Smith, J. Aubrey (James Aubrey), 1902-2004

James Aubrey Smith (1902-2004) worked as a filmmaker with the University of Georgia College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service for nearly three decades. During that time, he produced films on subjects from ant extermination to the making of clothes for teenagers, from 4-H camps to Georgia pine. He began his career as a filmmaker with the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1934, and worked for TVA until 1942. In 1943, he went to work for the Extension Service. Films would make a critical contribution to the Extension Service's work. Smith's Extension Service films were loaned out free of charge, sent to county agents for screenings in schools, 4-H clubs and other organizations. Knowing his audience to be farmers and their families, Smith often used those families in dramatizations, conveying information in story form. Despite his fundamentally practical subject matter, Smith was also concerned with his films' aesthetics: for example, he built his own time-lapse camera for special effects. One colleague recalled standing in a cotton field in Polk County with Smith, because the filmmaker insisted on waiting until the clouds in the shot were perfect. Smith-whose work eventually took him to every single county in the state-remained with the Extension Service until retiring in 1971. Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Award Collection - J. Aubrey Smith Biography http://www.libs.uga.edu/media/collections/smith/bio.html (Retrieved November 17, 2010)

From the description of J. Aubrey Smith "Filming Insects" Papers, circa 1952-1970. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 681756294

James Aubrey Smith (1902-2004) worked as a filmmaker with the University of Georgia College of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service for nearly three decades. During that time, he produced films on subjects from ant extermination to the making of clothes for teenagers, from 4-H camps to Georgia pine. He worked as a film maker with the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1934 to 1942. He worked for the Extension Service from 1943 until his retirement in 1971.

From the description of Smith, J. Aubrey (James Aubrey), 1902-2004 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10597565