February 5, 2013

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Putting Science on Screen (A Tale Told In Tweets)

By Jason G. Goldman

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

What responsibilities do filmmakers have in terms of scientific accuracy? Usually, I argue that filmmakers are storytellers first, and while scientific accuracy (or plausibility) can often support a narrative, the first responsibility of the filmmaker is to weave a captivating tale. But what happens when the film (or TV series) in question is overtly scientific in nature?

It might be a straightforward nature documentary like BBC's Planet Earth or National Geographic's Great Migrations, or it could be a docu-drama - a narrative derived from clever editing of thousands of hours of footage of wild animals paired with heart-tugging voiceovers - like March of the Penguins or Disney's Chimpanzee.

In these cases, filmmakers might have a higher obligation to get the science right, which poses a unique science communication challenge.

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Yesterday, Cristina Russo wrote a post about some of these issues at the PLoS Blog Sci-Ed, which sparked a twitter conversation, which I've compiled into a storify. Add your own thoughts in the comments below, on twitter or on Google+.

[View the story "Science on Screen" on Storify]

Jason G. Goldman is a science journalist based in Los Angeles. He has written about animal behavior, wildlife biology, conservation, and ecology for Scientific American, Los Angeles magazine, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the BBC, Conservation magazine, and elsewhere. He contributes to Scientific American's "60-Second Science" podcast, and is co-editor of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide (Yale University Press). He enjoys sharing his wildlife knowledge on television and on the radio, and often speaks to the public about wildlife and science communication.

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