#4 Communicating science through film – Matthew Barwick

Communication and public outreach are an important part of a scientist’s job. But researchers often find it daunting to translate their expert knowledge for a lay audience. In this episode, UMC’s video producer Matthew Barwick shares a report from the Global Science Film Festival 2019, including interviews with festival organiser Samer Angelone and other participants. Tag along to learn their best tips for effective science communication and how to harness the power of film to tell stories in science.

Tune in to find out:

• What scientists can gain from communicating their work
• Why passion and emotions are an important element of science communication 
• Why a two-way dialogue between scientist and audience is better than traditional one-way forms of communication

Want to know more?

Here are a few resources to get you started:

• Why Science Communication, and Does It Work? reviews the main aims of science communication efforts and their success.
• Good science communication should stir AEIOU in an audience: Awareness, Enjoyment, Interest, Opinions, and Understanding.
• In “Talking Science”, a free YouTube course in science communication, BBC presenter Greg Foot shares tips and techniques to help scientists talk to the public.
• The Global Science Film Festival offers scientists the opportunity to learn basic communication and filmmaking skills, and showcase their work. The two films mentioned in the episode are “The woman who loves giraffes” (best film, Global Science Film Festival 2019) and “Aquarela”.

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