Sixteen Ball State students have not only created a DVD that will be used nationwide as part of teaching curriculum but have also helped to drive down the cost of textbooks.
The invention of this DVD will bring the cost of the textbooks from about $75 down to around $22, assistant professor of theater Michael O'Hara said.
"It is very expensive to develop a new book, and the rights holders only receive royalties from the first selling of the book," O'Hara said. "That is why books can be so pricey."
"When creating this DVD we tied an encryption program, accessed by a password, that makes the DVD only good for one year," O'Hara said. "This makes it so the cost of publishing can be spread out over four years. This, in turn, makes the cost of the textbook much cheaper for the consumer."
"Explore Theatre: A Backstage Pass" was created by students along with O'Hara, who wrote 47 scripts; filmed, acted and produced the DVD; created a Web site and the DVD's interface; developed the pitch; and much more, according to a statement issued on May 22.
"The challenge I made to myself and the students was to create a DVD that dealt with concepts and ideas in theater that are difficult to describe in textbooks," O'Hara said.
"I wanted to start where textbooks fall short; I did not want to just create a textbook on DVD," he said. "It is important to show that people create theater not just concepts."
One of the major features of the DVD is that users are introduced to characters such as actors, directors, lighting technicians and costume designers.
The DVD will accompany the textbooks published by Allyn and Bacon of Pearson Education.
O'Hara and colleagues negotiated that the maximum retail value of the DVD would be $10. Ball State receives $1.25 of that, and 78 cents goes to the press. O'Hara will split that profit with Ball State, he said.
"We started this project as a learning experience. Though it is possible we could make up to $7,000, I am not counting on it," O'Hara said.
The publishers will distribute 5,000 copies of the DVD nationwide as the first run of the demonstration, O'Hara said. Ten thousand copies could be distributed as a final project.
"Many other textbooks come with a CD ROM, though they are not very interactive," he said. "The DVD is not targeted at general learning but specific concepts and application that tie in with the textbook."
"Explore Theatre: A Backstage Pass" is made up of 4.7 hours of video.
"I am very pleased and surprised with the final product," O'Hara said. "It is not what I imagined, but it is better than what I expected."
The DVD will be used next fall for Ball State's Theater 100 class.
"I believe the DVD makes up for a stronger learning tool," O'Hara said.
Royalties made from the DVD will be donated back to Ball State to be used for student scholarships.
The 16 students involved included majors of theater, music, telecommunications and graphics design. Their semester-long project was part of the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry.
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