Educational screen & audio-visual guide (c1956-1971])

t^ ILMSTRIPS by Irene F. Cypher We should like to make a plea for a it more imagination and artistic riise in the type of drawings and .itches used as the basis for film I ij) illustration. This is not an attempt • balance or compare direct photog ■ liv with drawings; it is not an at |)t to say that one type of illus ition is better than the other; to say ;i( li things would be downright silly, II each type has something to offer as w ay of visualizing any material. Direct photography has its value ml place; the artist's drawing also has s place. Direct photography is good, :i(l there is no denying the fact that lir lens of the camera catches things s they are and gives us a pictorial ecord that is lifelike. Sometimes, howver, it is good to have the artist's isualization, for he can eliminate disracting details and highlight imporant features. But (and here is our eason for the initial plea), if only the .rtist would use an ounce of imaginai(Mi, of fantasy, spirit, call it what you 'ill, when he makes his sketches. Instead of always trying to make his )ictures seem to be quasi-realistic cenes, why not frankly include some lumorous figures, some line drawings 0 suggest situations, some delicate igures that create a feeling or mood. t is a relief sometimes to find picorial material which is quite obviousy not "real" but which nevertheless ielights the eye of the viewer— and laving done so, leads the mind to ■hink about many things. There used :o be a much quoted phrase to the ef"ect that "it was good to leave something to the imagination." Airplanes, Jets and Rockets (6 strips, color; produced by Jam Handy Organization, 2821 East Grand Blvd., Detroit, Michigan; $31.50 per set, $5.75 single strips). The basic story of this series is that of the principles of today's powered flight. Included in the story are accounts of how airplanes, helicopters, jets and rockets get into flight and what keeps them flying. Air flight is a common part of our way of life, but we are not all familiar with the advantages of jets over propeller-driven planes; certainly we know all too little about why satellites and space stations orbit or how a rocket works in airless space. The information in the set is timely, and well depicted for elementary and jun ior high science study. The story is plainly presented, but interesting. Birds and Their Songs (4 strips, color, with two long-playing 12-in. records and a guide; produced by Museum Extension Service, 80 West 40th Street, New York 18, N. Y.; $29 for complete set.) This is a truly splendid series for anyone interested in nature study; it is also a wonderful set to give to pupils so that they may learn to know and recognize the songs of many of the birds we hear in our gardens and woodlands. The ability to recognize the songs of these birds will add life-long pleasure and provide something that has meaning for us all. The filmstrips give us pictures of about 40 of the birds most commonly found in woods, gardens, meadows, marshes and shores. The records were recorded by expert ornithologists and have caught the notes of the various calls clearly. There is considerable information about the birds, such as nesting habits, migration patterns, distances flown and general characteristics. The set is excellent and highly to be recommended for school use, for camps and nature study classes and for all nature lovers. David Einhorn: The Father of the Union Prayerbook (Single strips, color, with manual; produced by The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 838 Fifth Ave., New York 21, N. Y.; $7.50). As the title suggests, this is biography; the story of a man who contributed much to Reform Judaism. As such it is a strip to recommend to all religious school and adult religious study groups. The life and work of the man are clearly portrayed and the factual accoimt of his contributions to the ritual of his faith are well presented. The strip also has value as the story of how a deeply religious man watched the struggle against slavery at the time of the Civil War, and how his hatred of human slavery influenced him in his life work as a rabbi. The illustrations are well drawn and the artist has caught the spirit of the story and given us a portrait of a man and his family, his environment and his work. Hawaii (6 strips, color; produced bv Visual Education Consultants, Inc., 2066 Helena St., Madison 1, Wisconsin; $39 per set, $7..50 single strips). Two mainland girls, Wendy and Chris, come by plane to visit our new state, and their visualized tour takes us from island to island to see people, places, ceremonies, industries, and life in Hawaii. We go from sugar and pineapple plantations to national park areas, exploring and visiting. There is a pronounciation key and primer of the Hawaiian language which will stimulate pupil interest, and they will be interested to see many evidences of the culture of the past as well as modem buildings, homes and recreational and business areas. Our tour is well planned and the presentation adapted to material included in curriculum units. There is much that we need to know about Hawaii, and this series will help us to get some idea of what life in the islands means to the people who live there. National Gallery of Art (10 filmstrips, color; produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, 11.50 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette, 111.; $60 per set, $6 single strip). The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C, is a museum of note, and the masterpieces in its collections include examples of art of early Renaissance Italy, of Spain, France, the Low Countries, England and the United States. The policy of the gallery is to include both paintings and sculpture representative of regional and historic units. This series brings us highlights from the collection and includes examples of the work of Vermeer, Frans Hals, Giotto, El Greco, Van Dyck, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Ment, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and many others. The material is good for study purposes and for enjoyment, for the color quality of the reproductions is excellent. Sometimes the viewing of material such as this is inspiration for further study and as motivation for field trips to local museums and art galleries. Space and Space Travel (4 filmstrips, color; produced by Society for Visual Education, 1345 Diversey Parkway, Chicago 14, 111.; $21.60 per set, $6 single strip). By means of well SCIENCE FILMSTRIPS SINCE 1931 SINCE 1931 MADE BY TEACHERS FOR TEACHERS | BIOLOGY ATOMIC ENERGY PHYSICS GENERAL SCIENCE CHEMISTRY MICROBIOLOGY BIKE SAFETY BUS SAFETY Science filmitripi ovoiloble under NDEA — Title III. VISUAL SCIENCES Box S99E Suffern, N«w York Educational Screen and Audiovisual Guide — June, 1960 295