Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

REEL and SLIDE 13 Canada Teaches Farmers With Films Writer Claims Dominion Department of Agriculture Reels Are Most Active Plan of Production and Distribution Aims to Reach the Remotest Villages T By J. Cameron Secord HE movies have democratized art and entertainments. No longer are the masses compelled to gape at dusty paintings, or statues in musty museums to satisfy their longings. To-day they go globe-trotting via the silver screen on a "pay-as-you-go" system, a dime a time. Truly the movie is the educator of the people and is something belonging peculiarly to them — ■ it is their own, for they made its development possible. It is becoming a great movement which seems to promise unlimited possibilities. It is the birth of a new method of educating — visual education by means of motion pictures. Educational films have been used in many places and by many organizations and governments, but visual educational work is being adopted in a more thoroughly progressive manner in Canada than in any other country in the world. On May 7, 1917, the Hon. T. W. McGarry, Provincial Treasurer, established the Ontario Provincial Motion Picture Bureau, under the direction of Mr. S. C. Johnson, who had been engaged in making films of many places, things and processes for over a year previous. In this time more than fifty films have been produced ; more are being finished almost daily. It is the present intention to complete as many as three hundred films of Ontario subjects for release to all who express the wish to learn from them. To Circuit Films in Theaters It is the primary intention of the Bureau to circuit these mainly in those centers not now served by established movie theaters. It is in line with this basic idea that the programs of these rural meetings have been made more attractive by supplementing the regular showing of educational films with comedy and drama reels, featuring Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Max Linder and other famous people. One of these comedy or drama reels will be used as an initial number on the evening program, and when time permits, a second one as a concluding number. There is a sound business reason in this move, for beyond the unquestioned benefits the remote rural residents will derive from these comedy films, there is the result of greatly augmented audiences at these educational meetings, and the increased receptivity to educational influences. Thus all concerned are benefited by the government's broad vision. The Department of Agriculture in Ontario has been_ the most aggressive user of educational films; this department alone having nearly fifty reels ranging from "How to Plant a Backyard Garden" to "How to Grade Wool." These films are used by the department's agricultural representatives (one in each county in the province), who journey from section to section giving lectures and exhibitions wherever they can get farmers together. The use of moving pictures in agricultural educational work is proving a greater success than had been anticipated by those responsible for its adoption. The average attendance at the meetings where the district representatives conducted their educational work by means of lectures and demonstrations was about 15, whereas today the average attendance is At Ottawa, the government has encouraged home can ning, by means of the screen Horse breeding has come in for its share in the Canadian motion picture productions. around 85. This is due almost entirely to the use of moving pictures to demonstrate the right and the wrong way to get things done on a farm. There is no doubt that these audiences will be further increased when the Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford films supplement the educational films as now shown, but the department has no intention of permitting these comedy films to take up more than a very limited part of the evening's program. That farmers appreciate what the government is doing is proven by the attendance at these meetings. In four weeks' meetings (usually three a week) in fortyfive counties the total attendance was 67,801. A three-week circuit among the Women's Institutes of Simcoe County brought out a total attendance of 1,500. More than 5,000 farmers have seen the "Wool Grading" film since November 1, 1917, while the average attendance per film from November 1 last varies from 20 to 5,000, according to the subject. The cost of this educational work is exceptionally low as compared with the former methods, for the cost per capita of attendance is less than 3 cents now, as against the former 15 cents. This result was so outstanding that, when the Provincial Legislature, during the past session, granted $52,000 for the extension of such work, members of both the government and the opposition rose to compliment the government on this progressive movement, and on the fact that these films were being made in Canada by a strictly Canadian company. In the making of these educational films, the Ontario government has recognized the very important part played by "the women on the farm" and "the woman in the home" in the cause of increased food production and conservation, by giving considerable attention to the widening sphere of women, both on the farm and in urban centers. Nine Reels on Gardening Film No. 119, "Handling Bees," and two others in beekeeping, Nos. 105 and 118, run those on poultry a close second in interest among rural audiences, though, generally speaking, the two most popular films among women in both rural and urban centers are Nos. 120 and 146, "Home Canning of Vegetables" and "The Community Canning Center," respectively. Film No. 169, "National Service on the Land," which is a cinema record of the wonderful work done by Canadian girls on the farms in 1917, shows beyond the shadow of a doubt the ability of our girls to "do their bit" in the hour of the nation's need. This film was used as a recruiting feature in the Dominion and in the United States, to whom it has been loaned. It will ever be a true record of the part played by our college girls in winning the war; it will be more appreciated in the years to come. On March 1 last the Provincial Motion Picture Bureau had completed nine films on vegetable growing, 3 on chickens, 3 on bees, 3 on fruit growing, 7 on live stock, 5 on dairying, 6 on road-making, 3 on grain-growing and 12 on general topics. Since then this list has been increased very materially and a great number of new subjects have been put in course of production. The educational list above is being kept in constant circulation. It is interesting to note that the films on backyard gardening which have been in use in the schools as