Book Excerpt 1:
Seeing Vs Looking
Media Lab Session In An Elementary or Middle School
When: 2003-2018
Where: In hundreds of classrooms all over the world
The teacher stands at the front of the room.
"Class, we’d like to welcome Joe this morning. He’s here to show us how to make content, stories really, we’ll be learning to make movies."
The class emits eager postures and excited whisperings.
Joe smiles at the students. "Good morning! Learning to read and write in school? You’ve been at it for about five years, right?"
The class groaned collectively, nodding in agreement.
"And I’m guessing there’s a pop quiz, or a test, or some kind of measurement of how you’re doing, right?"
The groans deepened.
Joe turned to the teacher. "How are they doing?"
The teacher either rolls their eyes, chuckles, or gives a thumbs-up.
"Here’s my question. Reading and writing are basic skills for survival as you leave school and go out in the “real world”. Please take it very seriously. Even though we are talking about how to make content with sound and motion, every storytelling movie starts with a written script.”
Student’s eyes start to glaze over.
“Let’s talk about how to read and write with sound and motion. For your generation, this is as basic as reading and writing with text. Here’s my question - Where did you go to learn how to see and hear?"
The students laugh, snicker, and murmur, suggesting they didn’t need to learn how to see and hear.
"I’m serious. Where did you learn how to see and hear?"
Silence.
"It is my contention that you need to be taught how we see/hear as a basic skill of survival in the media saturated age in which we live. Let’s test this. I need a volunteer."
The teacher gestures to a bold student and he rushes to the front of the room.
"What’s your name?"
"Dayquon," the student replys.
"Alright, Dayquon. Could you hand me that piece of chalk over there?"
Dayquon retrieves chalk from a little used chalkboard next to the smartboard and hands it to Joe.
"Thank you. Now, hold your hand up, palm to the ceiling. I’m going to put this piece of chalk in your hand."
Joe carefully and slowly places the chalk in Dayquon’s hand and closed his fingers around it.
"Now, make a tight fist, hold your hand high and keep squeezing. Don’t let us look at it."
Dayquon complies, holding his fist aloft.
"Here’s the test: What did you see in Dayquon’s hand?"
"Chalk!" the class shouts.
"What color is it?"
"White!"
"How big is it? A long piece or a little nub?"
"Long!"
"What shape is it?"
"A circle! No, a cylinder!"
"Was it shiny or dull?"
"Dull!"
Joe grinned. "Amazing. With just a glance, your eyes picked up its color, size, shape, and texture. Isn’t it incredible how quickly we gather information just by looking? But here’s the thing—I’m not testing your looking. I’m here to test your seeing."
The class murmured in confusion.
Joe turned back to Dayquon. "Alright, open your hand."
Dayquon opens his hand—empty. No chalk!
The room erupts in astonishment. Students leap from their seats, some drop to the floor, and others scream.
Joe let the chaos play out before continuing.
"Dayquon, what’s the name of the student in the third row with the pink hoodie?"
"That’s Mica."
"Mica, could you do me a favor? Check the hood of your hoodie on the back of your chair."
Mica turned, reached into her hoodie. Gasping with eyes bugging out of her head, she pulls out the chalk, holding it high.
Pandemonium erupts again.
Joe lets the noise settle. "I thought you said you knew how to see?"
"That was magic!" students shout.
“Do it again!”
“That’s impossible!”
Joe offers, “Do you want to know how I did that?"
"YES!" the class shouts.
Joe smirks. "I did it very well, thank you."
Groans.
“It’s not magic. I just was having a little fun with the rules we all use to pay attention, to see. I guided your eyes, your ears, your minds, and your expectations using the rules of seeing and hearing. I was three or four steps ahead of you at all times, using story, motion, sleight-of-hand, emotion, and anticipation.”
Joe continued, "Today my visit was just to test you, just to get your attention. I’m about to open up a world you have not been exposed to, a world of media production, a world of getting and keeping attention with sound and motion.
Joe pauses, to make sure everyone is listening. “I have been employed by some of the biggest media companies in the world. I’ve been paid to get and keep peoples attention. I feed my family based on the success I’ve had in this business. I am excited to share all these rules, skills, and abilities with you. Today, this is a superpower, and your future depends on understanding how to actually see the magic behind the scenes, by doing media. We’ll explore the rules of attention, of illusion, and how look and SEE.
“Until then, have a great day."
The students scream, “How did you make the chalk dissapear and reappear in Mica’s hood?”
Joe walks out the door, knowing he has the class’s full attention for next time.