Business screen magazine (1938)

Safety Lessons We All Need NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL FILM WAGES WAR AGAINST HAZARDS «iCt After Eight years' experience in augmenting safety training with silent films, the National Safety Council has just produced a sound slide film which promises to be an outstanding first in a new series for industrial distribution. This test production, dedicated to the prevention of accidents by falls, is quite appropriately named, "The Fall Guy", and was planned to fill a definite need since 26,000 people were killed by falls in the United States last year. Fatalities due to these accidents average seventy-three daily. Since June 1st, when this production was completed by the producer a.ssigned to the job, the National Safety Council has been swamped by demands for industrial showings. Although only an eighteen-minute talking film, composed of eighty-three frames. "The Fall Guy" carries a load of human interest. Public acceptance has even exceeded the hopes of E. I. Woodbury, Assistant Art Director of the Council, who championed the film cause through his organizations planning conferences. It was found they had given industry something that filled a great demand and yet at prices hitherto unheard of in sound film. Members of the National Safety Council were offered this additional safety service at the low cost of $7.50 for film and record. Or copies could be rented at the very small charge of $2.75 for the first week and $2.25 for each additional week. The fact that the National Safety Council is a non-profit organization made these prices possible. Just a short paragraph in the June issue of the "National Safety News", the Council's magazine to industry, created such a large response that a re-order of prints and records was necessary to fill the demand. One hundred and seventy-five copies have been distributed to date. It is estimated that to date over 400,000 workmen have seen this entertaining and educating subject. As may be seen in the edited film published in this issue, a unique treatment of presentation is adopted which contributes to sustained interest and arouses emotions. For the most part, the production is a dialogue between a careless worker, who becomes "The Fall Guy," and Death as symbolized by the skeleton. The careless worker falls from a stack of boxes and strikes his head a terrific blow. It is while in this state that he has a dream which results in a rendezvous with Death. The conversation with the skeleton might have been very grue.some and revolting under less capable direction, but the skeleton's voice is light rather than gruesome and the film avoids becoming a slapstick burlesque to become a modern fable in fantasy. The skeleton is even witty at times and refuses to take seriously the workman's vows to be careful in the future. Throughout this clever dialogue the various causes of dangerous falls are revealed by word and picture, and ways of prevention are clearly pointed out. The film carries enough human appeal to balance its safety training points which carry a real message for any assembly of industrial employees. However, it is excellent for children as well, for it shows how falls kill and injure people, not only at work, but at home, on the street, or at school. Organizations that have shown the mo.st interest in securing this production are various industries, transportation and insurance companies, schools, local safety councils, chambers of commerce and departments of municipal government, although it «as planned originally for industries alone. Of course, distribution will be made through these local organizations, who either have their own projection and sound equipment or rent it locally for the purpose at $10.00 a week. Naturally, "The Fall Guy" has paved the way for an entire safety series and the National Safety Council is already planning the second sound slide film which will be devoted to infections and infected wounds. This picture is planned for release about September 1st and will have considerably more frames. After that, the Council will produce four talking safety films annually to educate the careless in industry, business, school and home. And with ideas as clever as those in "The Fall Guy", sound slide film should do the job well. THIS IS A SLIDE FILM ► With a few final scenes excepted, an entire slide film is presented in the adjoining strips, illustrating the photographic methods used in this visual medium. Together with its all-important sound record, the slide film merely consists of a series of individual scenes printed together on a convenient strip of celluloid. But this continuous strip, possessing no actual motion effect, has a rare magic ot persuasion which makes it an ideal medium for economical presentation of sales training material, actual sales porlfolios, and for many other uses. Today, with color as a fourth dimension, it is achieving vast new significance. (Scenes from "The Fall Guy," produced for The National Safety Council for general industrial distribution.) —-n >..>__>sw>^ ^> S'M%. /^4 '■>-* 44 ^■nn lUM NNTHJ EkI