeting our modest standards—and upload it to YouTube. Then let us know about it. That’s important.

OK, what are your standards?

Glad you asked. It is relatively easy. In a nutshell:

1. Pick your favorite scientist, engineer, “science enthusiast,” science teacher—preferably somebody who uses scientific knowledge or principles in their day-to-day life. Get creative in your choices.
2. Follow the general style and content guidelines mentioned below.
3. Edit the video to:
   • If possible, use a chyron (a caption) to spell out a speaker’s name as they introduce themselves.
   • Include our title cards (available for download)
   • Last about 60 seconds, give or take
4. Post it to YouTube in at least 720p, more or less HD-quality. If you are a member of a research institution, school, university, etc., please consider putting together your Institution’s own YouTube channel.
5. Let us know about it. If we can offer pointers for improvement, we will. But, frankly, we’ll just be happy if you take part.

See? Easy, right?

Can you tell me how to setup the video?

Here’s some of the equipment you may need:

1. A speaker, i.e. someone to speak (but don’t refer to them as equipment, they might not like that).
2. An HD video camera. Consumer models, like the Flip, Sanyo Xacti, or something from the Kodak “z” series, are fine. The Kodak cameras are nice because you can use an external microphone, a cheap lapel mic from Radio Shack ought to suffice.
3. A tripod. You get a good-enough tripod for about $20.
4. A chair that doesn’t swivel…especially
5. A computer. Most computers come today with editing software that ought to do nicely.

Ok, I have all the pieces, where do I place them?

Ideally, it would be nice to get a video of your speaker at his/her place of work. For most scientists, that’s a laboratory, but “field” shots would be interesting too. You also want a place where you can set up a tripod—the goal here is to not have to move the camera at all.

Of course, you want to be mindful of noise, especially if you don’t have an external microphone. Labs are generally full of equipment and people that could drown out your subject. Even offices can have a noisy ventilation system. I know mine does.

Since many consumer cameras don’t have an optical zoom feature (such as the Flip) your subject should be far enough away that they fill the screen from about breast pocket to a bit past the top of their head. Don’t cut off the top of their head, it looks weird.

If you have a really energetic subject, let them stand if they prefer. Some people think better on their feet. The key, though, is to make sure they stay in the shot. Again, you don’t want to move the camera.

It might be best if your subject just sat, really. If so, don’t use a chair with a swivel. They may get all swively, which looks weird.

Backgrounds

When you choose your shooting location, try to aim for something that is interesting and relevant to the research. Again, an office or a laboratory space is perfectly fine.

What you do need to keep in mind is contrast: don’t pick a background where the subject blends right in. If you’re recording in an all-white, pristine lab space, don’t use someone wearing a white shirt and lab coat.

Framing

Let’s talk a bit about framing the picture—that is, setting up where we will see the subject in the shot. (Once you make sure you’re not cutting off the subject’s head, of course.)

Picture the screen in thirds. We don’t want the subject directly in the middle of the screen, that middle third section. If possible, try to get them in the left or the right third. It looks a bit more natural that way.

Lighting

If possible, try to use natural or incandescent lighting. Consumer cameras are generally good in low-lighting situations, but good lighting will help the subject stand out more from the background.

Try place lighting behind the camera, pointing toward the subject’s face or on a wall or floor to reflect light toward the subject. (Watch out for shiny reflections from glasses!)

Where to look?

You don’t want the subject looking directly into the center of the camera lens, as it tends to look a little creepy. Neither do you want the person looking off to the side. Instead, you want the subject to look slightly to the left or right of the camera lens. If it helps, sit to the side of the camera and tell your subject to look at you.

Ultimately, it will give the appearance that your subject is talking to the viewer, but without creeping out the viewer.

Great, now what should my speaker say?

Each scientist, student, or science enthusiast should say a variation of the following:

“Hi, my name is (Jane Smith). I live in (West Mt. Airy) and I am a (geophysicist/engineer/geology student/a science writer) (place of employment, optional). Here is (and here the subject is asked to pick one of four options)…

1) …a cool science fact I think you should know:
2) …what inspired me to become a scientist/science writer:
3) …something important you should know about science:
4) …why I love science:

After that it is up to the speaker to come up with something short and clever. Subjects would be encouraged to focus more on what inspires them and less about their daily laboratory routine. The idea is to avoid jargon or complexity and paint with wide brush strokes.

Goofus: “I’m a geochronologist. My laboratory focuses on the alluvial and aeolian processes and their relationship to sedimentary deposition with an emphasis on anthropogenic causes….”

Gallant: “I’m a geochronologist. Humans can change their environment in profoundly unexpected ways. I study how wind and water shape our landscape over time. In particular, I look how humans can affect these processes—how, say, cutting down a forest may increase the amount of sediment, that is, dirt, enters a river. We see it time and again, how people can alter entire ecosystems by pure accident…”

It is a matter of telling a story, not dissecting a job description.

Goofus: “I’m a molecular biologist. I look at how mutations in the K42 and K64 domains of PDQ receptors cause conformation changes that affect protein/ligand interactions.

Gallant: “I’m a molecular biologist. Do you know what really amazes me about life? What really amazes me is how the shape of a single protein can hurt, even kill people. We sometimes think of proteins in our body as machines, little robots that do a particular job in cell. But in a way, I think they’re more like LEGOs. They have shapes and their shape lets them do all sorts of things. Change that shape—like, through a mutation—and you change how a protein can do its job. Change that shape and you get disease. Shapes can kill. My job is to study how protein shapes cause disease and, if possible, to find a way to fix them…”

Ideally, this can be done in relatively short take (although cuts can be masked with fades) and subjects should be asked to prepare ahead of time. Again, we suggest that participants should aim for a 60 second video, with a range between 45 and 90 seconds.

In this case, perfection is often the enemy of good. Subjects should not come across as professional broadcasters, nor should they look like hostages are reading from a prepared statement. These people are your friends and neighbors, and we will overlook a few “ums” or “errs.”

Recommended Outro: “I am your neighbor. I am one of the faces of Philly science.”

The outro is optional. It’s merely a suggested way for a subject to end their video without an awkward pause or a shrug.

If your subject doesn’t actually say the outro, you can use the outro title card provided.

Editing

The last step before you upload a video is to edit it. Use the “Face of Philly Science” title card as the intro, for about 5 seconds, and then you can transition to the subject, your speaker. If your subject nailed it in one take, great! Slap a title card on the end and upload that baby!

If you have multiple cuts in the video, keep the transitions simple—no fancy “star-shaped wipes,” please, where a simple fade would suffice.

If you have any questions, please contact us at paswaadmin@gmail.com and we’ll try to help as best we can.