Science in Entertainment

Jovana J. Grbić, PhDCareer Committee Seminar

Emory University, Atlanta, GA

December 06, 2010©ScriptPhD.com, all rights reserved

Seminar Overview

•A Brief History of Science in Entertainment

•ScriptPhD Concept: L.A.B.

•Career Planning Advice and Ideas For Scientists

Jurassic Park: Before + After

• Assumed audience knew or would understand cloning – complex science

• Written by a medical doctor (Michael Crichton)

• Thematic Elements: Reprecussions of bioengineering and technology revolution

• Game changer for future film and television content

Jurassic Park – 1993 Universal pictures$900 million gross – still in top ten

Dolly the Sheepcloned in 1996

The Dawn of the Internet

Internet visualization map for routes of information exchange

Number of internet users:1995-2010

The internet is exploding and there’s nothing

to stop it!

Nasdaq

Hosts

Sites

The market might go up and down, but the Internet growsforever

•Late 1994: Mosaic released, WWW is born•1996: The word ‘Internet’ is common

Science is EVERYWHERE

• Academic, government and industry labs have websites

• Most newspapers/magazines have a science + technology section

• The birth of the blog• Twitter, Facebook, other

social media – news travels fast

2008: At least 2,000 science blogswritten by PhD scientists (Technorati)

Science + Technology in Entertainment post-Internet

• More science/sci-fi/technology/medical content on television (and movies)

• Better (more) informed audience

• More sophisticated contentThe Internet

# of Zombie movies (io9)

‘The CSI Effect’• The belief that juries demand more

physical evidence

• Police collecting more physical evidence, in turn inundating crime labs

• More forensic programs in colleges and universities

• Jurors wanting DNA tests performed more frequently

The problem?

About 40% of the forensic science on

CSI doesn’t actually exist!

CSI premieres

Medical Shows Affect Your Health

• Epidemiological studies conducted by the Kaiser Foundation

• Presence of blogs amplifies this effect

• Study in journal Resucitation: Med students copy bad intubations from TV

Purposefully embedded a health message in an episode then tested select group of viewers

Health on Prime Time Television

947 episodes33 series2204-2006

Jovana J. Grbić, PhD• Undergrad: BA in physical chemistry from

Northwestern University• Cancer research fellowship: Fred Hutchinson Cancer

Research Center• Graduate: PhD in oncogenomics from The Scripps

Research Institute• Postdoctoral Fellowship: infectious diseases, UCLA

School of Public Health• Current: ScriptPhD.com director + independent writer

My Goals as a Science Advisor

YES

NO

L.A.B.: The ScriptPhD Concept

“People bring ideas to life”

Media+Entertainment Science

The Public

BuildingRelationships

ExchangingInformation

L.A.B.: Learn

Scientists• Watch movies and TV!!!• Know how your material

is being represented• Make yourself visible!• Give and write feedback• Keep it simple: small

bites are easier to swallow for non-scientists

• Communicate effectively

Writers• Seek out advice• Ask SPECIFIC questions

and involve the scientist• Attend a lecture/seminar• Shadow a scientist or

doctor• Read blogs + tech

publications• Communicate effectively

L.A.B.: AdviseStart a Blog For Your Area of Expertise•Start with short, simple posts•Guest post for other bloggers•Invite colleagues to post on your site•Reach out, interview people, start discussion topics, instigate…

Increase Your Web Presence•Let out an occasional Tweet•Set up a site for your lab/research•Write the occasional supplement to scholarly articles

Work For a Science Movie/TV Show•V and Castle; freelance work•Fringe: Neurobiologist Ricardo Gil da Costa•BSG and Eureka: Physicist Kevin R. Grazier•CSI: Engineer Naren Shankar•Grey’s Anatomy: Dr. Zoanne Clack•ER: Dr. Neal Baer

Write Your Own!Michael ChrictonArthur C. Clarke

L.A.B.: Blog…

• Sample Topics Covered Recently in ScriptPhD.com:– “Splice”: cast + crew video interview– “Selling Science Smartly”: science in advertising + media series– World Science Festival coverage– Guest posts: Brain Training, Creativity, Genius– “Breaking Bad”: Executive Producer Interview

– In-Depth Means:– Interviews (Leading science experts, screenwriters, producers)– Panels + Roundtables– Original pieces– The science behind your favorite shows, films and media

Recognition & Achievements• Worked with: Warner Brothers, Disney, Fox, Universal, The Science

Channel, The Discovery Channel, SyFy, academic institutions• Recent clients: UCLA School of Film, Tribeca Sloan Founcation

(NYC), screenwriters and authors, ABC Television (V and Castle)• Profiled in the science section of The Charlotte Observer

Screenwriters’ Resources in L.A.Great starting blocks for information and connections:•Writers’ Guild of America

– http://wga.org•Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences

– http://www.oscars.org/index.html•Science and Entertainment Exchange

– http://scienceandentertainment.org•Hollywood, Health and Society

– http://learcenter.org/html/projects/?cm=hhs•The Science Network

– http://sciencenetwork.org•ScriptPhD.com

– Here to help you write creative science!

AcknowledgementsHosts: Emory University Career Committee, Katie Vance, Monica Taylor, Kevin Grazier

Fellow Collaborators/Idea Generators:•Media + Entertainment subsidies (present and future) •Bloggers (ScriptPhD.com “sites we like” blogroll is a great resource!)•Scientists, Engineers, Innovators, Techologists, Geeks, and Nerds

YOU! Engage and collaborate with ScriptPhD.com to expand the conversation about science and technology in entertainment, media and pop culture:

•Twitter: @ScriptPhD •Vimeo: ScriptPhD•Facebook: ScriptPhD •SlideShare.net: ScriptPhD•LinkedIn: Jovana Grbić •Email: jovana@ScriptPhd.com

Presentation and content ©2010 ScriptPhD.com. All Rights Reserved.