The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

June, 1942 Page 215 include: The Engine Lathe, The Milling Machine, The Vertical Boring Mill, Precision Measuring, The Shaper, The Radial Drill, Shipbuilding, Bench Work, The Lathe, The Sensitive Drill, The Vertical Drill, and Single Point Cutting Tools- At the present time 100 or more such fihns are in planning. The extraordinary thing about these Government trailing films is that they are issued at reproduction cost, plus a small profit for distribution. This means that it is possible to sell a 400 foot sound film for $8.47. This extensive sale of low-cost Government films will prove to be one of the most important film outcomes of the war. For the first time, at the cost of only an excellent reference book or an encyclopedia, we are get- ting motion pictures which we can afford to keep per- manently within our own school systems. A further outcome of the use of these films will be the securing of significant data concerning techniques of developing training films of various sorts. At the present time our research data on the use of films in the teaching of skills is very meager. Further, our teach- ing lore, the kind of information that teachers talk and write about of a practical nature, is almost non-ex- i.stent so far as training films are concerned. Not only, therefore, do we need careful research study in refer- ence to the effectiveness of these films, but we must also begin the gathering of information from excellent From "Hitler's Threat to America," a Gutlohn release. From "Soviet Woman," released by Brandon. teachers and skillful observers who have been using these films. It is too much, of course, to expect that vocational teachers suddenly confronted with these films are all going to do an excellent job with them. Some will not. But the quality of these films is such that most teachers will be able to use them to great advantage. There are also a number of non-governmental films used in industrial training, among them, Elementary Operations on the Engine Lathe (Eastman) and Ma- chine Maker (Erpi). For civilian training in First Aid and Air Raid Pre- cautions, there are numerous 16mm subjects in circu- lation, such as Air Raid Warden, Fighting the Fire Bomb, Spotting the Bomber, The Warning, obtainable from many libraries. 3. Information Films There is a third type of film which lies somewhere be- tween the training film and the attitude film. It is the information film. It may be a film such as Tanks or bomber which gives us information on the progress of the building of these instruments of warfare- Or it may be a film like Women in Defense which not only in- forms us concerning the role of women in defense in- dustries but helps build a significant kind of attitude toward the role of women in war work. These films, produced by the Office for Emergency Management, are being shown in theatres and are also being circu- lated in 16mm. The newsreel is an information type film- It tells us what is happening. It is sometimes, though rarely, hortatory, urging us to do certain things. It is often expository in terms of geography or economics. Obviously, both attitude films and training films contain information. In the attitude film, the purpose of the information is to document the particular point that one is trying to get across. In the training film, certain supporting information is necessary to under- stand the operations that are being demonstrated. Fur- ther, the training film may also carry a certain amount of attitude material, such as suggestions regarding care- fulness with tools, neatness and the like. The Signal Corps is producing a series o£ orienta- tion films which will inform the soldier of some of the history leading up to the present conflict and also give him some indication of the meaning of democ- racy. Major Frank Capra of the Signal Corps is in charge of this program. Much of the material for these orientation films will be secured from extant material, especially newsreels. A history of the war is being produced under the direction of the Coordinator of Government Films. Mr. Sam Spewack, noted playwright and scenario writer, has been at work for two months on this particular subject. Extant material, much of which has not yet been shown in the theater, is being used for the footage of this film. The United States Department of the Treasury has produced a number of one-minute films which are used as trailers in the theaters for the sale of bonds. They also have produced The New Spirit, a Disney short in which the character, Donald Duck, is used not only to (^Concluded on page 218)