As an experiment in producing short videos describing Integration and Application Network products, we developed a video for the first eBook produced by IAN. The book is titled 'Dancing with Dugongs: Having fun and developing a practical philosophy for environmental teaching and research'. We shot this video on a chilly spring day on the Choptank River and Ali Schwaab, our Science a communication intern, edited the video to include various graphics from the book to appear as I was talking. We initially had only one or two graphics from the book, but we liked the effect so much, we went back and added many more graphics.

I learned that having a script written out is helpful for producing an effective video. Rehearsals are also helpful. The setting for the video turned out to be interesting, since there was too much wind to stay in open water of the Choptank River, and we anchored in a shallow cove. The wind blew the boat so that it was swinging on the anchor, hence, it provided for a changing backdrop of the cove as I was speaking.

It will be interesting to see if this video serves to raise awareness about 'Dancing with Dugongs'. We can track the video views as well as the book downloads on a regular basis, which will help assess its value. If it does increase readership, we will be producing more video introductions of our IAN publications.