Summative Evaluation of Special Effects with a Student 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 to create movie illusions. Multimedia Research implemented a summative evaluation with students focused on the following major outcomes: To what extent did the program appeal to student viewers? To what extent did the program achieve its intended viewing goals? Did the implementation of school-based activities prior to viewing affect outcomes? What did viewers perceive that they learned from the program, if anything? Did students acquire knowledge about the use of science and/or math in producing effects? A total of 79 6th grade students explored in their classrooms film-related concepts prior to viewing the film (ACTIVITY + FILM treatment), and another 102 students viewed the film only (FILM treatment). All 181 students completed a pre-viewing questionnaire five days before visiting the theater and completed a post-viewing questionnaire one day after viewing the film. The Special Effects film was interesting to 81% of the student audience and made a significant impact on their knowledge of and learning about special effects in film but not on their understanding of how science and/or math is used in these endeavors. Moreover, film-related activities experienced prior to viewing did not significantly affect the film's impact.