Business screen magazine (1946)

comment By THOMAS W. HOPE Hope Reports Rochester, N.Y. Forecast 71: A-V Market Improvement Business films will have a better year in 1971 than they did in 1970. This is the concensus of the opinions of a number of leaders in motion picture production, laboratory services, and print distribution. Although it will be several months before the 1970 level of industrial film production, release printing and circulation is determined, it is generally agreed th;it 1970 was not a vibrant year. General economic conditions in the United States have probably reached a low point at year's end and arc beginning to show signs of improvement. The industrial film busi ness felt the impact of the recession but appears to be improving. A number of film producers and laboratories have reported in November and December 1970 that activity is picking up. Just how 1970 film business compares with 1969 is difficult to ascertain right now. It probably was off slightly. In contrast, there is a strong likelihood that the education AV market had a better year in 1970 than in 1969. They could mean that for the entire audio-visual industry in this country 1970 may be about level with 1969 or possibly even up slightly. The year of 1970 has taken its toll. In the East at least four motion picture producers have gone under. Several film laboratories have had a difficult year. On the West Coast the situation was almost as bleak. On the surface it appeared quite dismal, but some of the pessimism was actually based on the hard-hit Hollywood feature film business. This coupled with less television production, especially of commercials, colored the total picture. Film production activity through the central portion of the United States was brighter. While there were spots of gloom, production held up much better, or at least bounced back much quicker. The sound filmstrip has had several excellent years — led by the school market where the medium has been recently "discovered." Business and even government use of that medium continues or is improving. For example, the medical field which has never been a strong market for sound filmstrips is experiencing new use of that tool. Several government agencies which had all but abandoned the filmstrip a few years back arc now back in production. Both the Navy and NASA arc examples. Eight millimeter, ala super 8, has made solid gains in the past few years. The amount of super 8mm film used rose sharply in 1969 but appears to have leveled off in 1970 or even dipped. Hope Reports I looks, however, for an increase ia{ super 8mm during 1971. The gain, on the other hand, will not bc| spectacular until more models ol super-8 sound projectors are intro-' duced and catch on with customers Generally speaking the various AV equipment lines should do well in 1971. In 1970 most of them outperformed the software items. Electronic systems, ala videotape recording, television (both broadcast and closed-circuit) plus the newer cassette forms such as CBS's EVR (electronic video recording), are not expected to make a significant splash in 1971. The actual introduction of EVR has been re ^ peatedly moved back and is now supposed to be ready for delivery in early 1971. Just as in the 8mm film area, confusion exists in the minds of potential buyers as to which video cassette system will be the one that will be widely accepttd and used in coming years. Hope Reports does not look for any one electronic, video cassette system to become a major factor in audiovisual communications at least in 1971 and possibly for more years than that. This subject is cxpectedj to be fully explored in /It'-t/S/lj 1970 (the annual Hope Reports market review) which is scheduled for release in July 1971 or earlier. Television film use appears to have reached a peak. The looming market of cable television is being watched carefully and could prove to be one of the more significant developments of 1971. In-plant industrial film activity has been slow in 1970. Furthermore, it is not expected to bounce back quickly because corporation executives do not want the responsibility of adding people until they can solidly justify any expansion. While the recession of 1970 has hurt the film business and some individuals, in the long run, fat which assiduously collects during prosperous times must be trimmed off from time to time. The AV industr>' is in a solid position and the 1970 decade will see unprecedented; growth. U BUSINESS screen!