International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1931)

— 1020 Institute of Instruction by means of the Luminous Picture, which we will here abbreviate by the letters I. I. L. G. (Institut d'Enseignement de 1'lmage Lumineuse de Geneve). This may at first appear a surprising idea. Why, it will be said, now that the cinema is taking such an amazing development, should we limit its function, forgetting that it offers an image of life itself, and give preference to the almost antiquated fixed projection slide? But on reflection it will be found that we are not occupied here with the different modes of projection, but only with assigning them their r61e. Now, the fixed projection slide by its very nature, leaves the master all the necessary time for his commentary. We think that all teachers will agree with us that a good deal of time is sometimes required for these. For technical reasons it is, however, impossible to stop a cinema film for more than a certain time, without injuring the film. The clearness of a fixed image, which is often the result of an exposure will generally be greater than that of a cinematographic picture taken at the rapid rate of 16 images a second, often in not very favourable conditions of light and visibility. This lack of clearness in the cinematographic image does not appear when the film is unrolled in sequence, but it does appear when as a result of slowing down, one single image is isolated and immobilised on the screen. The slide, therefore, makes it possible for the master to present objects and people in a state of rest, the only state that makes it possible to grasp with leisure the various particulars of their conformation (2). After this presentation in a state of (2) It will perhaps be objected that the slide is not necessary for fixed projections as the pupils and masters have manuals, blackboard and mural pictures. <c Doubtless », we reply, « but the luminous projection in a dark room forces the pupil to concentrate his gaze on the only bright spot, the screen. He cannot stare about him or look out of the windows ! This forced, almost automatic, concentration is one of the most desirable effects of instruction by means of the slide. fixity, the master can again use the cinema to show the object or being in action or motion. We will quote as an example a very interesting lesson of natural history at which we assisted on the occasion of our visit to the I.I.L.G. The subject was « Mammals ». A succession of slides (a film) showed the following animals : the ox, the donkey, the horse, etc. The presentation of each animal included, besides the animal itself, its family (male, female, child), its skeleton, hoof, its stomach (the stomach of the cud-chewing animal compared with that of the non-cud-chewing) ; a geographic map in projection indicated the regions of which the respective animal was a native. After this film, comprising' a series of 40 or 50 fixed pictures, had been projected, a cinema showed the various animals leading a life in freedom. This example will vividly illustrate the relationship between the fixed projection slide and the cinema, and indicate their respective limits. In the present condition of instruction the slide is therefore preferable to the moving picture. It also has the advantage of being lower priced. It should be stressed .however, that the didactic cinema should not be ignored : on the contrary, certain subjects have everythingto gain by being the object of cinematographic instruction. These remarks on the fixed projection slide and on the animated drawing are not, it will be seen, a disgression, but indicate the point of view which is at present accepted in the Swiss cantons which have studied and adopted the luminous picture for the purposes of education. If the opinions of educators and teachers which we are about to quote seem to apply only to the use of the cinema, to the exclusion of the fixed slide, this exclusion is only apparent. We will (j) It may be observed that in Switzerland a series of 40-50 fixed film slides cost frcs. 4.25, that is to say, 1/20 of the price of the glass slides and that the hire price of the film is fr. 0.09 a metre. The difference in the price of the apparatus is als > great.