The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 234 The Educational Screen SCHOOL MADE MOTION PICTURES IN wartime also schools must be awake to the necessity of keeping- the public informed on what they are doing-. To assure present and future sup- port of education, educators should continue to make significant films for their public relations pro- gram. This department hopes that many such films will be made during the coming school year. One of the recent public relations films. Alert Minds — Alert Bodies, was produced in the Oceanside ele- mentary schools, Oceanside, New York. The 300-foot 16mm. production was filmed by two teachers. Miss Barry and Miss Marion Smith. Miss Smith describes the film as follows: "Our main idea in developing the film was to show the work of the schools to our community in a graphic manner. We selected three areas of the elementary school program for film treatment: 1. reading, from the first primer story-telling to the advanced silent reading in the upper grades; 2. an extra-curricular club, which was making greeting cards at the time the film was being made; and 3. a class trip to the local blacksmith shop. We felt that these three phases of elementary school work needed clarification in the minds of the school patrons." Another recent public relations film has been made under the sponsorship of the New Haven Teachers' League, New Haven, Conn. The Children is a 400-foot sound production built about one theme: "The schools' prime purpose is to develop the potentialities of all the children so that they may become happier, healthier, more useful citizens of the community and of the nation." In the film, scenes of children of all economic backgrounds, at school, at home, on the playgrounds and streets of a typical New England city (New Haven) indicates the wide range of individual dif- ferences of the children who must be prepared for life by the public schools. Classes for crippled and feeble-minded, industrial arts groups, health and physical education, nursery schools, Americaniza- tion work, guidance, home-making, and many other typical and atypical school situations are included. A running commentary throughout the film ex- plains the scenes adequately. Many persons contributed to the making of The Children. The New Haven High School Photoplay Club and the Department of Audio-Visual Educa- tion furnished the equipment and most of the tech- nicians. Musical background for the opening and closing of the film was furnished by the high school orchestra. Research consultant for the film was Dr. Norma E. Cutts, psychologist. Camera work was done by a graduate of the photoplay club; editing, and other technical assistance by club members. Shooting script and direction were done by Donald Eldridge, audio-visual director. Copies of the film are available from the New Haven Teachers' League at $1 per booking. By HARDY R. FINCH Head of the English Depctrtment Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Conn. With a question box on the making of school film productions, conducted by GODFREY ELLIOTT, Oakvale, W. Va. Readers are invited to submit questions. Movie Contest Winners The two winning films in the "Make Your Own Movies" contest of the National Board of Review's 4-Star Clubs use the world crisis as their themes. First award went to the Cinemasters Club of Her- bert Hoover High School in San Diego. Calif., for their film Hoover High Prepares. Using Kodachrome film, the club photographed the work of the school in preparing for defense. They show such activities as air-raid drills, first-aid classes, bandage rolling, and the full process of stretcher-making. Done with imagination and skill, the picture is an excel- lent example of school movie making. The Photo Patrons Club of East Side High School in Newark, N. J. received Honorable Mention in the contest- Their film, entitled Escape to Freedom, tells a story of Nazi Germany in which a girl whose father has been imprisoned by the Nazis, is helped bj a young man in the American Consulate. Upon the framework of this plot, life under a dictatorship is compared with the freedom in our country provid- ing a powerful plea for the defense of our democ- racy. A spoken commentary and background music on synchronized records heighten the drama of the film. Judges of the contest were members of the Ama- teur Cinema League. First prize was an engraved silver cup. This year's contest is the sixth held by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures for its 4-Star Clubs, which it fosters in schools in various parts of the country for the study of the motion picture. Summer Course in Film Production A course in "The Production of Educational Films" is being ofifered during the summer session under the sponsorship of Teachers College, Colum- bia University. The course. Education s217MP, will be given by Mr. Irving Hartley at the Hartley Studios, 20 West 47th Street, New York City. Ad- mission to the course is contingent upon the ap- proval of the instructor. Two points of credit at Teachers College will be granted to those who com- plete the summer work. According to the announcement. "The course is for those interested in school-made films as a de- vice for producing local curriculum material, rec- ords of important school activities, and public re- lations materials." Textbook for the course is "Producing School Movies" (National Council of Teachers of English, 1941).