study guides

about

ATOM, through its publications arm (Metro Magazine and Screen Education) produces study guides and educational kits for feature films, documentaries, television programs, exhibitions, etc.

Over the last ten years, Metro Magazine has produced guides for Disney, BBC, Roadshow, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Tristar, SBS, Australian Film Commission, Hoyts, Film Finance Corporation, Becker/REP, Ronin Films, Icon Films, ABC, Australian Film Commission, Yorum Gross, and many others.

The study guides are written for teachers and students in primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Metro Magazine has a team of curriculum experts from all curriculum areas who view the programs to decide whether or not they can be linked to the curriculum and, if so, then recommend what year levels and subject areas are appropriate for that particular program.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of having a study guide produced, please contact Peter Tapp. Email: editor@atom.org.au

Production of study guides for FFC funded documentaries
The FFC has agreed to fund study guides for Australian documentary and some feature films, if they can be linked to the curriculum to help filmmakers in marketing their programs to educational institutions.

The three organizations working on this project are ATOM, the FFC and Screenrights. Screenrights collects money from schools, TAFEs, universities and other educational institutions for the copying of programs from television. This money is distributed to the rights holders in the copied titles. Working in cooperation with ATOM (the Australian Teachers of Media), Screenrights approached the FFC to fund the production of certain teaching material for Australian documentaries to assist this sector in achieving better returns from their programs.

In the fifteen years Screenrights have been administering the Australian educational copying scheme, Screenrights has found that where additional teaching material is available, a program is more likely to be copied than one where no material is available. (In some cases, members have found that their Screenrights royalties have increased by up to thirty-five per cent when ATOM has produced a study guide for their programs).

Recognizing the importance of putting programs into a specific educational context, many larger organizations spend considerable money on producing additional teaching material. For example, the BBC has recently earmarked over 350 million pounds for their educational website over the next four years.

The FFC has agreed to fund the production of online study guides for Australian documentaries relevant to the Australian curriculum. This proposal was originally put forward in conjunction with ATOM. The FFC has agreed that, under its production investment agreement, ATOM will be sent three DVD copies of all Australian documentaries that it funds. If a panel comprised of educators believes that the documentary can be used in the curriculum, a study guide will be produced by ATOM. As ATOM is a non-profit organization, the guide will be produced on a cost recovery basis only (the estimated cost is roughly $1650 ex GST per study guide).

It has been agreed that the guides will be produced in a PDF format and linked to a fortnightly online program guide for educational institutions and will be available for free download for the first eighteen months from the Metro magazine web site www.metromagazine.com.au. The guide will be divided into curriculum subject areas

If you would like more inforomation, please contact Peter Tapp email: editor@atom.org.au