BFI

For the 200th edition of Mining Review, the filmmakers decided to permit themselves a little pat on the back by devoting the whole of the ten-minute newsreel to an account of how they made it.

Story 705 itself is relatively prosaic - it's a report on Lynemouth Colliery In County Durham, the so-called "million ton pit" after its prodigious output. But the actual story is dealt with relatively quickly via statistics reeled off by the colliery's production manager, identified only as Mr Smith.

The rest of the film documents the process by which stories move from page or verbal tip-off to screen - the planning and scripting process, the shooting, editing, scoring and voice-over commentary recording. John Slater, who had recorded every commentary since 1948, appears on camera for the first time to talk us through his own role, and that of all his many collaborators. It might initially seem self-indulgent, but this edition of Mining Review provides a valuable glimpse into the work of a prolific industrial film production company: for over sixteen years, Data Film Productions would typically produce one similar Mining Review item per week.

Michael Brooke

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