A New Frontier in Science Communication? What We Know About How Public Audiences Respond to Cinematic Scientific Visualization

Jensen, Eric; Borkiewicz, Kalina; Naiman, Jill

doi:10.3389/fcomm.2022.840631

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This article also pointed to key factors that may influence audience reception of cinematic scientific visualizations, namely, intelligibility, film content and immersion. The research literature to date suggests immersion can boost audience impact, especially emotional impact (Jensen et al 2022). This literature review's conclusions, therefore, left open the possibility that labels could be helpful but was not definitive.…”

Section: Informing Practice With Existing Research Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public Through Data Visualization

Jensen¹,

Borkiewicz²,

Naiman³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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This essay presents a real-world demonstration of the evidence-based science communication process, showing how it can be used to create scientific data visualizations for public audiences. Visualizing research data can be an important science communication tool. Maximizing its effectiveness has the potential to benefit millions of viewers. As with many forms of science communication, creators of such data visualizations typically rely on their own judgments and the views of the scientists providing the data to inform their science communication decision-making. But that leaves out a critical stakeholder in the communications pipeline: the intended audience. Here, we show the practical steps that our team - the Advanced Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - has taken to shift towards more evidence-based practice to enhance our science communication impact. We do this using concrete examples from our work on two scientific documentary films, one on the theme of ‘solar superstorms’ and the other focusing on the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. We used audience research with each of these films to inform our strategies and designs. We describe how such research evidence informed our understanding of ‘what works and why’ with cinematic-style data visualizations for the public. We close the essay with our key ‘take home’ messages from this evidence-based science communication process.

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Section: Informing Practice With Existing Research Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public Through Data Visualization

Jensen¹,

Borkiewicz²,

Naiman³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…But the blurring of lines goes both ways: science is making visual effects more believable, while visual effects are making science more widely accessible (Borkiewicz et al 2022) [5]. A cinematic presentation of scientific data, or "cinematic scientific visualization", can capture public attention and interest in complex science topics in this current age of rapidly growing media consumption (Jensen et al 2022) [6]. Placing emphasis on aesthetic design, storytelling, and cinematography, these cinematic visualizations reach millions of viewers worldwide through entertainment and informal learning experiences, ranging from museums and documentary films to YouTube and Reddit.…”

Section: Science Communication Through Data Visualizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public through Data Visualization

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This essay presents a real-world demonstration of the evidence-based science communication process, showing how it can be used to create scientific data visualizations for public audiences. Visualizing research data can be an important science communication tool. Maximizing its effectiveness has the potential to benefit millions of viewers. As with many forms of science communication, creators of such data visualizations typically rely on their own judgments and the views of the scientists providing the data to inform their science communication decision-making. But that leaves out a critical stakeholder in the communications pipeline: the intended audience. Here, we show the practical steps that our team, the Advanced Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has taken to shift toward more evidence-based practice to enhance our science communication impact. We do this by using concrete examples from our work on two scientific documentary films, one on the theme of “solar superstorms” and the other focusing on the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. We used audience research with each of these films to inform our strategies and designs. Findings revealed specific techniques that were effective in information labels. For example, audiences appreciated the use of an outline of the Earth to demonstrate scale in scientific visualizations relating to the Sun. We describe how such research evidence informed our understanding of “what works and why” with cinematic-style data visualizations for the public. We close the essay with our key take-home messages from this evidence-based science communication process.

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“…Science videos are usually like documentaries or reportages and therefore often longer than a couple of minutes with a greater production effort (Findeisen et al, 2019). They rather aim to represent reality using models or experts (Bradbury and Guadagno, 2020) and impressive pictures (Jensen et al, 2022). Consequently, they have a lower degree of didacticism (Findeisen et al, 2019).…”

Section: Distinction To Other Formatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online explainer videos: Features, benefits, and effects

Schorn

2022

Front. Commun.

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Explainer videos are short films that explain abstract concepts and relationships, usually in an educational context. They apply storytelling techniques and focus on relevant facts using different visualizations. However, when reviewing the literature, it becomes evident that there is no universally applied definition for explainer videos and no consistent categorization. The vast majority of studies investigate explainer videos as learning tools, although many explainer videos follow persuasive goals. There are very little studies on the persuasiveness, which is problematic because explainer videos appear to be more than an important learning or teaching tool; rather, they are an activistic tool for promoting scientific topics and are a crucial marketing measure. In particular, in the context of science communication, it appears essential to investigate the impact on attitude and behavioral outcomes because there are numerous high-reach videos on YouTube that contradict scientific consensus. At the same time, explainer videos apply storytelling techniques, an informal communication style, and combine an off-voiceover with clear animations, which might lead to eased processing fluency and a positive experience, fostering persuasive outcomes. This mini review elaborates on these research gaps and compiles the state of research on explainer videos, with a focus on persuasive effects in informal settings, drawing on concepts from (science) communication and education.

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A New Frontier in Science Communication? What We Know About How Public Audiences Respond to Cinematic Scientific Visualization

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public Through Data Visualization

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public Through Data Visualization

Evidence-Based Methods of Communicating Science to the Public through Data Visualization

Online explainer videos: Features, benefits, and effects

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