The first vintage Factory Training video has been posted...

[FORDification]

I'm sure most of you were monitoring this thread in which I was looking for a 35mm filmstrip projector. This was so I could begin to archive the collection of filmstrip/record training packages that I've been slowly collecting. 'fordman' graciously contributed the necessary funds to purchase the filmstrip projector, and it finally arrived a couple days ago. (Thanks fordman!)

I spent the evening messing around with the projector, learning how to use it and getting it cleaned up a bit so the filmstrips could be viewed. I ended up dismantling it to some degree to get dust and lint off the optics and things now look pretty good.

My plan is to simply project the filmstrip up onto a screen, and then capture the images and sound with a video camera. I will then convert the video to a .flv (Flash) file format to display online, just like YouTube. I decided to take the whole capture process on a trial run so I could get an idea of all the variables I need to be monitoring, like video quality vs. file size, duration, whether or not the video can be viewed in all popular browsers, etc.

I got the first video made several evenings ago, and then got it converted to a Flash file this evening. I'm posting it here for your viewing pleasure....while it lasts. The video you see is kinda crude....the image quality isn't the best, mainly due to some lint being pulled up into the machine while the filmstrip was being advanced (you'll see that in a few frames about 2/3 of the way through). I'm going to have to do more cleaning, I guess. Also, the machine I'm using has a built-in record player, which is great, but the speaker ends up being a little far away from the camera's microphone, resulting in the audio sounding a little 'distant'....something that will be corrected for future releases by removing the speaker and setting it up right by the camera's microphone. (You'll also notice that when advancing the first frame, I accidentally went the wrong direction. whoops!)

Anyway...the video is just a temporary example...I'll be re-recording it in the near future, with (hopefully) a cleaner picture and better sound. I just temporarily posted it to the site so I could check it out with various browsers, and thought you all might like to get a glimpse of the type of video presentations that will be coming in the near future. I'll be removing this one in the near future and will replace it with a much cleaner looking/sounding version...but for a first-time effort, it actually didn't turn out too bad.

This was a 1972 production called "Way Out Ahead: 1972 Ford F-100 Pickup vs. Chevy & Dodge Pickups", and was propaganda designed to 'educate' the salesmen about the positive attributes of their trucks when comparing them to the competition.

The video has been posted to the following URL:

Way Out Ahead: 1972 Ford F-100 Pickup vs. Chevy & Dodge Pickups


Take a look and tell me what you think! Like I said, though, this one will be cleaned up and enhanced, and reposted at a later date.

Also, it WILL be streaming into your computer, so you'll be able to watch things as they come in. However, due to the volume of viewers that I'm sure will try watching this at the same time, you might see a few delays while the video downloads. Once it's done, you'll be able to view it in it's entirety without the pauses.

[FORDification]

By the way, I forgot to mention that this video is a little more than 14 minutes long. The Flash file you download is almost 25 MB, so those of you with dial-up are going to be downloading this one for a while. Be patient though...it IS pretty cool!

[mikeconner1]

Man, this brings back some memories. I remember the filmstrip from elementary & junior high. I had forgotten about the little beep that told the filmstrip projector to turn the knob and get to the next frame. Who else remembers "health class", usually "taught" by the gym teacher where you watched a filmstrip in EVERY class cuz the gym teacher wasn't really into it? Funny stuff.

[JWW]

Thanks for sharing that. I love vintage projector movies. I'm looking forward to new additions to this area. Thanks again that was very cool.

[FORDification]

Thought you all might get a kick out of seeing my 'hi-tech' recording studio.

My [censored] table, a stack of my wife's cookbooks and some Ford parts manuals, the video projector and my digital camera.







All things considered, especially how relatively inexpensively I was able to do this, I'm fairly pleased with the outcome.

[Ranchero50]

Very very cool. Man that brings back memories and quite honestly I think it's perfect just the way it is. Who didn't go the wrong way or fiddle with the focus half way through the show? I know I did more than once. The audio was spot on too. same tinny sound from the back of the room. Sounds perfect.

I only wish the viewing window was a little bigger.


Still it's a propaganda film. You really gon't need to dwell on the disc brakes or nice smooth ride of the Chevy, they're not 'real' trucks and the Dodge? Must expect lots of shorts...

Jamie

[FORDification]

...I only wish the viewing window was a little bigger...

I just bumped the viewing window size up by 100 pixels. Any more than that and it really starts getting pixelated.

[drytoast]

That was awesome Keith, I really enjoyed it. I was just going to watch a few minutes and ended up watching the whole movie. Looks great just the way you did it and still has that nostalgia look to it. Great job. Toast

[Fordnatic]

That is interesting! I, too was going to just check out a little and ended up watching the whole thing. I can't believe the film survived all these years. It's amazing what gets saved....or not tossed out. Glad it's being salvaged.

[FORDification]

ARRGGHHH! I was playing around with the projector this evening, trying to get another recording from a very warped record and decided that if I bent the needle on the record player out just a tiny bit it would work better....and the $#*%& thing snapped off! I just hopped up on E-bay and found a couple that looks like they'll work, so I did the Buy It Now with a couple of them. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[fordman]

thats a drag about the needle. i was laughing abotu the video/film. it was a big propaganda sales film. the greehouse room in the chevy cab was eviedent in the film. it did remind me of a jrhigh school film. the beeping was something i had forgot abotu also. i'm glad i have dsl now. it was easy to watch. i did notice that the ford seemed to be lower in the rear than most of the trucks i have seen though. in some of the flat side views of it . that isn't a good sells point to most folks. it makes them seem like they are loaded down in those pics.

[NM5K]

Looked pretty good to me. Still fairly sharp at that size.
Hope the needle works.. If it doesn't I "might" have a few around.
Seems I did have a few in some old parts boxes, but have no
idea if they would be the right type.

[fomocoguy]

Very cool indeed! It's really neat to see this old sales info for our trucks. I laughed out loud at the dodge fuse panel location; "Do you suppose they are expecting a large number of shorts?"

[FLATBEDFORD]

That was great. I think that going the wrong way on the first beep adds a nice, nostalgic touch.
I like your setup. Funny thing is that when I used to work in film and TV we used a similar setup. For one episode of "New York Undercover" they wanted to show somebody watching a news report on TV. Because the show was shot on film we had to do it in two steps. First we shot the report on video. Then we played it back on TV and shot the TV with the 16mm Arri movie camera that we used for everything. Pretty low-tech for a network TV show and just about the same setup that Keith used.