International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

THE PRODUCTION OF TEACHING FILMS 415 film in school except when it allows of a noticeably better illustration than can be given by lantern slides. This constitutes the fourth requirement of the school (1). The film is a teaching means that must be used with judgment, not only because it entails considerable expense, but also because, according to our fifth requirement, the film should show nothing that can be equally well shown by the usual experimental school method, either by a visit to nature or to some workshop or factory. The best film in the world cannot equal the perception of reality in which all the senses share. But as visits of the kind or experiments in class take a lot of time and can be conducted to a limited extent only, the film may be satisfactorily utilized as a complement, with considerable saving of time and without any loss of efficacy in the presentment. Our experience in this connection shows that a film can give, in a quarter of an hour and with all the necessary tranquillity for the pupils, all that could be accomplished in a half day's visit. This, however, is the case only when the pupil has been properly prepared beforehand by the teacher. In the film on the seagull we showed that a work that took seventeen days to accomplish, under favourable conditions, can be seen in a quarter of an hour, provided, as already stated, that there has been a previous preparation with the aid of stills taken together with the film. This picture is a convincing proof for the most sceptical that a well made film is sometimes of higher value even than an instructive excursion, not only because it would not be possible for children to remain in the marshes for seventeen days, from five in the morning till night, and because it would not be possible to put an observation tent at the disposal of each pupil, but also because the film observes with the eye of an expert. The film on cellular division shows the processes of the (1) Film and other means of instruction. schematic division of the nucleus in a uniform and complete sequence, in a way that it would be impossible to observe in the living cell. It could be shown only by comparing an infinite number of intermediate states of dead and coloured cells. The film on " grafting " shows that it may still be useful to make films of objects which could be observed easily in their natural state under certain conditions, because unfortunately it is not always possible to obtain these conditions, especially in town schools ; and in any case, the possibility of projecting these objects on the screen in dimensions much larger than nature enables a whole class to follow the operation without distraction from surrounding objects. It is obvious that in these cases the film is in its right place, because nature can never be so well observed in school as through the film. Need for Short Films. Long films are tiring and cause the pupil's mind to wander, whereas short films may be preceded by a good preparation on the part of the master and can be perfectly understood and leave time for a discussion. In my capacity as head of an educational film bureau, I had the right to cut films, and made use of this faculty even after some lessons had been given with them, reducing the films to the most efficient length. Explanatory Notes Each film should be accompanied by a short introduction to the subject that is being dealt with, touching on the essential points of the film and facilitating the teacher's preparatory work This principle is deduced from the conception that the teacher must be in position to utilize the projection from every point of view, without there being anything that he is unable to understand, even though some of the details may not be necessary for the specific purposes of teaching. The illustrative sheets or notes will frequently give information as to why certain acts