Iowa Public Television

Challenge Question Number 1 for Assistant Producer #1065

Clearly describe what you expect from the students:
You have two weeks to write the script. After brainstorming and researching, write a script. Things to consider:

·Include music into your written script

·Write according to your audience

·Include a talent for stand-ups

·Write visually

·Record and time the length of each segment

·Revise your script until it’s just the way you want it!

In order to give the teacher some guidance in evaluating the student's project(s); list some tips that may help to assess the student's work:
Did the students research in a variety of resources for engineering information? (phone calls to local engineering companies and colleges, Web sites, the Occupational Handbook, interview with engineers, books, videos, magazines).

Does the content and language of the script connect to the audience?

If what they have written doesn’t make sense to themselves, they have not obtained their goal.

Have they researched other career or TV programs to get ideas for their script? This will help tremendously.

Have they considered basic spelling and grammar skills? A thesaurus goes a long way.

The above idea can be revised to a 5, 10, or 15-minute script to fit the teacher’s need. Different careers can be used instead of engineering.

Below is a sample of an actual engineering script:

(:15) (Talent underneath a car, repairing something, rolls out, dirt on face) Several car parts are heat treated to make them last a long time. Metal, ceramics, and other materials are specially treated to endure extreme conditions, (pause…thinking) like parts in spaceships!

(:30) B-roll of spaceships

(:30) (Talent still sitting up and talking) Engineers manipulate the atomic and molecular structure of materials to meet special performance requirements. The metallurgical engineer you’re about to meet knew he liked engineering, enjoyed math and science, but didn't want to be stuck in front of a computer all day. Metallurgical engineering seemed to have it all. (rolls back underneath car)

(3:07) Dissolve to metallurgical engineer feature

(1:20) Narration with graphics: Did you know in recent studies metallurgical, ceramic, and materials engineers held about 18,000 jobs in the US? One-fourth work in metal producing and processing industries while the rest work in aircraft manufacturing, research and testing services, Federal Government agencies, engineering consulting firms, and machinery and electrical manufactures. To become a metallurgical engineer you need at least a bachelor’s degree in material science engineering. (Source: Occupational Handbook) The average annual earnings for this career range from $39,000 to $64,000, depending on education, experience and location. The employment outlook is stable with an increase in jobs of 6.8 percent through the year 2006.(Source: Choices Software). If you’re interested in this career, here’s what you can do right now. Take a metal shop class while still in high school. And don’t forget to take chemistry, economics, and plenty of math classes. Also, read memory books and begin learning how to memorize diagrams and other complex objects. You can also check out the American Society of Metals International website (www.asm-intl.org) for more information on training and other related links on the Internet.