Documentary News Letter (1944-1945)

DOCUMENTARY NEWS LETTER 63 The Schools and their Needs by John Robbins and A. H. Hanson The educational possibilities of the film are now generally recognised and, through the work of the documentary film movement have already been partly exploited. As yet, however, practically nothing has been done to plan the production of educational films for schools and to establish machinery for their distribution. Constructive thought on the subject is long overdue and has become vital now that our whole educational system is in the melting pot to be entirely recast. Because it is such a powerful stimulant, the film must be used with discretion. Film shows must never become such a regular feature of the school curriculum that the pupils become doped with the screen. There is no danger of this at present but it may arise when educational films are more plentiful. Like all stimulants, the film can become .a mere habit — a drug which, taken too often, has the opposite effect from the one intended. Each film must have its full value extracted before it is followed by another. It must be preceded by class discussion, so that the pupil knows how it fits in with the general scheme of instruction. It must be followed by further class discussion, while its effect on the imagination is still vivid, so that the essence of its message can be driven fully home, the questions that it raises considered at leisure, and the ideas that it evolves pursued and developed. In fact, it must provide the basis for creative thought and activity. Here, of course, the teacher comes into his own. He alone can ensure that the strong mental impressions are consolidated and that the film becomes not merely an isolated experience, soon to become hazy and diffuse, but a definite landmark in the intellectual development of each boy and girl who sees it. Teacher's Point of View The technique of the film is not primarily the teacher's concern. He is interested, not in the technical problems of its making, but in its effectiveness as a medium of instruction. He alone can say whether it succeeds or fails. He is the link between producer and audience, a critic and adviser. In the last resort, it is his responsibility to see that the producer does his job properly and to stop any tendencies towards over-emphasis, excessive simplification, and unnecessary sensationalism which can easily arise from an artistic instead of a genuine educational approach. Fortunately, technique is no longer in the experimental stage. There is a basis of solid achievement on which to build. The combination of documentary photography, animated diagrams, cartoons, and terse informative commentary will form the basis of technique for educational film production. Enough to Eat with its original utilisation of the knowledge and personality of the expert, Housing Problems with its technique of realistic and authentic reporting, the M.O.I.'s War in the East with its brilliant use of animated diagrams and maps, The Harvest Shall Come with its combination of the documentary approach, dramatisation and use of actors, Mary Field's Secrets of Life series and many scientific films, show that the educational film has such flexibility and adaptability that there is virtually no subject or aspect of life that falls entirely outside its scope. In general, film technique, for people over fourteen, no longer constitutes a problem; what we need is a number of producers and directors, already experienced in the making of educational films, who will be prepared, in consultation with teachers and educationists, to adapt the established techniques to the specific needs of the various school subjects and of the different age-groups of pupils. It is obvious that a film dealing with a foreign language will be technically different from one dealing with mathematics, and it is also clear that no purpose will be served by showing to a class of six-year-olds a film adapted to the average intelligence level of the sixteenyear-olds. Particular care needs to be devoted to the production of films for the lower agegroups, as this will undoubtedly raise technical problems which, as yet, have hardly been considered. Neither these nor any other problems that arise should cause much difficulty at this stage, provided that there is the closest possible consultation and collaboration between the film-maker and the teacher. The establishment of partnership between the two is an essential requisite to the successful production of school films. On a National Basis If the educational film is to be developed and popularised it is obvious that the whole business of production and distribution will have to be organised on a national basis. Production, on a scale to meet growing demands will require the services of an increasing number of State film units and of private units. These have greatly expanded during the war, through recognition by the Government of the importance of the film as a propaganda medium; and it should be possible in the very near future, to have at least a few units, both public and private, specialising in the production of school films. We should demand that, as soon as the situation makes it possible, many of the personnel now making Service training films should be given the opportunity to use their knowledge and experience in this new sphere, and that the Government should inform the private units now doing general propaganda work that peace will bring with it an expansion in the use of the educational film and that the need for their services will increase, not diminish, when the fighting stops. At the first sight, the value of the film as an instructional medium would appear to vary considerably from subject to subject. In science and geography, for instance, it is obviously high, where as in English and mathematics it seems rather low. These differences in relative value, however, may be more apparent than real. Until further experiments have been made it is impossible to say which subjects can, or cannot, be translated into the film medium. In the meantime the requirements appear to be as follows : — 1. There is a need for a number of short films relating fundamental scientific principles, explained in a simple diagrammatic way, to the industrial processes, mechanical devices and common phenomena in which their operation can be observed; a collection of "Science and Everyday Life" films, adapted to various stages of the pupil's scientific education, made by experienced producers and supervised by a scientist who, like J. B. S. Haldane, combines encyclopaedic knowledge with a flair for popularisation. (continued on p. 65) BLACKHEATH FILM UNIT LIMITED 19 HIGH STREET, LEATHERHEAD, SURREY Telephone: Leatherhead 3377. PRODUCERS OF INDUSTRIAL AND EDUCATIONAL FILMS 35 mm. and 16 mm. In hand: Industrial Instructional (NT.) Agricultural Instructional (NT.) Series of Home Safety Shorts (T.) Completed: "Training of the Disabled" (Industrial) "Dangerous Ages" (Home Safety) Film Consultants to Industrial Organisations and Educational Authorities on current and post-war requirements