Packard Forum Index » General

On another thread there is a discussion developing on the interest in establishing a Video Shelf, like the Packard Bookshelf. This came about with the new video on Packard that is currently on the market. I had suggested adding the video to the Packard Bookshelf, but another poster suggested not having it on the bookshelf, keeping this section for print material. He makes a good point. There are going to be a small number of videos devoted exclusively to Packard, and establishing a section for these few is probably not warranted. Adding videos to the bookshelf would mix the media and may not be acceptable. Including videos that are related to Packard, but not about Packard is a possibility to get more included. I can think of one other, but it is not a Packard video. It is the PBS series on the crossing of the continent in a Winton in 1903.

Any ideas on this?

Any suggestions for videos, Packard and others, that could be included in a library?

I think its in general a good Idea to have a Packard Video Shelf , it think it should include old factory movies and
clips also dealers movies etc.
Im not sure who much from this has preserved to this day, I have found several on Youtube. I hope theres more somewhere out there.
But what about copyrights and that?

I have a crappy copy of "the safe road ahead" the 1956 Promotional movie with the amusing story of the retired engineer who was building the TL chassis model in his basement workshop for the company to use in demonstrations.

I have never seen "Reaching for the Sun" the 1941 movie that was partially shot in the Packard plant, and that is strange, because I'm sround a lot of old movies.

Some videos on youtube,this user has a lot of them.
youtube.com/watch?v=fBf1ZW2jjOM
Packard Proving Grounds

Quote:

I don't see any copyright issues if we were to go forward with a Video Shelf. Like the Bookshelf, we would post titles, descriptions, and other pertinent information. For videos available on the Internet (e.g., YouTube) only the URL would need to be posted. I suppose we would want to keep the shelf devoted to Packard items only. Any lawyers out there who could comment on what I have just said? I have no idea how to construct a new video section, but surely someone could do this. Brian indicates he has too many projects to do something at this time.

John -

Thanks for starting a separate thread on this subject. Looks like the idea has already gotten some good attention and intentions.

I had been thinking of a reference for videos that people can actually lay their hands on, rather than a list of videos that can be viewed online or another list of cameo appearances of Packard in movies (which has already been covered elsewhere more than once and by way of completely independent efforts).

However, I'm sure my perpspective is colored by my past work and experience with the Packard Bookshelf and printed matter. Hence, I may be looking at this with blinders on. Perhaps there is a way to reference live material that I can't envision.

Also, I avoided the use of URLs in the Bookshelf feature because I found that many, which I had previously noted in discussion at another venue, had become broken. Not sure how linking to video that's viewable online would compare, but I see that "The Safe Road Ahead" was dissected and presented on YouTube in several separate "bites".

Clearly, determining what kind of videos to include in a new feature will help shape the scope of information that will need to be gathered. Layout for the page and its entries should begin to follow from that.

When the time comes, I'll be more than happy to include info on the few titles in my own video library.

Hopefully, you'll continue to get input from other members that points to a need/want of such feature as I think you have the beginnings of a something here, that builds upon past successes, but with some new twists.

In The "Packard Plan" Videos thread, Gerd suggested we revisit this topic. He must have been reading my mind from the other side of the world as I was just looking at some titles and this thread over the weekend.

So, I've floated it back to the top for further discussion because this has to be a collaborative effort.

First, let's consider factory promotional films; I've only ever purchased a few (on VHS), myself:

• The Way Ahead (1940, B&W) - new models, plant updates, and proving grounds

• The Watchdogs (1954, color) - filming of a (mock) documentary at proving ground and testing labs

• The Safe Road Ahead (1956, color) - torsion-level, pushbutton transmission, twin traction, proving grounds

Another that I'm aware of is:

• Men Bet Their Lives on It (1946, B&W) - Merlin engine, PT boats, WWII

There are also several factory-issued salesman training filmstrips that, together with sound from the original phongraph records that accompnaied them, have been transferred to video, but I won't get into all those titles here.

Suffice to say, for now, that the promos and filmstrips have been available for years in various VHS and DVD collections, but quality varies widely. Seems like several can also be found on You Tube, in pieces. However, access is impractical for me with only a dial-up connection form home; though my local library offers a free WiFi hot-spot, all online video is blocked.

When it comes to recent, original productions, compared to books, there are relatively few titles available, and I only own one:

• An Interview With William D. Allison (2007) - Motor City Packards; features 1989 interview with torsion-level inventor, 1953 prototype, driving comparisons, cycle car

Others that I'm aware of include:

• Ultimate Autos: Packard (1999?) - part of a History Channel series; narrated by by Edward Hermann

• Great Cars: Packard (2004) - part of a PBS series; also aired on The History Channel?

• The History of Packard: The Definitive Story (2007) - Boulevard Entertainment

• Packard: An American Classis Car (2009) - RK Publishing, hosted by Edward Hermann; also aired on PBS

• The Packard Proving Grounds (2010) - Packard Motor Car Foundation; facility rescue/rehabilitation project, narrated by by Edward Hermann

All of these were published on DVD media.

There could (and should be) many questions regarding what direction this effort should take, but I'm not the one with the answers.

Although titles appear to be much fewer, I'm not sure if an entire thread, let alone a single FAQ post, would provide sufficient coverage/treatment, and the editing window is restricted. Yet, I'm not sure that the format of the Bookshelf thread is well-suited for audio-video media, either.

If others are interested in such a feature, let's hear their thoughts and kick the can around a bit. We need to know exactly what elements the prospective users would, within reason, expect to find. I would also like to come up with a better name than the "Packard Videoshelf".

Brian, to keep the main menue neatly arranged we could combine the photo & video archive to a Packard media archive.

Attach file:

---

  (16.25 KB)