The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 210 The Educational Screen SCHOOL MADE MOTION PICTURES Students Make Biology Film By HARDY R. FINCH Head of the English Department Greenwich High School, Greenwich, Conn. The making of a school motion picture is an educa- tional venture. Evandcr's Chicks, produced by the Motion Picture Club of Evander Childs High School, New York, was very successful educationally, accord- ing to a report by the film's director, David Schneider. Below are interesting e.xcerpts from Mr. Schneider's film-making report. THE filming of Evandcr's Chicks followed a most unorthodox approach. The Biology Research Club, under direction of Miss Lucy Orenstein, was engaged in incubating chick eggs as a term project. The Mo- tion Picture Club was invited to stand by for an occa- sional shot or two whenever chick embryos were being unshelled. Presently our interest, which at first was focused on the appearance of the embryos themselves, turned to the more elaborate techniques involved in the entire project. Thus it developed into a "give and take." Members of the Motion Picture Club learned about embryology, while the Research Club devotees learned that there are two ways of manipulating ma- terials, one for themselves, and one for the camera. We shot the first hundred feet in black and white. None of us had ever used Kodachrome before. Noticing the success with our first reel and remembering the vivid colors of the various stages of embryonic growth which meet the naked eye we were sorry, indeed, that we had missed so many colorful opportunities. Arm- ed with four or five rolls of Kodachrome and a renewed enthusiasm for our project we began. Again and again the faculty adviser and such mem- bers of the Motion Picture Club as were free during certain periods of the day (not excluding occasional time before and after classes) were summoned by the enibryologists to be ready for important developments. In this manner were we able to complete the shots portraying the various stages of chick development from twenty-four hours till twenty-one days after in- cubation. Now that we had some interesting pictures, it was left to the faculty adviser of the Motion Picture Club to clothe these shots with some kind of continuity to make the story palatable for the other students of biology. Following is a brief outline of the subtitles and pic- tures that make up the three hundred feet of film. Title Pictures 1. Setting up the in- cubator. 2. Fertilized and un- fertilized eggs placed in incubator .same day. ,3. -An embryological scout does a good turn every day. 4. After 24 hours can you tell the differ- ence between the fertilized and un- fertilized eggs ? 5. Three days old. 6. Six days old. 7. Enibryologists at Evander become crack experts. 8. Making a window to observe develop- ing embryos. 9. Life in an egg shell. 10. Nine days old. 11. Fifteen days old. 12. Embryos perserved and mounted. 13. Nineteen days old. A film in production at Evanjier High Girl opens door of incubator, places dish of water inside, adjusts and re- cords temperature. Students date and mark eggs fertil- ized and unfertilized, place them in incubator. Student opens incubator and rotates several eggs one half turn. Students remove eggs from incubator, open both kinds, and point to areas showing differences between them. Egg opened after third day of incu- bation. Egg opened after sixth day of incu- bation. Several students open eggs. Other students watch process. Students remove part of shell, and in its place insert cover glass and seal it. Egg opened after eight days of in- cubation, showing contraction of heart and blood vessels. Corresponding stage of development and activity in embryo. Similar method as above. Embryo of about seventeen days placed in Kleinert's solution and mounted in bottle. Chick embryo removed from shell, placed in dish, yolk pushed aside. Em- bryo shows motion of legs, wings and beak. {Concluded on page 212)