Public Information Films

[Vienna]

Jul 6, 2021 18:39:29 GMT Three Litre said:

Jul 6, 2021 15:03:40 GMT Vienna said:

The voice on the film sounds like Brain Wilde.

Vi

Or possibly Brian.

Cats are rubbish at spelling. 

Oops...   

[Nightfly]

Jul 6, 2021 19:30:18 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

I saw it a few years ago, from memory it was a bit rubbish & didn't live up to its reputation.

An example of a PIF that turned into a half decent short film drama is Night Call which I recently watched on the BFI Player. It's a driver safety themed film. Features David De Keyser, the voice of those 1970s Ronco TV ads for long forgotten gadgets like "The Button-eer", those self-advancing LP holders and the extra arm you could stick on your record player that would clean discs as you played them.  (Actually, the guy who does the ads for JML, which I suppose is the present day equivalent of Ronco sounds a bit like him).

player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-night-call-1977-online

[Arthur Pringle]

Yes it's very atmospheric 'Night Call', I wouldn't know De Keyser's name but his voice is instantly recognisable from film trailers & he did a lot of film re-voicing, I recognise his voice particularly from the Hammer film 'Vampire Circus', he re-voiced the actor Robert Tayman who in real life has a soft & unthreatening voice, no good for the vampire Count he played in the film.

I notice in recent years they seem to get voiceover artists who mimic the better known ones, the guy who did 'The X Factor' was clearly copying Patrick Allen.

Also in 'Night Call' Barry Ingham sporting one of his many wigs

Another actor better known for his voiceovers is Gary Watson, he did loads of pifs & tv ads. He was in 'Z Cars' for 11 episodes, below is the first episode he appeared in, you can hear his familiar voice at 3mins in-

[Sparky]

Jul 6, 2021 19:26:44 GMT Nightfly said:

Jul 6, 2021 19:16:31 GMT Arthur Pringle said:

This yt channel, ephemeralfilm, contains many other pifs & similar short films-

Looks like there's some nice hidden gems, PIFs, old continuity etc on that channel, Arthur. Nice find!

There's two from Central.

The clip with the blue background and male announcer (Mike Prince) is from Studio 4 the Presentation studio in Birmingham, the other clip with Linda Cunningham and the beige backdrop is from Studio 5 - the Presentation Studio in Nottingham. (Still complete as of 2015)

From the era they had East and West Midlands continuity announcements.

[D.C. Burtonshaw]

Here's one regarding Motorway driving from 1979:

[Sparky]

Jul 7, 2021 17:49:26 GMT D.C. Burtonshaw said:

Here's one regarding Motorway driving from 1979:

Great one Gerry!

Now there's a thing from the past - a hard Shoulder on the Motorway.

They're getting as rare as White Dog Poo these days.

[Sparky]

Jul 7, 2021 17:49:26 GMT D.C. Burtonshaw said:

Here's one regarding Motorway driving from 1979:

Just a point...

When I passed ,y Driving test during the early 1990s, the instructor informed me that I should take up "Motorway Lessons"...

At the time, I thought it was a ploy by the instructor to get more cash out of me.

I didn't take up the offer.

Is motorway driving included with lessons these days - or is there a seperate course?

[Sam Tyler]

Jul 8, 2021 19:09:41 GMT Sparky said:

Is motorway driving included with lessons these days - or is there a seperate course?

 It was always the case that learner drivers were not allowed on the motorway but that changed back in June 2018 when the law was revised so that learner drivers could get motorway experience before taking their driving test. However, because the learner is a provisional licence holder they are only allowed on the motorway with a fully qualified driving instructor in a dual controlled car.

Motorway lessons aren't compulsory though and motorway driving isn't included in the driving test because there are many areas around the country where learner drivers and driving instructors don't have easy access to a motorway.

Sam.

[D.C. Burtonshaw]

I requested a Motorway lesson after I passed my test, and got one, I felt I had to concentrate quite a bit at the time. I remember the instructor constantly reminding me to "Stay in the centre of the Lane".

[Sparky]

Jul 9, 2021 8:44:33 GMT Sam Tyler said:

Jul 8, 2021 19:09:41 GMT Sparky said:

Is motorway driving included with lessons these days - or is there a seperate course?

 It was always the case that learner drivers were not allowed on the motorway but that changed back in June 2018 when the law was revised so that learner drivers could get motorway experience before taking their driving test. However, because the learner is a provisional licence holder they are only allowed on the motorway with a fully qualified driving instructor in a dual controlled car.

Motorway lessons aren't compulsory though and motorway driving isn't included in the driving test because there are many areas around the country where learner drivers and driving instructors don't have easy access to a motorway.

Sam.

Thanks Sam!

Wasn't aware of all that.

My first trip on the Motorway was on the M1, on a wet Tuesday morning about a month after I had passed my test.

Quite a baptism of fire with the lorries thundering by and visibility dreadful.

On the same day Leicestershire Constabulary / VOSA / DVLA and the (then) Customs & Excise were pulling as many vehicles as they could muster into Leicester Forest East services at Junc 21 and going over the vehicles, drivers, documents, shoe sizes, toilet habits with a fine toothcomb.

I think Customs were doing checks on Diesel (for the Red stuff) and looking at contents of Vans and Trucks.

Quite hairy for my first motorway experience. I was crapping myself.

Not sure why, as I had nothing to hide!

The copper didn't find my Sweeney "Drag Act" jibes funny either.