Advertising by motion pictures

by Ernest A. Dench

Every business man thinks of the facts before anything else, and this chapter is intended to furnish them so that he need grope in the dark no longer.

I will suppose you follow the vade mecum of most advertisers and arrange to have a single-reel motion picture produced showing conditions at your plant. Even though it is only an industrial subject, it calls for much careful thinking and painstaking effort. A scenario will have to be prepared, and in this the various details you wish emphasized are introduced in logical order. You can, of course, withhold the trade secrets that are not desirable for the public to see. There is also a knack in inserting and wording the subtitles, for one is frequently employed to explain the obvious. This results in film wastage, while all the difficult points should be explained as explicitly as possible, as each word used consumes one foot of film.

A very bad habit which readily becomes apparent and detracts the attention of spectators from the object of the film is the employees at the plant staring hard at the camera while working. This defect has marred a good many industrials, and it gives the impression that the workers are aware of what is happening, whereas everything should appear perfectly natural.

The movie camera man next films the picture according to the scenario, allowing, however, a certain amount of feet for each incident, which depends on the importance of same. Providing sufficient daylight is available, the usual inclusive fee charged for the producing and developing of such a film is fifty cents per foot—or $500 for the entire reel, which is exactly a thousand feet. This is only for the negative, ten cents per foot being charged for each positive copy. You will, naturally, require more than one print, so you can figure on a cost of $100 for each copy. I will come back to this point later.

Maybe in parts of your manufacturing plant daylight is at a premium, in which event you will be obliged to pay fifty cents more per foot for the negative copy for installing the necessary artificial lighting. These charges include an allowance for padding, which is promptly eliminated, thus improving the whole picture.

One does not have to seek far why the comedy and dramatic photoplay is not popular with most motion-picture advertisers down to date. Yet, if they only knew the truth, they would find that movie audiences enjoy an entertaining story better than an advertisement contained in a film which merely strives to educate. The former, as one might expect, is more involved and expensive. In the first place, a good story is essential, and this may only be expected from an experienced photoplaywright who has an appreciation of advertising values. Personally speaking, I have received as much as $100 for conceiving and putting a one-reel photoplay in scenario form. Then you will need a capable cast of actors and a talented director to produce the picture in order to give it a distinctly expert professional touch. Probably interior scenes are called for outside of your works. These have to be erected in the studio at an additional expense.

The cost, of course, depends on the nature of the play, but all these things should be provided from $1.25 to $3 per foot. This works out at a cost of from $1,250 to $3,000 for producing the negative.

It is well to remember that, once the film has been produced, it is always available, the only extra charge being for extra positive copies you may require to replace the ones in use when worn out. If you want to save expense in the matter, and do not object to delay in operating your campaign, you can arrange for a given number of your dealers over a certain territory to retain the film for a day, then loan it to the local motion-picture theater for its evening show. If, however, you want to cover all the territory at one time, then you will need more prints in circulation.

Do not permit a print to be constantly in use for more than six months without replacing it with a new copy, for you have to make a due allowance for wear and tear. It would not do to let your film graduate to the “rainy” stage, since your pictorial advertisement, to leave a good impression on movie audiences, must be in perfect condition.

Unfortunately, no general advertising circulation plan has been put in execution, but it is best either to have the producing concern help you out, or else rely upon your dealers to aid you in their respective localities. Being on the spot and knowing the co-operation is to the advantage of all concerned, he can, no doubt, arrange matters with the best local exhibitor. The fee for showing is merely a matter of arrangement, but in many cases you will incur no expense.