Summative Evaluation of Special Effects with an Adult Audience

With funding from the National Science Foundation, NOVA/WGBH Boston with the participation of 14 U.S. and 4 international science museums have produced an IMAX/OMNIMAX film titled, Special Effects. The 40-minute film shows the techniques and methods that special effects filmmakers use along with their understanding of the human visual system to create movie illusions. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent did the program appeal to adult viewers? To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? What did viewers perceive that they learned from the program, if anything? Did viewing the program influence the audience beyond the museum visit? A random sample of 177 adults completed a questionnaire and content test before viewing Special Effects at the Museum of Science in Boston, MA. A second random sample of 178 adults completed a questionnaire and content test after viewing the OMNIMAX film. Special Effects was interesting to 98% of the adult audience, made a significant impact on their knowledge of special effects in film and continued to influence half of the audience after their museum visit.