The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-04
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN. Director.
Washington, D. G.
COyERNNIENT MOVIES.


has a branch of government that ev-
cry progressive country will eventually
have-a commercial moving picture
| office.
! So far, Canada is the first govern
| nent to advertise itself commercially
by the films. A few days ago, the an
nouncement came of one of the states
Nebraska, opening its official moving
picture studio to distribute pictures
advertising the state. but this venture,
| like most of its kind, depends on state
funds to finance it. The pictures are
to be distributed free.
| The Canadian government offers
some of its films free to schools and
clubs, but for the most part distributes
official pictures thru big, well estab-
! lished moving picture concerns, and
| charges regular rates for them. They
| become a part OF the programs in the
various movie houses all over the
country. The idea is that people ap-
preciate and are more interested in
netting they pay for than some
| thing they get for nothing. So the
moving picture bureau of the govern
ment decided to make its film as good
as or better than the commercial ones,
and to offer it TO the trade. The plan
worked. The government productions
are in demand. Moreover, the films
practically pay for themselves, and as
publicity they are invaluable to the
country.
The project was started four years
ago with the purpose of showing not
only people of other countries, but
Canadians as well, what Canada is
| like 1t is a well known fact, to
quote one instance, that while many
Americans go to Algonquin park in
/ Ontario for vacations, Canadians find
J it more of an adventure to cross the
border and come down to the Maine
woods to rest. So a picture of A,gon-
quin park is regarded as novel enter
tainment among Canadian audiences
| just as a moving picture of the Mt.
Shasta region would be something new
to a large part of a New York audi
ence.
Even the old legend of Canada being
| largely the frozen north obtains to
some extent among southern Cana
dians. The government film makers
say: "a good deal of what is now re-
garded by intelligent Canadians as
arid, snow covered land is not barren
the year around. The Mackenzie
basin with its short hot summer of
Hong days is promising wheat land.
But it takes days to get there, and the
country is not opened up, and never
will be, so long as people dismiss it as
4 the frozen north. We are taking pic
lures there and in other regions where
| pictures, showing real conditions, have
never been taken before.
Canada Not All Cold.
|
Canada, it is true. But that is not
Canada as it has been developed, and
as people should think of the country
in general Because so many people
do think of it in that vague way, the
wide variety of climate, scenic effects
cities and types of people are new and
interesting stories to Canadians as
much as to Others"
| Actual returns to a country from
film publicity can scarcely be esti-
mated, but Canada rates h2r film ac-
| tivities as an invaluable / :thod Os
showing people in other countries what
the Canadian land is like, how the
people live, and what industries and
arts thrive there.
This is more important to Canada
/ than it would be to England, for
| instance, or to France. The world in
| general has a fairly correct idea of the
| place of these two countries in civil
| ization. But CanaC-- is apt to be dis
missed as largely b-ckwoods. Show
| ing cross sections of Canadian life
| abroad arouSeS interest in the country
and that means trade, settlers, visitors.
| and that important asset. good will.
| Canada is not the only country to ac-
| cept the doctrine Tat it pays to ad-
vertise.
Every big movement in the world
| has some sort of publicity orgaIhza
ton to advertiss itself since the war.
Before then, publicity and advertising
/
which a dignified government did not
stoop to use. The mere suggestion Of
posters would have shocked any war
department officer in 1918.
| But the war, to be backed by tho
people. had to be advertised. And
| ever since, governments have been US
ing posters, films, stills, (the photo
graphic kind,) slides, and publicity
men. They call them editors or intel
ligence officers in the government.
| Duplicated Effort.
One main trouble with the govern
ment publicity has teen duplicated eff
| fort. For instance, a certain war story
which one bureau of government re-
i fused the reporter with much mystery
and hints of its strategic significance,
| he got two days later from another
bureau, full details being given gladly.
This duplicated effort still goes on
in some Washington government Of
! fices. The Canadian government has
taken the radical step of combining
it's publicity in one. exhibits and pub
licity bureau. a branch of the depart-
ment of trade and commerce. So far
| as pictures go, the film taken by the
one staff includes every phase of Can
! adam national activity.
The film studio is in Ottawa, with
in easy reach of all the government
department officials. All of the work
Of developing film, coloring it, maxi
ing art subtitles. and some of the pho
Biography goes on in this one building.
The government pictures do not cost
lextravagant and alluTing prices like
the fiction films. Scenery and indus
ltries are shot free. and when actors
lare wanted in order to weave a story
into the picture, the bureau calls upon
a few people in town who film, well
and like the novelty of being in pic
lures. When they are paid for this
work, they are on the government roll,
and the salaries are typical govern
ment salaries.
The government pictures are gen.
orally one-reelers with a story running
thru them. One may be a scenic pic
ture of old Quebec or Lake Louise
Another is industrial-salmon fishing
for example. And others may have
history, a news event, a government
activity, or some typical Canadian GUS
tom as a foundation