At the Heart of the System
At the Heart of the System
An instructional/promotional industrial film for Woodward Governor production systems.
At the Heart of the System
Aerial shots of scenic ponds & lakes and marshes; mountains (misty or snow-capped); wooded valleys & canyons. Aerials of hydro-electric dams. CU electric control panel on wall, zoom in to Woodward name plate. More aerials of hydroelectric dams. Promotional stills of dams in Brazil, Khyber Pass in western Pakistan, the Caspian Sea, and West Africa. Cut to airplane montage: air to air shot of four US fighter jets in flight (appear to be McDonnell F-4 E Phantom II); low angle air to air shot of unidentified US jet fighter in flight (looks like cross between F-5 Freedom Fighter & F-94C Starfire); air to air shot of commuter plane in flight; TLS very strange looking experimental plane taking off (almost certainly appears to be the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, only without pointed nosecone); TLS American Airlines commercial jet taking off; shots of airplane mechanics fixing planes; shot of prop cropduster taking off; air to air shot of Cessna in flight. Aerials of off-shore oil drilling rigs in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and African coast; TLS/MSs men working on oil rig off Malaysian coast; TLS helicopter landing on pad of oil rig platform. TLSs men constructing gas pipeline in remote Alaska. Aerials of enormous shipping freighters sailing & docked at port; TLS freighter Eden Bridge docked (London registry). TLS submarine sail protruding from blue water. TLS Sea Hawk hovercraft sailing. TLS early bullet train in motion. Opening credits.
At the Heart of the System
EST shots Woodward Govenor production facilities in Rockford, Illinois; Ft. Collins, Colorado; England; Netherlands; Tokyo, Japan; and Sydney, Australia. Great sideview aerial of the Statue of Liberty, zoom out to wider shot. Diss to quick EST shot Golden Gate Bridge during sunset. Diss to great EST shot of Big Ben and Parliament, a double-decker bus passing in FG; cut to MS London guards marching; EST shots Tower of London (with Union Jack flying in FG) and London Bridge (Tower Bridge). Diss to landmarks of the Netherlands: large fanciful windmills, ports, botanical gardens. Diss to Japan landmarks: people passing beneath Shinto gate shrine, children in traditional robes, Great Buddha of Kamakura (Daibustu statue). Diss to TLS boat passing by Sydney Opera House, zoom out. Cut to MS montage of scientists, engineers, technicians, skilled specialists and office grunts working at various Woodward facilities.
At the Heart of the System
Montage of a Woodward design team in operation: MS application engineer talking on phone; MS white man in ugly suit talking with another white man in an even uglier suit; MS/CUs group of white men wearing ugly business suits talking in meeting room; MS men working on old unwieldy analog computer; MS/CUs man drawing design plans; MSs men in shop cutting designs; more design and production shots; MS/CUs engineers and lab technicians building prototype; MS/CUs prototype tests and redesign. Methods and productions department montage: shots of white men in ugly suits discussing plans, technicians producing product in house (metal working).
At the Heart of the System
TLS construction team working on gas pipeline in Alaska; TLS refinery as small snowy camp, exhaust flames shooting from stack; aerial of gas pipeline construction in Alaska. LS/MSs of production facilities and workers: metal workers and assemblers in Japan and America. MCU/CU montage of happy Woodward employees beaming into the camera (men & women of various races and ethnicities). More shots of production, both in labs and in offices. Cut to excellent animation of Woodward's business philosophy, the corporate partnership: an ultra-basic lesson in American-styled capitalism with profits generated by the product line being evenly distributed to both the investors and the employees, at least according to the animation here until the VO says that everyone benefits according to the value of their investment. Uh, okay.
At the Heart of the System
MS white woman working on payroll. MSs paychecks being distributed to employees in offices. VO says employees receive a share of the profits in addition to their salary. Stills of year-end corporate banquets, when employees receive their share of the profit in relation to the weight they pulled. Description of profit sharing program, policies and benefits. MS/CUs employees filling out worksheets on which they evaluate the performance of other employees; supervisors fill out sheets, too; employee evaluate their supervisors. An in-house committee reviews the results.
At the Heart of the System
MSs employees at work in office and in production labs. VO describes the 2 year probation period every employee must complete before becoming a member of the corporate partnership. MS prospective employee (white male) taking written exam; MS prospect getting a health physical; MSs prospect in training, eating lunch in lunchroom, then looking over progress reports with supervisor. An evaluation committee judges the prospect's potential partnership; they make a motion and then vote on it. Rick is in! MS/CUs of corporate induction ceremony; the end of the probation period and the employees are literally sworn and pinned into the partnership while their peers watch silently on (one of us, one of us).
At the Heart of the System
Depiction/description of the Woodward youth program! It's true, it's true! MSs Woodward Youth wearing company coveralls and bow ties learning the Woodward way in a classroom; indoctrination. TLS/MSs Woodward Youth tending corporate grounds. TLS/MS youth working in a corporate greenhouse. MSs Woodward Youth working in aisle of supply room. MS of Woodward teenager working in production area. MSs Woodward teenager changing in locker room, then working on factory floor. TLS teens entering the Earl C. Martin Academy of Industrial Science; MSs geeky white teenage males working technical, design and production jobs at Woodward.
At the Heart of the System
MS elderly white people working behind lunch counter at Woodward plant. Panning MS employees eating lunch on sunny patio overlooking manmade lake. MS employee receiving dental care courtesy of Woodward. MS two white male employees getting their hair cut at barber shop. More shots employees getting dental checkups. Woodward engineering conference montage (one in Rockford, the other in Tokyo): seminars, check-in, develoments etc.
At the Heart of the System
MSs technicians and engineers working. VO describes the Woodward political lobbying effort. MSs office workers at desks. MSs elections committees meeting. CU sign: Polling Place. MCU switches and lever being thrown inside voting booth. Nice wide LS of Capitol Building, sunny afternoon. MS Woodward tax lobby group meeting (what, old white men in business suits fretting over taxes?! Don t worry, fellas, corporate welfare is here to stay!) MSs group of (male) Japanese engineers reviewing safety measure, in this case safety glasses. TLS of white men (Woodward employees) playing soccer. MSs company family picnic. Description & depiction of corporate charity efforts, both in America and Japan.
At the Heart of the System
MSs of antique water wheels in motion. TLS small hydroelectric plant. Archival shot of early internal combustion system train passing through open station. Archival shot of old American Airlines commercial prop plane taking off. TLS train passing camera. Aerials of hydroelectric dam. MSs design engineers working in office. Illustrations of thermal energy: sun shining on valley; earth with quarter-section removed to reveal molten core; the hydroelectric plant of the future.