British Kinematography (1950)

Jan., 1950 hardy : agricultural engineering 9 THE FILM IN RELATION TO AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING Douglas Hardy* Read to the 8.K.S. Sub-standard Film Division on October 1 2th, 1949. DURING the last six years the number of agricultural tractors in use in England and Wales has more than doubled itself, with a proportionate increase in the still growing range of powered implements which have become a necessity to the present day systems of mechanised farming. As the machinery requirements of the farmer increased, so all branches of the agricultural engineering industry rose to fulfil his demands. The manufacturer has stepped up his output ; agricultural education has been extended to give more emphasis to mechanization and much research and development work has been done, in some cases by the larger manufacturers, and particularly by the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering. As the older machines and methods of production have been superseded by more modern ideas, science has stepped in with its many aids, and among the more important of these has been the 16 mm. film. All phases of the industry have realised the value of the film in its many forms. The instructional film has been used by both farmers and students alike. Advertising films have also played a part in the publicity of the larger firms, but particularly has there been' a great demand for the film by the research and development sections of the industry. Origin of the lnstitu:e Since most of these applications are included in the work of the N.I.A.E., it will be helpful to give a brief outline of the work of this organisation. Before the war the Institute's predecessor — the Department for Research in Agricultural Engineering — was a small part of Oxford University staffed by a handful of agriculturalists and engineers. Its chief photographic activity was confined to an odd " still " on a Super Ikonta. As the industry expanded at the outbreak of war, the nation's demands on the Institute became greater until, in 1942, the Ministry of Agriculture set up a National Institute at Askham Bryan, near York, with a larger staff, and facilities for developing machinery and assisting manufacturers — testing out new implements — evolving new field techniques and training machinery instructors who were to be attached to the various County War Agricultural Executive Committees. The Institute's first use of the film was in training these machinery instructors. Confronted with the problem of giving them a six weeks course to begin in the middle of January, it was decided to make films to illustrate operations and machines which it would otherwise have been impracticable to demonstrate at that time of year. This was done at about two months' notice, and the films proved extremely useful. Since then the N.I.A.E. has grown and made much more use of the film and still photography. Although the latter is used almost exclusively for record work the film has been more fully exploited, and can be divided roughly into four main categories : 1. The instructional films which have already been mentioned. These were originally intended for internal use in the Institute, but as the Government's educational policy was extended the County Machinery Instructors were equipped with copies to help in their lecturing duties. Many of the agricultural colleges were also supplied with this type of film. 2. Record films have been made to record the performance of machines which are often dismantled after trials. *National Institute of Agricultural Engineering.