Business screen magazine (1938)

iiiiiiiiiinniiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinn^ not itself rent or proiliicc films, lint will bf simply a luliifnl. impartial liaison unit hrtwufu picture makers am! picture usi-rs. To be helpful is the Association's primary aim — helpful to those who recognize the educational possibilities of the moving film but aren't certain how to put them into effect. It's a strong young medium introducing new factors and problems — factors and problems not difficult to un<k'rstand in the right light. Our business is to help turn on the light. We hope the experiments and achievements in this field nuiy be coordinated through the .\ssociation and that those who have hesitated to ado])t films as a medium of instruction because of uncertainty as to their value or inadequacy of educational film libraries may now proceed with assurance. The film deserves this recognition as a medium of enlightenment come very much of age. With sight, sound, and motion as its ingredients, it has no informational or persuasive equal. It is time it were used for what it is so perfectly suited. Though the new Association is interested primaril.v in motion pictures made expressly for educational purposes, it is actively aware of the fact that there is a great deal of good, straight-forward information in the films made bv commerce and industrv "to sell .something" and that there very probabl.v is a place for the best among these films in the educational picture. An educational organization such as this ecrtainl.v will not use its facilities to sell outright advertising under the white banner of education, but just as certainlv it should exert influenee to promote production of honest goodwill films l\v business concerns whose public attitudes have come of age. Because the user market is so uncertain — in fact — unknown, people who make strictly educational films rarel.v know what return thc.v will realize from print sales or rentals. Unless there is important financial backing, the result is often an uninteresting, cheaply-produced film, the educational value of which approaches zero. These producers can not be too severel.y criticised for this because they aren't in business for love — and must hold production costs within a safe gue.ss-on-rcturn radius. On the other hand. Commerce and Industry are (at least, should be) concerned with making "selling " films as interesting and technicallv perfect as the current production minds will permit — because they should be good to get the desired effect. The point being made is that Business can acctmiplish its purpose and yet make important contributions to Education — by simply turning off the ballyhoo and turning on the facts; erasing the adjective and applying the noun and the verb. The news story is far more interesting and effective than the editorial; otherwise, it, too, would be back with the rupture belt ads and not out front. The public relations film will have arrived in America when firms confine their appearances to the presentation title, and occasional, unmentioned intrusions of product into story — or maybe no intrusions at all.What a day, for example, when a farm implement compan.v presents "The Nation's Bread Basket" and tells the story of wheat from planting, through trading pit, to stomach; or when a railroad, an airline, or bus companv presents "American Transportation," which is really the story of our growth — and all this without even those sly closeups of hubcaps and emblems. There will be plenty of farm implements and trains and planes in the picture. What are wheat and transportation anyhow? !iiiHiiiiiiiiii!iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii[in^^^^^ • Having worked in the field of visual education for manv years, I have naturally been greatly interested in the projects of man,v industrial concerns in the making of the industrial type of educational film. In this field of industrial motion pictures, some ver.v fine educational material has been made available, but on the other hand man,v of the films distributed in the schools were made entirelv for sales purposes and not for use by school children. Some advertising agents in industry have been misled, in my estimation, in the manner of producing and distributing of industrial films. Many films are produced and distributed for educational purposes that were made for advertising at sales meetings or at other meetings where the sale of a certain product is the motive for the showing of the film. This type of film was not produced for educational needs, nnd by all means should be kept from showings in the schools because it is in many cases detrimental to the industry to have such a film shown in the school. I do not mean to imply that I ilo not believe in the industrial film's use in education; in my opinion it has a great future. The better type of industrial film can be made a great asset to Ijoth education and the industry represented in the films. The big problem is to get the producers of industrial films to distinguish between the INDUSTRIALS GREAT FUTURE BY LEE W. COCHRAN Drpjrlntcnl oj Vistitil Inslruction The Vniffrsily oj lowii sales film and the industrial educational type. In our distribution of industrial films over a period of years, we have found that the sponsored film telling its story in a clear, concise rnanncT, giving educational advantage, ivill be used by schools year ajter year if the direct advertising is omitted. The type of film using direct advertising, even if it is a .super-production, will hardlv in anv case be repeated in the schools, due to criticism by pupils and teacher. The teacher using motion picture films is faced with the task of presenting a problem or a lesson, and therefore must select the type of film that will not have an excess of advertising that would have a tendencv to discount the educational advantage of the film. The educational film has been accepted by education, the advertising film has been accepted by industry, and from this combination I feel confident that American industry and Editor's \ote: Other articles in this surrey irill he presented in the next issue. education can combine interests to produce a superior t.vpe of industrial film that will be of advantage to both groups. The problem of industry is to produce a film that will give advertising advantage to the groups before which it is presented in order to justify to the board'of directors of the company the expense of production. The educational problem is to secure motion pictures that will help visualize the course of study. It is only natural that the educator should turn to industry for motion pictures of an industrial nature. However, the presentation must be of a nature acceptable to educational standards and methods or it cannot be used with any great success. Visual Education has made tremendous strides toward a new ideal in the past five years; yet it is still in its infancy. The industrial film has a definite place in modern education if industry will co-operate in making the type of factual film acceptable to the schools. Many concerns have excellent films available for education now, while others are in production, but a close co-operation between the industrial producer and the educator will have to be maintained if the films are to be a success with the modern school child in our institutions of today. The motion picture has tremendous emotional appeal, and should be directed in the right manner for the best advantages of all concerned. iiiiiiiiin iadustrial Film Subjects Offered for Classrooms