"From Wolves to Man's Best Friend" with team introduction

"Collections: a Window to the Past" with team introduction

"From Death to Display" with team introduction

Pictures from Science in Action Summer Intensive 2014

We got a lot of fun pictures from the 2014 Science in Action Summer Intensive.

You can check out all of the pictures in the Flickr Album.

Three Variations on the Game "Ninja" by the Science in Action Teens

Just for fun, our Science in Action teens created different variations on the popular kids game "Ninja" (or "Ultimate Ninja").  It started as a lunchtime activity to get them physically interacting and playing, and morphed into an integral part of the camp.



It was fun watching them take the game, remix it, test out different variations, discuss / debate the results, and then create a newer, better version.  They basically took the design process and principles that we taught them during the camp (ideate-prototype-iterate-reflect) and applied them during their lunch break to re-design a popular game into something even more awesome, and had a blast doing it.

Here are three of their favorite "Ninja" variations that they demoed on the last day of the SIASI14 program.

Enjoy!

BTW, here's another rule set that differs the version the kids played, and the Wikipedia entry that details other varieties.

Fantastic Showcase of the Science In Action Teens Videos Today!

Today the Science in Action Summer Intensive teens showed off their three science videos, to a small crowd of family, friends and visitors to the Academy.  Afterwards, the teens presented their work over the past two weeks to the audience, eloquently summarizing what they had learned and experienced.

We're going to miss this group, but are so excited to share their videos with the world soon!

Marcus Weiss Final Blog Post

SIASI Reflection

During my time at this program, there were many things that I enjoyed. One of my favorite parts of this workshop was the exploration and tour of the full Academy of Sciences, not just the public floor. I loved exploring as a group, and getting to see all of the extensive archives, collections, and research areas. I realized how much of the Academy was focused on intense scientific research, and I learned so many new things, such as how specimens were prepared, how many different kinds of specimens and collection there were, and interesting facts and history behind them. I also enjoyed all of the ice breaker games, because I was able to get to know all of my peers in the program, and have fun as well. Also, learning about the video making process was very interesting to me, if not a little stressful at times!
There wasn't really anything I really disliked about this program (aside from the repetitive viewings of Skull Detective). It all went really well for me. There were some challenging aspects of the program. For my group and I, the challenging part was towards the end, trying to get the entire video done in time, and crediting our numerous assets that we used. It was pretty nerve-racking, but I'm happy we all finished with a good product in the end!
Thank you for a really awesome experience!

Brendan Fong's Final Refelction

My favorite part of the program was being able to use high level tools like Premiere, and being able to go into the collections and recording studio. One suggestion I have for next year would be to start working on the script earlier so we could get started on filming earlier so we would not be stressed out at the end. I would really like to do more programs with the academy during the school year, but I also love doing sports and I don't know if I will have time to do both. If it were possible for me to continue working as an editor or cinematographer/photographer for future academy programs. I also understand that the academy already has people or hire people for those roles. Anyways, I had a great time and hope to do more things with the academy in the future.

Roman Peregrino Final Reflection

I have had so much fun at this program, and learned a lot of different things.  I learned a lot about different technological and scientific things.  I learned how to basically make a video from scratch, including editing, interviewing, asset collecting and so much more.  I also learned a lot more about the Academy in itself including a lot about the collections.  I had a great time working with my teammate on our video and during the icebreakers with the entire group.  I really have no bad things to say about this program, and I would like to do it again.  I thought it was well thought out by Rik and Christine, and I didn't think anyone disliked this camp.  I am sad top leave and hope everyone enjoys our videos.  However my all-time favorite part of this camp was learning the entire script of skull detective and by playing a lot of ninja.

Lisa's Last Reflection

   I am extremely glad that I got to participate in this awesome program. I learned a lot about the workings of a natural history museum, video editing software, and how to interview people. I especially enjoyed touring the Academy, and going to the Bone Lab was an amazing experience. I have seen a lot of videos about the behind the scenes happenings in natural history museums, but this was the first time I actually got to see a dissection lab and collections in person.
   I wish we had more time to work on our video. Finishing everything yesterday felt like a time crunch. I also wish that we had been able to divide up the editing for the video a bit better, so the responsibility didn't rest on one person. For the future, I would suggest providing more time to make our actual videos and to somehow divide up the editing task better.
  All in all, I really enjoyed the experience. Thank you to all for making this possible.
   

Kirby's Last Reflection

I really liked this program and how we got to go behind the scenes of the academy and see the scientists in action. Touring through the bone lab and collections was an exciting experience and I had a new insight on the academy. It was nice to work with people from other schools and create videos together. I regret that this program wasn't longer, perhaps maybe three weeks long. I wished less work could have been put onto the editor. While the editor was rushing for time, the rest of the group members didn't have much to do except collect assets. I felt that we could have had more time to create and polish our videos and also explore the academy more. I would also be extremely interested in seeing more than just the ornithology and mammalogy collections. I am glad I got to learn so much science and tech. From identifying skulls to using Adobe Premiere, this program was definitely a highlight of my summer!

Noah Final Reflection

I really liked the Digital Learning program at the Academy. Some of my favorite parts included the group activities and games that we played, the behind-the-scenes tours into the Academy collections, and the entire video making process. Learning programs like Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 and how to film interviews and record voiceovers was extremely interesting. The only challenging part of this program was the time constraint. It was extremely tough to finish our videos in only four days, since we didn't begin filming until the beginning of Monday. Overall,  I thought that this program was both fun and educational. I enjoyed learning things about science and technology, and I had a great time here at the Academy!

Chloe's Last Reflection

I really enjoyed getting to go behind the scenes and see the collections, as I've seen the floor of the academy a lot, but have never been able to see what happens behind the scenes. I also really enjoyed getting to meet employees of the academy and have them explain what they do and why they do it. If I could change something about the program though, I would definitely have the actual process of making the video start sooner so that the last few days wouldn't be as hectic and rushed. I would also make it possible for more than one person to edit a video at a time, as I felt a little useless at times when the editor was working really hard and there was nothing that I could do to help. My last little suggestion would be to make the program slightly longer so that there would be for time for perfecting and polishing our videos.

Aimee's Last Post

I really enjoyed being able to do a lot of group work in creating our videos. It was also great being able to add science into the video process by learning a ton about skeletons, o&m, and the other collections at the Academy. The games that involved the skeletons were fun and I learned a lot about identifying skulls.
I found it challenging to understand the legality of using different assets and how copyright works, but now, after this program, I feel very confident in how to legally obtain assets. I can use this knowledge for the future and will be ahead of the game.

Last Reflection - Kristina Guardino

This program has been one of the coolest things I've done in my 16 years of living. I really enjoyed all of the behind the scenes tours and being able to talk to people who work here at the Academy. My favorite part would probably be working in the studio while recording voiceovers. Working with all these great people, including my peers, Rik, and Christine, made this program 385724957x better. The atmosphere was awesome and I actually enjoyed coming to the program in the morning. One of the only suggestions I would make is to have more jobs for people to do in groups.  I felt very helpless while our editor was doing all of the last minute things and I was just sitting around. Although I really enjoyed everything, I think the most challenging thing was to work Premiere. That software was complex and we barely covered it. When we learned about everything in Premiere, it went too fast and I couldn't keep up. Other than that, I really enjoyed this program and I hope to do more here at the Academy in the future!

Ginger Final Reflection

I really liked this program, and I feel great that my film will be on the museum floor as well as the website. It was a great opportunity, though there could be some improvement. We should definitely get more time to edit, and more resources from the academy, because Thursday was really intense. Otherwise, I really enjoyed my time here.

Toby's Final Reflection

Throughout this entire program, I greatly enjoyed getting to know everyone in the group through very fun ice breakers and intense collaboration. I also am very proud to have helped create a professional finished product that the entire public who visit the Academy will have the chance to see. Although this program only spanned two weeks, the amount of effort we all put into creating this product has certainly paid off, and I look forward to visiting the Academy and seeing my own work there!

Lisa Illes Reflection

Brendan Fong 7th Reflection

Today we finished the script and recorded the voice over. We made a super rough cut and showed it to the science in action interns. Most of the footage we put in was just filler and that was the only part they were not exited about. Unfortunately our video is about a minute longer than it is supposed to be so we will have to cut it. Our original script was also not detailed enough so we added more information.

Here is a brief overview of my edit in Premiere Pro CS6:

Aimee 6/25

I think my group are about 56% done with our video. A great critique we got was so take out the end narration and stop after Moe's interview about the use of collections in the future.

Today we edited our scripts using the edits given to us by CalAcademy staff members. The critiques helped make our script flow and give important information clearly without extra material. It also helped add in some more information, like the CCG lab and the Philippines expedition (even though we edited it out).

Marcus Weiss 7th Blog Post

For our script, most of the feedback was to add more detail and scientific explanation to our script. We were also told that it might be a bit too long, so we had to cut some parts of our speech out of the recording. 

When we showed our video, the feedback we received was mostly positive. They said that the speaker was clear, and the video was interesting. However, we were advised to clarify artificial selection methods involved with sleeve pekingese dogs. We took all of these feedbacks into account. 

Overall, our video seems to be about 40% done, and we need to add B-roll and music into our video. But, we will finish on time!

Roman Peregrino 7th reflection

Today we got a lot of feedback on our scripts and videos.  For the script, we cut unneeded things and made our script flow better.  We also moved some things around to be clearer.  We also presented our ruff cut of our video. the audience seemed to enjoy it, and gave us some good commentary.  One good bit of commentary we got is to cut back thew ending.  We are about 60% done with our video.

Chloe's 7th Reflection

1. What are some changes we did to script

We ended up taking out several of the dog breeds to make our video shorter and because they were not necessary to our video. We also ended up having to make small changes to make it more scientifically accurate, and also to take out unnecessary details.

2. What percentage done is the video and what was good feedback we got on our video and script

We feel that our video is about 40% finished, with the majority of the remaining work adding in B-Roll assists that we are still collecting. We were told that the voiceover was really smooth, and that it sounded professional. We were also told that our intro was really interesting and exciting, which I thought was really rewarding as it means that our effort to create an effective hook was effective.

Kirby's 7th Reflection

Our scripts received feedback this morning. We decided to change our hook and some small details so the voiceover would flow better and have more accuracy. As of the end of today, our video seems to be about 60% done. We still need to input music and some more pictures. After that, we have to touch up on our assets and then we will be done. Hopefully we will be able to use tomorrow's time to our advantage. Some good feedback we got on our rough video was to cut off our ending. Moe's last sentence had a good enough conclusion and we realized we didn't need the last paragraph of the voice over. Also, our video was over 5 minutes, so that was useful in shortening our movie. 

Noah 7th Reflection

Our group received helpful feedback on our script for the video. I think the feedback helped us to improve our script and prepare us for the voiceover, since many of the comments and additions recommended that we add additional information and explain our scientific facts in greater detail.

I would estimate that we are 40% done with the video. We have all of our audio completed, however the video and assets still needs to be done. In addition, we need to add video transitions and background music, as well as remove a lot of footage since our video is too long.

The best feedback our group received from the video was about our audio voiceover and our interview footage. In our video, we frequently cut to Ray Bandar for scientific information on the preparation of specimens, and we overlay footage of the Academy collections and bone lab.

Toby's 7th Reflection

The feedback we received this morning on the script greatly aided us in ensuring our script was both concise and clear. The feedback we received on the actual rough draft was a little unspecific, as I feel our reviewers weren't sure what part of our product should actually be judged or not. That being said, the viewers seem to enjoy it greatly, and advised us to cut off the ending segment. Heeding their advice lead to a shorter and better end result, so I am very glad for that feedback.

Currently, I believe our movie is around 60% done.

Seventh Reflection - Kristina Guardino

Based on the feedback my group got on our script, the main changes to the script was the addition of details and explanations. That really helped us add to our video and make it more interesting. I thought that really helped and was great feedback. I took it into great consideration and thought it was excellent feedback.

I believe my group is about 45% of the way there with our video. We have all of our audio and now we just need to add music, video clips, and other assets and transitions. The most interesting feedback I received on the video was the correction on my pronunciation of the word flensing. Apparently, it is pronounced with an "s" and not a "z", which is what I did.

Ginger 7th Reflection

One of the major changes in the script was that we cut our two of our dogs. We re-edited it to prevent repetition. I am 43% done with the editing of our video. The most interesting feedback was about how purebred dogs get diseases, and how we could possibly incorporate that fact into our video.

Chloe's test premiere project

Aimee Asset

This is a photo of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake that we will most likely use while discussing the earthquake's effect on the CalAcademy.

Toby's 6th Reflection

From our interview with Moe Flannery from the Ornithology and Mammalogy department, we are planning to use multiple different sections including her explanation of how the Academy Collections helped researchers determine the point of origin of the Avian Pox in the Galapagos Islands.

Kirby's 6th Reflection

http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/bmammals/collections.php

This article was useful for our script because it had a lot of good details on the founding of the Academy to the present. It had details on how the 1906 San Francisco earthquake affected the Academy. It also talked about the Galapagos expedition and how it built up the current Academy's collection. Preservation methods were included in the article and that was a good point to include in our script. It was straight from the ornithology and mammalogy department from the Academy so it was a good source to use.

Brendan Fong's 6th Refelction

Today we got to interview Ray Bandar for our interview. He has been collecting things for the academy since summer of 1953. He used to body surf at ocean beach. He found a dead sea lion and cut off his head and brought it home. He told many interesting stories, one was about him cutting up a elephant seal in front of the Ritz Carlton hotel:

(video not working)

Marcus Weiss 6th Blog Post

 

This is a document about the genetics of wolves and various domestic dog breeds, along with comparisons of dog skulls with wolf skulls. This document also includes details on humans using artificial selection to create new dog breeds. This document was given to us by Jack Dumbacher, and it will help us greatly with our video.

Noah 6th Reflection

Marine Mammal Stranding Network, California Academy of Sciences

This link has useful information that our group plans on using for our video. The link is a California Academy of Sciences research page on the Marine Mammal Stranding Network (MMSN) and it explains how to collect a dead marine mammal for non-scientists. The MMSN page recommends that the finder gets the location, physical characteristics, and other distinguishing or important features of the marine mammal. It also includes the phone numbers for when a dead or injured marine mammal is found.

• Call 415-379-5381 for reporting dead marine mammals
• Call 415-289-SEAL for reporting sick or injured marine mammals

(Not Team Not Whalesplosion)

Ginger 6th Reflection

A quote we're using in our video is when he's talking about the differences between wolves' skulls and the different breeds of dog skulls. He compares the cranium size, the snout length, and other factors. 

Roman Peregrino 6th reflection

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/DDT-from-xtal-3D-vdW.png

This link shows the chemical reaction of the DDT pesticide.  We are using DDT when we are showing how the collections were used in the past to help a specific species.  We hope to use this picture when describing DDT

Sixth Refection - Kristina Guardino

This picture is one of the assets that we are planning on using for our Preparing Specimen video. I found this asset on Google Images under the free to use licenses. It shows a skull being cleaned by the dermestid beetles that are used in many museums for preparation.
(Not Team Not Whalesplosion)

Chloe's 6th Reflection

Here is a short National Geographic video that has proven very useful for research that goes over how domestic dogs evolved from wolves. Our team, Labradoodle, is making our video on the domestication of dogs and the comparison of different skulls from different breeds of dogs, so this video is very helpful for us to learn how wolves were bred to become domesticated dogs.

 http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/the-start-of-the-domestic-dog/

Science Teens at the Zoo!

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to visit the San Francisco Zoo to conduct an "ethogram" animal behavior activity and to take footage to use in their videos. It was a really fun and educational morning in the park.

Observing mandrills

Observing penguins is always fun

Lisa making penguin observations

A zoo volunteer showing off giraffe skeletons

The Science in Action teens looking intellectual.

Roman's first project

Aimee's practice video

Here is a practice video I have been working on.

Toby's Test Project

Brendan Fong Test

Here is the second and final edit of test video:

Kirby's Test Video

Marcus Weiss Test Video 1

This video is a little adventure of my (and Kirby's) experience in the Skulls Exhibit. There is a period in the video where there is a cat image at the end, please disregard that, thank you!

Test Video - Kristina Guardino

Noah Test Video

This is a video I made using some footage shot throughout the Academy. It's a short exercise to help learn the editing program, Adobe Premiere.

Ginger Test Video

Pre-interviews with Jack Dumbacher

Aimee's Reflection 6/20

One interesting science story I learned about today wad how currently an Academy team is trying to resurrect a passenger pigeon. The team will use DNA testing with the genome of other specimen. They are in the process of making a clone of the passenger pigeon with the help of band tailed pigeon and the use of parts of Academy collections.

I also learned about the use of the specimen from the Galapagos expedition in finding information about avian pox. The history of pox was studied.

Fifth Reflection - Kristina Guardino

Today I learned a lot of new things about the process of specimen prep from both Moe and Jack. One of these facts is that each and every single skull must go through the cataloging  process. Every single one has to have a number on it and every number is different for every new skull added to the collection. I find this very interesting because there are tons of skulls and bones in the Academy, so I wonder how high that number has gotten up to since the catalog began. I also learned about the permits that are involved with the prep process. There are tons of permits and regulations that scientists have to follow in order to collect specimen. For example, they are not allowed to collect certain species that are endangered or have a strict restriction on. Birds and marine animals seemed to be more protected than land mammals. Regular citizens are not allowed to pick up and collect animals at all, unless there are the common ones such as raccoons and possums. Birds, however, are strictly guarded from citizen collection, especially if there are an endangered species. Only scientists with the correct permits are allowed to collect these animals.  

Roman Peregrino 5th reflection

Today we learned a lot about different science subjects.  One cool story I learned about today is how scientists are attempting to bring back the passenger pigeon.  The curator of ornithology and mammology, Jack Dumbacher, told my group how scientists are using the genomes of certain specimens, chiefly of the band tailed pigeon, to see with what species, the passenger pigeon could be brought back.  Another cool thing we learned about was how, in connection with the first point, scientists are attempting to repopulate the Galapagos mockingbirds.  This effort was fueled largely by Cal Academy, because they were able to save those birds from their expedition.

Lisa Illes-Fifth Reflection

    Today was spent mostly doing research, finalizing our video topics, and conducting some interviews of Academy scientists. My team and I have decided on the specimen preparation topic I talked about yesterday.
    Over the course of today, I have learned a lot of new science and technology related tidbits. One of the scientists I interviewed today talked about how in order to collect specimens from the field, the Academy needs to have at least 3 different permits from both state and federal departments. This seems like it is a good way to make sure that specimens are procured through ethical and legal means. I also learned about how to interview someone today. It is essentially like having a conversation where you aren't allowed to say anything while your interviewee is speaking. It was a bit difficult at first, but I got the hang of over time.

Marcus Weiss 5th Blog Post

Today, we learned many new scientific facts as we researched online and interviewed different scientists.
I learned that most of the artificial selection of dogs carried out by humans involved certain favorable  dogs being isolated from a larger group, and those dogs which were isolated were continually bred until a new breed of dogs with distinct traits emerged. For example, a dog with a good, positive personality would be isolated and selectively bred until a new breed of positive dogs would emerge.
I also learned that different breeds of dogs are still classified under the same species, since dogs from different breeds are still able to reproduce with one another, and also back-breed with wild wolves and other canines. I learned both of these facts from Jack Dumbacher during our practice interview session.

Kirby's 5th Reflection

Today in our groups, we researched, outlined, and interviewed for our movies. While interviewing Jack, he talked about Avian Pox and how the Galapagos birds had lesions on their feet containing the disease. The Academy's collections were put to use in researching this. I thought this was a really interesting way to put the collections to use. Jack also told us that when specimen's skins are dried, their DNA is broken into fragments, which was something I did not know. Through these interviews, I realized that collections were an extremely important backbone of the Academy and fueled a lot of the research.

Chloe's 5th Reflection

Today we did a lot of research on our topics, and through that we came up with interesting facts and stories relevant to our topic. I had never known this before, but poodles were originally bred to be hunting dogs, which is almost the opposite of what they are seen as now, which are fluffy lap dogs. I also learned that dogs can not only have successful offspring with dogs of other breeds, but can also reproduce with wolves, which is called back breeding. The term back breeding reflects the fact that the dogs are breeding with the animals from which they originally evolved, which I never knew was possible as wolves and dogs are now considered two distinct species.

Noah 5th Reflection

I heard many interesting science stories I heard about today was about the specimen preparation from Jack and Moe. One of these was about a sea lion who was caught in a fishing net. The sea lion skull healed around the net, and it lived the rest of it's life with a fishing net embedded into the skull.

Another science story I heard today was about the maceration of skulls, or placing the skull in water so that the bacteria will remove the flesh and clean the skull. Sometimes, during maceration, shotgun shells will fall out of the skull into the water. These shells are previously unseen until the maceration process. Also, other things can be found through the maceration process; once a stingray barb was found in the skull of an animal after the maceration.

Brendan Fong's 5th Reflection

Today we got to do some pre-interviews with Moe Flannery, the collections manager, and Jack Dumbacher, the curator of Ornithology and Mammalogy or O and M. One thing story I heard during the interviews was how Jack Dumbacher, the curator of O and M, started working at the academy. He used to work at the Smithsonian, but a job was offered to him here and he took it. His boss was also offered the job but he turned it down. One other science fact I learned is that sometimes when they only want part of the bones cleaned they put the bones with the beetles for only part of the time because the beetles eat different parts of the flesh first. I also learned that the skeletons are dried before they are given to the beetles.

Ginger 5th Reflection

Today I learned more about how dogs were bred from wolves. I looked at a lot of dog breed and learned lots of facts about what they were bred for and the culture they came from. For example, like labradors, poodles were bred to be hunters, gun dogs, and waterfowl retrievers. Though they seem very different, they were bred for the same thing. Also, bulldogs were bred to bring down bulls, and mastiffs were bred to be war dogs. Sometimes evolved dogs are bred with wolves again, a method called back-breeding. I learned a few more things about artificial selection, and I found out that there were 376 breeds of dogs.
I also learned a few facts about bone mutations, including a mutation that turns muscle into bone. 

Ginger 4th Reflection

The two ideas we have is mutation and artificial selection. We want to go into bone mutations and bone cancer, and also how artificial selection affects skull structure in a species. I would prefer to make a video about bone mutation.

Today I learned how to set my workspace in premier and how to use keyframes to move photos.

Science in Action Youth at the Skulls Exhibit

Roman Peregrino 4th reflection

The two topics my group are choosing between are human to animal skulls connections, and specimen preparation and preservation.  The first one would pertain to showing the public about how animals that seem different are really alike.  We also could use some fun facts, in which two seemingly really different skulls factually aren't that different.  In the second one, we were thinking of talking about flesh eating beetles, and possibly the evolution of cleaning techniques. It would also delve into taxidermy and how that works.  I believe that I could work well with both, and both have many possibilities.  However, I think that the second one would be very interesting and could be the best one I could do.  Today I learned more about Adobe Premier, and even made my first video titled "Mashup_v1."  I learned more about Premier and different parts of it, including how to fit a clip, speed it up and use transitions.  I am getting a better feel for it and ready for the project.

Brendan Fong's 4th Reflection

Our group has two ideas for what to make our videos about. The first is how specimens are prepared and put in the collections. We would either follow the path of a specific animal that is in the collections or take a look at how specimens are prepared in general. Our other idea is how you can see adaptations to habitat, food, and lifestyle affect parts of the skull. We would look at the differences in the skulls between herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. I personally am much more exited about how the specimens are prepared because the collections are a big part of what the Academy does in the science world and most of the visitors do not even know about it. It would also be interesting to learn more about how bones are cleaned.

THE VIDEO I MAdeE IN PREMIERE TODAY

Today we also got to learn how to do more in Adobe Premiere. Premiere is sooo much nicer than what I use at home because I just use free stuff. I got to learn how to add keyframes the timeline to adjust how loud the audio is and how the things on the screen move around. We got to go and shoot a fake interview and some extra b-roll to put on top of the video. Our interview was about unicorns with Chloe.

Aimee Reflection #4

The first idea my group had for our video was human and animal skull connections. We thought we could find random similarities in the skulls of completely different animals and at the same time teach the viewer about parts of skulls. The second video idea was specimen preparation and preservation. My group was thinking of discussing the use of the beetles, maceration, arsenic, and taxidermy in the process of preparation. This topic might be interesting to the public because they would be able to learn the details of how the collections are prepared, specifically the skulls exhibit. I like both ideas, but it might be easier to collect the information for the second one.

Today I learned how to add transitions, rotate pictures, and change the speed of videos on Premiere.  I also learned how to make a title and export the video. I am most likely not going to be my group's editor, but it was good experience learning how to use the Premiere program correctly.

Lisa Illes-Reflection 4

    Today was another busy and fun day at the Academy. We went over the basics of Adobe's Premiere software, which I can now kind of use. I learned how to layer multiple audio/video/picture files into one shot, how to do various types of transitions between clips, and how to add background music. All of these skills will come in handy when I begin to work with my team on the video project. (I have attached a screen grab of what I worked on today.)
   We began to actually work on the video project today, which is exciting. We got put into teams of 3-4 people, and we thought about what topic our video should cover. The two that we came up with were tracking the preparation of a specimen (with a marine mammal concentration), and how the lifestyle of an animal can be deduced by looking at its skull.
   I personally am more interested in making a video about the specimen preparation topic, because I think it is more relevant to the work that the Academy does, given the fact that it does have a large collection of specimens. I also think this would be a very interesting topic to work on, and it would mean that we would get to work in the Bone Lab for a little bit (which I would be really happy about).

Kirby's 4th Reflection

The first idea my group had for our project was Human to Animal Skull Connections. We wanted to make unique and unknown links between humans and other animal species relating to their bones and skulls. We would also be able to teach the public about skull structures. Our second topic was Specimen Preparation and Preservation. We would focus on taxidermy, collections, and/or bone preparation. This would include facts about arsenic and old records of collections that date back. I prefer the Specimen Preparation topic because not many people know the behind-the-scenes methods used to record the millions of species. 

Today, I also learned more about Adobe Premiere and how to utilize it. I learned how to do transitions in audio and video. We made rough practice videos of random shoots in the academy and practiced interviewing with the rule of thirds. Finally, we exported our "finished" videos.

Marcus Weiss 4th Blog Post

Our two ideas for video topics are:
1. Discussing mutations in skulls, focusing on bone mutations and bone cancer, and their effects on the animal.
2. Discussing artificial selection in dog breeds, and why there are so many different dog species today, as a result of artificial selection.
I am most interested in making a video about artificial selection in dogs, because I think it is more relatable to a crowd, since many people own dogs of their own. I also feel that a call to action would be more relevant in this video, as opposed to a video about mutations in animal skulls.

Today, I learned how to find assets which are legal to use, through the use of advanced searches, and I also learned how to transition and fade between two separate shots in the middle of a video, and transition between different audio pieces. I also learned how to properly export a Premiere project and put it in the correct folder, as seen below.

Noah 4th Reflection

This is a screenshot of the Adobe Premiere editing window. Today, we learned about basic editing techniques in Premiere such as fades, adding music, and changing the speed and duration of video clips. We also learned about the different motions to add to videos and pictures, such as panning across a picture or zooming in.

Our group ideas so far for the project are to create a video on specimen preparation or to create a video on what can be discovered by studying a skull. The first idea would include interviews with scientists who prepare specimens, and would have lots of shots of the methods used to clean skulls and prepare them (using flesh-eating beetles and maceration). The second idea would focus on the different types of skulls, and the similarities and differences in lifestyle, behavior, and adaptation based on the skull's physical characteristics. I am currently leaning towards the first idea, since there isn't too much information produced by the Academy about skull preparation and cleaning.

Toby's 4th Reflection

In my team, we decided upon two potential topics: specimen preparation and preservation and the similarities between species' skulls. Personally, I am more interested in the former, as I believe we can get very in-depth with this topic and educate the public on processes that aren't very well known. Furthermore, this could be a great medium by which we can shed more light on the Academy's collections.

Today when working with Premiere, I learned many valuable skills and tricks. One of these tricks I discovered was how to decrease the volume of an audio clip at a particular moment, and then raise it again later on. This will come in very handy when having clips of interviews on top of background music.

Fourth Reflection - Kristina Guardino

The two topics my team came up with today were the preparation of specimens and what you can learn from looking at a skull. The first one would be about the process of collecting the dead animal, bringing it back to the academy, cleaning it, and then putting it up on display. The other topic would cover the differences between the adaptations that skulls went through to get to how they are today. Fro example, the skull on a herbivore differs from the one on a carnivore.

I am leaning more towards specimen preparation because I feel it would be very beneficial to the Academy, since I have not found any videos like it. It would also interest anyone of any age since it shows how the skeletons they're looking at in the museum got there.

As for video production, I learned a lot about transitions, audio, and playing around with the clips. I figured out how to increase or decrease the volume on one video while the other video's audio is playing. I also learned how to edit the videos so that one video is playing while the other video's audio is going at the same time. In addition to all that, I learned how to put up a title screen onto the video and export it.

Chloe's 4th Reflection

My groups two ideas for our video are both based off of evolution. Our first idea addresses artificial selection in dogs and especially how it results in the multitude of dog skull types that exist. Our second idea addresses mutations in skulls, especially bone mutations. Personally I am leaning more towards the first idea, as I think that our audience could better relate to it that to the second idea.

On a separate note, today we continued to learn about how to use premier, specifically how to sound edit and add transitions and titles. I learned how to add title overlays and how to add both video and audio transitions to make my experimental movie flow more seamlessly. We also discussed image, audio, and visual rights and what type of media we can use without violating copyright or creative commons. 

Video Editing

Marcus Weiss 3rd Blog Post

This video conveys an angry emotion, because it stays on one shot and focuses directly on the racist comments said by Mr. Sterling. There are no special effects or graphics to distract the viewer, and the viewer instead feels building anger as the video progresses.
One way to convey anger in our skulls videos would be to focus on skulls that reveal death by illegal hunting, or by contact with trash. By focusing on these causes of death, and not using too much editing or jump-cutting to different scenes, we can convey feelings of anger in the audience, when they see so much of the horrible causes of death revealed in the skulls.

Aimee's 3rd Reflection

This video is funny. Tactics that make this video funny are the jokes embedded in the scientific facts. The narrator voices over the videos of angler fish and makes the viewer laugh by saying that the fish is ugly.
Music affects the mood of videos, so sad versus happy music would change the tone. Themes or topics also change how a video comes across. If a video is about death, it would most likely be sad while a video about a trip around the world would show excitement. How the clips embedded in the video are cut change the mood;  a jump cut is fast moving and upbeat and a fade may be more serious.

Brendan Fong's 3rd Reflection

Nike Make it Count

This video makes you exited and it makes you want to go and travel the world. It makes you feel that way because it has lots of jump cuts and minimal organization. It shows Casey's trip how it was and did not change it. To make our videos more exiting and interesting we should have lots of jump cuts and upbeat music. That makes the video feel more urgent and helps you get sucked into the content.

Kirby's 3rd Reflection

True Facts About The Anglerfish made me laugh and enticed me into learning more about anglerfish. The video utilized a subject not talked about often and gathered unique facts while adding interjections to match the viewer's emotions. This made the viewer feel like they were able to fit with the narrator and not be lost. The narrator also connected a scientific topic with more conventional ideas known to the viewer, making the video have a lighter tone.

Third Reflection - Kristina Guardino

This video makes me want to travel the world and discover new places. I've never left the United States, so this video motivates me to travel to different countries. To make a video more impactful, you must use emotional scenarios that influence the watcher to feel a certain way. It could be in a happy way, a sad way, or even a motivational way. The use of music also helps with this method. Music can be used to influence the way the video is viewed. Lively upbeat music can make a person feel happy and view the video in a positive way. Slow music makes the watcher feel sad and view the video in a negative way.

Lisa Illés-Third Reflection

   I have attached a YouTube video by the amazing Ze Frank titled "True Facts About the Angler Fish". This is a (very) funny short film that talks about some of the more amusing aspects of being an angler fish. Ze Frank's deep voiced narration and witty jokes make it hilarious and fun to watch. I laughed (really) hard. Funny videos tend to gather more traction online, because they are shareable.

   In order to make the short film I will help create more impactful, I think it is important I include humor. I could try to imitate this video by including witty and well-timed jokes in my own short film to make it fun to watch (as well as informative). This would also make the film more shareable.

Chloe's 3rd Reflection

This video is really motivational, as the filmmakers use a lot of techniques that make me want to do what they did. They tend to use a lot of jump cuts, and have a common theme that they keep cutting to in different locations.The music choice is upbeat and entertaining while not taking away from the action on screen. There is also a lot of hand-shot, shaky videos which further give a sense of adventure. These ways of motivating an audience are really effective and I hope to be able to use some of them in my video.

Noah 3rd Reflection

This video is called "Make it Count." It is very motivational and inspiring, as it tells the story of two guys who visited different places in the world in a very short period of time. It motivates the viewer to consider traveling and not just doing the same 9-to-5 job everyday.

A successful tactic to motivate people into doing something is by using upbeat, fast-paced music to encourage action. In addition, very fast jump cuts and lots of different shots only lasting for a few seconds each. In contrast, using slow fades and music will normally cause sadness in the viewer. Techniques like music and speed can help make our own videos to be emotionally impactful.

Roman 3rd reflection

This video make me want to go out and live life to the fullest.  I now want to go to all the places this guy went, as long as Nike is paying. A way to make our videos more impactful would be to effectively use jump cuts.  If you are doing something more upbeat, jump cuts are a good way to keep the video moving and to keep attention on the video.  You can also use lively music to uplift the audience. If you are trying something happy, use more upbeat music, but if it is a sad video, make it more downcast.

Toby 3rd Reflection

The "Make it Count" video utilizes two main tools to motivate people: upbeat music and rapid jump cuts interspersed with few long shots. The combination of these two methods makes the viewer feel inspired themselves, as the rapid pace gives it a strong feeling of journey.

In our own videos, I think it will be incredibly important that we focus on the combination of music with the footage. Together, if coordinated well, the film can be even more powerful and appear more professional. Also, selection of music will be very key, as certain songs incur different feelings. We can certainly use this to our advantage, and select songs that best reflect and emphasize the subject of our movie.

Ginger 3rd Reflection

This video makes me want to travel through air bnb. It showed many attractive views through windows of places you could travel to, and it makes people want to experience the things in the video. The voice over and the music feels inspirational and uplifting. This is a very effective commercial.

To incorporate this kind of emotion into our own videos, we need to choose effective music and film scenes that can draw views in.

Brendan Fong's 2nd Refelction

One thing I learned about video production was the names of the people who work on the video. One job I learned is the "boom guy", his job is to hold the boom that holds the microphone during the interview. Another thing I learned today in the academy is that you can clean bones by putting them in water. The natural bacteria in the bones cleans them and at the end of the proses you have clean bones and disgusting water.

One final thing that I learned and will remember was the acronym:

Dumb Kids Playing Chess On Freeways Get Super Squashed

Today I learned about the rule of thirds in shooting a video and how it makes a still person talking look aesthetically pleasing by having them on one side of the screen. I also learned how the Academy cleans their bones for use and collection. In the bone preparation lab, they use flesh-eating beetles to make the bones ready for sorting and identification. Although it smelled like a mixture of fish and dog food, it was interesting to discover the behind the scenes methods for the preparation of the skulls.

Second Reflection- Lisa Illés

During my time at the Academy today I have learned several things about both science and video production. We went over some of the basic types of video shots (locked-off, pan/scan, boom, push, pull, and zoom), and recorded one of each kind. I hadn't known that push/pull shots were almost the same thing as a zoom shot, which is good to know.
We also went to the Bone Lab today, where they prepare deceased animals for their (huge) specimen collection. I was really excited to be there, because I didn't even know the Academy had a preparation lab. I also found out that the Bone Lab sometimes takes volunteers, and I would really really love to work there at some point. It sound so fun!
(The picture above is a storyboard of one of the Academy online videos titled "Mantis Shrimp Sight" in case anyone was wondering.)

Second Reflection - Kristina Guardino

Today I learned a few things about both video production and science at the academy. First, I learned that you can differentiate between omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores through the details on the animals' skulls. I also learned that bones are cleaned off through all natural methods of cleaning. They are either set in water to have the flesh cleaned off by bacteria, or they are cleaned off through beetles. I also learned  a new way acronym: Dumb Kids Playing Chess On Freeway Get Super Smashed. As for video production, I learned new ways of using the camera and the different shots that can be used, such as locked off, pan/scan, slide, boom, push, pull, and zoom.

Today, I learned about one of the processes of removing tissue from skeletons, by the use of flesh eating beetles, which eat away the flesh and muscle tissue, leaving the skeleton untouched and clean. I also learned the meaning of various camera terms, such as boom, rule of thirds, etc. and I also learned useful techniques on how to properly execute these shots.

Marcus Weiss    2nd Blog Post

Digital Learning Post #2

Today I leaned the types of shots you can use with a camera. They are locked off, pan/scan, slide, boom, push, pull, and zoom. It was great learning skills to use a video camera that will be useful in the future. I also learned about how the scientists at the Academy clean skeletons in the bone lab; they use bugs that eat the flesh/muscle remaining on the bones. It was really cool seeing how the beetles completely clean the bones without the need for chemicals and washing.

Aimee Grumbach

Roman 2nd Reflection

Today, I learned many things, chiefly about video production and science at the academy.  Within those, I learned different terms on how to take videos on the camera, such as boom and rule of thirds, and the pneumonic device: Dumb kids playing chess on freeways get super squashed.  One last thing I learned about and saw were flesh eating beetles in the bones lab, which we apparently do not want running around the collections.

Toby 2nd Reflection

Today, I learned about the different terminology for shots, which will come in extremely useful when creating these videos. Also, having a set of common terms for these shots will help a lot with communicating how each of us see the clips we want to create. Also, I learned about how we clean specimens here at the Academy for storage in the collections, which is absolutely essential for properly preserving these specimens for future use and research. In the collections, I also learned about an anecdotal use of the stored specimens: old egg shells collected in the early 1900's were used to demonstrate the effects of DDT on bird egg shells recently. Similarly, I learned that collections are kept so that in the future, when we have newer technology or need for research, we will have a glimpse back into the past.

Noah 2nd Reflection

Today, I learned about the collections of the Academy and the scientists who do research at the Academy. Many of this work involves the preparation of specimens for storage in the Academy's collection. I learned that in order to prepare skulls for storage, the scientists must use flesh-eating beetles to eat the muscle and skin off of the skulls. Then, the skulls are frozen to remove the beetles.

I also learned about video production today, and how to make a storyboard. The attached picture is of a storyboard we did of the video "Science Today: Secrets of Flight," a short three minute video about how insects and birds fly. The storyboard is of the first twenty seconds of the video.

Chloe's 2nd Reflection

Today I learned about different types of shots and how to take them. I also learned tips on how to take steady shots and how to make the shots effective. Finally I learned the process before being able to make the final film, including storyboarding, script writing, and brainstorming.

Ginger 2nd Reflection

Today I learned about how the Academy of Science clean their skeletons and how they preserve their animal collections. I also learned how to identify herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore skulls.

Marcus's first reflection

1. I am most interested in making a video about skull mutation, because it is very interesting to me.
2. I am a bit nervous, but mostly excited to have my video shown to the Academy public, because I want to show people how my knowledge of science and evolution has grown.

Marcus Weiss 1st reflection

Lisa's first video reflection

Kirby's reflection

A skull-related topic that I am interested in is the similarities between different species and differences in the same species of animals and how this affects the lifestyle of them. I am mainly excited about making a video for the Academy.

Noah Pepper 1st Reflection

I am interested in making a video about human skulls and human evolution because I find the idea of our human ancestors and our evolutionary development an interesting topic and I want to learn more about some of our human ancestors, like Neanderthals and Lucy.

I'm excited that our videos will be displayed on the museum floor and that we will help to educate the public on skull-repeated topics. I'm happy that our hard work will be displayed for the entire public to see.

First Reflection - Kristina Guardino

 I am most interested in making a video about the different variations of skulls in one certain species. I am super excited knowing that I helped create a Science in Action video for the Academy because I can use reactions and criticism from views to help improve my filmmaking skills.

Chloe First Reflection

I am most interested n doing my project on the skull variation of different breeds within one species. I think that it's very interesting how wildly different the skulls of different breeds can be while still being considered on species. I am really excited that our videos will be displayed, as we will be able to show people the work that we did and inform them on subjects that we find interesting.

Aimee's first reflection

The Skulls-related topic I am most interested in is the evolution of human skulls and how they have changed over time. I am very excited to have a video shown at the Academy that the public will see.

Ginger Chen 1st Reflection

A skull related science topic I want to make a video of is evolution, and how our skull structures evolved from and relate to other species. I'm exited to to create a video that will be showcased in the Academy.

Brendan Fong 1st Reflection

Video now working

I am most interested in learning about how Rams and other animals can slam heads and not suffer serious brain damage.

I am exited to know I will be making a video for the academy. Knowing the public will be able to see it it will push me to make it look beter.

Toby Richkind 1st Reflection

I am most interested in learning about how physical aspects of the skull help us understand how these animals interact with the world around them. For instance, where the spine comes into the skull helps us know whether the animal walks upright or on all fours.

I am nervous to have our work represent the Academy, but I'm excited to produce something for such a large audience to share.

Roman Peregrino reflection

I feel both nervous and \excited to help create the Science in Action video.  I am excited because I want to educate others and this is a fun way how.  I am nervous because I don't want to mess up and let my team down.

Welcome to Science in Action Summer Intensive 2014!

Welcome to the third year of the Science in Action Summer Intensive, a two-week crash course in science film-making for teens at the California Academy of Sciences. This is your video production blog, where you will share all the things you are learning and doing during our two-week time together.

The summer intensive will run from June 16 to 27, 2014 at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

 For more information contact Rik Panganiban at rpanganiban@ calacademy.org.

Let's make science videos!