Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1953)

156 Do you talk big on your Home Town? Then get behind it with your camera and MAKE A FILM FOR RED FEATHER! yOU can wear a feather in your cap — and not just a Red Feather either — if you will make a publicity movie for your local Community Chest! Make it short, or make it long. Make it sound, or make it silent. Make it in monochrome, or make it in color. But make it ! You will never regret the time it takes. For the rewards are so great — to your local Chest in increased support and to you in personal satisfaction — that the whole effort seems easy. And, as a matter of fact, it is easy. I know. For during the summer of 1952 I made just such a movie in support of our Red Feather here in Kankakee, 111. We are a small city as cities go (pop. 25,856). But the film which we produced was screened nearly 100 times last year before church groups, civic and social clubs, P.T.A. units and factory gatherings. It shows, basically, where every dollar of Red Feather money goes. And in so doing, our local Chest director states, it markedly paved the way for increased donations right across the city. THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE The secret of success in producing a Community Chest picture easily and efficiently is advance planning. So, with your local fund drive probably scheduled for the month of October, now is none too soon to lay the groundwork. Our first step (and we recommend it to you) was to ask the Chest officials to form a coordinating committee — in our case, of five. Their function before production ITS UP TO YOU. FRAMES FROM THE FILM which the author made in 1952 in support of h Community Chest drive. The big wall chart, upper right, was continuity HAVEN TRECKER, ACL starts should be to decide upon — with the guidance of the movie maker — all of the major points of procedure. For example, our committee at its early meetings decided ( 1 ) upon the optimum length of the film — 30 minutes of screen time at sound speed; (2) how production expenses were to be covered — ask for donations from leading industries and business men; and (3) what the production was to be called — in our case, It's Up To You. This title, it seemed to all of us, accurately and forcefully expressed the whole philosophy of a Red Feather fund drive. For if you, and I, and all other citizens support the Chest, it will be a success and the work of its agencies an asset to the community. The coordinating committee's function after production starts is equally if not more important than those already cited. For it must serve as the liaison power between the actual producer (you) and the many social agencies which comprise the Community Chest — and will, therefore, appear in the finished film. ADVANCE PLANNING IMPORTANT Even the discharge of this job should begin before a foot of film has rolled through your camera. First of all, you will need to know just what in the way of subject matter there is to put in your picture. Here in Kankakee, for example, we have a total of ten collaborating social services. These are the Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A., Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Catholic Charities, Catholic Youth Organization, a local Youth Center, the Salvation Army, the U.S.O. and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. To find out what each of these agencies actually did, how and in what ways it contributed to the community's welfare, our committee first called a meeting at Red Feather headquarters of the executive heads of these groups. We told them of our plan to make a picture — and immediately we were offered more subject matter ideas that we could have used in 300 (instead of 30) minutes of screen time! For each agency, quite properly, felt that its work was far and away the most important, colorful and appealing of any in the Chest campaign. Thus there arose the first major task of the coordinating committee — to make clear that each of the ten agencies involved would be allotted 2 minutes of screen time — no more and no less. Within that allotment they were now asked to suggest for filming highlights of their most characteristic activities. These, in turn, were checked by the committee and most especially by the movie maker, and from their observations the first rough filming plans were drawn up. It was now the job of the coordinating committee to translate these plans into a concrete day-by-day, hour-by-hour shooting schedule. Not is local only did this schedule itemize for each agency device. the times and places [Continued on page 159]