No, we haven't done the segment on Ratios for this DVD yet. That's still to come. But here is a real world example of ratios in action: Shooting Ratios--the ratio between how much film you use per minute of final product.

The last number I heard for Hollywood was an average of 20:1. They shoot twenty minutes of film per one minute in a movie.

This of course varies greatly between films. For instance, in the battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, they shot hundreds--if not thousands--of hours of footage for that one 30 minute scene. In other films they will get a scene in one take and move on.

In think, over the years, we've averaged around a 5:1 shooting ratio.

For this latest MathTacular project we just finished our second hour of tape. I'm just guessing at the moment, but I think we're closer to a 12:1 ratio at this point.

Why?

I'm not totally sure, but my guess is that it boils down to:

1. We're still getting back into our groove
2. We have to teach and explain more
3. The concepts are harder and so require more hashing out on our end
4. And morale has been low or we're just tired

It's been a long first week. Hopefully we can recharge over the weekend and tackle this again on Monday with a renewed gusto.

May you have a very restful and joyful weekend.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

With apologies to Casablanca, which, turns out, deserves more apologies...

We get web corrections from customers as they find things that aren't right on our site. It is often my job to then go make the needed change. Of course, sometimes we get corrections for things that aren't wrong, but it can take a while to sort all that out.

For instance, today I was alerted to the fact that one of our Placement Tests had the wrong answer to a math problem and the vendor's site has the correct answers. I went looking for an updated copy of the test on the vendor's site, only to realize that we merely linked to it... so "our" document and the vendor's document is one and the same. This led me on a search for where the customer could have found a different document. Coming up with nothing, I went back to the original problem and checked the math myself.

If my calculations are correct--and let's hope that they are--then the answer key is right.

As confusing as such things can be, I do learn new details about our site, get to brush up on my math skills, and try to figure out what someone is talking about. So the next time your child asks, "When would I ever need to know this, mom?" Tell them: When you're double checking the answer for a textbook on a website of the organization that employs you.

That should end all complaints. <ha!>

Don't forget to phone your father and hug your hubby this weekend.

Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers and those of you working on becoming one.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Expectant Father

Algebra isn't hard. You've been doing it from the beginning. So why is it that math is so difficult for some students?

I firmly believe it's because they haven't learned the language of math. Even babies know that if you put one teddy bear next to another teddy bear, close the door and open it again, there should be two teddy bears there. The difficulty is teaching a child that it can also be expressed in the language of math as 1+1=2.

1+1=2

Does the image above look like an equation to you? No, because it's not. But it could be if we translated it into one, or made it a word problem: How many bears are in the picture above? Show all work.

All of math is the same way, you just keep learning more and more vocabulary as you progress. Addition means "put them together/find the total." Factor means "break them into smaller numbers with division." The problem is that we can forget our vocabulary (much like I've forgotten almost all the Spanish I learned in high school). ∃ π ∀ {1:3} are all just as foreign as + - x ÷ to a new student.

So really, when you're teaching a student math, you're teaching them a language. You're training them to read this foreign script. You're conveying the meaning behind the symbols and sounds. And that is why I find we teach the same concept over and over again in the MathTacular DVDs: We teaching them that writing the equation this way ultimately means the same thing as the other.

1 + 1 = ?
2(1 + x) = 4

Bob saw Jill.
Jill's beautiful features were all Bob could think about as he attempted to soak up every aspect of this moment.

Same meaning... one just has more depth.

Math is easy. Learning the language can be tough. And, unfortunately, I still struggle with English sometimes too. Clever and cleaver are far too similar.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

We all wear a lot of hats. Granted, there may not be 500 that ultimately threaten our lives, but sometimes it can feel like they do.

Wearing this many hats may be easy for you if you're one of those super amazing multi-tasker types. Change a diaper, fold laundry, cook a meal, teach math, mow the lawn, pay bills, drive someone to soccer practice, plant a garden, and maintain a cheery disposition all the same time? You've got it.

Me? Not so much.

I'm a one-at-a-time kind of guy.

That's not to say I can't stop in the middle of something at any moment and do something else entirely. But I have to do them one at a time (I can't even listen to music while reading). So today, one by one, I fixed some typos on the web, added some new content, talked over a few marketing ideas, discussed how our navigation system could be improved--and why it hasn't been yet, worked on explaining the order of operations in an Algebraic equation, briefly explained DVD copyright law, hashed out some design ideas for a new purchasing work flow, read about how well the Forum changes have been going (everyone seems to be very happy, which is great news!), after I read a couple hundred blog posts this morning.

My days are normally a tad more focused than that, so my head's spinning a little right now.

All that to say: I salute you! And today, I empathize with your many jobs. Continue to wear those many hats with joy, and may you have the grace you need to keep your head on when you can't take them all off.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

P.S. Just a reminder: As usual, some good stuff in the Other Posts of Note, like Mary Grace's latest which--as her posts often do--brought tears to my eyes.

One of the many things I love about blogging is how posts can help hone my thinking. As one wise guy called it: iron sharpening iron. I am consistently impressed with your insights and wisdom. You bloggers are just so great!

The most recent example is brief exchange I had with Ann on her blog, starting with this post and ending in the comments of this one. She took an idea that has been lightly tugging at the back of my mind for a while and gave it clarity. I think she is right on.

And, because I'm out here on the blogosphere, I get to read these gems.

<contented sigh>

It's good here.

Want a little more good stuff? Check out this post--NB: mild expletive--that does a fantastic job of describing the nostalgia we have for school and how that is quickly overshadowed by the joys of homeschooling.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father