Visual Training Part One, Why Things Are Seen, Merton (1947)

Wonderful, informative military training film about vision, which features shots of south London having been made at Merton Park Studios.

Starting with a caption that states “lives were needlessly lost and many opportunities missed for killing” in WWII because of poor visual training, this Army film attempts to teach soldiers the principles of seeing: contrasts of colour, dark and light, texture, silhouettes, shapes, shadows, movement and size. Illustration comes partly from the streets of south London near Merton Park Studios, with shots of shops, pubs, toilets and a No 604 trolleybus.