The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

October, 1947 Page 443 WILLIAM S. HOCKMAN, Editor, 1616 Marlowe Avenue. Lakewood 7. Ohio The Primary Children See a Film On Palestinian Home Life While using THE HOME to teach about life in ancient Palestine, the author learns the film requirements of children. IN using the 20-mimite sound film. The Home, of the British "2000 Years Ago" series, my principal objective was to teach the children of the Primary Department (first, second, and third grades) of the church school a body of facts about Palestinian home life of long ago, and to help them visualize the kind of home in which Jesus might have grown up. A secondary objective was to secure, if I could, some candid and critical reactions of a group of children to a film which had l)een made for them. This article will discuss the preview and utilization of the film. In a following issue, I shall present the implications for film making of the criticisms made by the children. The Preview I selected five children from the primary Department. two boys and three girls, to be my "helpers," 1 asked them to come to the church on Saturday morning to see the film and to help me plan for its use on Sunday morning. Before the children arrived, I ran the film through twice for my own benefit. I noted certain words which would be outside their vocabulary, and I wondered about the clarity of certain sequences. When the children arrived I explained that they were to help me present the film to the other children on Sunday morning and that there would be a job for each one of them. I told my "helpers" that I had already seen the film and then .sketched its content for them. I asked them to decide if it was a good film for the other boys and girls to see. THE HOME THE HOME, is the introductory picture of a series of five non-sectarian, i6nnm sound films entitled, "2,000 Years Ago." This series of reenacted religious docunnentaries is intended to provide a background for religious teaching. The filnns reproduce the life lived in Palestine in the time of Our Lord. The five are: THE HOME, THE DAY'S WORK, THE SCHOOL, THE TRAVELLERS, and THE SYNAGOGUE. Each has a running time of 22 minutes (2 reels). The series was planned by the Education Committee of the Christian Cinema and the Religious Film Society (British, J. Arthur Rank affiliate) and made by the Gaumont British Instructional Films Ltd., under the direction of Miss Mary Field, noted director of children's films. Distribution in the United States is handled by United World Films, Inc., 445 Park Ave., New York 22. By WM. S. HOCKMAN Director of Religious Education Lakewood (Ohio) Presbyterian Church Next. I presented the film, running it as a sound film and including the header. This preview "committee" was very attentive to the end. Its abrupt ending bothered them. They asked if that was the end, and without turning on the house lights, we began to talk about the film. \\ould the other children understand the film ? Summarizing, the "helpers" thought they would, but there were some reservations. They said they had not understand "that first part about the maps." They wondered where the father and the son went. They did not understand what "that man" said about the pictures (i. e. the narrator). Without going farther, we decided what we would do about these two things. We would omit the maps at the beginning and the commentary. I'or these young children, I ran the film at silent speed. Children Like Detail We saw the film again. I asked them to decide where the film should begin on Sunday, and I told them that I would do the "talking." \\'hen we reached the sequence of the two roads and the distant view of the village, they decided this was the place to begin the film. At this point, I began my commentary. It was slow-paced, and I tried to anticipate the action a little and place it in a setting of larger meanings. For instance ; when the mother is mixing the bread, she adds -some sour bread (yeast). Here I said, "Having grown up in a home like this, Jesus saw his mother make bread and learned about veast. Once he told