Spielberg and learning

Last night I watched an interview with Steven Spielberg. It was interesting on many levels:

• his approach to storytelling
• how he 'framed' shots
• the importance of music to the story

What I really liked however was how the filming of JAWS unfolded, and in this there is a lesson for learning, storytelling and the use of technology. Spielberg explained how the mechanical shark broke down before filming had begun and that it would take weeks to fix. Filming couldn't wait so many sequences of the film were shot without the mechanical shark. 

So instead of seeing the shark, it was only suggested. Ripples, the wharf being dragged, swimmers being dragged downward, water churning. Speilberg says that NOT having the mechanical shark MADE the film the success that it was. 

The shark, with all its teeth rearing up out of the water at Roy Scheider, doesn't appear until quite late in the film and when it does launch itself at Scheider it scares the hell out of the audience - something that wouldn't have happened IF the shark had been seen in every scene.

What are the lessons for learning here?

1. Don't get carried away with technology, focus on the story and how you communicate with your audience. Powerpoint/Keynote, computers, elearning etc are NOT central to learning - rather focus on the story, the learning, the message.
2. The power of the unexpected. When the shark was eventually actually seen, it made an impact, audience members jumped out of their seats, popcorn went flying. As "Made to Stick" reminds us, learning sticks when the message is simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional and in the form of a story - a shark eating swimmers certainly contains all of these and Spielberg told the story brilliantly!

Here's the original JAWS trailer, (love the voiceover!) Notice how the actual shark doesn't appear in the trailer either (other than a fin), all adding to the suspense for the film-goer.