What are filmstrips?
The filmstrip is a series of still images, often with accompanying scripted or recorded commentary, mostly projected for the purposes of civic instruction and education from the 1920s to the 1980s. The technology was often used in conjunction with other visual and aural media such as film (often 16mm), slides, wall-charts, maps, diagrams, textbook illustrations, and radio programmes. Equally, the filmstrip represented a low-cost, resilient alternative to portable film and slide projectors making it an essential part of visual education programmes in Western and Eastern Europe, North America and, through colonial networks, the rest of the world.
Who invented filmstrips?
Like many media technologies, there is no single point of origin for filmstrips. From what we know, filmstrips started being used in the 1920s. Here, filmstrips are a successor to the magic lantern projectors dating back to the nineteenth century. But equally they owe a debt to film projection and the development of the filmstock, particularly the non-flammable variety. In Europe, the film company Pathé invented the Pathéorama that was a single-viewer filmstrip device, and German producers Liesegang and Filmosto invented some of the early filmstrip projectors. In the United States, corporate and advertising filmmakers such as Jam Handy are credited as the inventor of filmstrips.
Who made filmstrip and who used them?
Filmstrips were produced by a wide range of actors such as government agencies, educational institutions, political organizations, church and missionary associations, and commercial enterprises. They were used by all those who benefited from the specific characteristics of this form of projection. In general, two main groups of users can be distinguished. First, educators of all kinds, who sought to take advantage of the didactic benefits of slide projection but lacked access to an established institutional projection setup. Second, a more leisure-oriented use, in which family entertainment was the primary focus.
How did filmstrips work?
The images on a filmstrip are sequentially printed onto a single strip of film stock (often 35mm), typically non-flammable. Filmstrips were usually rolled into a small cardboard, metal or plastic box that was easy to transport. Similarly, filmstrip projectors, which were distinct from film projectors, were also designed to be portable. Here, many manufacturers, particularly for the toy market, also made filmstrips for single viewing (hand-held) devices. Indeed, as a cheap and portable means of public education, all aspects of a filmstrip were designed for user convenience.
What topics did filmstrips cover?
It would be easier to list topics filmstrips did not cover. From how to behave on holiday, to proper handwashing, to the cultivation of crops, to what to do in the event of a nuclear attack, filmstrips addressed all areas where visualization helped convey complex issues clearly and efficiently. Christian organizations, in particular, contributed a broad range of social, religious, and anthropological topics. Yet within the violent history of the twentieth century, filmstrips also served propagandistic purposes. For instance for promoting colonial, communist, or Nazi politics. They could function as news media, advertising tools, language-learning aids, or simply as storytellers of fairy tales.
When were filmstrips most popular?
The answer varies for different parts of the world. For example, filmstrips were extremely popular in pre-WW2 Germany, but only gained traction as an educational medium in Britain after the war. They remained an important visual aid till the 1980s, when filmstrips were replaced by automatic sound and slide projectors, overhead projectors, television, and video recording formats. In Eastern Europe, the technology remained in prominence up until the 1990s, where home-based devices for film viewing remained restricted to a select few. Much like its origin, there is no singular end point for the filmstrip. Whether for learning, leisure, or both, the technology was gradually replaced by other media forms.
Where can you find filmstrips today?
Filmstrips today are both everywhere and nowhere. As a once ubiquitous projection medium, they have left traces in archives and private homes but have largely faded from memory, making them difficult to access and often rediscovered only by chance.
This project seeks to identify and connect these dispersed holdings in different types of archives in film, photographic and text collections. Across our partners and other institutions, we find holdings that vary widely in size, condition, and accessibility. By improving visibility and searchability, we aim to reestablish filmstrips as an accessible visual resource.
If you know of existing collections of filmstrips, we encourage you to get in touch.
Why should filmstrips be preserved?
Filmstrips contain images of the past — propaganda regarding race and colonial attitudes, communication of scientific knowledge, and visual records of different parts of the world. The commentaries were sometimes written by famous authors, politicians, scholars, and educators, foregrounding their attempts at imagining a future for Europe through the medium of filmstrips. For instance, the British Socialist thinker G.D.H. Cole used filmstrips to educate children and adults on concepts relating to self-governance, democracy, and workers rights. In forgetting the filmstrip we might also be forgetting the ways in which Europe sought to remain culturally and politically relevant across the twentieth century.
What does it mean to preserve filmstrips?
Our project is seeking to answer this question by working with national and local archives across Europe. We are bringing together archivists specialising in film, photography, and paper collections to establish protocols regarding the preservation of filmstrips and ancillary materials — filmstrip lecture notes, audio commentary, educational journals, photographs, educational experiment reports etc. — to encourage access to filmstrip resources as a means to enhance the comprehension of European (and thus, world), history.