From Flax to Linen (1929): A film produced by Eastman Teaching Films Inc.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Hagley recently acquired one of the first films produced by Eastman Teaching Films, Inc., a division of the Eastman-Kodak Company, titled From Flax to Linen. The silent 10-minute film is a well-made process film that follows the step-by-step production of linen starting from harvest of flax to the final product. Considering the influence of Eastman-Kodak to the development of the industrial and sponsored film business, this is an important piece of visual media history.  

In 1923, Eastman Kodak introduced the 16mm film format, a less expensive and safe alternative to the commonly used 35mm film stock. Using an acetate base instead of the highly flammable nitrate base found in all 35mm film at the time, the format soon earned the moniker of “safety” film. Initially marketed to amateurs for making their own movies, Eastman-Kodak also established a Kodascope Library for home-users to rent and later buy films. In addition to marketing to home users, the company actively promoted the format by producing films for audiences outside of commercial theaters which would influence the growth of specialized production houses in the 1930s. Production houses that made non-theatrical films using 16mm for education, training, and promotion.

Eastman-Kodak founder George Eastman advocated for education mostly through large donations to schools. He made one major contribution with his influence as the head of the dominant photographic film manufacturer to push for use of motion pictures in the classroom. After reassuring the motion picture industry, a key customer base for film stock,  that he had no plans to compete with theatrical films he led an effort to produce visual aids for schools using the company’s relatively easy to use and affordable 16mm film and equipment.  

After a series of experiments in classrooms throughout the country, the company established Eastman Teaching Films, Inc. in 1928 to produce and distribute 16mm educational films. A few years later they began producing films for the medical community. The films produced by Eastman demonstrated the professional possibilities of their new format beyond its initial marketing as a tool for amateur home movies.  

In the 1930s, a number of commercial production houses started producing films exclusively for businesses and organizations using the 16mm format, and by the 1950s these companies were producing films for an estimated half-million projectors in operation throughout the U.S.

While producing educational and industrial films has a history going back to the earliest days of film history, films produced on 35mm stock proved expensive and required a “sponsor” willing to invest since industrial films had little to no commercial value. In the 1930s, owners of commercial film studios fought against sponsored films in theaters since renting prints was their major source of revenue. Sponsored films on 35mm stock frequently found their way into commercial theaters (free of charge to theater owners) much to the chagrin of studio owners. The portability of 16mm made screening films far more flexible than 35mm films and offered previously unheard of venues for watching films (schools, workplaces, town hall, etc.) just as they were being shut out from commercial theaters.
 
The films produced by Eastman Teaching served an important starting point for bringing an affordable and flexible means for organizations and businesses to use motion pictures to sell, persuade, and educate.

For more information about Eastman Teaching Films, see the excellent Before Video: A History of the Non-Theatrical Film by Anthony Slide.

Kevin J. Martin is the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Audiovisual and Digital Collections at Hagley Museum and Library.

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