Low-Cost Video Cassettes for General Chemistry Lab Instruction One of the most frustrating experiences for a student who arrives fur the first time in a chemistry lab is being faced with new instruments and lab techniques that he or she has never dealt with before. Furthermore, typically the only introdoctian to the laboratarv is through the mior reading of a hook andlor a brief explanation by an instructor a t the beginning uf the lab. T h e purpose i f the prn&ct reported here was to provide a video libra;y related t o lab instrumentation and t e e h ~ niques which would assist the new student in learning these techniques and t o make hislher first urntart with them in the lab less disappointing. T h e video production can be very expensive due mainly t o costs of studio time, personnel, and equipment. However, we proposed to produce a series of programs using a limited budget and thus with the minimal ex&nditure for our University. T h e programs were produced as follows: the professor-producer (the author) wnrte the script and prepared the lab materials andlor the equipment fur the video recording session. The r e a r d i n g session was conducted by a cameraman who is also the editor of the program and the pmfessor-producer-TV artist isometimes an instructor) who coordinates the scenes t o he recorded. In each session two ur three programs are recorded. Once the program is recorded and edited the pmfessor or instructor dubs the audio and then music is added.' Each program consists of a short presentation by the professor introducing the subject followed by the "operation" section. This section is a sequence of seenes-generally in close-up-showing the operation of the instrument or the essential steps of the technique involved. The first stage of the project included 14 video programs (3-7 min each) covering the use
