This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Calling all field biologists!
This post marks the start of the summer season, and to celebrate the many of you that are toiling away in vastly different outdoor settings I propose a group project. The project is in collaboration with the folks at We Video, who have generously thrown an ultra-subscription my way in order to test out its utility.
The We Video brand has recently collaborated with Google Drive to create a cloud-based editing platform for multiple users that is universally available. They're not trying to re-invent the wheel and create a product that is comparable to Final Cut Pro or Adobe Creative Suite, they are instead targeting 'non-professional' users that are interested in completing videos within a simple framework and exporting them directly to youtube or other social media sites. Think google docs meets video production.
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In my opinion it's set up to become an extremely powerful tool for scientists, and biologists in particular, who are interested in getting images and video of their field work out to the public while they are still on location. Generally speaking, one does not travel to remote field sites with a full suite of computer equipment to enable video production on location. However, in a cloud-based system all you need is an internet cafe and you're good to go. Even better - what if you just upload some footage from wherever you are and someone else takes care of the post production?
Sound too good to be true? Let's test it out.
If you're interested in participating, send me an email or tweet and I'll invite you to join my folder. Your invitation will enable you to upload your files for me to use as part of a larger video project. Break out your iphone, your Canon 4D or anything in between - the platform can accept a wide range of qualities, although I'm hoping most of you have HD ability. I'm looking for a brief (BRIEF) description of you and what you're doing, as well as some decent shots of your landscape and animals/plants. I'll provide more detailed instructions once we've been in contact.
I'm very excited to work on this. We can make a biology version of 'Night on Earth'. Join me!