Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1921)

May, 1921 MOVING PICTURE AGE 15 German Activities with Educational Films Although they do not have an opportunity for theatrical distribution, the large producers are actively engaged in making instructional film By Paul P. Foster European Editorial Representative, Community Motion Picture Bureau, New York City THE German film industry fully realizes the immense possibilities of the educational motion picture and in no other country have the producers tacked the problem of their production so earnestly and unanimously. In spite of the fact that there is little visible profit to be had at present in Germany from what we know in America and England as the popular educational picture, so generally included in our programs but never seen in German picture houses, every large production company has established a "KultureAbteilung," or educational department, and has begun the systematic production of subjects suitable for elementary and high schools and colleges, and of pictures that teach lessons in hygiene and other branches of social welfare for more general use. The largest German film organization is the Universum Film A. G., popularly known as the "Ufa," which has absorbed many of its competitors and owns hundreds of theaters throughout Germany. This production company leads all the rest in its active support of educational pictures. The educational department of the Ufa is organized with the usual German thoroughness and elaboration. It has acquired an immense quantity of educational material, much of it old and of rather questionable value from an educational standpoint, it is true, but all classified and catalogued in convenient form. The Ufa has enlisted the cooperation of experts in many branches of science : zoologists, botanists, geographers, sociologists, physicians, who advise and assist the technical staff in the production of educational subjects, and most of this new material bids fair to possess real educational merit. How the German Pictures Are Produced Next in importance to the Ufa is the educational department of the Deutsche Lichtbild Gesellschaft, or "D. L. G.," which specializes in propaganda pictures for the promotion of German "Kulture," commerce and industry. This organization is supported by such captains of industry as Hugo Stinnes, Dr. Cuno of the Hamburg America Line, and the directors of the powerful Krupp organization. It has collected and produced a large number of geographical, industrial and commercial pictures, all of which are intended to promote popular knowledge of German places, processes and products. Both the D. L. G. and the Ufa have branch offices in every part of Germany and excellent facilities for the distribution of their subjects. These two companies are constantly organizing special presentations of educational pictures in all large German cities ; every important new subject is shown in this way and thus obtains the widest newspaper publicity. There exist in Germany, too, several companies similar to the Community Motion Picture Bureau, which specialize in the selection and rental of the best pictures of every sort, and cater to the growing demands of educators, churches, social welfare organizations and similar societies, for pictures suited to their special needs. One or two of these companies organize regular service in groups of small villages, furnishing operators and equipment when desired. Judged by American standards, most of the older German educational pictures are faulty and poor, both in conception and execution. As was the case in other European countries, four years of war interrupted all progress in this direction in Germany. Then came the revolution, and only in the last few months have there been signs of improvement and progress. Now there is activity on every hand and a large number of interesting subjects are nearly completed. The German producer is handicapped by the fact that he cannot count on a theatrical market for a large portion of his educational output, for such pictures are never shown in motion picture theaters, owing probably to the fact that the theaters are open only from 7 to 10:30 and must rush through two short programs in that limited time, with lights up between each reel, for few theaters have more than one projection machine. Few educational pictures, therefore, are designed for popular presentation. Many have brief titles, or none at all, and are intended to be accompanied by lectures. The use of lantern slides, too, is very general and the educational departments of nearly all the production companies invariably carry a stock of slides and lecture material, as well as films. Where Production Has Been Centralized German producers have covered the industrial and medical fields thoroughly. Pictures have been made of nearly every branch of German industry, including the new processes for utilizing nettles and other neglected weeds, paper and waste of all sorts, in the manufacture of a surprising variety of "Ersatz," or substitute products. Many of these pictures show secret processes and it is difficult or impossible for a foreigner to see them, nor can they be exported from Germany. There has been great activity, too, in the medical field. Quantities of purely technical pictures have been made and are being made, primarily for medical schools, clinics, and for exhibition before medical associations, although many of such films intended for medical schools have been criticised from a pedagogical standpoint. The "medical archive" of the Universum Film Company contains a great variety of subjects designed for medical instruction classified under the following headings : physics, chemistry, botany, zoology, biology, topographical anatomy, physiology, pathology, internal medicine, children's diseases, neurology and psychiatry, surgery, orthopaedics, gynaecology, venereal diseases, pharmacology, diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, bacteriology and hygiene, instructional courses for nurses and hospital assistants. The Universum and other companies have also produced several social hygiene subjects for more general use. These depict venereal diseases, tuberculosis, the benefits of vaccination, vocational diseases and accident prevention, the question of nutrition, and similar subjects. The selection and production of these medical subjects are supervised throughout by specialists who work in co-operation with the "Bildstelle," or Picture Bureau of the Central Institute for Education and In(Turn to page 30)