Reel and Slide (Mar-Dec 1918)

22 REEL and SLIDE Are Motion Pictures Publicity, or Are They Advertising? By E. J. Clary A NATIONAL advertising man recently made the remark in New York that moving pictures were not to be confused with advertising, but may well be termed the "greatest publicity medium in the world." It is largely upon this basis that the average agency man rejects pictures in his plan of things. He concedes the vast power of the screen to create an impression and to familiarize great numbers of people with a brand, but he does not believe that the screen actually sells razors, soap or breakfast food. Here is the view of a well known agency man who is connected with one of the most important agencies in the country: "We prefer to have nothing to do with motion pictures. We are not film men. We classify films with billboard advertising, street car advertising, etc. Our business is buying and filling space in newspapers and periodicals, with now and then a flier into the direct mail campaign field. Our reason is that we know that the billboard man, the street car man and the film man know their mediums better than we do. In other words, it is out of our line." Firm Uses Lecture Platform Perhaps this argument would not be found generally in the agencies. An agency man isn't a printer, either, but he has much to do with typography; he isn't an artist, but he finds art a necessary medium. American business has always seized upon the shortest possible route to a result; that is, most branches of American business. (One American firm has sucsessfully enlisted the lecture platform to get its product before the public.) The whole question of screen advertising descends to this: Is a picture able to impress the mind of the average man? Is the picture as influential with the human brain as that of the written word? If it is— and there can be no doubt that it is— the agency man is not progressive enough to utilize a powerful force at his disposal. No doubt the chief reason for his backwardness in adopting the screen for what it is worth is ignorance of films, film rnethods, the film appeal. He has the circus ballyhoo man in his mind when he refers to the film man — any film man. Instead of judging the value of pictures by the pictures, he judges them by their association. An advertising man in New York recently informed the writer than as the head of a group of national advertisers, he is constantly besieged with requests for information on films. He has collected all the data available on the subject, but this isn't enough. He finds himself at a loss to answer such queries as this : "I have a film — how can I get it distributed?" So important has this thing become that steps are being taken to install a moving picture data department. Distribution Is Possible Now, as a matter of fact, all arguments to the contrary, it is not difficult to get distribution on moving pictures— providing the pictures are worth distributing. There is the rub. Nobody can fool the theater man these days. Educational institutions, too, are getting more and more particular about the reels they exhibit. The fact that a film advertises somebody's legitimate business is of secondary concern; the question is, whether or not the film is good, whether it is good photographically, whether it is_ interesting, the case well presented and whether or not it contains information of value. But to get back to the point, the advertising man ^must first decide the question, "are pictures effective advertising?" He can get his answer in the files _of a dozen producers who have the written testimonials of actual film users— users who have generously "repeated." ' If" good, they should be incorporated in every comprehensive campaign or there is a missing link. It is in the agency man's line, whether he thinks so or not. He finds himself depending for fifty per cent of his appeal on visualization, and yet he is only slowly recognizing that the picture that moves is only a step further forward. Committee on Information to Produce Picture, "Story of Ship Construction" CL. CHESTER has left New Y'ork on a trip that will carry him as far westward as the Pacific Coast, in the interests • of a multiple-reel ship-building picture wh'cfi he is to make under the supervision of the Division of Films, Committee on Public Information. Mr. Chester goes first to the iron fields of Minnesota to get in touch with the extraction of the iron ore, and will then follow it ■down the lakes and through the locks to the smelters, and on through steel mill and fabricating shop to the shipyard. In unfolding the story of the wooden ships, the producer will invade the primeval pineries of the state of Washington and show how the almost countless crews of expert woodsmen are felling whole forests in order that the logs may go skidding down to the new rails and thence swiftly to the yards at tidewater. Mr. Chester feels that there is something of an epic in this chapter and he will use all his skill as a master of outdoor photography to carry the essence of it to the screen. The concrete end of things will be secured in the quarries and shipyards of California. Mr. Chester will then return East to follow up the work at the great plants where the steel ships are taking shape with ever increasing rapidity. "Solving the Farm Problems of the Nation," Films Shown Before U. S. Officials IN Washington on September 20tn the state directors of the U. S. Boys' Working Reserve gathered for a national conference in the big assembly hall in the new building of the Department of the Interior. The directors reported how every state in the Union has done its part in training its boys to take the place of the farm and orchard workers who have gone to war. As the climax, there was exhibited a picture made by the Pathe Company from a scenario by the Division of Films, of the Committee on Public Information, called "Solving the Farm Problem of the Nation." The picture shows how 300,000 city high school boys were rushed through agricultural "Plattsburgs" and sent into the fields in time to save the harvests. The delegates expressed the opinion that a great nation-wide undertaking has never been more interestingly and successfully presented through the medium of the screen. "This is one of the most stirring stories of the day," said one of the government officials, "and this picture gives it to the people in a way that is sure to arouse the deepest enthusiasm and to give us several times three hundred thousand boys for the work to be done next summer." Industrial Films Should Be Renovated After Each Series of Exhibitions A GREAT many concerns that have used motion pictures through their dealers have on hand reels that are in pretty bad shape from constant usage. This is perhaps more true of this type of film than of any other. Films sent over the circuits of the regular booking agencies are regularly renovated and are handled, in the main, by skillful operators and employes. On the other hand, the commercial film is often at the mercy of amateurs and others who do not understand films and how they should be handled. Industrial pictures, even if they are only "trailers," should be inspected and examined after every showing or run, bad frames removed and the film cleaned thoroughly. The cost of renovating and fixing up a thousand-foot reel is seldom more than one dollar a reel and in the end this pays out. Films may not show wear to the average eye on inspection, but they will magnify every scratch or break on the screen many thousand-fold. The length of time a print will serve is determined entirely by the care that has been given to it. An industrial film in bad condition suffers proportionately more than a dramatic picture. The industrial film usually is a "guest" in a theater, while a dramatic film is a "member of the family." The School Projector and the Booth (Continued from page 21) expensive, and possibly would be beyond the reach of the small community. My plan for overcoming this obstacle and to make the machine self-supporting is a simple one, and can be adopted by any community — for school, lecture hall, or church. A machine should be purchased irrespective of its first cost, or a local philanthropist might be persuaded to present the school with the apparatus. If this is not possible, a certain number of those interested could club together and cover the initial cost, then by making a small charge of admission until the sponsers have been paid back their initial outlay; after which, if necessary, the charges could be continued to meet all necessary costs of upkeep, purchase of film, etc., so that in a little while the apparatus would pay for itself. It could also be at the service of any lecturer who might visit tTie neighborhood, a stated charge being made for the use of the, apparatus and the operator. I m]