edu c a t i o n al materia l s - screen cinema learning... · enhances the ﬁlm experience,”...

T H E B I G F R A M E 60 S P R I N G 2 0 0 3

Crucial Element o rCostly Chara d e?

Edu ca t i o nalMateria l s

Giant screen films andsupplementary educational

materials seem to go hand-in-hand.But to what extent are they

actually being used? B Y K E L LY G E R M A I N

S P R I N G 2 0 0 3 61 T H E B I G F R A M E

t the GSTA 20 02 InternationalConference and Trade Show inToronto, Tracey Guiry, programdirector at the IMAX Theatre At-Bristol, and Kathy Sullivan, presidentand CEO at COSI Columbus, both

members of GSTA’s education and researchcommittee, moderated the professional developmentsession “Educational Materials: Crucial Element orCostly Charade?” In preparation for the session, theyconducted a brief survey of GSTA member theatersasking three questions: Do you use educationalmaterials provided with films? Do you produce yourown materials? What use do you put them to?

Two-thirds of the theaters responding to thesurvey indicated they do use the educationalmaterials provided. Of those, 82 percent of U.S.theaters and 50 percent of European theatersindicated they use the provided materials. All of thetheaters outside of North America said they producetheir own materials to supplement those provided,citing language translation and curriculumdifferences as the primary reasons for doing do.

While only 21 theaters responded to thequestionnaire—11 U.S. theaters, six in the U.K.,three in Europe, and one in Australia—the results doprovide a starting point for dialogue on theeffectiveness of educational materials as they arecurrently produced. “We didn’t imagine that we weregoing to get definitive answers in one session,” saysSullivan. “We really wanted to provoke aconversation and keep the topic moving.”

Although much time and money is spent todevelop and distribute the educational materials,discussion at the session revealed that we don’treally know to what extent they are even being usedin the classroom.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEIt has become an industry standard that educationaloutreach materials will accompany an educationalgiant screen film release. But that hasn’t always beenthe case.

With the release of To Fly in 1976, MacGillivrayFreeman Films (MFF) distributed educational factsheets to accompany the film—simple, typewrittendocuments that were photocopied and stapled—and afilm discussion guide. For the 1989 release To theLimit, with assistance from the Museum FilmNetwork, MFF produced a more polished teacher’sguide and education resource guide, which waswritten by museum educators in the Museum FilmNetwork. According to Lynne Kennedy, deputy

executive director of education and exhibits at theReuben H. Fleet Science Center, who hascollaborated on educational materials for over adozen giant screen films, “The film’s productionpartners discussed how they would make the filmmore attractive to school groups and teachers. A group of people who were involved in the Museum

A

(Top) Tracey Guiry and Kathy Sullivan moderate thesession on educational materials in Toronto.

(Above) Says Sullivan, “We really wanted to provoke aconversation and keep the topic moving.”


Film Network sent their education experts tocommittee meetings to help put together a teacherguide, which was the first teacher guide that wentwith an IMAX film.”

It wasn’t until Tropical Rainforest, the 1992release by the Science Museum of Minnesota and thefirst giant screen film funded by the U.S. NationalScience Foundation (NSF), that a completeeducational outreach program was developed inconjunction with a giant screen film. Elements of theprogram included teacher packets featuring hands-onclassroom activities and information on rain forests;a slide set of film images accompanied by a 19-pageguide; a museum trunk packed with artifacts,activities and specimens with an operator’s manualdesigned to introduce students to the rain forest; anda one-week educator institute for teachers andmuseum educators hosted before the film premiere.

The educational package proposed in the NSFgrant application for Tropical Rainforest was a

significant factor in the film being awarded NSFfunding, according to Hyman Field, senior advisor forpublic understanding of research at NSF. “Ancillarymaterials and educational outreach has always beenamong the criteria the NSF’s Informal ScienceEducation Program considers when it reviewsproposals,” says Field.

“Whether it’s an exhibit, film or TV program,”Field continues, “we expect the applicant to haveplanned, wherever it’s appropriate, some sort ofoutreach. We’re interested in the learning experienceextending beyond just seeing a film or watching thetelevision or walking through an exhibit. If therewere two proposals we were looking at, andeverything else being equal, and one had outreachand the other didn’t, the one with substantive, well-designed outreach likely would receive funding.We’re looking for a project that’s carefully designedas a total educational experience.”

The NSF and the giant screen industry have had aclose relationship ever since—NSF has funded 21giant screen films to date.

Today, educational materials are supplied in avariety of formats, including multi-page booklets,lobby kiosks, posters, web sites, CD-ROMs, andworkshops during which museum educators areschooled firsthand so they can go back to theirinstitutions with comprehensive knowledge aboutthe film topic and create their own materials.

SERVING DUAL PURPOSESFilmmakers and distributors seem unanimous intheir conviction to produce accompanyingeducational materials. “It would be unthinkablenowadays,” says Chris Palmer, president of NationalWildlife Productions at the National WildlifeFederation (NWF), “to produce almost any film,especially films for the institutional market, withouta teacher guide, a web site and all sorts of things thatgo with them. It’s just such a vitally important partof the film. In some ways, it’s as important as thefilm itself.”

“Educational support is one of the first thingstheaters ask about,” says Stacey Burton, marketingcoordinator at Destination Cinema, Inc.

Supplementary educational materials serve atleast two purposes. First, the materials extend theimpact and educational experience of the filmbeyond the theater. “These companion materials cantransform the large format experience into somethingmuch more meaningful than just seeing the filmitself,” says Palmer. “It turns the film intosomething which really can make a difference in theworld. It’s going to have a real impact on people’slives if they can see a film and then read a book or goto a web site.”

The educational package proposed inthe NSF grant application for TropicalRainforest was a significant factor inthe film being awarded NSF funding.


MFF offers the program “Scientist on Tour,”during which the scientists featured in its films visitinstitutions to speak to underserved students. “Itenhances the film experience,” says MFF director ofmarketing Alice Casbara, “and encourages a child tothink, ‘Hey, I can do this, too!’, which I think is aresponse we are all striving for.”

Of course, the film itself must be inspirational andinformational. “Is there an optimum balance to

strike on what one expects the filmitself to do in terms ofeducation?” poses Sullivan.“Can one turn the collateralmaterials into too much of acrutch?”

Kennedy adds,“Unfortunately, I think thatthere’s the notion if you do ateacher guide and just sort ofadd it on at the end, theneverything’s educational andthey’ve covered that base.”

“If a film is trulyinspirational,” says Don Steele,Summerhays Films, “then it willcapture their interest andencourage people to look furtherand delve into the subject. If this isaccomplished, then educationalmaterials can provide greater depthand further their interest.”

The second purpose educational materials serve isto enhance the promotional package offered by thefilm distributor to the theater. A glossy, four-colorguide presents an attractive calling card whensoliciting school group bookings, as well as potentialdonors and sponsors.

Says Mark Katz, president of nWave PicturesDistribution, “It’s a necessary part of doing businessin large format to produce as comprehensive amarketing and educational support package aspossible. Without it, the film just won’t be promotedas well as it can be. Anybody who comes out with afilm and doesn’t do this is probably shortchangingthemselves.”

“One of the institutional theater’s key markets isschool groups,” adds Burton. “As a distributor, ourgoal is to provide our clients with useful marketingmaterials that will help them have the mostsuccessful run possible. Also, institutions are lookingfor a well-presented piece they can bring to theirboard members when proposing a certain film to beshown.”

“It’s important to make the piece appealing to thegeneral public, as an educational piece may be usedfor distribution at an educator conference or as a

Educationalmaterials extend the impact and educational experienceof the film beyond the theater.

The teacher’sguide the HoustonMuseum ofNatural Scienceproduced forKilimanjaro: To theRoof of Africa is atwo-sided posterwith pictures fromthe film on oneside and activitieson the other. Theactivity side isdivided into eightpanels, with adifferent, easilyphotocopiedactivity on eachpanel.


marketing tool for the group sales department todrive visitation to the theater,” says Casbara.

What works best for marketing, however, may notbe what works best for educators. “There arecompeting intentions, if you will, between ‘why arewe doing this’ and ‘why are we doing it the waywe’re doing it’,” Sullivan cautions. “It’s driven by acombination of marketing production values andwhat might work for an elementary or middle schoolteacher. The handiest thing for them is often verysimple and inexpensively copied material.”

“Teachers want simple worksheets they can usewithout having to do too much to them,” explainsAlex Patrick, education officer at the ScienceMuseum IMAX Cinema in London, “somethingsimple and easily copied. Often, pages with photoson them are very difficult to read once they havebeen photocopied.”

“Teachers want materials they can reproducecheaply,” adds Steele, “however, museumsfrequently like to have these materials in a littlehigher quality. Not that they’ll use it in largequantities that way, but it’s a nice thing to hand out.They like to have something that is bound,something that has some weight to it so when theybring teachers in and show them the film in apreview screening, they have something to say,

‘This is what it is and this is how it works.’ Ofcourse, having these materials in a higher quality isalso valuable when used for local sponsorshipdevelopment.”

“They’ve become pretty fancy in productionvalues,” Sullivan says, “and my sense from anecdotalcommentary at our session is that there is acombination of factors behind it. Teachers sure don’tmind getting nice materials that just lookintrinsically interesting and attractive to theirstudents. It makes their job easier. But also, theproducers clearly, to at least some degree, areproducing one set of products that have both theglossy marketing value to show to prospective donorsor sponsors, as well as appeal to the educational useraudience.”

There is no disputing that materials are developedwith the best intentions. Numerous hours andthousands of dollars are spent in making thematerials as useful to teachers as possible. If museumeducators don’t create the materials directly for afilm, most distributors, at the very least, haveeducators review materials before they are produced,and the process has been fine-tuned over the years.

While the NWF has an infrastructure forproducing companion educational materials, thematerials are reviewed by theaters as well before theyare distributed. Palmer says, “One thing I’ve learnedover the last 10–15 years working in this industry ishow important it is to work closely with thecustomer, in this case the exhibitors. It’s veryimportant when we produce a companion documentto have theaters comment on it. We’ve found thatenormously helpful and educational for us.”

For Amazing Journeys, the Houston Museum ofNatural Science (HMNS) contracted Journey North,an online site that tracks and publishes informationabout migrations, to adapt their educationalmaterials and classroom poster for the film. “Whenwe began preparations for producing Kilimanjaro andAustralia,” says Charlotte Brohi of HMNS, “we did alot more research. We asked teachers what theywanted because we were convinced that theaterswere not passing on the materials to teachers in atimely way, or they were too expensive to distribute,and that teachers did not have enough time to goover everything in the guides. Our own staff in theeducation department developed our next two guideswith these things in mind.”

nWave Pictures has worked with Youth MarketingInternational (YMI) for many years to develop

materials for its film releases. YMI has a nationwideteam of educators reviewing all materials. “We addto that reviewers from within the educational ranksof theaters around the world,” says Katz. “Ourobjective is to make these things as user friendly aspossible for teachers.”

THE GLOBAL AUDIENCEThe highest hurdle educational materials have toreach yet is their usefulness to internationalaudiences. Exhibitors outside of the U.S.overwhelmingly agree that most materials providedfocus on U.S. audiences and fall short of their needs.The most obvious problem is language translation—even English-speaking countries such as Canada andthe United Kingdom need to edit materials forspelling differences.

Language differences are just part of the problem,however. Cultural references and curriculumdifferences are an obstacle as well. Sullivan says,“There is the recognition that educational materialsproduced by an American film production outfit anddriven, therefore, around American English,American examples, American metaphors and

Educational materials enhance the promotional package offered by the film distributor to the theater.


comparisons, and American educationalmethodologies and standards are of modest or no useto exhibitors and institutions in other countries.”

“The North American focus of educationalmaterials is very strong and has always been an areaof concern,” says Julie Brown, education group salesmanager at the IMAX Theatre Sydney, Australia.

“The most pressing thing is the curriculumrelevance,” says Patrick. “Things like the gradesystem don’t relate to us. We don’t know what thatmeans.”

Because of this focus, theaters outside North

America are often forced to either revise materials tofit their needs or create their own materials entirely.

“Bristol has never been able to use the pre-produced education packs as delivered,” says Guiry.“We always need to intercede at some point tointerpret what we are sending [to teachers]. Weensure they know, for example, that the packs usethe American spelling on words like meter/metreand color/colour and that the packs are not intendedfor the student or end user but more as idea factoriesfor the teacher to use.”

Gottfried Lutz, marketing manager at LFC-LargeFormat Cinema in Austria says, “We use the Englishteacher guide only as a reference to create our own

guide with a completely different layout, picturesand text. We do this in cooperation with severalteachers. They get the English guide as a referenceand then create a guide suited for Austrian schools,working closely with a graphic designer.”

Ivor Diosi of the IMAX Theatre Bratislava in theSlovak Republic says, “We use the artwork and mostof the layout provided by the distributor. Wetranslate it to Slovak and make adjustments to meetthe official school curriculum. We conductpreliminary research with teachers and exclude textthat is outside the curriculum. Changes are usually

minimal, but this is the key.”In a difficult economic climate,

however, many theaters do not havethe resources to implement revisionsthat will make the guides morerelevant for their audiences. In thesurvey conducted prior to theprofessional development session inToronto, those theaters that reportedthey do not produce their ownmaterials cite cost as the main reasonrather than lack of demand.

“A number of years ago,” saysBrown, “the Sydney theater produceda companion set of teacher’s notes inaddition to the official educator’sguide for every film released. Today,we do not have the time to produce aseparate set of resources.”

The guides provided, however, dogive theaters a tool as they try tomaintain their status as a viableeducational outing for school groups.“While the teacher’s guides may notalways be entirely relevant to theAustralian education scene,” Browncontinues, “they do confirm IMAX asan educational resource in the mindsof teachers.”

Distributors concede that moreneeds to be done to make the materials morevaluable to a global audience. “It’s a huge challenge,”Palmer admits, “but we have to do that. Asimportant as the American market is, the non-American market is very important, too.”

“We want the guides to be as international aspossible,” says Katz. “And to me, therein, lies one ofthe biggest challenges right now with the educationalmaterial for large format films. How do we makethem work for all markets worldwide?”

Ensuring the guides are effective in countriesoutside the U.S., however, poses an enormouschallenge to film distributors. Not only docurriculum standards vary between countries, they

Ensuring the guides are effective in countriesoutside the U.S. poses an enormous challenge to film distributors.

L’Hemisferic in Valencia, Spain, created its own Spanish version of the teacher’s guide for The Human Body.


sometimes vary within a country.“It is important to note that within the U.K. there

are differences,” Guiry points out. “The curriculumin Scotland differs again, and so the Glasgow theatermust produce its own tailored materials to fitScotland’s curriculum.”

Getting input from theaters outside the U.S. beforematerials are produced is a step toward making them

m o re useful to a global audience. “I think thesolution has got to be to develop a closer re l a t i o n s h i pwith those theaters overseas,” says Palmer, “and gaina better knowledge of what they want.”

Many distributors have panels comprised ofeducators from different countries review drafts ofthe guides as they are being developed. “Given ourlimited resources, we are often prevented fromsimply going ahead and translating the guides intofour or five or six languages,” says Katz. “We do,however, include reviewers from different countriesas often as we can. It’s challenging becausecurriculums are obviously very different fromcountry to country. But we hope that by making theeffort, we’re getting closer to it.”

Patrick adds, “Some distributors who have asked

us for input, in my opinion, have produced a betterguide in the end. We’ve been given rough drafts ofmaterials to give to teachers in the U.K., asked fortheir input, and then sent that information back tothe people who are making the guide. There’s a costinvolved because we have to pay teachers to come in.And, obviously, it’s more time consuming for thedistributor, but, ultimately, I think it provides a

guide that should be more useful inthe long run in the U.K.”

Technology may offer a solution aswell. As technology evolves, so doesthe classroom. While mosteducational materials in the pastconsisted primarily of printed teacherguides, most films now offercompanion web sites or CD-ROMsthat provide information about thefilm, interactive educationalexercises, links to additionalresources and downloadable files.

“We try to provide everythingelectronically as well as in print,”explains Katz. “Yes, it has to betranslated, but the layout is there,and the structure is there. And if thetheaters can translate it, then theycan reproduce it.

“We’re probably at a crossroadright now as to justifying the expensein printing,” Katz continues. “So if Icould save a few thousand dollars bynot printing that I could spend onsomething like translation and stillknow that the guides reach as manyif not more teachers, that would beideal. I would love to moveultimately in that direction.”

“Because we cater to aninternational client base,” says

Casbara, “we offer film materials in a format that iseasily customizable for language translation purposesand to graphically tailor it to numerous uses. Theteacher’s guide is available in a printed format, onCD and downloadable on the web site.”

Theaters agree that digital versions of educationalmaterials do save them time and allow them theflexibility to customize the materials to their specificneeds. “A web-based resource or CD-ROM would bevery useful,” comments Patrick. “Perhaps templatesthat we could use ourselves. Some of the guides arevery complicated in their design. When we didsurveys, we found that teachers often said that theywould like CD-ROMs because then they can cut andpaste what they like themselves. And presumablythat would be cheaper as well.”

Theaters agree that digital versions ofeducational materials do save them time and allow them the flexibility to customize the materials to their specific needs.

Many distributors are making educational materials available via filesthat can be downloaded from the film’s web site.


“An electronic file in a widely supported formatsuch as Microsoft Word or Pagemaker would be idealfor theater use,” says Brown. “That way, we can addrelevant curriculum information just by cutting andpasting. We would then arrange for simple black andwhite copying of materials for teachers or convert toPDF ourselves and upload the files onto our own websites. Increasingly, the cost of resources is becomingprohibitive, particularly when freight charges toAustralia are added. The importance of the Internetwill only increase.”

Adds Burton, “As we were preparing oureducational pieces for Lewis & Clark, we developed asurvey to understand how teachers preferredreceiving their materials. There was anoverwhelming response to downloading from theInternet. In response, the Lewis & Clark educationalmaterials, developed by National Geographic, weremade available on their site.”

Digital technology does not provide a panacea forthe classroom teacher, though. Sullivan points out,“Because most of us have a desktop computer andare on it all day, we presume it’s easy. It’s very easyto overestimate what you think should be the easewith which teachers can do this. Starting with timeavailability and down to the operating speed of thecomputer, it isn’t always the case for teachers.”

“The trick,” says Guiry, “is to make sure that theuse of the web fits into the teacher’s busy day, i.e., nolengthy text to read on screen, which requires reamsof paper to print out, and no dense images that cantake some older systems ages to download. Teacherswill use the web themselves during breaks betweenclasses or whilst at home, so they need speed, brevityand ease of printing and photocopying.”

As always, cost is a major factor in determiningwhat distributors are able to provide to theatersoutside North America. “Yes, there is an incrementalcost versus providing to a North American theater,”Katz acknowledges. “It’s frustrating, and it’s achallenge. We’re already doing a lot, but we’d like todo more.”

“Unfortunately, our budgets don’t allow us totranslate the materials to every language,” saysCasbara.

Perhaps theaters and distributors share in theresponsibility to provide materials that are effectivefor specific audiences. “It’s probably fairer to say thatthe theater is responsible for delivering the educationmaterials, support, and offer staff back-up,” saysGuiry, “Yet it is the filmmakers’ responsibility to

provide the content and materials that allow them todo that. By sending education materials, images andideas, for example, on a CD-ROM, the filmmaker isaiding the theater to create their own brandedinformation, which adds value to a film visit andimproves both the educators’ and the students’experience.”

THE GREAT UNKNOWNSo while ancillary educational materials havebecome the industry standard, are the materialsfulfilling their educational mission? Are teacherseven using them? While educators know whatteachers are looking for in an educational guide, noone knows for sure if teachers are actually using theguides once they are provided.

“We just don’t have the resources to understandthat comprehensively,” Katz says, “but we obviouslytry to follow up with every theater and make sure

that they have the materials and they’re using them.Judging by the reorder levels for our printed guides,we believe that they’re getting very good usage.”

“It’s very difficult to say because I haven’t gotsubstantial evidence as to what’s being used in theclassroom,” says Patrick.

“We poll theaters regularly to measure their useand perceived value of various outreach materials,”says Casbara. “Following up with teachers is time-consuming and, therefore, costly, and as a filmdistributor we just cannot do it without the theatersalso contributing time and effort. I don’t know thatanyone—producer, distributor or museum—hasfound an efficient, affordable way to do it, one thatyields a significant response. But I think it would beworth the industry’s time and effort to do someresearch in this area.”

Guiry adds, “There hasn’t been any formalresearch with the end users, which is one of theactions that the education and liaison committee ofthe GSTA took away with them. We have hadenormous interest in this subject since it affectseveryone in the business. A lot of theaters do theirown research, have teacher panels and focus groupsand conduct surveys of all teachers who book a show,so it’s not that research isn’t being done. I think witha little tweaking of theaters’ current activity we caneasily find out what the teachers actually think ofthe materials and gauge a more accurate opinion ofthe ways they use them.”

Barbara Flagg’s consulting group, MultimediaResearch, specializes in formative and summative

Cost is a major factor in determining what distributors are able to provide to theatersoutside of North America.


evaluations of technology-basededucational products and hasimplemented formative evaluationsfor draft teachers’ guides for twogiant screen films. One study used16 middle school teachers drawnfrom eight U.S. states. The secondstudy used 10 elementary and middleschool teachers drawn from sixstates. Flagg says, “The majority ofthe teachers had taken their studentson a field trip to a giant screen film,but less than half had received ateacher’s guide that related to thefilm they viewed, and even fewer hadused that guide in their classroombefore or after seeing the film.”

Additionally, Multimedia Researchhas carried out summativeevaluations on four giant screenfilms where students who saw thefilm and did activities fromteachers’ guides were comparedwith students who saw the filmbut completed no activities. “Inall four studies,” Flagg reports,“learning of film-related contentincreased significantly, but doingactivities did not add measurablevalue to the learning outcomes.”

MFF recently conducted a shortsurvey with 100 teachers at the FranklinInstitute in Philadelphia for its upcoming filmSpace Journey. Says Janna Emmel, associate directorof research at MFF, “We asked some questionsrelated to outreach materials, including whatmaterials would they really use if they were planninga field trip to an IMAX film. Though less than half ofthe teachers who responded had actually taken aclass to a film at the museum, 92 percent said they’duse a teacher’s guide if they did plan a field trip.About 56 percent of the teachers said they’d userelated web sites or classroom posters. Interesting,however, that of those teachers who said they hadpreviously attended an IMAX film with their class,only 16 percent said they actually used some type ofsupplemental outreach material before seeing thefilm—and those who used them said they werehelpful. So why did only 16 percent say they actuallyused the materials? Did they not receive them? Did

they not find them useful? Did theyrun out of classroom time? We don’tknow, and obviously more research isneeded.

“Like other producers, particularlythose whose films are funded in partby the NSF,” Emmel continues,“[MFF] tests the impact of doingactivities in the teacher’s guide withseeing the film versus just watchingthe film—and whether or notstudents were learning more fromdoing both activities. For the most

part, we producers are all testing inone or two cities with a couple

hundred children. Evaluations,through a professional evaluatorsuch as Barbara Flagg ofMultimedia Research or ArtJohnson of Edumetrics, thus farhave shown that by and largethe teacher’s guide activities donot have a major affect on

learning. That is, doing activitiesin the teacher’s guide did not cause

students to score any higher on post-tests than watching the film only. One

exception that I’m aware of is with ourfilm Dolphins. Art Johnson’s research showed

that the post-test scores of the students whoperformed activities from the teacher’s guideimproved more than the children who had seen thefilm only. Also, the children who participated inguide activities showed significantly more interest inlearning more about dolphins than those who did notdo any additional activities. That’s certainlysignificant and important, that the guide helpsinspire kids to want to learn more. What does this allmean? I think it means we need to do more research!We need to continue to look for ways to measuretheir use and success.”

Considering the costs involved in creatingeducational materials, especially in the currenteconomic state of the industry, perhaps moreresearch is needed to ensure the materials areaccomplishing their intended goal.

Considering the costs involved in creating educational materials, especially in the current economic state of the industry, perhaps more research is needed to ensure the materials are accomplishing their intended goal.

Summerhays Films produced the teacher’s guide for Ocean Oasisin English and Spanish.

“I think it would be helpful topeople,” says Sullivan, “to figureout a survey methodology thathelps all of us learn and know withsome confidence what degree ofuse is being made by the end user.What is really happening to thesethings? Is it genuinely aworthwhile investment on any ofour parts to be creating thesematerials and promulgating them,mailing them or otherwise, out tothe educators? It became fairlyclear in even the relatively simpleworkup to Toronto that Tracey andI did that no one really seems tohave much of a grip on that. Let’s

just at least know what we’redoing and if it’s having the effectsthat we wanted it to have and needit to have.”

DOES GSTA HAVE A ROLE IN THIS?In its leadership position withinthe giant screen film industry,perhaps there is a role for GSTA inestablishing best practices foreducational materials.

“This is an example, I think, ofwhere the GSTA can be sohelpful,” says Palmer. “ForMacGillivray Freeman, NationalWildlife Federation, or anyone todo it alone, it’s too much.”

Adds Guiry, “This is one areawhere equal value can be had forproduction, distribution andexhibition—each one wants toknow how they can make theirproduct better and more saleable—and so the GSTA can play a greatrole in answering some of thosequestions.”

“I think what we were trying todo in To ronto,” Sullivan explains,“was really try to be sure that theG S TA is trying to help all of us getsome focus on some of these costlyand potentially very import a n tissues, and have an effective placeand means of considering them ora d d ressing them. If, indeed, we canfind some smart e r, better ways toa p p roach some of these questions,then by all means let’s do. I thinkthese are the kinds of things thatany good member serv i c eo rganization should be challengingitself to think about and respond to.

“Awareness is usually the firstand most important step on any ofthese things,” Sullivan continues.“If we can help the producers beaware of intrinsic limitations orbarriers to the use of materials thatthey’re spending some fair effort todevelop, that’s not a bad thing.Even if it’s as simple as helpingthem be more effective in the useof resources that they’re alreadycommitting. We had fairly simplegoals for that first session, largelybecause it was very clear, even oncursory preparations for it, thatthese were not questions any of ushad really taken much of a closelook at before.

“Let’s acknowledge to eachother these are questions worthsome care and consideration. Andwe’ll keep working within theeducation committee to be one ofthe key places in the associationmoving along on these things—inbetween our day jobs.” ■

Kelly Germain is editor of The BigFrame and can be reached [email protected].

76 T H E B I G F R A M E

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“This is one area where equal value can be had forproduction, distribution and exhibition—each one wantsto know how they can make their product better andmore saleable—and so the GSTA can play a great rolein answering some of those questions.”

—Tracey Guiry, IMAX Theatre At-Bristol

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