The Social Media Lab’s 2017 State of Social Media Report (link) indicates that 59% of online Canadians have a YouTube account. This shows that video is an increasingly popular type of online content.
Some examples of online videos for science communication include:
- Research Shorts (link): Developed by Canada Research Chair Dr. George Veletsianos, Research Shorts are animated explainer videos aimed at making research more accessible to the general public. See the embedded video below for an example, or access these videos directly on YouTube.
- Community Research Connections HEAD Talks (link): Developed by Canada Research Chair Dr. Ann Dale, HEAD Talks uses a variety of different video formats, including live action and animation to discuss sustainability research.
What should you know about producing online video? Consider the following:
- Short videos are usually more effective than longer ones. Keep your video less than 3 minutes in length
- You can shoot video with your own cellphone. See this New York Times article (link) for tips
- Make sure you shoot your video in a place with good lighting and low background noise
- Want to take a screen capture video of something on your computer? Some versions of QuickTime for Mac (link) allow you to take these kinds of videos easily
- Several platforms accommodate very short (ie. less than 30 second videos). These can be a great way to spice up your science communication. Try stringing multiple videos together in an Instagram or Snapchat story
- No editing software? No problem! YouTube has a basic video editor and has tips for how to edit your videos in their YouTube Creator Academy (link)
- Enjoy animated explainer videos? These can be a great way to communicate your science. You can use a program like PowToon to put one together yourself
Perhaps you’re not quite ready for your close up, but you’re interested in the intimate medium of podcasting. The next section will discuss podcasting, an audio blog that users can subscribe to so they can regularly hear about your science.