The task: design and
build an all-in-one
camera with an
integrated printer that
produces instant digital
pictures. This program
follows a team of
industrial and
electronics designers at
Polaroid’s U.K.
headquarters as they
take on this challenge.
The whole process
unfolds neatly as the
idea jumps from paper to
3-D model to computer-
assisted design program
to prototype.
Eventually, the
designers debug the
prototype and a
professional
photographer puts the
production model through
its paces. (15 minutes,
color)

This program examines the pottery of Grace Medicine Flower and her brother Joseph Lone Wolf, members of the renowned Tafoya family of Santa Clara Pueblo. They revived and expanded the traditional forms and techniques of their pre-Columbian ancestors, the Mimbres, to create exquisite works featuring abstract designs and emphasizing sgraffito and polychrome techniques. Together with their father, Camilio Sunflower Tafoya, Medicine Flower and Lone Wolf are filmed digging and refining their clay and then molding it into pots, which they decorate and fire. (30 minutes, color)

The sound system that goes into a hand-assembled Aston-Martin sports car must be special indeed. In this program, designers at Linn, a precision-engineering company specializing in state-of-the-art sound reproduction, draft and build a compact stereo for this elite automobile. Project leaders demonstrate the use of 3-D CAD in the drafting process. The outsourcing of a component provides a good example of how to work with subcontractors. (15 minutes, color)

The painter’s studio: at once an open forum for exchanging skills with other artists and a private retreat for experimenting with technique. Beginning with the Renaissance and concluding with the 20th century, this program covers an assortment of studio-related topics, including life as a painter’s apprentice; the birth and growth of art schools and academies; the progress of the painter’s status in society; the development and proliferation of art tools; the use of nude models; the hard-won success of women in gaining acceptance for female painters; and the continually evolving creative space known as the studio. (27 minutes)

Filmed on location across England and Ireland, this program takes a close look at the Lindisfarne Gospels—a priceless work of art and one of Christianity’s most enduring symbols of faith—and the historical and religious contexts in which it was created. Michelle Brown, curator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, explains who made it and why, presents new findings about its dating, and shows how it unites a remarkable range of motifs and styles from the Celtic Iron Age, Germanic prehistory, ancient and Christian Rome, Coptic Egypt, and Byzantium. A wealth of other devotional objects and images from early Christianity are also featured. (48 minutes, color)

While students from the Vienna University of Music prepare for a performance of The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart's life and musical accomplishments are considered. Learning Objectives: 1) Students will learn about Mozart's life. 2) Students will learn about conditions in Austria during the time when Mozart was alive. 3) Students will be exposed to the sounds of Mozart's music. (26 minutes) Copyright: ©1990

Follow Ulysses, the craftiest of Homer's heroes, as he invents the Trojan horse, struggles to return home, and triumphs over his wife's suitors. (59 minutes)

Learning Objectives:
Students will be given an introduction to the classic literary works of ancient Greece.
An overview of the adventures and exploits of one of literature's greatest heroes will be provided.

Creating a successful print ad involves a dynamic mix of visual theory, consumer psychology, and nuts-and-bolts tinkering. This two-part series provides a thorough grounding in all of the above, familiarizing students with the terminology and working concepts that successful graphic designers and advertising creatives make use of on a daily basis. Although both episodes are rich in detailed guidance, their class-friendly run times make them ideal for coursework in marketing, advertising, design, and commercial art. 2-part series, 19 minutes each. 2011

This program helps students understand the proper space allocation for the main elements of a two-dimensional advertisement, including the illustration, headline, copy, and logo. The discussion covers the question of whether to use a photograph or original art for the illustration, as well as text issues such as overprinting, reverse type, and typefaces. It also provides examples of symmetrical and asymmetrical balance as well as the Kodak rule of thirds. Viewers are introduced to the layout concepts known as vertical half, horizontal half, corner half, white space, bleed, and borders. The conclusion features examples of simplicity, unity, and harmony in layout design. A part of the series Advertising Layout. (19 minutes) DVD is Subtitled

Once advertising students have assimilated a basic knowledge of visual principles, they can move on to more advanced working methods—the ones that garner awards as well as customers. This program shows how to attract a reader’s attention with the layout concepts commonly known as picture window, silhouette, square zero, Mondrian, closure, oversizing, juxtaposition, surrealism, and shock. Examples show how graphic designers direct attention within an ad by using various compositional techniques—such as diagonal, standard, “C,” “Z,” overlapping, and spatial progression. The video concludes with a section on the importance and practical use of headlines and sub-headlines. A part of the series Advertising Layout. (19 minutes) 2011

The key to success in the entertainment field often involves finding the right agent. Many of the industry's top representatives reveal how things really work in show business. Learning Objectives: 1) How one should present himself or herself to an agency will be explained. 2) What an agency looks for in an actor will be discussed. 3) How an agent expects an actor to maintain himself or herself after having been signed by the agency will be explained. Copyright: ©1995 Format: 1 VHS Length: 55 minutes

In 1940s American cinema, they were made for each other. This magnificent program captures how Frank Capra used James Stewart to project a message of an ideal America, perhaps best illustrated in their 1946 collaboration, It’s a Wonderful Life. It also details their biographies and first meeting on the set of 1939’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Stewart’s later career is examined—primarily his collaborations with Hitchcock on Rope, Rear Window, and Vertigo—but the program argues that Stewart’s time with Capra produced a cinematic "ideal vision of what man could be." Copyright date: 2001

Sculptor Allan Houser won international recognition for his depiction of the stoic, powerful figures of his Chiricahua Apache and Navajo families in wood, stone, and metal. This program follows Houser—also acclaimed for his murals and paintings—from quarry to studio, where he sculpts a face in marble, and to the Shidoni Foundry, where he casts a bronze head. The art of Houser, whose father was with Geronimo in 1886, blends his people’s heritage with his own personal spirit of adventure to create iconic figures and images that honor the past while looking to the future. (30 minutes, color)

This highly informative program presents professionals in various segments of the exciting and fast-paced fashion industry discussing their roles at design, production, wholesale, and retail levels. Viewers see how merchandise is presented to wholesale buyers in New York showrooms and learn how resident buying offices assist store buyers in deciding what merchandise best suits their clientele. Interviews with wholesale and retail professionals in all areas of production and sales reveal the challenges and drawbacks of careers in fashion merchandising. A Cambridge Educational Production. One 45-minute video & student manual. This highly informative program presents professionals in various segments of the exciting and fast-paced fashion industry discussing their roles at design, production, wholesale, and retail levels. Viewers see how merchandise is presented to wholesale buyers in New York showrooms and learn how resident buying offices assist store buyers in deciding what merchandise best suits their clientele. Interviews with wholesale and retail professionals in all areas of production and sales reveal the challenges and drawbacks of careers in fashion merchandising. A Cambridge Educational Production. One 45-minute video & student manual.

At once banal and provocative, the works of Andy Warhol sardonically comment on the ubiquity of mass media in modern America. This program takes a look at the Pop Art movement and the life of Warhol through a penetrating investigation of his deadpan Ten Lizes. The painting exemplifies his fascination with—and his indifference to—celebrities as objects no less commodified than a simple can of soup. (31 minutes, color)

Professional dancers demonstrate, step by step, typical dances of the Baroque and Renaissance eras. Steps are shown close up and from a variety of angles, so students can see exactly how they are performed. Authentic music and fashion of these eras are used in a video that can teach even novices to learn the dances of bygone times.


Learning Objectives:
1) Students will become familiar with some of the societal customs that existed during the Baroque and Renaissance periods and they will see that dances typically reflect social mores.
2) Students will observe detailed steps to dances of the Baroque and Renaissance eras. They will then see each dance performed in its entirety.
3) Students will be exposed to music and costumes of the Baroque and Renaissance eras. (85 minutes)

Copyright: ©2000