Hollywood Studio Magazine (February 1968)

Industrial Films Emphasized Lurking but three years away are the 1970s and the approach of the biggest information explosion in the history of Western Civilization since the era of the Enlightenment. Traveling along with the impending revolutionary concepts and labor- saving devices will be unlimited amounts of facts and figures which will need to be communicated to large numbers of skilled and unskilled members of the nation's labor force and to the general public. Already playing an important role in carrying the messages of industry and public service organizations to general and selective publics is the industrial film division of Hanna- Barbera Productions. Under the leadership of Ross Suth¬ erland, a veteran of more than 20 years of producing industrial films, this integral unit of Hanna-Barbera draws on the resources of the com¬ pany's vast reservoir of animation and live-action talent. Each industrial film project involves the close working relationship of a top management team composed of Sutherland, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. All productions are under the direct supervision of these three men. This division is unique in being the only industrial film producing unit that is part of a highly sophisticated and diversified motion picture studio. Lending their talents to every in¬ dustrial film are the same technicians who are responsible for such highly- rated series as "The Flintstones," "Yogi Bear" and 25 other television SUPER SONIC TRANSPORT-The industrial film division produced an animated film for the Boeing Company that allowed that company to illustrate how the SST will appear in flight dur¬ ing the 1970s. TWO INDUSTRIAL SCENES-Greg Morrison. seen in "Mission: Impossible," appears in one of H-B's live-action industrial films. "Mind Your Ovyn Business." The other scene is from "Dr. Lister." PRODUCTION MEETING-Ross Sutherland, di¬ rector of the industrial film division, reviews storyboard with Joe Barbera (center) and Bill Hanna. for the Future with major animated theatrical fea¬ tures at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walt Disney Productions, UPA, Warner Bros, and other studios which once maintained large animation staffs. Warren Foster (Warner Brothers), who wrote many of "The Flintstones" scripts and Art Scott (Disney), asso¬ ciate producer for many of H-B's cartoon shows, work with Sutherland and the client on scripts and story boards. Carl Urbano (MGM), who functions as an associate producer and super¬ vising director for industrials, works with Bob Dranko (UPA) in preparing the layouts from the story boards. The material then goes to animators such as Irv Spence (MGM) who ani¬ mate the scenes. An example of how Sutherland uses the resources of H-B was dem¬ onstrated recently in a 10-minute animated film produced for The Boeing Company as part of that com¬ pany's Super Sonic Transport (SST) proposal for the U.S. Government. Using illustrative animation seen in H-B's space-age adventure TV series, "Jonny Quest." Sutherland succeeded in creating on film the re¬ alism of an 1,800 mile an hour flight of the SST. Titled "Wings of Tomorrow," the cartoon treatment enabled Boeing to demonstrate an aeronautical situa¬ tion that will occur in the early 1970s when the SST is ready for flight. Another example of the use of in¬ dustrial animation was a recent film produced for the Chamber of Com¬ merce of the United States, "The In¬ credible Voyage of Mark O'Gulliver." The USCC sought to educate the public on the dangers of overzealous government regulation. To gain any recognition, the Chamber realized the film would have to be presented in a good-humored way. The Hanna-Barbera industrial team developed a story about a U.S. Con¬ gressman shipwrecked on an island ON LOCATION-Arthur . Pierson, live-action director, reviews a scene with Bill Hanna (cen¬ ter) and Joe Barbera from "Dr. Lister." 30