Business Screen Magazine (1965-1966)

ri'iity to instruct pnifcssionji:chnical personnel in propsioom procedures by incorp,, i( into their routine \e training; protirams." tlires, Tedini(|Ufs May N'ary II it conies to medical tech>;ind procedures, cjualilied jns arc not aKvays in agreehere are several ways to a medical procedure inplaster casts or anything after a consensus is on techniques to be illus I a teaching film, a less nstaking producer still can lasc if staging, lighting and angles, to say ni>thing of ation. arc not precisely ar to serve all of the aca rcquirements. Not infrc . after an advisory com of physicians screens a nt. the film-maker must re ;enes and sometimes entire es. Mr. Sturgis points out. a diKtor sees on film for I time what he or a colhas been doing routinely, want to refine or sharpen iiase of the procedure being trated. After all. what the Joes on film will be seen by ds of other physicians. In )hitheatre" of that size, even luoso surgeon is apt to oversights in film content or form. Teachini; Is the Primary Goal As for the industrial sponsor who foots the bill, whatever tangential exposure his product may receive, he is logically intent on accommodating the needs of the medical men who are interested in teaching and not advertising. The professional ethics attached to that distinction are well defined and strenuously pursued. Another example of successful collaboration between industry and medicine is Modern Oh.stetrics: Noinwl Delivery, a film officially presented by both the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Sponsored by Ortlio Pharmaceutical Corporation, the 16mm. color sound film. 27 minutes long, was produced by Sturgis-Grant as an up-to-date teaching aid for the practicing physician, intern and student. Dealing with the care of the obstetric patient and her baby during normal delivery, the film provides details on current widely-used obstetric techniques. rhe Hole of the "Product" Film The pharmaceutical industry's contact, via film, with the medical community, is not limited to the institutional teaching subject. Doctors arc naturally interested in new drugs and equipment which of subjects, camera aiijjle and liKlitiu); an all ctilical jdclors in ruliiifi tirliiiiiiiii for the prapir appliealiou of a plaster eaut. This beiiin leiised for a recent ]ohn.soti & Johnson medical teaehinfi film. long over every minute fhis W(irk.'" thus, during the editing f the medical film, that the r tries to keep a baleful the budget even as the pro.1 authorities involved rightep their eye on the cutting ewer for possible lapses or R 7 VOLUME 26 1965 may improve their practice. Thus, the "product" film, made independently oi professional sponsorship, enjoys greater latitude as a commercially-oriented informational subject. Distribution of this type of medical film is generally handled by the sponsoring film's representatives, who help stimulate showings through hospitals and local physicians' groups. When Squibb was ready to announce \shat it considered a major break-through in bone grafting, a ten-minute color film was instrumental in promoting their new product, trade-named "Bii-plant." I elevision. along with national press and periodicals, gave considerable coverage to the new heterogenous bone and cartilage harvested from calves and processed for human bone grafting. I'se Restraint in Promotion Frank Rollins, veteran head ol Scjuibb's motion picture program, acknowledges the broader latitude for product identification in a film such as Roplani. but stresses the need to exercise restraint in promotional zeal when the audience is composed of physicians. "The medical audience accepts the fact. "says Mr. Rollins, "that somebody has to pay for a film which de.scribes a new product and how to use it. But common sense and good taste dictate the subordination of commercial reference to scientific information." Also in the product category. Sturgis-Grant will soon ccmiplete a Squibb film dealing with radioactive istotopes as well as a Schering film on a new dermatological medication. .\udience of 2()0,0()(» Dwtors That the multi-billion di>llar ethical drug industry is acutely tuned to the communications frequency of physicians is an accepted fact. Pharmaceutical firms generally recogni/e the efficacy of aiding the continuing education of the nation's 200. 000 doctors. Significantly, an ever-increasing percentage of the drug industry's advertising-promotion dollar is being invested in the film medium, possibly on the assumption that a useful educational motion picture is worth as much if not more than 200.000 free drug samples. • T^ -^ -^ \l till' right, top to bottom: film scenes are reiiresenttitive of the Sqtiihh motion picture "Boplant." uliieh demoiislrates the reioUttiomirtj new honcfiraftin<i material extracted from calves for human transplantation. This color film was created and produced by S/(/cfii.v-Cn;;i/ Prodnetions. it it -ir