The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Srpttmber, 1932 Page 209 eign exhib ved through the exchanges made by the Junior Red Cross. < Outstanding in this group were those recently received from Samoa, Japan, New Zea- land, and JugO-Slavia. Commercial exhibits of linen, tlax. wool, cork and aluminum direct from great in- dustrial plants made real the relationship between the raw materials and the manufactured articles. The success of this exhibit was due to the combined efforts of all the teachers of the Social Science De- partment and their principal, II. < i. Nelson. Film Strip Prices Lower New low prices for United States Department of Agriculture Sim strips will prevail during the fiscal year 1932-33, according to an announcement recently issued by the < Hfice of ( ooperattve Extension Work of the United States Department of Agriculture. The prices for film strips until June 30, 1933, will range from 14 to 85 cents each, depending upon the number of illustrations in the series. The majority of the 135 scries that the department lias available will sell for 28 and 35 cents each. Film strips are available on such subjects as farm crops, dairying, farm animals, farm forestry, plant and animal diseases and pests, farm economics, farm engineering, home economics, and adult and junior extension work. Lecture notes are provided with each film strip purchased. The popularity of film strips among extension work- ers, teachers, and others has been due primarily to the reasonable prices charged for them, the convenience with which they can be bandied, and their effectiveness in educational work. A list of available film strips and instructions on how to purchase them may be obtained by writing to the Office of Cooperative Extension Work. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Writer to Conduct Cinema Course Harry Alan I'otamkin, formerly foreign corre- spondent for the National Board of Review, now mem- ber of Exceptional Photoplays Committee of the Board and correspondent for Close Up, as well as contributor to the general and film press here and abroad (Revue du Cinema, International Reviezv of liditcatiomil Cinematography, Proletarskoy Kino of Moscow, etc.) will conduct a course on the cinema at the New School for Social Research. New York, be- ginning October. The course is in the evening and therefore all adults and students, educators and artists, professionals and amateurs, who wish to enjoy the first course considering the film on equality with the other arts and sciences, will find time to attend. The lectures will treat the film historically and for its con- temporary and future manifestations. The economic, social, political network of cinema will be established; the inter-relationships of the various national cinemas —of U. S. A.. France, England, Sweden. Italy, Ger- many, Japan, Russia, etc.—will be examined ; the basic aesthetic principles will be sifted from the film-falla- and "primitive phenomena;" pivotal films will be analyzed ; the film-animation will be scrutinized in and beyond the American "cartoon" to the Japanese rice- paper cut-out and the Soviet multiplication-film; film- humor will be the subject of one lecture, to begin with the jumping-jack film and proceed to explicit satire. The lectures will be accompanied by film excerpts, full films and other a . as well as by specialists representing important cinema fields. Motion Pictures Rate High in Advertising Survey "Motion Pictures in Industry," a 10-page report is- sued by the National Industrial Advertisers Associa- tion, in cooperation with the Association of National Advertisers and the United States Department of ( ommerce, gives in concise form the results from a questionnaire sent to 2000 industrial advertisers, cov- ering the three main classes of business films—Sound Motion Pictures, Silent Motion Pictures and Still- Films. Of the 110 concerns reporting, 82 used silent motion pictures, 14 used sound motion pictures and 48 used still-films. There were a considerable number that used combinations of these various types, but com- paratively few used all three classifications. Of the motion picture users who indicated the size of film they used, 35% used 16 mm. film only, 17% 35 mm. film only and 34% both 16 mm. and 35 mm. To the question, "Do you consider your film activi- ties successful?" all of the sound film users answered "Yes." Again 100', replied that their sound film ex- penditures were "as resultful as the same sum spent on other promotional activities." The replies to these same questions in the case of silent films were 82% for "success" and 75% for "comparison with other promotional activities." Of particular significance was the fact that companies reporting showed an av- erage of 11% of the advertising and sales promotion budget was spent on sound films—3%- was the figure for silent films. That movies prepare the sales background was strikingly demonstrated by the fact that the sales force of 90% of the companies reporting tried to be i•resent at film showings and follow up the prospects present. Distribution, usually the chief problem in any film project, is broken down into charts, and indicates the great variety in the type of audiences reached and the methods of showings in the case of the films of many representative companies. Subjects such as "Silent vs. Sound," "Cost of Pro- duction." "Weights and Costs of Projectors," and many other salient facts are covered in the report, with the interpretations and conclusions of the Com- mittee. The report packs a lot of valuable and inter- esting information for those using or contemplating the use of the screen for advertising, promotion or