Business screen magazine (1938)

• As everyone knows, the year 1938 has not Jealt kindly with the automobile dealer. His problems have been multiplied due to a disposition on the part of the public to "wait and see what was going to happen." As a consequence he found himself more in need of an effective merchandising plan than ever before. A timely solution to this problem was a new plan that was launched this year by the Aleraite Division of Stewart-Warner Corporation. It involved the offering of a SO.OOO INIile Guarantee against motor, gear and bearing failures on all new cars purcliased from dealers using Alemite Lubricants and Motor Oil, providing the owner had his car serviced at the recommended intervals. Such an Alemite guarantee promised the car dealer continued patronage ALEMITE USES FILMS (III ititcriiew u-ith F. R. Cross Advertising Mgr. titcwart-Warner Co. of his service department by all new car purchasers, better trade-ins to handle in his used car department, and additional inducement to prospective new car buyers. With this masterful sales promotion plan for Alemite perfected, Stewart-Warner's advertising manager, F. R. Cross, was called upon to choose the most effective medium of telling the story to prospective dealers. And since films had been responsible for successful merchandising three times in the past two years for Stewart-Warner products, it was only natural iiiiiii {iiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiw An Experienced User of Slide Films Suggests this Outline: WHAT THE CLIENT EXPECTS OF A SLIDE FILM PRODUCER • Here are some of the important contributions which the experienced sHde film producer must make to the prospective cHent. This outline was prepared by a client after long experience with the medium. 1. GATHER M.\TERI.\L The proilucer should gather all of the material that may help to solve the problem that the client is facing. It is understooti that the client must identif.v the problem and desire a solution for it. The client should turn over to the producer all literature, experiences and observations that may help solve this problem. « ANALYSLS OF PROBLEM The producer should discuss the problem with the client in order to arrive at a clear-headed understanding of the problem. Then, the producer should analyze this problem and identify all of its elements. He should go to all possible outside sources also to gather materials, facts and fundamental principles that may apply to the solution. 3. OUTLINE OF METHOD OF TREATMENT The pro<lucer. after completing the analysis of the problem, should work out a rough outline of a plan of treatment that he proposes to use in solving the problem. This rough outline should indicate in a general way how the producer proposes to go about solving the problem. He should warn the client stoutly against attempting to cover too much material in one film treatment. It is the producer's responsibility to guard the client against cramming too much into one picture treatment. If a slide-film flops because of too much content it must l)e blamed always on the producer. If, on the other hand, the client is obstinate and insists on too much content, the producer must either refuse to produce tlie picture or ask the client to sign a waiver of responsibility for failure in this respect. If a producer fails to do this, the client should have the right to refuse the production up<ni its completion. 4. PLOT Next the producer should furnish a story or an interesting plot on which the solution to the problem can be hung. This plot should be so well worked out that it lends itself to a solution of the problem. 5. POINT — CONTINUITY The "point-continuity" is a breakdown of the plot into sequences of thought to show how the solution to the problem can be applied to the plot. Better still, the point-continuity should show how plot lends itself to a solution. 6. COMPLETE SCENARIO The producer should next submit a complete scenario in final form showing on the left hand side of the page the description of each frame as it appears in the picture and on the right hand side of the page the exact words in the dialogue for each character in the presentation. The client should be privileged to make word changes in the final script that may conflict with company policies. 7. EDITING The client should not be expected to make more than minor word changes in the script. If any major changes are to l)e made, these should be discussed and then left to the producer to make in the form of editing. 8. CARTOONING AND DRAWING Many times a cartoon or an air-brush drawing serves to illustrate the point better than a photograph. The producer should always be on the lookout for opportunities to use special methods of illustrating that makes the visual presentation more forceful. The producer should never resort to cheap line drawings, black on white, because they allow too much light to hit the screen and thus cause glare and eye strain. Charts and diagrams should be put in reverse while s|)ecial drawings should be done with the use of the air-brush. 9. PHOTOGRAPHY An ordinary "bulb pusher" does not make a good slidefilm photographer. The producer should furnish a good illustrator — a photographer who knows how to illustrate a subject — to take the pictures for a slide-film. The photographer should know how to direct the eyes of the audience to the facts brought out in the dialogue. He should never show a close-up of a man addressing the audience because when this is done the film loses its illusion of action through sound. 10. RETOUCHING The proihncr .-houhl furnish all retouching of pictures such as vignetting, bringing out objects to be emphasized, eliminating nndcsir:il)le parts, etc. 11. MODELS AND ACTORS The producer should furnish first class models and actors who are professionally trained to pose for illustrating. If a good slide-film presentation is desired, amateur models and actors should be avoided. 12. MODEL RELEASES The producer should handle all model releases and payments of models. The client should never lie liable for any work done by models or actors in any manner whatsoever. 13. PRINTING The producer should furnish the client with one paper print (glossy) of each frame as it appears in a slide-film. On the back of each paper print should be written the title of the film and the frame number. The producer should furnish the client with a legal release on each print authorizing the client to use the print in any manner whatsoever when continuing to solve the problem treated in the film. 14. TITLES The producer should give some thought to developing attractive title frames. A title to a picture that is too prosaic and a title frame that is unprofessional looking can spell failure for a picture Ijefore it is seen. 15. DIRECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHY The producer should provide an experienced director to work with the camera crew while taking the pictures. The director should understand the objectives of the film presentation. He should discuss the script thoroughly with the writer and editor. If the picture requires sequences at several locations the director should be furnished with a trained script girl who can check the detailed properties furnish these services including those of a property man. (to be cuiitpleted in the nc^cf issue) miiwiigiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittiiiiiiniiiiiiiiniiiw that Mr. Cross should again call on a talking movie to sell this Alemite plan. He holds that this medium excels any other way of putting over a sales story. The sales storj' was written by Mr. Cross himself and then dramatized by J. J. Kielty, professional scenario writer of a Chicago studio. Such an amount of care was taken in casting that the production was held up for three weeks while some of the actors were brought from New York and Hollywood. The forty minute, 4 reel film. Okay, Mr. Allison, was then produced very inexpensively by a Chicago commercial film producer and was released by the Stewart-Warner Corporation the first of June. Distribution of Okay, Mr. Allison is handled through forty StewartWarner distributors and their salesmen, located in principal cities throughout the country, and shown to dealers in small groups. The story concerns an automobile dealer by the name of Allison who finds business falling off in all departments. He brings his worries home and his charming daughter pries into them. Finally Allison gives her permission to come down to the office to see what she can do. The first thing she does at the office is to receive the Alemite salesman who couldn't get in to see her father. She listens to his story and then prevails upon her father to hear it. After spending hours with the salesman in a discussion the audience is not in on, Allison has a chart made on a large blackboard and calls a meeting of his department heads. These include the new and used car sales managers, the head of the service department and the company bookkeeper. (The latter is the comedy relief of the show as he is so typical of all bookkeepers in manner and looks) The sales plan is told and illustrated on the chart by Allison, a much more effective presentation than it would be if done by the "Alemite salesman". All department heads are heartily in favor of the guarantee lubrication plan, and the bookkeeper is greatly relieved to learn that Alemite assumes all responsibility. The plan goes into effect at once, and the company's business increases as the months go by. The plan is shown as it works in every department of the dealer's organization. The picture is uproariously funny in many places and groups of dealers find it entertaining as well as profitable. Showings are usually limited to groups of eight and salesmen are always on hand to complete the selling when the picture is over. Larger groups are hard to eontact and are apt to forget that the showing was for more than entertainment. Although Okay, Mr. Allison has been shown in the field only since the first of June, it has already achieved definite results in securing new Alemite dealers and in reviving the service activities of regular dealers. 16