Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (1950-1954)

very much better from films than from verbal instruction. The retention of film content has been found to decline with age after a certain point. Sex differences in response occur when the values or occupations shown in the film are sex-typed. A film has bias but the bias of the audience also counts. The recollection tendency of the viewer depends on his acceptance, rejection or indifference to the bias of the film. Tests show that the more an audience knows about a given subject the more it will learn from a film on that subject. One interesting point which the research has brought to light concerns the influence of many films on the same viewer. The first principle showed that a series of related film experiences all operating in the same direction is cumulative. However, the fourth principle exemplifies the fact that the more films of any type which are seen the more the viewer tends to learn from any single film. People learn to learn from films. Application. The research has disclosed that while the behavior-influencing impact of a film may be in the direction of the bias of the film the force of this impact will vary among the viewers depending upon their respective histories. To a surprising extent there will be instances of behavior influences the reverse of those intended by the film. An effective film will not have this result because its production is planned and it is produced and used according to an integrated psychology using the dynamics of learningEffective informational film planning, production and use depend on information as to the age, attitude, intelligence, education and social outlook of the specific audience for which the film is designed. These must be spelled out by the sponsoring agencies. If informational films are designed for a general audience they should be sighted slightly below the average of intelligence and education rather than above it. This practice has been found to be the most effective treatment. Viewer learning was measured and it dropped rapidly when the "sighting" of the film was slightly above the audience educational level. If a sponsor intends to influence audiences of widely different mental levels it has been found almost essential to have several versions of the film made for several IQ's. The fifth principle is in two parts: 7. Both audio and visual elements of films are effective channels of communication. Neither channel is consistently better than the other. Each channel is uniquely capable of conveying certain types of information and the two should be properly integrated. 2. The overall influence of the motion picture is thought to be primarily in the picture and secondarily in the accompanying language. It is relatively unaffected by the slickness of production. Discussion. The measurements indicated that the presentation of a film as a whole or the presentation of either the audio or the visual channel alone resulted in significant learning. Both channels together were consistently better than either one alone. This "both" factor has been identified. It is established that some items are learned jointly from the audio and visual elements working together. Evidence also exists to show that items are often taught via both audio and visual channels in an overlapping sense, in which case the cumulative value of the "both" factor is reduced. Color film has not been demonstrated as generally superior in information and instruction to black-and-white film. Attention-gaining devices, either visual or auditory, have not been found to add significantly to learning in an otherwise correctly made informational film. Optical effects and other film tricks have not been found to contribute sig Ken Kendall: Production Principles Research 439