Although best known for 'Roobarb' (1974-5) and 'Henry's Cat' (1983-93), Bob Godfrey had long worked with animation aimed at an adult audience, and in 1964 he made this fantastic film explaining the importance of increasing the gross national product (GNP) and ways in which production can be improved. Each individual's share of the GNP is charmingly dubbed "TOTO", a term which is repeated amusingly throughout. A potentially dry and complex lecture is transformed into an exhilarating day-glo celebration of consumerism. Made for the British Productivity Council, this film was distributed to companies accompanied by notes designed to provoke discussion. (Alex Davidson)

The complete film is featured in the new Mediatheque collection 'We Can Work It Out', over 30 complete films and TV programmes about the world of work in postwar Britain. It includes well-known feature films ('I'm All Right Jack', 'The Man in the White Suit'), TV dramas ('Leeds United!', 'The Rag Trade') and much rarer industrial films, many of which, like 'Productivity Primer' itself, were made for the government-backed British Productivity Council.

You can read more about Bob Godfrey at http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/869480/

All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections

(From Youtube)