Film and Radio Guide (Oct 1945-Jun 1946)

60 FILM AND RADIO GUIDE Volume XII, No, EXTOLLING THE EXECUTION Some Contributions of the USOE Film Production Program BY PAUL C. REED Formerly Visual Specialist, U. S. Office of Education Reprinted from "Film News," June, 1945 The completion by the U. S. Office of Education of more than four hundred fifty visual aid units for training is no mean execution. Yet the magnitude of the accomplishment becomes even more pronounced when it is considered that each unit consists of a sound motion picture, a filmstrip, and an instructor’s manual ; that the whole program was completed in fifty-three months and that the average size of the professional staff responsible for the program was less than ten persons. More than fifty thousand prints of USOE motion pictures and filmstrips have been distributed and used in the training of workers for war industries during the past four years. Thousands more will be distributed for the continued training of woikers and in the rehabilitation training of veterans. The values of this wartime visual program will extend far into the postwar future. It has been a tremendous program — well executed. Such words of praise coming from one who has actively participated in the program would seem inappropriate it it were not recognized that the results were achieved through the cooperation of hundreds of people. The training philosophy and experience of educators and industrial trainers, the practical working experience of men in shops, the film-making skills of commercial film producers were successfully coordinated by the visual and technical specialists of the Division of Visual Aids operating under the guidance of Commissioner John W. Studebaker, his assistant. Dr. C. F. Klinefelter, and Floyde E. Brooker, Director of the Division. Along with praise there should be some attempt at objective appraisal of the contributions of this visual aids program. Differing perspectives will produce different appraisals, but from my point of view, as one who has Paul C. Reed spent twenty-two months on the “inside,” the program has made important contributions both to education and to visual education. Education, and more particularly vocational education, now has available an extensive and diverse list of training pictures from which intelligent selection can be made in terms of training and curricular needs. Furthermore, these pictures have been thoughtfully prepared in series and sequence so that visual training can be planned and continuous. Not the least contribution to education is the distributional policy which makes these materials available for pui chase by schools at a cost they can afford. Yet this purchase price includes a return to the Government to amortize the production cost. The films are ready and will soon be available for use. The concept and implications of a “visual aid unit” seem to me to be a most valuable contribution to the field of visual education. Complete acceptance and continued advancement of visual education are dependent upon the intelligent coordinated use of many and all teaching materials. Controversies concerning the superiority of one kind of teaching material over another must be displaced by mature thought and effort in determining how ail available media can be used to best advantage. The USOE concept and execution of a broad visual training program with motion pictuie, still picture, and printed manual planned and produced as a coordinated unit has been a great stride forward in the advance of visual education. Best teachers have always coordinated teaching materials at the point of use. Here was coordination at the point of production. Another noteworthy contribution to visual education is one that has been made to those who can piofit from a clear-cut, successful demonstration of how educator and film producer can pool experiences and abilities and work together. Each unit was under the supervision of a team of visual specialist and technical specialist, each with practical teaching experience. Theirs was a creative job of blending their own knowledge, experience, and abilities with those of the contracting producers, and checking and double checking every single phase of production from first synopsis to final approved print. Educators and film producers can work together when there is mutual respect and joint endeavor. Considering the speed and size of the program, the degree of accuracy and authenticity of the films is unbelievably high. But its achievement was no miracle. It resulted from sound policy and hard work. For each film there was the technical specialist of the Office of Education and usually a technical consultant on the producer’s staff. In addition, there was a Technical Advisory Committee made up of practical workers whose advice was earnestly sought and freely given. These committees were not “window dressing”; they advised. They consisted of teachers from vocational schools and expert craftsmen and technicians from industry who gave from their experience and knowledge final approval to script, rough-cut pictures, and commentaries