We got onto set and were ready to get going, so I flipped on the lights.

There was a slight "pop" and the light was dead.

So I went to work replacing the bulb.

Changing the Bulb

[NB: If you didn't watch the short clip there, the rest of this post won't make much sense...]

It turns out that it wasn't the bulb. I think it may have been the light's fuse, but I haven't had a chance to try changing that yet. Instead, I just got out another light and we kept going.

Setting Up Another Light taken by Justin (his foot is in frame)

Now, why is it that bulbs can explode if you handle them with your greasy fingers? I wasn't totally sure, and I'm still not. But after reading over this post, I think I have an answer that makes sense (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong here):

The grease heats up at a different rate than the rest of the bulb, thereby creating a difference in how much the glass expands compared to that which is around it. This causes tension which can break the bulb since the glass is brittle. And, because the bulbs are manufactured with a vacuum, the sudden intake of air makes the popping noise.

Look at that: Science at work on the set of a math DVD. I love how learning more lets us see how things are intertwined and connected.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

As we move along into ever more complex lessons, it gets more and more difficult to just sit down and teach a concept. And so we discuss, at great length, how we should teach these ideas.

Today it was multiplying decimals.

Amber, Justin, and I all come at math from vastly different perspectives. This helps us as we hash out our ideas. I'll say something like, "I've always hated the 'just count up the place values and move it over that many' mentality. We need to explain why you do that."

To which Justin will reply, "But that's just the way it is. We need to teach them the rule first so they will remember it."

Amber will jump in with, "Decimals are really tenths, so we should start there..."

And around and around the three of us go. But this is really helpful because that means we're addressing at least three different views of math in our lessons and hopefully clear up any confusion that one particular view of math would create.

Unfortunately, we can confuse ourselves from time to time. That's why I've started writing up notes and solving problems on a scratchpad. I've never really had to do that for our videos before:

Multiplying Decimals Notes

It's one thing to present an idea and, if the concept doesn't stick, change your approach and try a different method. But we don't have that luxury on these DVDs. Instead, we must consider all the possible objections and confusing bits and address them in a single scene.

And so far, with the three of us working together, that has worked out beautifully. It's a good thing.

 ~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

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