The National Archives: Focus on Film

Seeing is believing, right? Not always. Video accounts seem like a true and accurate resource for learning about history. This website, however, teaches otherwise. It teaches viewers to ask the right questions, look for bias and propaganda, and pay close attention to camera angles, editing, and other techniques that can cause video accounts to be unreliable. Look at several different types of historical videos including Dramatic Reconstruction, News Film—Independent and Government Controlled, Information Films, and Actuality Films. A series of activities, film archives, and editor’s room features will teach viewers how to be more careful about the information they are receiving through historical video. Seeing shouldn’t always be believing.

Courtesy of Knovation