It was the best of times, it was the—well let’s just hope it was the best of times for both of the producers of two metalcasting-related videos we recently watched.

Here at MODERN CASTING, we go to great lengths to make the metalcasting industry look good. And “good” can take on a variety of forms, as evidenced by the two videos in question.

The first picture is from a supplier of molding machines. The Herron Casting Machine is a bottom filling vertical mold maker for high casting production—an idea that is not new but has never really taken off. While the video for the machine feels melodramatic at times, the passion for the casting industry is overwhelming. Of particular interest is the montage at the beginning of the footage of different castings found around the city of Chicago.

The second video was produced by students and professors of metalcasting at Central Washington Univ. This film is college-cool, with rock music playing over images of students building and testing an in-your-face centrifugal supercharger.

Whether it’s playing up the importance of castings to civilization itself or just being effortlessly cool, videos like these can show metalcasting in the best of lights. And that’s good for the industry.