Sponsored film, or ephemeral film, as defined by film archivist Rick Prelinger, is a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

made by a particular sponsor for a specific purpose other than as a work of art: the films were designed to serve a specific pragmatic purpose for a limited time. Many of the films are also

orphan works An orphan work is a copyright-protected work for which rightsholders are positively indeterminate or uncontactable. Sometimes the names of the originators or rightsholders are known, yet it is impossible to contact them because additional details ...

since they lack copyright owners or active custodians to guarantee their long-term preservation.

Types of sponsored film

The genre is composed of

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

films, educational films,

industrial video An industrial video is a video that targets “industry” as its primary audience. An industrial video is a type of sponsored film (such as an educational film) which prioritizes pragmatism over artistic value. While the primary purpose of an educa ...

s, training films,

social guidance film Social guidance films constitute a genre of educational films attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways. Originally produced by the U.S. government as "attitude-building films" during World War II, the genre grew to be a co ...

s, and government-produced films. While some may borrow themes from well-known film genres such as western film,

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, and

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, what defines them is a sponsored rhetoric to achieve the sponsor's goals, rather than those of the creative artist. Sponsored films in 16mm were loaned at no cost, except sometimes postage, to clubs, schools, and other groups. America's largest companies -

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

, Ford,

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

, Republic Steel,

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...

, and Westinghouse Electric Company - were for decades active sponsored film producers and distributors; others included airlines who offered travelogues on their destinations. In the early years of commercial television, local television stations often used sponsored films as "filler" programming. Specialized distributing agents packaged films from various sponsors into TV programs with titles like ''Compass'', ''Color Camera'', ''Ladies' Day'', and ''Adventures In Living''.

Usage

The films are often used as B-roll in

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

s, for instance, the social guidance film ''

The Terrible Truth ''The Terrible Truth'' is a 1951 American anti-drug documentary film created by Sid Davis Productions. Summary The film contained messages such as "marijuana has similar properties to amphetamines" and "the Soviet Union was pushing drugs in Amer ...

'' (1951, Sid Davis) appears, desaturated, in Ron Mann's ''

Grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

'' (1999) as an example of what he perceives as hysteria over

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

, as well as an example of the slippery slope fallacy. Prelinger and other film archivists generally consider the films interesting for their sociological, ethnographic, or evidentiary value: for instance, a

mental hygiene Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

film instructing children to be careful of strangers may seem laughable by today's standards, but the film may show important aspects of society which were documented unintentionally: hairstyles, popular fashions, technological advances, landscapes, etc. Prelinger estimates that the form includes perhaps 400,000 films and, as such, is the largest genre of films, but that one-third to one-half of the films have been lost to neglect. In the late 20th century, the archival moving-image community has taken greater notice of sponsored film, and key ephemeral films began to be preserved by specialized, regional, and national archives. A number of British films in this style were re-evaluated and released commercially by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

in 2010 as part of its ''Boom Britain'' / ''Shadows of Progress'' project. Examples of sponsored films include ''

Design for Dreaming ''Design for Dreaming'' is a 1956 industrial short or sponsored film produced to accompany the General Motors Motorama show that year. A ballet with voiceover dialogue, it features a woman (danced by Tad Tadlock and voiced by Marjorie Gordon) ...

'', ''

A Touch of Magic ''A Touch of Magic'' (1961) is a cult-classic General Motors sponsored-film short film, short musical (film), musical. The film begins with a designer at the drawing board, daydreaming about a 1920s couple who travel to the Middle Ages; the Man s ...

'',EPHEMERA: POPULUXE on Vimeo
/ref> and '' A Word to the Wives''. '' Technicolor for Industrial Films'' is a sponsored film about sponsored films.

References

External links

The Industry Film Archive

Online Field Guide to Sponsored Films: National Film Preservation Foundation

Ephemeral Films on Archive.org

Curated Collection of Jamieson Film Company materials at the Texas Archive of the Moving Image

Ephemeral Films: National Socialism in Austria

PRELINGER.COM
{{Authority control Film genres Sponsored Audiovisual ephemera 1930s in film 1940s in film 1950s in film 1960s in film

Types of sponsored film

Usage

See also

References

External links