#aedesros

I did want to wait to write this until after I had the experience of working with a pro crew.  Wow, exhilarating and exhausting at the same time - I had to take yesterday (and some Toscanini's mimosa sorbet) to recover.

Out of the entire experience, from ideation to script writing to shooting to editing to repeat, it would be easy for me to stick with the part I feel most comfortable with - the script writing part. But we only get growth when we throw ourselves at the things we suck at. It was reiterated when my sister-in-law (an artist) posted something on Facebook that was a riff on the Ira Glass piece that Elizabeth showed (here: http://m.omeleto.com/188186), namely that when you create art, often it's pretty bad when you first start out. And because you have good taste, you *know* it's bad. And often, that's when people quit, because of that gap between what you want to accomplish and what you did accomplish. 

I'm so glad I didn't quit this class. But it was close there for a while...

As for the parts that I didn't do well (camera work in particular), I did enjoy editing. The advice to wait overnight before working with the clips was especially relevant.  Often after filming, I thought stuff was great. Then the next day, I was able to view it more objectively. This also applied to the editing I did. While I was editing, it seemed to go well.  But when I viewed the final product the next day, I could more easily see how it could be improved. While I can't say I'm happy with my final product (I think I went a little crazy speeding up my speech - should have backed off from 115% to maybe 110%), I can say that it was much improved over the rough cut. And looking back I'm somewhat proud of what I have learned.

I'm also super-impressed by my classmates! You all have great taste, and came a lot closer to realizing that than perhaps you believe.

Back to working with the pros - I didn't see any of the clips they filmed, but I did gain an appreciation for the importance of lighting to set a mood. It's more important than the physicality of my movements, and rivals the impact of tone of voice.  I also thought it was ironic that I was called "the talent" - it seems to me that all of the talent is in the script, camerawork/direction, and lighting (and editing!). 

And finally, just one more confession: I had always dreamed of hosting a science/natural history show since I was in middle school! But sometime during high school, I got it into my head that I was too unattractive to even be on camera. Nonetheless, I loved watching PBS (Crockett's Victory Garden, This Old House, etc.) and I especially loved how the hosts were such approachable people. They weren't drop-dead gorgeous, but they had a kind of authenticity and gravitas (leavened with humor). I struggled with my camera-phobic block during this class. But then I read an article on the defense lawyer for the Marathon Bomber. The lawyer, Judy Clark, has the kindest face, almost sad. The article talked about how she is very effective at gaining her clients' trust, and in conveying her clients' humanity to a jury. That power lies partly in her appearance and demeanor. And I thought I wouldn't mind having that kind of power - the power to make people trust and understand. I hope that I managed to convey just a little sliver of that in my video (and the one for Science Out Loud as well).

CyberMouth

 Creative Commons: CC BY-NC-SA, MIT

http://k12videos.mit.edu/terms-conditions

Hosted by: Andrea Desrosiers

Written by: Andrea Desrosiers

Additional scripting: Elizabeth Choe, George Zaidan, Jaime Goldstein, Ceri Riley, George Zaidan, students of IAP15 20.219

Executive producer: Elizabeth Choe

Director: Andrea Desrosiers

Editors: Andrea Desrosiers, Yuliya Klochan, Nathan Hernandez, Ceri Riley, Elizabeth Choe

Production assistants: Nathan Hernandez, Fred Yarm

 Image Attributions:

Tooth in mirror:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124018523@N04/

Jaw breakers:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roadsidepictures/

Wrought iron:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/theenmoy/

Steel beam:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/elsie/

Tooth xray:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredzimmerman

Osteoclast/osteoblast cartoon:

Hideki Kitaura, Keisuke Kimura, Masahiko Ishida, et al., “Effect of Cytokines on Osteoclast Formation and Bone Resorption during Mechanical Force Loading of the Periodontal Membrane,” The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2014, Article ID 617032, 7 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/617032

Osteoclast pits:

B0007594 Osteoclast pit

Credit: Kevin MacKenzie, University of Aberdeen. Wellcome Images

[email protected]

Trio of images of osteoblasts with artificial bone scaffold:

http://www.nist.gov/mml/bbd/biomaterials/carl_simon.cfm

Osteoblast steel micrograph by Zeiss:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zeissmicro/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambridgeuniversity-engineering/

Skeletons:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wellcomeimages/

Dental implant:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/enno/

Knee implant:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/libertasacademica/

Hip implant:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dansdata/

Cyborg back:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/emil_95/

Polyelectrolyte Multilayers video by Nisarg Shah in the Hammond Lab at the Department of Chemical Engineering at MIT, MIT OpenCourseware module: http://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-tll-004-stem-concept-videos-fall-2013/videos/structure-function-properties/polyelectrolyte-multilayers/

Background sources:http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/bone-repair-treat-injuries-0818

First off, many thanks to Elizabeth, Jaime, and Ceri for the great instruction and help.  The goal of the course was to learn about new media techniques, and you really delivered on that.  I continue to believe that this video format will play an increasingly large role in both ed and business.  I'm very happy I took the course and when I look back I've learned a tremendous amount.

I'm also incredibly impressed with the talent of the students - David, Yuliya, Nathan, Kenneth, Joshua, PJ - you are all pretty awesome. I loved the visual styles you all came up with. The scripts were compelling and your delivery was genuine. Thank you for the many helpful comments - you were a critical part of the learning experience (pun intended ;-)

Looking over the comments on my video, it seems you all liked it more than I did. To combat its boringness I'll be making many of the suggestions, but also cutting a lot more out! Also, I had added in stuff in the script that you all had earlier said was extraneous - now I agree, out it goes.  I'm hoping to get this down to below 2 minutes.  When we viewed the videos on the first day, I tended to get bored at about the 45 second mark. Don't know if I can cut the video down to that, but shorter with this kind of material is better if there isn't much art to it.

And final comment - as I've said I don't have an artistic bone in my body (remodeled or not). But I still enjoyed putting together the video. One thing I've learned in my old age - don't let lack of talent stop you from doing something new, something you enjoy! 

Script for Ortho Video v4

 (Long shot of Andrea walking around farmer’s market) Eating foods is one of the great pleasures of life. And to enjoy foods from 

(panning shot of energy bar aisle at Harvest) VO: energy bars

(panning shot of Flour bakery display) VO: to cookies,

(panning shot of Andrea walking in produce aisle) to fruits and vegetables, we rely on one part of our bodies:

 (Andrea picks up and apple from produce aisle) “our teeth.” (Close up on Andrea eating up an apple in quick video)

 (Andrea filmed indoors, medium shot, holding a model tooth in hand) Teeth are the hardest substance in our bodies – harder than our bones, and even harder than iron or steel!

 (Andrea lifts tooth to shoulder height) While we chew, our teeth actually experience forces up to 225 pounds - that’s like having a

(Drawing of mountain goat appears above tooth) mountain goat

jump up and down on our teeth hundreds of times each day…

(Animate mountain goat jumping up and down 3 times)

 (Cut to closeup of Andrea)

so why doesn’t our jaw just crumble under all those forces? (Drawing overlay outlining Andrea’s jaw all cracked and jagged)

 (Show drawing) VO: Between your tooth and your jawbone, there is a specialized piece of tissue called the periodontal ligament, or PDL for short. The PDL can easily absorb the normal forces that a tooth experiences when we chew, say, an apple, cushioning or protecting our jawbone from our teeth.

 (Show b-roll of cells maybe) VO: And inside the PDL, there are all kinds of cells.  One type, called mechanoreceptors, sense forces of movement or pressure applied to the tooth.  If the force is large enough, such as biting into an apple seed, these receptors tell your brain to stop biting down!

(Display model of perfect teeth) Teeth sound like they're perfectly designed already...

(Closeup of Andrea with bubba teeth) VO: But sometimes we really NEED to force them in a certain direction… like with braces. (Cut to Andrea smiling with braces in)

 (Cut to drawing) VO: As the braces slowly force the teeth to move, the PDL is squeezed in one direction and stretched in the other, like a rubber band.

 Here’s where it gets interesting - to make room, the mechanoreceptors in the PDL trigger cells called osteoclasts to come in and dissolve a little bit of the jawbone.

 (Cut to drawing) VO: The mechanoreceptors also trigger another kind of cell called an osteoblast, which builds the jawbone back up, so the PDL cushion can get back into its proper shape, holding the tooth in its new position.

 So if braces use osteoblasts to physically REPOSITION teeth for cosmetic reasons, what if we try to use them to REPLACE things to our bodies.

Dental implants replace teeth that are damaged or missing – to restore chewing function. And MIT engineers are using the properties of osteoblasts and osteoclasts that are already in our bodies to create a chemical coating for these implants. Just like in a mouth with braces, this coating helps create natural bone to help lock the implant in place.

 Cut to image of entire body with skeleton highlighted.

 Voiceover: Your jaw isn’t the only place where these osteoclasts and osteoblasts alter your bone structure.  In fact, this bony remodeling process is happening throughout your body.

So what if we replace things INSIDE our bodies, combining natural cells and tissues with synthetic parts, like a cyborg! 

Sound like something out of science fiction? Well, it’s already happening. And these synthetic implants aren’t just limited to teeth – doctors can replace knees, hips, even spinal discs.

Right now, these implants are designed to have the same functionality as the body parts they are replacing.  But in the future, scientists could make implants that work better than the original body parts.

Then we could become true cyborgs – with implanted parts that fuse with the natural parts of our bodies to make us faster, stronger.

Smarter.

Ortho Shoot Scene 1

LOCATIONS:

Farmer’s Market at Armory (Sat. 10:00 AM)

Harvest Coop (Thu. 9:00 AM)

Flour Bakery in Central (Thu. 1:00 PM)

Classroom blackboard (Wed. 3:00 PM)

Scene 1

Dialog:

Eating foods is one of the great pleasures of life. And to enjoy foods from… energy bars… to cookies… to fruits and vegetables, we rely on one part of our bodies: our teeth. Don’t forget 10 sec of roomtone.

TO SHOOT:

Farmer’s market (alternate: Harvest Coop)

- Andrea walking around produce aisle saying dialog. At end, pick up an apple when she says “fruits and vegetables.”

HARVEST COOP

- Pan of energy bar shelves – about 10 seconds total

FLOUR BAKERY

- Pan of cookies in bakery cases – about 10 seconds

 CLASSROOM BLACKBOARD

- Closeup shot of Andrea eating an apple.  Will be sped up in post. Do this once on each day (Wed, Thu, Fri)

- Should probably have music

 WARDROBE:

-       Red MIT sweatshirt, brown pants, hair in barette

 PROPS:

-       Apple

---------------------------------------------------

Ortho Shoot Scene 2

 LOCATIONS:

Classroom blackboard (mid-day)

Scene 2 Dialog:

Teeth are the hardest substance in our bodies – harder than our bones, and even harder than iron or steel!

While we chew, our teeth actually experience forces up to 225 pounds - that’s like having a mountain goat jump up and down on our teeth hundreds of times each day…

so why doesn’t our jaw just crumble under all those forces?

TO SHOOT:

CLASSROOM BLACKBOARD

-       Andrea delivering first 2 lines with glass tooth sculpture in hand. Leave room for goat to be displayed jumping in animation on top of tooth.

-       Closeup of Andrea delivering 3rd line without tooth visible.

WARDROBE:

-       Red MIT sweatshirt, brown pants, hair in barrette

PROPS:

-       Glass tooth, pedestal

------------- 

Ortho Shoot Scene 3

LOCATIONS:

Classroom blackboard (mid-day)

Scene 2 Dialog:

Teeth are the hardest substance in our bodies – harder than our bones, and even harder than iron or steel!

While we chew, our teeth actually experience forces up to 225 pounds - that’s like having a mountain goat jump up and down on our teeth hundreds of times each day…

so why doesn’t our jaw just crumble under all those forces?

VO:

Between your tooth and your jawbone, there is a specialized piece of tissue called the periodontal ligament, or PDL for short. The PDL can easily absorb the normal forces that a tooth experiences when we chew, say, an apple, cushioning or protecting our jawbone from our teeth.

And inside the PDL, there are all kinds of cells.  One type, called mechanoreceptors, sense forces of movement or pressure applied to the tooth.  If the force is large enough, such as biting into an apple seed, these receptors tell your brain to stop biting down!

TO SHOOT:

CLASSROOM BLACKBOARD

-       Andrea doing voiceover

-       5 second Closeup of Andrea biting down hard and making a pained face (to be displayed during line” such as biting into an apple seed, these receptors tell your brain to stop biting down!”)

WARDROBE:

-       Red MIT sweatshirt, brown pants, hair in barette

-------------------------------

Ortho Shoot Scene 4

LOCATIONS:

Orthodontic operatory (mid-day)

Classroom blackboard (mid-day)

Scene 4 Dialog:

But what if we *want* to force teeth in a certain direction… VO: like with braces?

As the braces pull on the tooth, the PDL is squeezed in one direction and stretched in the other, like a rubber band.

Here’s where it gets interesting - to make room, the mechanoreceptors in the PDL trigger cells called osteoclasts to come in and dissolve a little bit of the jawbone.

The mechanoreceptors also trigger another kind of cell called an osteoblast, which builds the jawbone back up, so the PDL cushion can get back into its proper shape, holding the tooth in its new position.

TO SHOOT:

CLASSROOM BLACKBOARD

-       Close-up of Andrea delivering “here’s where it gets interesting”

ORTHODONTIC OPERATORY

-       Andrea (in MIT shirt) stands in front of dental chair wearing goofy teeth to deliver line “But sometimes we NEED to force teeth in a certain direction.”

-       Andrea hops in dental chair (will be sped up in post).

-       Closeup of Andrea, dressed as doctor, pulling on gloves.

-       Andrea hops out of dental chair and faces camera, smiling with fake braces in while VO says “like with braces”

WARDROBE:

-       Red MIT sweatshirt, brown pants, hair in barrette, goofy teeth, fake braces

-       Doctor gown, mask, gloves

PROPS:

-       Dental chair

------------------

Ortho Shoot Scene 5

LOCATIONS:

-       Orthodontic operatory

-       Classroom blackboard

VO:

Your jaw isn’t the only place where these osteoclasts and osteoblasts alter your bone structure.  In fact, this bony remodeling process is happening throughout your body.

Wow, actually got some footage today!  Just logged it all after giving them all a quick look.  Feels good to know that I got something done.  Hopefully tomorrow will go faster/smoother.

Still pretty daunted with everything that needs to be shot over the next 2 days...  And I'm a bit nervous about the animation and editing.  I might have to drop the animation for the rough cut, unless I can master the editing this weekend.  We'll see.  As I said, I know it won't be perfect, far from it.  Just important to get the general gestalt of the video down.

Nathan is a pretty good cameraman!  Many thanks to him for his patience.  I hope we can get great footage of him tomorrow.  We both have some stuff to shoot in a supermarket setting (Start Mkt for him, Harvest for me).

I emailed me old co-workers to see if I can shoot at the operatory in the office. My props weren't delivered today since UPS needed a signature, so they should be delivered tomorrow.  Might get some random footage of that stuff tomorrow evening, or Friday at the office setting if possible.

I still am not quite sure how to end the script. I'm giving myself the rest of the night to think about it.  I'll also try to upload a rough shot list by tomorrow AM before we start shooting.