Assignment One

How very unlike me, doing things out of sequential order. Guess that means the OCD meds really ARE working. And without further adieu (pronounced ah-dyou, NOT ah-doo) my moderately verbose ponderings on Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Assignment one asked us to watch an educational television program and examine its goals, objectives, and production techniques. The television show I chose was “Greatest Inventions with Bill Nye: Engineering and Architecture”. Had I read the assignment beforehand, I would have remembered that the show we chose was supposed to be a maximum of fifteen minutes long. Instead, I watched Bill Nye jabber on about bridges, canals, and freeways for an hour. TWICE – because I couldn’t focus on the content and the production at the same time. Regardless of my error, I did analyze the video and, to be perfectly honest, it was quite repetitive so I can comment on one segment and the whole video all at once. If only I had recognized that after the first hour! Oh well, you know what they say about hindsight…

I believe the goals and objectives of this program are mainly information dissemination-based. The segments are quite short and don’t delve into any of the topic matter beyond a superficial level, but the basic facts are presented along with some interesting asides. It is definitely an edutainment video – seemingly dull, curricular information passed along in the most exciting way possible.

The program had everything education theory says a lesson should have. The whole production started with an introduction outlining the topics to be discussed in short, flashy, vibrant clips (well hello there, motivational set!). The segments of the video were separated like a text book would be with each different architectural or engineering focus being a separate chapter. Each chapter started with an interesting fact or a demonstration of why the architecture was forced to adapt and evolve (like a clip of the Tacoma narrows bridge swaying in the wind and falling into the water). In several segments, clips of school-aged kids participating in a “real-life” experiment (popsicle stick bridges, anyone?) were included, making the content more relevant and accessible for the students. Other educational features of the video included: labels (both visual and audio) on complex diagrams or explanations as well as abundant review and summarization at the end of each clip and also at the end of the video.

Moving onto the video production side of things, I noticed a lot of diversity when it came to shot choices. More specifically, their shot choices made sense – they weren’t just added in for the sake of switching it up – and they added to the information being presented. Case in point, a low-angle shot of a pair of feet walking down a cobblestone road illustrated the realities of the first roads and a dolly shot simulated travelling down the road in the interstate segment. In addition, low and high angles of skyscrapers and panoramic views of skylines help perpetuate the grandeur of those buildings. Many times, a zoom technique was used on still photos to give the illusion of movement and provide focus.

In class, Jay said that sound is crucial to the quality of a video and that was apparent in several ways in this video. First off, the musical choices were very well made. The music was generic without being too elevator-esque - French accordion music could be heard in the segments about city development in Paris, Charleston music was used during clips of bridges from the 20s, and a modern driving beat was used in the interstate scenes. Most of the audio in this video was excellent and complemented the visual quite nicely. One notable exception was an interview scene with a professional in the water treatment section. They interviewed him outside of the water station and had the waterfall sound in the background. While creating authenticity, it felt like white noise in the background and I found it very distracting.

In the miscellaneous and not-very-surprising category, I noticed that green screen was used in several scenes. The effect was somewhat comedic, yet still fit into the general tone of the presentation. There were many transitions between clips and they varied in complexity. Some were a simple fade or wipe, and others used custom animations instead. Of course, there was also a flashy introduction at the beginning with theme music and clips of cool experiments from other episodes and a credit reel at the end. Both included bright colours, lots of movement, and catchy music.

All in all, I think it was well produced; and who doesn’t love Bill Nye? I would definitely use this with my students if I were ever given the opportunity to teach about architecture or engineering. Bill certainly makes it more entertaining (and accurate!) than I could. MissPeaswiki give it an enthusiastic 4 film reels out of 5.