For so long the likes of scientists and philosophers have attempted to effectively communicate their extravagant scientific processes or bewildering philosophical theories. But communicating complex ideas such as these, to a general or non-specialist audience has always been, and to extents still is, a complicated task. A bridge must be built between the ingenious and the general, and it must be strong enough to withstand the weight of these elaborate concepts and practices. Lucky for us, these metaphorical bridges are a working-progress; courtesy of professional, and even not-quite-yet-professional, communicators through the new inventive medium of Info-Vids (working title). Info-Vids, at any length, are filled with easy to understand information for its audience, and are fuelled by engaging audio and visuals. And all-importantly they will educate and fascinate all types of people, about all types of subjects. This new-wave medium of communication finally provides intellects a platform that will effectively explain the facets of their field of study. Furthermore, with the releasing of these Info-Vids, will expectantly see a rise in interest towards all branches of sciences, philosophy or any other complicated, or maybe even not so complicated topics.

As aforementioned, both communicative professionals and professionals-to-be are at the helm of these Info-Vids. Being of the later, I along with others of this title attempted to independently make one of these videos, although to a less scientific and complicated degree. The subject, eggs. One of the most versatile foods gifted to this planet. Given a thirty second time frame, myself and group members Tom and Wan-Li, aimed to offer as much ‘eggspert’ advice as possible, when cooking a variety of eggs. The making of 30 Seconds With Some Eggs, was definitely a huge learning curve that taught myself a few things about how to conceptually and structurally create an informative piece of media. Some Eggs had its hits and its misses. It was filled to the brim with eggs and ‘eggspert’ advice – but almost too much. This huge amount of content and information resulted in a frantically fast paced video, that although became hilarious, left viewers missing vital pieces of information and witty gags. Therefore sadly missing the essential point of the video – communicating and educating a general audience on a specific topic. Another issue was the ‘story telling’ of the video. It definitely had a beginning, some kind of middle, but no end. No matter how short or long a video or Info-Vid may be, the audience should be able to recognise the start, middle and end, even if they are not an expert in the subject/idea being presented. Rather than having the abrupt ending that was of Some Eggs, a more conclusive ending via different audio and visual cues could have been adopted. In hindsight, numerous changes to Some Eggs could have been made in order to to create a higher quality of media.

Communicating the expertise of cooking eggs through Some Eggs, could have been a whole different experience if changes were made. Narrating over the video, instead of just including a fast- paced electronic groove tune, would have resulted in a more straightforward exemplification of the information. To compliment this narration could have been the inclusion of text or instructional drawings to demonstrate the given advice. These two methods of communicating are similar to the approach taken by the Ordering Coffee video seen in class. By which a member of the group narrated all of the information, while also showing on-screen diagrams and text. This I believe was a successful approach in trying to explain a lot of information in a short period of time, as viewers of the video could both hear and see all of the appropriate information at once. I enjoyed the Ordering Coffee video and believed it to be quite successful in its mission. However, what exactly makes a successful Info-Vid? and what makes one unsuccessful?

An Info-Vid that fails in its task to effectively communicate a complicated concept or idea is not that difficult to recognise. They often target the wrong audience, continue to use a specific subject’s jargon terminology, choose the wrong aesthetic or stylistic choices, lack an exact plot, or run for an inappropriate length of time. More specifically its narration could be spoken un- passionately or in a disinterested tone, or its attempt at being humorous could strain too far into a disaster of unfunny and uncomfortable. But creating a successful, informative video about scientific or philosophical concepts is not impossible. Brown (2015) persists that science and the creative expression of poetry (including visual media) are not mutually exclusive, and Kurtz & Loewenstein (2007) suggest that the crossing of these two domains is a “powerful cognitive tool”. Furthermore Brown states that imagery, analogy, analysis, observation and metaphor all assist in the understanding, problem-solving, and decoding of scientific obscurities. Metaphors specifically, as they “help learners understand science, and relies on their imagination to deconstruct and construct their perception of science”. Although not relative to science, this animated video (https:// vimeo.com/126553913) regarding sexual consent, proves use of metaphor can successfully communicate ‘difficult’ concepts, even in a humorous way. These tools of communication mentioned by Brown however, are only some of the qualities that can make a great Info-Vid.
It can be declared that a great informative video involves:
• a knowing of the specific targeted audience, and providing to them appropriately, including: – applicable language and terminology
– suitable audio and visual cues
– fitting stylistic choices

• an evident start, middle and end of its plot
• using an appropriate amount of time to explain a subject/concept/idea/theory
• including relative and concise information, delivered spiritedly through narration or otherwise
• inclusion of an appropriate and appealing title
• complementary audio and visual cues
• appropriate humour (in accordance to subject and its delivery)

• using one, some or all communicative tools of imagery, analogy, analysis, observation and metaphor, to assist in an audiences understanding of a difficult concept
• using the best possible quality of media equipment or software, to create a high quality video
• strict planning in all pre-production, production and post-production stages of creating a piece ofmedia, to ensure the best possible result of an Info-Vid • fore-mostly, engaging and educating its audience

  REFERENCE:

  Brown, S.A. ‘Creative expression of science through poetry and other media can enrich medical and science education’, Frontiers in Neurology, Vol 6, January 2015, 1–5