When you start something big you've got to have a plan. I didn't get very far into this project before I realized that I would never get the vision that was in my head on video tape and paper without a plan. This document was the result.
The Original Concept
I want to do a film about my uncle's steam engine. His steam engine is a part of agricultural history. I want to explore and preserve the ways the steam traction engine was used on farms in Robertson County, Tennessee; what farm life was like at that time; and how the equipment worked. I plan to present this film as somewhat of a biography of my uncle's engine. I am choosing this format to provide a framework for presenting the topics this film will cover.
The Film Treatment
Purpose of the Film
- To preserve the sights and sounds of a steam traction engine in action and how that engine works.
- To record aspects of what farm life was like in Robertson County, Tennessee, when the steam engine was used as a source of power.
- To document some of the stories that are remembered as part of life at that time.
- To demonstrate the wheat harvesting process, the equipment used to harvest the wheat and how that equipment works.
- To show a steam powered sawmill and describe how the sawmill fit in as a part of farm life.
- To describe how a steam engine was used for preparing tobacco plant beds each year.
- To look in on an antique farm equipment show and capture some of the things going on at the event.
Approach to the Film
The approach to filming will be to preserve history. This will be done by filming a steam engine and other related equipment in action at an antique farm equipment show and by interviewing those involved with the equipment. Any old film footage or pictures about the equipment as well as animated diagrams of how the equipment works will be used.
The film will be presented as a biography. The focus is not on the life of a person but on my uncle's steam engine. This approach will provide an effective way to tie all the purposes of the film together and maintain audience interest.
Content of the Film
Filming will include, but not be limited to:
- My uncle's steam engine in action as it runs a wheat separator. Everything from long shots of the engine to close-ups of its parts from every angle. This should also include shots of the engine moving under its own power if possible.
- My uncle's wheat separator in action. Everything from long shots of the separator to close-ups of its parts from every angle.
- The mule teams as they haul wheat to the separator and the feeding of wheat bundles to the separator. Shots should also include close-ups of the mules.
- The process of cutting wheat with a binder and how the binder works.
- Animated sequences to describe how the steam engine and wheat separator work.
- Shots of the wheat separator as it is powered by a tractor.
- Shots of wheat being harvested by a self-propelled combine.
- Shots of lumber being sawn at the sawmill. These shots should include the steam engine that powers the mill as well as the mill itself.
- Shots in and around the Tennessee-Kentucky Threshermen's Show to capture the activity and feel of the event.
- Any old pictures and movies of steam engines and other related scenes.
- Static shots of things to add to the film. These can be things like: scenes around my grandfather's farm, old equipment, wheat in the field, etc.
An interview with Jackie Swann — questions to include:
- What was it like seeing all this equipment in operation when you were growing up?
- What jobs were the steam engine used for?
- How were plant beds steamed and what purpose did it serve?
- Looking at the big picture, what all was involved in a wheat threshing (equipment, people, food, etc.)?
- What kind of working agreement did farmers have among themselves?
- What does the person operating the steam engine have to keep in mind?
- Tell me about the steam engine and the separator (size, power, make, year, cost, etc.)?
An interview with Paul Swann — questions to include:
- Tell me the story about bringing an engine home from Nashville.
- Tell me about the steam engine you currently have.
- What was it like seeing all this equipment in operation when you grew up?
- Explain the process of steaming plant beds.
- How did the sawmill get started?
- Tell me about the trip to Mt. Vernon, IN.
- What would a wheat harvest have been like when your father was a boy?
- Tell me about cutting wheat with a binder (pay, acres/day, etc.).
- How many people would it take to get a crop of wheat threshed?
- What kind of working agreement did farmers have among themselves?
- On a good day, how much wheat could be threshed? How much money did it bring?
- What kind of things do you have to be thinking about to operate a steam engine safely?
- How did your father and your Uncle Will get started in their farming partnership?
Outline of the Film
The film will present the following ideas in the order listed:
Kay-Gee 1875 — A Life Story
- Introduction — Introduce the viewer to the engine and give some basic information about it (i.e. year built, owner, etc.).
- Engine History — An overview of who owned it and where it worked.
- Keck-Gonnerman Co. — Some history of the Keck-Gonnerman Company.
- Separator History — About buying it new and using it.
- Swann Brothers — Tell about the partnership between Will and Caner Swann.
- Restoration — Finding it and bringing it back to life.
- Engine Upkeep — What it takes to maintain an engine.
- Threshing Show — About the Threshing Show.
Built to Work — Using a Steam Engine
- Engine Design — The major parts and what they were used for.
- Operation — About preparation, operation and safety.
- Uses — How engines were used by farmers in Robertson County.
- Tobacco — Steaming plant beds.
- Lumber — Powering a sawmill.
- Wheat — Powering a separator.
Harvest Time — A Community Effort
- Wheat — About wheat in Robertson County: sowing to harvest.
- Cutting Wheat — Using a binder.
- Harvest — A look at a community effort.
- Threshing — How the separator works and people needed.
Today's Relics — Monuments to the Past
- Progress — How technology has changed things.
