Peter Arens
Mario Damolin
Günter Myrell
Jürgen Klozenbücher, Program Coordinator
Knowledge in the New World of Television
Many things have changed in the world of education and science films. Those who want to persist in that world as film makers have to look into the entire repertoire of filmic creative forms and dramaturgy in order to purposefully use the possibilities of the modern medium television to convey knowledge and education. It becomes increasingly important to compose and combine the full force of pictures, dramaturgically targeted narrative perspectives, emotional elements such as the use of music, lighting and camera angle, as well as fictional forms of expression and computer technology in such a way that the transfer of knowledge lives up to the changed viewing habits and the high expectations of the audience.
Modern Evergreens
Programs in the education and science field are an established, integrative and attractive element of modern television, and it is hard to imagine the portfolios of general broadcasters being without them. They have expanded far beyond the educational ideals of public television in its early days. Yet at the same time, it is obvious that the thirst for knowledge in this context is not a new phenomenon. When we look more closely, it becomes clear that education and science have always provided television with an indispensable, journalistically relevant medium and reached a receptive mass audience. People’s need to have their world explained remains as strong as ever. The reality in which we live, constantly facing new challenges, and our relationship to science, nature, history and the future will certainly continue to find expression in high quality programs.
Education and Science on Every Channel
Along with news and politics programs, education and science remain the journalistic backbone of television broadcasting, although the form in which facts are communicated is subject to constant change. On the one hand, themes addressed in this broad area include more complex topics from the field of science and research such as climate change, genetic engineering, space research, energy generation, ecology, ethnology and archeology. On the other hand, this category also covers a range of themes that are closer to everyday life and the services we make use of, such as medicine, nutrition, transport, housing construction, computer technology and the Internet.
This seemingly inexhaustible reservoir of themes has been drawn on by makers of television to create a broad range of program types which are undergoing constant change. The current television landscape in Germany, for instance, includes magazine programs (Abenteuer Wissen, W wie Wissen, Galileo), reality TV, documentaries, docudramas (TERRA X) and general knowledge shows (Die große Show der Naturwunder, Die Knoff-Hoff-Show, Clever!). Depending on the type of program, the emphasis is placed either on investigative factual research or on creative direction, on science or services, short or long film formats, and entertainment or education. The wide and expanding range of popular, genre-defying programs is proof of the attractiveness of education and science for television as a mass medium. It is not unusual for a science documentary to reach an audience of 6 million viewers.
Particularly noteworthy in this context, looking beyond traditional science shows and magazine programs, is the modern, large-scale general knowledge documentary form produced by broadcasters such as ARD, ZDF, ProSieben, BBC, National Geographic Television, and Discovery Channel International. In this case, knowledge is no longer communicated in purely realistic documentary form. Computer animation and staged elements are used to creatively present complex themes and reach as wide a public as possible. Viewers today increasingly expect such programs to present complicated factual material in a way that is not only easily comprehensible but also entertaining.
Requirements for Students
The Education and Science Film program places particular demands on its students in the sense that dealing with information and content requires a journalistic sense and competence to deal with a range of information as well as filmmaking and dramaturgic aptitude. Working in this field in modern television requires a combination of above-average specialist knowledge and technical ability. The Educational and Science Film program provides the required foundation but also leaves scope for individual specialization in accordance with the decisions students make on what fields they wish to pursue. Central to the teaching program is the individual, artistic development of students combined with the goal of qualifying them to enter the different branches of professional film and television production.
Training Objective
The objective of training in this subject area is to convey to the students the tools and skills they need in order to produce journalistic products of high quality, in all the professional disciplines and for all the broadcasters. We want them to get to know the entire range of television programs in the area of educational and science films and to be able to produce their own television pieces for them. We want to shape sought-after authors who have their own personal style and are competent and well-informed, who can persist in the world of television of the future and contribute to shaping it.
It is in response to the changing requirements of training in this area that the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg has introduced its Education and Science Film program. In the context of concrete projects, starting points, target groups and technical and thematic requirements are defined and the different requirements for the individual genres and formats are discussed. This project-based work is supplemented by sessions devoted to theory, excursions to TV organizations, and lectures and workshops given by professional program-makers and other experts with practical experience.
by Peter Arens
