Business screen magazine (1947)

right off the reel EDITORIAL NOTES & COMMENT ON AUDIO-VISUAL MARKETS WHICH ARE COINCIDENTAL TO OUR WELFARE AND SECURITY II IS VllALLV IMl'ORIAN 1 dial the iwo sides of this business of audiovisual loniiiiunicalions— the side which makes the lihiis anil the equipment on which they arc made and shown— and the side which uses them— get a clear understanding of the vast and untapped fields ol opportunity which await their cultivation in 1949. While some of us have been diddling with ilial alluring pot of gold at the end of the rainbow known as the "home" market, other vast and proven market areas among the religious, industrial, institutional and professional fields remain literally unentered. Despite the lad that a single industrial buyer has taken nearly 1,500 I6mni sound motion picture projectors off one manufacturer's shelf, there has been no organized penetration of the .')0,000 other customers among large and small businesses in these United Stales. Projectors follow the films. Projector marketing had better follow the signs which ])oint Id the existence ol more than 2,000 existing lihiis in the area of industrial training alone. I'lojector marketers would do well to note the presence of 500 safely motion pictures and slidetilms; 800 sports subjects: 1,600 classroom teaching films and nearly 1700 classroom filmstrips: 200 acceptable religions motion piclures and other hundreds of religions filmstrips and slide collections; hundreds of films and filmstrips most suitable for bnsiiiess and distributive edncation in office and commercial teaching areas (backed up by special state funds) : not to mention ihe hinidreds of medical motion pictures which medical grou])s and medical schools may use. Films Get Understanding of Issues ■k There are growing niniibeis of films in ih.ii field of adult education and group activity which embraces the clubs, lodges, forums and other places where Americans meet and talk about the complex issues we all face here and abroad. These organizations increase the motivating Torres already at work in business and institutional fields. riie Edilf)rs of ISusinkss Scrki;n ha\e jusi (ompleted indexing and descriptive cop) on the contents of a Farm Film Guide containing iiKire than 500 agricultural films. The exisi iiKc ol this ready-made collection in a singh area ol market interest coincides w-ith the enihusiasm of rural groups for llie advantages <il the screen in cdiuation and retreation. Economic Facts of Life YVorth Noting: • There are more than 200,000 Protestant churches in the U.S. Less than 5% have thus far acquired projectors but they show an enthusiastic interest through all their councils and at denominational headi|nartcrs. .\ conservative estimate ol the projector market in this one area would approximate .'$00,000,000. •k Among county medical societies only, a market estimate figures at $900,000 for 16mm sound projectors alone, not to mention 35mm filmstrip ecpiipment, screens and accessories. •k The greatest accumulation of spending power through the accurate measure of sayings deposits on hand exists in the 900 agricultiual counties of the U.S. which have enjoyed an iniprecedentcd prosperity through and since the war years. There is no medium of greater educational and recreational satisfaction than ihe lighted screen in Rural .-\merica. There is no place where less has been done to improve film distribution despite the best-established long-time presence of government assistance through the facilities of the vilalh inter estcd U. S. Department of Agriculture. •k 50,000 small and large business concerns are becoming increasingly aware of the large collections of industrial, safety and sales training films (in wliith they make an inexpensi\e and liighlv liuillul start in the film medium. Films Were a Potent Wartime Factor if Not unmindftd of the alarms of war in the midst III this joyous holiday season, we remember well that official Washington was deeph impressed by the active presence of the I6nmi motion picture in our industrial plants and among comuuuiii\ audiences throughout the (oinitrv dining the last war. As .dl indications point to a period ol triIII. d iii.ilerial shortages and the nccessily ol ihoiie between the essential and the non essential even in times of peace, we must urge the encouragement of these vital fields of industrial, medical, safety and other essential technical iiiformaiion and educational purposes as ilu safest and sanest way to build this incdiuiii on a highly |)eiiiianenl and useful pi. UK ol existence. rile coiiuideiue ol purpose and juslilitailiiii is luiiiendoiisK imporiant to ihe welfare ol oui indiisliA .ind lo ihe ii.iliou. l'op-(iun Atliuks Won't Win This Battle: k Ihe people who make this \ilal et|uipiiieiil and ihe lolks who pioduie the amiiiunilioii which keeps it hi ing had better get together. Mass education through highly specialized methods employing the best techniques are urgently needed. Getting people lo sit down and talk about films is one good way but it's a slow process. Neither production line requirements of induslrx or the needs of the people will wait on a (ixe-year plan, ft should be supplemented now and at once by industry action on a highlevel, without waste of advertising or promolioiial dollars. We tall lor extension ol coordinated, coopeiatiye educational literature in million-fold quantities. We call for recognition and extension ol such useful efiorts as our own Film Guide Library, pushing into new areas of market inlerest. We call for supi)ort of the Films In Medicine publication now completing for ihe eiuouragement and guidance of the enlire medical ])rolession here and abroad as ihe first comprehensive review of production, iilili/atioii and future development of the .iudio-\ isual medium in medical education. Bill most of all we call for clear-headed analysis by all experienced hands of the real power and significance of the factual film— and real iniderslanding of where it can be used best and most. The lime is growing short. The adyenlure is the most compelling and rewarding anv intelligent man or yvoman can possibly undertake because the medium we serve is the most powerful of all tools of idea communication. In this hour of decision, ideas can either make or break ihe world in which we live in peace under I he shadow of war. -OHC # # • Brief Flashes At Presstime: k Ihe Special ,\ward of Merit of the National Saleiv C;oinicil was given on Thursday, December 9 to the Sinclair Refining Company at a Neyv York City ceremony for ihe motion picture produdion Miracle in Paradise Valley, prodiKed hir Sinclair b\ Wilding Pidure Productions, liu. k Sizeable increases in lliird and loin ih-cla.ss postage rates have been announced by the Postoffice Department. elTeciive January 1. * Completion ol a set of basic specifications h)r sound slidelilni projectors of the automatic type employing the 30-50 cycle advance have been annouiiied by a Chicago connniltee embracing producers, reiording coniijanies and ei|uipineni dims. NUMBER 8 • VOLUME 9 • 194