5 Pixar Storytelling Tricks for Your Science Videos [with Examples]

Science communication is nothing less than telling stories that change humanity’s future, for better or worse. As such, it deserves the very best that storytelling has to offer. In 2011, Emma Coats, a former story artist at Pixar, published an unofficial list of “Pixar's 22 rules of storytelling” on Twitter to summarise what she'd learned during her time at the studio. These rules have since become somewhat legendary among storytellers from all over the internet and have been republished several times on various platforms. We took a deep dive into these 22 rules to identify which ones are most relevant for improving your science communication and, specifically, to create more captivating science videos or animations, with some nifty examples to boot. Read on to keep learning how to tell science stories well. The future of humanity might well depend upon it!

Rule #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

You don’t love Spider-Man because of his superpowers. You love him because he’s a geeky, witty teenager with teenage problems who often messes things up in a big way, in spite of his abilities. You love Batman because he doesn’t have superpowers, because he gets hurt, and because he, too, like us, has to learn to “pick ourselves up”. Overcoming weakness, fear, uncertainty and hardship is why we root for characters, not because they knock it out of the park every time. This has traditionally been a big storytelling problem for the many writers of Superman over the years. In a human sense, nothing can hurt him. So the writers invariably have to give him an obstacle equal to his strength to make him relatable, equally powerful supervillains, Lex Luthor (who can outsmart him), or Kryptonite. Superman without Kryptonite (or its equivalent) is just, well, this *sshole (video is age-restricted for exactly what you imagine):

The point being, it is important to make your story somehow relatable. How to do that? There are many ways, but being honest about your research journey and the struggles you had to overcome, is a good start. What we did, for our introductory video, “What is Animate Your Science” (below), is to use the entire first half of the video to highlight all the struggles involved with research, which is what our audience finds relatable and why many said they liked the explainer video. Some felt literally moved by it:

This rule is exactly what Animate Your Science is all about: Making researchers’ struggles and costly sacrifices worth it, by turning their science into stories that are relatable, emotive, engaging, impactful and understandable for general audiences. So, with your own videos or other forms of science stories, remember to be honest. Don’t hide all the struggles, it’s what people relate to.

Rule #4: The story spine: “Once upon a time there was_. Every day,_. One day_. Because of that,_. Because of that,_. Until finally_.”

This one is a lot of fun because it perfectly aligns with the scientific process. Any good research paper should be able to fit into this story structure (from status quo to research question to hypothesis to experiment/analysis to results, conclusions and impact). Let’s break it down according to an example. The animation below tells the story of humanity’s unfortunate, unintended decline in health and fitness from our hunter-gatherer ‘golden days’ to modern, sedentary lifestyles:

Once upon a time our ancestors roamed the earth as hunters and gatherers. Every day, they hunted down and gathered their food and, as a result, they were fit, formidable specimens. One day humanity discovered agriculture and industry! Because of that, we stopped hunting and gathering. Because of that, we lost our health and fitness in favour of snacking and video games. Until finally, we hit rock bottom, housebound, sick and tired, and at high risk for diseases like diabetes and cancer, and decided to get back on our feet with a renewed focus on a healthy diet, regular exercise, a work-life balance and sound mental health. We’re not quite back to our old selves yet, but we’re working on it.

The video aims to explain that the once-formidable hunter-gatherer still lives deep within us, as a flicker, and it is up to us to kindle that flame back to life. To start moving our bodies, stimulating our minds, and choosing a healthy diet so that we can reverse the damage done. It leaves the audience with hope that is backed up by evidence. Telling it like a story makes it that much easier for the audience to follow.

Every story will be different, just like every research journey or paper is different, but this simple narrative template will go a long way to make sure your telling of the research has a logical and naturally emotive flow.

Rule #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

This rule is interesting for two very different reasons. Firstly, it is important to note that it is the complete opposite of good research practice. In scientific research, you should never have your ‘ending’ (the findings and conclusion) worked out before you do the ‘middle’ (the actual experimentation or analysis). That would be the very definition of confirmation bias and is pretty much scientific blasphemy. In science, the ‘ending’ can only come from the evidence provided by the ‘middle’ - no shortcuts. Having said that, this rule absolutely still applies to science communication. After all, by the time you get to the communication of your research, you already know the results and the conclusion, and you need to decide how to best present them. Simply stating what you found out is not always enough, and can fall flat if not properly translated into suitably relatable, human terms. Look at the example below.

When dealing with scary subject matter like the fear of cancer recurrence, it makes sense to end the video with a hopeful message (to inspire sufferers or the family or friends of sufferers who may be watching) and to include some of the steps that can be taken by sufferers from this type of anxiety to feel better and to begin healing. Knowing that that is where the video needs to end, makes it easier to figure out how to fill out the middle (getting from the problem to the solution). Simply put: Figure out how your video needs to end, and the rest will follow more easily.

Rule #14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

This is where your passion becomes crucial. Passion sings through the noise. Why do you feel it is so important to communicate your research to a particular audience? How will it change their lives? Science communication should reflect why a discovery or innovation matters. Audiences connect emotionally with authentic passion and clear purpose, making this rule key to compelling scientific narratives. Whatever stirs your heart about the research, will likely stir the hearts of others if you find the right way to share it. This can be better illustrated with the example below.

The video was commissioned by the Future of Life Institute (FLI), an organisation aiming to steer transformative technologies like artificial intelligence, biotechnology and nuclear weapons towards benefiting life, and away from extreme large-scale risks. It is partially animated and partially edited like news reports from the future, aiming to convey the real, emerging dangers of autonomous weapons, otherwise known as ‘slaughterbots’. You can feel the fear and urgency of the message in every fibre of the video, and of the heartfelt concern of those who made it. Crucially, for a video concerning such a sombre topic, it ends on a lighter note, reassuring the audience that all is not lost, and that humanity can, as it has in the past, work together to find the right solutions. When you’re making your own video, keep in mind what makes it urgent, what makes it matter, and what drives you to tell the story. It will show.

Rule #22: What's the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

This one is easy to remember because it employs the same logic that requires a study or paper to have a central research question. This is not always easy, but it forces you to cut away what is irrelevant or unnecessary. In science communication, conciseness and clarity are vital, especially when you are trying to reach audiences who are less familiar with the technicalities of your field (funders, policy makers or the public). You need to distil your message to its essence, allowing for more effective engagement and retention. From there, you can always expand as the audience requires or desires.

A great example is in the Kurzgesagt video below, which concerns CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. Although the topic is, in fact, extremely technical, the Kurzgesagt team was able to distil the message right into the title: "Genetic engineering will change everything forever". This is a striking title that immediately hooks the audience. It then remains the throughline of the entire video, explaining how germline editing could irrevocably alter the biosphere, including the genetics and inherent abilities of future crops, livestock, and people. Importantly, the bold title is sufficiently supported by the evidence discussed in the video (and links to relevant studies). Making grandiose, but unsubstantiated claims in your video's title or content will do no one any good. The point is to strip your message to its bare bones, and start from there. Even the most beautiful sculptures usually start with a wire skeleton.

Do feel free to have a look at the remaining Pixar rules for storytelling. They are all interesting in their own right for what they reveal about narrative structure and narrative power. But the five discussed here are all directly relevant to telling science stories, especially through videos or animation. We hope you find them as fun as we do, and that you now feel a little bit better equipped as a storyteller. If you don’t believe that science stories can change the future, have a look at this other video by FLI on “How two films saved the world from nuclear war”.

Stay tuned to our blog and newsletters for more valuable tips and tricks to keep sharpening those proverbial science communication pencils!