American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1945)

Requirements of Educational Film Presentation (Continued from Page 52) other means, such as the school or pub¬ lic library, to learn more about the subject. There is almost an adequate supply of this material, and especially of the gen¬ eral information type. Most of the out¬ put of the sponsoring bodies, such as the Ministry of Information, the British Council, the Gas and Oil interests, and quite a number of the more serious fea¬ ture films, conforms to this pattern. Much of it is admirable. Sound or Silent? The lesson film raises the question of sound or silent, I think that the answer is that two versions of each film are needed. And when I say versions, I mean versions. A muted sound film is not a silent film. I think the silent pro¬ jector will continue to be used in schools for quite a while to come. From the Education Authority’s or purchaser’s point of view, it is considerably cheaper than the sound machine. From the teacher’s point of view, it is light and easily moved about. The threading is so simple that even the unmechanically minded are not afraid of it. From the point of view of method, many teachers claim that the silent film is much more flexible. Every class dif¬ fers and no two classes need exactly the same points underlined. This means, say they, that with a silent machine they are able to teach better than with a sound film, when a strange personality comes into the classroom, and that per¬ sonality in substance and diction may not necessarily fit the class. This is very true with younger children. They are not good listeners, as anybody who has attended a children’s matinee will bear witness. If they have a dialect of their own, they find a strange voice hard to understand. They are also slightly con¬ temptuous of an accent that is not like their own; it is not like theirs, there¬ fore the speaker is not like their own teacher and, therefore, so runs their argument, what he says can be disre¬ garded. The point accordingly emerges that the film-maker should have a very shrewd idea to what age group he is ad¬ dressing himself. This will also affect the content and the tempo of the film. If I might venture a comment on many otherwise excellent films, they have been made by people who have had higher education, advised by people who have enjoyed similar privileges. They have not got down to the level of the nineyear-old — the group which can most benefit from the educational film. Music and Credit Titles Perhaps at this point I might call at¬ tention to what I consider to be two un¬ necessary adjuncts to the direct teach¬ ing film. I refer to background music and credit titles. Both of them are bale¬ ful reminders that entertainment is the basis of the screen’s conventional idiom. A musical introduction, or music to cover the end title, let alone all through, is wholly out of place. Credit titles are just such another an¬ noying intrusion into the normal atmos¬ phere of the classroom. The child neither knows nor cares what company made the film, who directed it, who photo¬ graphed it, or whose is the golden voice of the commentator. Relegate the maker’s name to the end title and the other information to the Teaching Notes, when they will be seen and absorbed by the only person whose opinion really matters, that is to say, the teacher. You save footage and gain the teacher’s re¬ spect at one and the same time. Content and Tempo Far too many films try to cram far too much in for them to stand any chance of being remembered. Because of this teachers are reduced to endless shifts of putting paper-clips in the sections of film they want to show and then run¬ ning the projector with their hand over the lens, talking the while until they reach the next clip. I would say then : Don’t be afraid of simplicity. This cramming of material leads to the tempo of the film being far too fast. Film editors should assume nothing when dealing with younger children. They all would do well to have a look at the products of the Colonial Film Unit if they want to see how slow a tempo can be used and be appreciated by an audience. Our own children, hav¬ ing been to the pictures on a Saturday ever since they were old enough, are quicker in the uptake and more respon¬ sive to screen conventions and screen idiom than the Africans as yet. But if they are to learn from the film, it must move more slowly than the average the¬ atrical Western. The educational film is all unfamiliar country. Probably the child has seen nothing like it before. What is worse, from his point of view, is the fact that the teacher expects him to look at it with concentrated attention — in itself a difficult task needing a supreme effort of will — and to remember what he has seen and what it all means. The child’s mind is simple and direct and the films he wants are simple and direct. Avoid photogenic frills like the plague. The Teaching Notes, which ought automatically to accompany every reel that is sent out, can suggest to the teacher the trimmings which might be put in. Furthermore, any teacher who is worth his salt will be able to amplify the film, verbally adjusting his com¬ ments to the mental capacity of his class. Use of Stills I would also commend to film makers the need for taking out a still camera when they are out on location or when¬ ever they are shooting. It is my opinion that still pictures will play a larger role than heretofore in the classroom. The efficient diascope and the efficient film strip-cum-film slide projector has only recently been perfected. Before the war its use was comparatively small; but after the war I think it will be one of the commonest instruments in schools. It has the advantage, I understand, of being easily susceptible to mass produc¬ tion. There is, indeed, talk of being able to sell such a machine with plastic lenses and a high light-output for be¬ tween £5 and £6. In addition, it is easy for an amateur photographer to make his own slides, and the teacher who, as you know, prides himself on his sturdy independence, delights in making his own material. Even if it does not come up to professional standards, that doesn’t matter. As Touchstone said of Audrey: “A poor thing but mine own!” There is much to be said for making a film strip of each film put out. In¬ stead, as at present, of the teacher stoping the film as it is running — thereby harming that section of the film as well as getting only an indifferent image on the screen — he will run the film straight through and emphasize the points he wants to make by refrence to the stills in the film strip. One day, too, I hope that an enter¬ prising educational publisher will co¬ operate with a film company, and the text book with its accompanying films and film strips will be published simul¬ taneously. And that brings me to another point. One isolated film on a particular subject is of little value. The teacher has, so to speak, to make a detour in his ordinary scheme of work in order to include it. It is far, far better to make a series, so that the teacher can plan his course to take in films at regular intervals. Requirements of Higher Age-Groups So far we have been considering the film from the point of view of the younger age ranges of children. The same principles still apply as the chil¬ dren get older. More and more, how¬ ever, they can be addressed in adult language as their knowledge of the world and their mental stature in¬ creases. This, in tui’n, means that the tempo of the film can be speeded up and the factual content increased and the length can also be greater as the ability of the student to concentrate improves. I do not think the educational film should ever reach the quick cutting of the ordinary entertainment film, for these educational films have still ulti¬ mately to be remembered in detail. I would maintain this even in the case of the “introductory” or the “revision” film. In this type of film a rapid survey of the subject is made. In the first place, the film can seiwe to give the student a general grasp of the subject into which he can fit detailed knowledge as he acquires it through reading or other means. In the second, the course (Continued on Page 62) 54 February, 1945 • American Cinematographer