EVALUATION OF AIRLIE FOUNDATION FILM PRODUCTION; A FINAL REPORT

MOST OF THESE FILMS ARE GENERAL INFORMATIONAL AND MOTIVATIONAL FILMS, BUT A NUMBER ARE TECHNICAL AND FOR PROFESSIONAL AUDIENCES. THE MAJOR FINDING WAS THAT THE AIRLIE-PRODUCED FILMS ARE OF SUFFICIENT QUALITY TO FULFILL AIRLIE'S CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS. THEY EXCELLED IN TECHNICAL QUALITY BUT DREW VARYING COMMENTS ON THEIR CONTENT. IN GENERAL TERMS, THE MORE SOPHISTICATED THE AUDIENCE, THE MORE CRITICAL THE COMMENTS, LESS SOPHISTICATED PERSONS WERE ALMOST ALWAYS FAVORABLY IMPRESSED, AND MANY FAMILY PLANNING AGENCY STAFF MEMBERS FELT THE FILMS WERE BEST USED FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES IN CONJUNCTION WITH MOTIVATIONAL AND EDCUATIONAL MEETINGS. BECAUSE LESS SOPHISTICATED AUDIENCES APPEAR TO BE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO INFORMATION CONTAINED IN FILMS, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THIS INFORMATION BE COMPREHENSIVE AND ACCURATE. ANOTHER MAJOR FINDING WAS THAT THE DISTRIBUTION AND UTILIZATION OF THE FILMS HAVE NOT BEEN WELL CONCEIVED OR COORDINATED. THERE IS A CONTINUING NEED FOR SPANISH-LANGUAGE FAMILY PLANNING FILMS PRODUCED IN LATIN AMERICA AND DIRECTED TOWARD LATIN AMERICAN AUDIENCES. PEOPLE NOW SAY THEY WANT SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON BIRTH CONTROL METHODS AND RELATED FAMILY PLANNING SUBJECTS. MOTIVATION IS NOT AS RELEVANT AS IT WAS IN 1971, WHEN THE ORIGINAL CONTRACT WAS WRITTEN. AND ALTHOUGH THE COUNTRY-SPECIFIC FILMS ARE GENERALLY LIKED BETTER THAT THE REGIONAL FILMS, THE EVALUATORS BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE MORE COST-EFFECTIVE TO PRODUCE REGIONAL FILMS, ESPECIALLY FOR TECHNICAL AND SEMI-TECHNICAL SUBJECTS. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE ABILITY OF A GIVEN FILM TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE ITS SUBJECT MATTER WOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCED BY A MORE RESTRICTED DEFINITION OF THE INTENDED TARGET AUDIENCE. THE EVALUATORS MADE 2L RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT PLANNING, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, AND EVALUATION.