Business screen magazine (1959)

vice of considciiihlc ingcnuiiv. lliis is an ■ullstage" aiKlicnco with whom they communicate via a prop movie screen. Tiie olT-stage aiulicncc is free to break into the story between sequences to asl^ Mike and Margo searcliini; ciuestions about Pennyfeather and particularly about their interpretations of his actions. The iilT-stage audience comprises a training session much like that which will actually use the tilm. It thus serves as a iloubly strong identifying element in the hlni. Exploring One Man's Small World Pennyfeather is followed into a number of situations devised to explore his '■small world." Surprisingly enough, perhaps, only one of these situations in any way involves selling, and it is of hosiery rather than insurance. In scene alter scene Pennyfeather is shown being blocked b\ common errors of perception; He fails to understand uniqueness in those he meets, mentally placing all people in neat and absolute categories of his o\\ n devising. He sees things as unchanging and hence fails to adapt to the constant change that alTects all persons and things. He fails to identify hniiself with others, even in his own business, feeling himself apart and often at variance with others. He is unable to think in terms of ■wholes." being always preoccupied with the parts, which are to him often inexplicable. He deals almost exclusively in ■"either-or's" seeing little or nothing of the in-betweens. These perceptual errors and others torm a kind of prison for Pennyfeather of which he is entirely ignorant. They make him neither an evil person nor even a poor salesman, as the conference leader in the tilm points out. They do. however, keep him from being a bigger person and from operating as effectively as he could. Other Devices and Materials Used As has been said. The Snuill World of John J. Pennyjeather is a part of an entire program of personnel management devised by C. E. Smith with help from the Mehrings. As such, the film cannot be discussed alone in a way that does justice to the whole program. The film forms the nucleus for a number of other audio-visual devices and materials all bearing on the same theme: identifying and exploring the blocks to etTective relationships between people. These materials include so far a pair of "short stories" covering the characters, ■blow-ups" and posters taken from the film, a ■■take-home" piece on interpersonal relationships and a series of extraordinary tape recordings demonstrating principles of perception. The short stories are in booklet form. They cover the -private lives" of John J. Pennyfeather and Steve Baker, another of the film's subject characters, up to the time of their "appearance" in the film. By this means, the film's viewers are able to see why Pennyfeather and the far more cfi'ective Baker act as they do. The blow-up and posters are designed to enable a conference leader to guide the discussion back and forth to scenes in the film (CONCLUDED ON PAGE S 1 \ t V ) / \liiiiir l-'ilni I future llriiifis Gulf's Visual Story of Oil's Unseen Journey VilJil l«"ii«'l!< on 111*' .^lov*' Iroin \\ «>II-II4'.-i«Ik Io lt«'t°in«>rv T 111 RE Is A Sad Lament of those who try to portray, or even understand, the oil business — you seldom see people and you never see oil. These were problems encountered in the planning of Gulf Oil Corporation's new 30minute. Technicolor public relations lilm. Unseen Journey, filmed by MPO Productions, and newly-released through Association films. Inc.. for national distribution. The picture, a major venture for both Gulf and MPO. and an outstanding film on anyone's "best of '59." tells the complex story of how oil is moved from isolated well-heads to often far-distant refineries. A 25,000 Mile Journey for Scenes Following months of preparation and location scouting by Gulfs Director of Public Relations. Craig Thompson, and assistant Paul Sheldon, with MPO's stafl^. headed by Producer-Director-Writer Murray Lerner. the production got under way early this year and was shot on location in Texas, Louisiana. Pennsylvania and New York. 25.000 miles of travel with cameras cranking over much of the way went into the finished product. One of the major themes of Unseen Journey is the fact that the journey of the oil passes beneath a great variety of communities and Below: helicopter travel helped MPO cameramen obtain dramatic sliols in remote areas for Cndf Oil's "Unseen Journey." Diminutive man beside shining metal for a dramatic scene. This huge 26-inch pipeliiw moves oil from Colorado City, Texas. activities, without being noticed and without disrupting these places. With this in mind. Producer Murray Lerner felt that aerials of the right of way would impart this feeling of motion and at the same time portray the people and places involved. Helicopter Invades Remote Areas A helicopter was used to trace the actual route of the pipelines in West Texas. This allowed low-level flying shots and photographic control practically impossible in a plane. Several times the MPO crew was stuck in isolated spots in canyon or desert country and had no way or time to leave for meals while photographing a hard-to-get piece of action, such as coyotes or rattlesnakes. Then the helicopter would be dispatched to bring lunch. The look on the face of a grocer at some lonely crossroads in West Texas when he saw a helicopter land in front of his door and the pilot walk in casually to buy lunch — to go — is interesting to contemplate. Another unexpected use of the helicopters was in photographing coyotes in Sand Hills. Texas. Two coyotes had been captured, and (CONCLUDED ON PAGE SIXTY-FOUR) .\bo\e: llic caincruninn gets a close-up of the newest Gulf Oil super-tanker at her Ostrica, Louisiana dock. Scene from the MPO film. NUMBER 8 \ O L U M E 2 0 1 9 5 0 41