Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

The NATIONAL ACADEMY of VISUAL INSTRUCTION OFFICERS President: F. W. REYNOLDS, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah Vice-President: G. E. CONDRA, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb. Secretary: J. V. ANKENEY, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo. Treasurer: CHARLES ROACH, Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE W. H. DUDLEY, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin F. W. REYNOLDS, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah G. E. CONDRA, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska DUDLEY GRANT HAYS, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Chicago W* M. GREGORY, Cleveland School of Education, Cleveland W. C. CROSBY, State Department of Education, Raleigh, North Carolina A. G. BALCOM, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Newark, New Jersey A department conducted by the Secretary for the purpose of disseminating Academy news and thought [A paper by W. M. Gregory, member Board of Directors, N. A. V. I., and Director of the Educational Museum, School of Education, Cleveland.] PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE EDUCATIONAL MOTION PICTURE PRESENT sources of educational films are : Old commercial films that have been junked and are now reworked into so-called educational pictures. Advertising films giving an interesting but one-sided story of a particular product. Government films consisting of : war-propaganda films, distinctly out of date; excellent agricultural films, and a few health films. Welfare films of large corporations ; suitable in only a few cases ■ for general educational purposes. Health films ; some special health films too technical and too costly for general use in schools ; a large group of films produced from junk and of no value. Educational films for schools — comprising stories, technical subjects, travel, geography, history, language, and hygiene. The group of films especially prepared for school use is very small. Most of the so-called educational film consists of material that has been stripped from cast-off commercial film and retitled, and is being offered now for school purposes. In only a few cases has there been an attempt to adjust the material to educational purposes. Much of the film is shown in schools because of the novelty of the motion picture. In the effort to keep pace with the commercial exhibitor the schools frequently have disregarded quality. Experienced and skilled educators have given the film material but comparatively little attention. The material has been too often accepted without protest if it is low priced. Frequently the only film entering a school is that produced for advertising under the guise of an industrial. One showing of such poor material frequently ends the circulation of that reel. If the advertiser, who pays good money, knew how little use is made of this material he would cease to be a victim of unscrupulous producers. Schools frequently use films at the noon intermission as entertainment. There is no objection to this if the material used is of high quality and not "mush love" or "jazz bandit" style. Standards for Educational Motion-Picture Material The educational standards which g'overn all school material apply to film material. There must be clearness, accuracy, spirit, inspiration, and information. It must be something more than entertainment, exciting episodes, cyclopedia chatter, or unrelated stills. Film material must be organized and adjusted to the grade, pupil, and subject, and be clear in its purpose. There has been made only a beginning in organization of film material upon a pedagogical basis. We have used any picture, any place, without expecting any definite results. This has given the motion picture in educational fields a discredit from which it is difficult to recover. , School people are willing to try out motion-picture instruction, but most prodtK ers want quick production and rapid sale. The producers have dominated and prevented experimentation which eventually would result to their advantage. Educational advice has not been F. W, President, seriously sought in real production. It is as reasonable to expect a typesetter to produce literary gems as to expect the professional title-writer to put together junk and obtain educational results. On the other hand, where the educator has film-making in hand it has not been a success, because of the school' man's inexperience. Discarded and Junk Material The author of a modern school text does not obtain live material from the daily paper or a technical report. If he could splice newsy scraps together with a title it would have little educational worth. This is a common practice in making educational film — and a decided failure. A striking example is a recent commercial geography film supposed to parallel a text. This film consisted of a few scenes from industrial films mixed with booster titles, poorly stated and incorrect. These films were widely advertised as educational material. They were not successful in the schools, for they were crude, amateurish, and indefinite. Attempts to give schools poor material result in injury to the educational motion picture. Dramatic and Literary Masterpieces One of the obvious needs in film material is a higher standard of literary masterpieces. The finest literary productions have been filmed in the cheapest possible manner. Comparatively few educators have protested. It is this low standard and wrong, interpretation, preserved in the film, that is giving to educational motion pictures the title of crude workmanship and poor scholarship which they cannot deny. A recent literary masterpiece had 30 mistakes in its crude titles, and the scenes were garbled beyond hope of recognition. We have no educational organization that has established any standards or formulated any definite principles for guidance in using one of the most powerful forces in visual education. It is true that there are many organizations setting up standards of most generous platitudes. Other organizations dispense film praise for a fee for each reel. Unscientific Demonstrations and Diagrams The film has a useful field in demonstrating actual experiments. The crudest of textbooks are better than certain diagrams and their explanations which have appeared in films under the title of hygiene and physiology. The animated diagrams were incorrect, crude, misleading, and entirely unsuited for educational purposes. It is important in a science film that the material presented be accurate and adapted to the pupils. Science films must impart the information clearly, so that the pupil sees the principle and is stimulated to investigate, prove, and apply it. These films must be raised above the level of mere entertainment. Fake demonstrations, false, impossible results, and jazzy jokes are not good rrtaterial for science films. The diagrams should never be used if the original experiment gives a clearer idea. Adjustment of Educational Motion Pictures to School Work The purpose of each picture must be determined before its production begins. The purpose must be one of inspiration and information ; it should lead to intelligent imitation and action. If the film Reynolds N. A. V. I 20