,,motion ,,picture ,,directing ,,the ,,facts ,,and ,,theories ,,of ,,the ,,newest ,,art ,by ,,peter ,,milne ,motion ,picture critic for over six years on ,motion ,picture ,news1 ,picture ,play ,magazine and ,wid's 7,film7 ,daily2 and member scenario and production department of ,famous ,players-,lasky ,corporation4 ,published and ,copyrighted by ,,falk ,,publishing ,,co41 ,inc4 #ade ,west #cfth ,street1 ,new ,york ,used as a ,supplementary ,text in ,new ,york ,institute of ,photography ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,brooklyn ,copyright #aibb by ,,falk ,,publishing ,,co41 ,,inc4 ,,all ,,rights ,,reserved4 ,,contents ,the ,great and the ,less ,great #h ,the ,picture ,sense #bj ,preparation for ,production #bi ,the ,method of ,william ,de ,mille #cg ,cecil ,de ,mille ,also ,speaks #dg ,when ,acting ,ability ,helps #eg ,rex ,ingram on 8,atmosphere0 #fa ,mainly ,about ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith #gj ,mountains and ,molehills #hb ,some of the ,arts of ,slapstick ,comedy #ij ,other ,tricks ,up ,directors' ,sleeves #ajj ,some ,words from ,frank ,borzage #aaj ,what ,tempo ,means in ,directing #abj 8,overshooting0--and the serial #abf ,the ,method of ,thomas ,h4 ,ince #ace ,directors ,schooled by ,ince #adf ,who ,creates a ,picture #aeb ,music in ,picture ,production #afa ,just ,suppose #afe 8,stealing0 an ,exterior #agf ,the ,importance of the ,art ,director #ahc ,directorial ,conventions #ahi ,ernst ,lubitsch3 ,german ,director #aie ,joe ,may3 ,german ,director #bje ,illustrating the ,use of ,detail #bac ,marshall ,neilan ,summarizes #bai 8,best ,directed0 ,pictures #bbi ,,preface ,the observations on the art of directing motion pictures included in this book are not by any means intended as lessons for the layman with ambitions pointing him toward this goal4 ,to teach the craft through the printed page is as impossible of accomplishment as instructing a steeple-jack in his trade through correspondence school4 8,a director must be born1 not made40 ,this old adage1 adapted to our present situation1 is of a necessity partially false1 inasmuch as at the time of the present day directors' initial birthdays there was no such thing as motion picture production4 ,still it is true in a sense4 ,because to direct for the screen requires a personality and an ability1 blending so many elements of generalship and technique that to studiously acquire them is next to an impossibility4 ,be that as it may1 the motion picture of today is developing its own directors4 ,it has reached out to all businesses and arts and drafted men who are now headed for top positions in the ranks of directorial artists4 ,besides it offers the most humble of the studio staff the opportunity to rise to the top4 ,during recent years cameramen1 property men1 authors1 continuity writers1 artists of brush and of pen and ink1 actors and business men from varying lines have become identified with the art of motion picture directing4 ,the law of averages has declared that many of these should fall short of success4 ,many have4 ,but others have succeeded1 have succeeded even beyond the expectations of their sponsors4 ,therefore it may safely be said that the gates to the field of motion picture directing are ready to open to all-comers1 provided that the aspirants have the inborn abilities and personal makeup that are rigidly required4 ,these abilities1 essential qualities and characteristics are dealt with in the following chapters by the undersigned who has spent nearly ten years in the motion picture industry1 serving in the capacities of critic and continuity writer4 ,these abilities1 essential qualities and characteristics are1 therefore1 set down here as first hand observations4 ,but they are never intended as lessons that will produce immediate results in the way of lucrative positions4 ,no reader of this volume can go dashing home to his eager wife with that much advertised greeting3 8,dear6 ,i've got that job6 ,the ,new ,york ,institute's book on directing produced #ajj per cent results60 ,it is hoped1 however1 that it will give those who have the patience to peruse it something of an insight into the tremendous responsibilities that rest on the shoulders of the conscientious director4 ,at present most people seem to believe that that line on the screen3 8,directed by ----0 just stands for a lucky fellow having a grand and glorious fling within the walls of a motion picture studio4 ,,peter ,,milne4 ,with grateful thanks and appreciation for the views expressed therein by ,marshall ,neilan1 ,william ,c4 ,de ,mille1 ,rex ,ingram1 ,cecil ,b4 ,de ,mille1 ,frank ,borzage1 ,edward ,dillon1 ,ernst ,lubitsch2 and the representatives of ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith1 ,thomas ,h4 ,ince1 and other artists herein referred to1 whose co-operation has made this book possible4 ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,great ,,and ,,the ,,less ,,great ,emotional experience and the capacity for enduring and retaining mental pictures of such experiences--these constitute the chief asset that distinguishes the master director from the rank and file4 ,practical explanations and a word of warning ,,chapter ,i ,what is the fundamental asset that makes the great motion picture director8 ,the requisite that distinguishes the real artist from the rank and file8 ,it is really the same asset that distinguishes the great artist in any walk of art from the less great4 ,when you put this question to a selected group of directors you are liable to receive a different answer from each one4 ,in fact several were approached on the subject before this chapter was written4 ,and very few of them agreed with one another4 ,a still smaller number hit upon what seems the correct answer to the question4 ,it is quite true that the ability to 8feel0 a story and each one of its individual scenes1 counts a lot in a director's favor4 ,the proper 8atmosphere10 the director's ability to achieve it1 is vastly important4 ,so also it is important to have the ability to properly 8visualize0 the continuous action of a picture even before the cameraman has once turned his crank4 ,but after all has been said and done on these scores it remains that the one determining factor that distinguishes the great from the near-great in the picture producing art is experience4 ,other requirements are important1 vastly so1 but first of all and in capital letters ,,experience4 ,it is fondly hoped that no one will presume to take this literally to the very capital letter4 ,to produce a realistic crook story a director must not1 of necessity1 turn ,raffles for a night4 ,nor to portray the effects of ,african 8yaka water0 on a white man1 must he subject himself to a long siege of the drug itself4 ,and doubtless a capable director can successfully picturize the life of a pearl fisher without diving into the briny deep4 ,such specific experiences are not within the span of any one man's life4 ,a director might know ,africa thoroughly1 might know what 8yaka water0 was as well as a 8madeira chair0 and then be handed a manuscript containing such nautical terms as 8chain box10 8capstan10 8seacock0 and 8chain cable40 ,as a consequence a director must always hold himself in readiness for research work when a 'script containing such foreign terms comes his way4 ,but these experiences are largely physical experiences4 ,and they are very minor when it comes to a summing up4 ,no matter what peculiar terms and words are used in a story1 it is the emotional content of it that counts as of greatest importance4 ,therefore the director with the most complete groundwork of emotional experience is the man most properly equipped to rise above his fellows4 ,this groundwork of experience takes the shape of an emotional arc1 an arc that includes on its line points representing each human emotion of life1 reduced to specific and commonplace fundamentals4 ,the more points of emotion upon the director's arc1 the better craftsman he is4 ,diagrams properly don't belong in books written upon an art such as directing4 ,they should be confined to volumes on mathematics and astronomy1 but a simple one introduced here will assist in illustrating the above point clearly4 ,illustration3 ,a--,,suffering4 ,b--,,sacrifice4 ,c--,,love4 ,now let the arc pictured illustrate the entire span of emotional experience possible for a certain man1 our great director1 to have undergone4 ,say that the line and point ,a represent the emotion of suffering4 ,our director has suffered in his early career4 ,perhaps he has slept on a park bench on a cold night with newspapers stuffed among his thin clothes to guard against the wind4 ,his sleep has been fitful and in his moments of awakening he has thought the whole world against him--and roundly cursed it4 ,in the morning he has risen with his bones aching and not even the two cents in his trousers necessary for the purchase of a cup of boiled muddy water called coffee down the line at ,ben's ,busy ,bee4 ,this is a not uncommon case of suffering1 specially in the world of make-believe1 where genius is raised from poverty to affluence sometimes within the short space of a single day4 ,but while it is being experienced it is doubtless one of the most terrible adventures ever visited upon a human being4 ,as a consequence in later years this experience of acute suffering remains stamped1 consciously or subconsciously1 on the individual's mind4 ,now to the point where this experience will tell when the individual has become a director4 ,the director is called upon to stage1 we will say1 the scene of ,napoleon1 a prisoner of the ,european powers on the island of ,st4 ,helena4 ,illustration3 ,,rex ,,ingram1 ,,drilling ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,various 8,,types0 ,,of 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen0 ,,in ,,their ,,parts ,illustration3 ,,george ,,fitzmaurice ,,transferred 8,,peter ,,ibbetson0 ,,to ,,the ,,screen ,,retaining ,,all ,,its ,,rare ,,charm ,how can the director know how ,napoleon felt8 ,what does he know about his attitude of mind8 ,the answers are he knows everything4 ,back in the photographic gallery of his mind he reaches for that scene of himself on the park bench4 ,he recalls that that was the night during which he suffered1 in his own mind1 even to the extent that ,napoleon had suffered4 ,therefore1 still in his mind's eye1 our director refers to his arc of emotional experience4 ,the point ,a represents the height of his suffering4 ,he then merely extends the line ,a out and beyond his own emotional arc until it crosses the emotional arc of ,napoleon at the point where he suffered the tortures of defeat1 disillusionment and imprisonment4 ,on the other hand perhaps the scene of suffering that our director will be called upon to reproduce on the screen is one less important or vivid than his own4 ,it might be a scene of a little boy stammering out his first lesson in school4 ,suffering1 to be sure1 but not of such great magnitude4 ,in this case the line ,a is merely extended downward until the little boy's emotional arc is reached4 ,to reduce such a process of the intellect is indeed dangerous4 ,an individual's emotional experience is no matter of diagrammatical science4 ,however this science is purely imaginary4 ,the whole process is carried out in the director's brain4 ,it is only the fact that it is here reduced to cold type that makes it seem rather brutal4 ,perhaps certain directors will scoff at the idea but to those it may be replied that they use such a process of reasoning whether they know it or not4 ,the whole working out of the scheme is mechanical and subconscious to a certain extent4 ,perhaps1 too1 there are those among the directors who believe that their moments of supreme suffering1 park bench or otherwise1 were far greater than ,napoleon's sufferings4 ,nevertheless their own arcs of emotional experience still serve their good steads4 ,such a director merely reverses the process and goes down the line ,a until he reaches what he believes the arc of ,napoleon1 instead of going up the line4 ,such conceit on the part of the director does not1 however1 lead to the best results4 ,by the same process the director is able to live in his mind the greatest case of self-sacrifice that the world has ever known1 provided that at one time in his career he has made a self-sacrifice that loomed of tremendous proportions at the time4 ,his line of sacrifice1 ,b1 is followed to the point where it cuts the arc containing the greatest sacrificial act of the world4 ,and of course on the line1 ,b1 as on all the other lines from all the other points innumerable other arcs cut across representing cases of emotion between the greatest and the humblest4 ,and so by his own experience1 no matter how small or how large it is in comparison to the experience he is to picturize1 the director is able to give a realistic and sensitive representation of it on the motion picture screen4 ,the case holds the same with all the other emotions of life4 ,perhaps with the case of love it is a bit different4 ,for in the matter of other emotions the director may grant that someone else has experienced them in greater degree than he4 ,but with the matter of his own romance or romances--no6 ,all directors have no hesitancy in claiming1 only to themselves of course1 that theirs is the greatest in the world4 ,consequently there is no line ,c1 but just the point4 ,it is stationary4 ,the director follows it neither up nor down to reach out for some similar point on another arc4 ,thus it is that romantic scenes are quite the most frequently done realistically and properly of all the emotional scenes contrived for the screen4 ,this time the director's conceit does not stand in his way4 ,for the rest the great director's arc of emotional experience contains every emotion1 every cross and mixture of emotions1 that he has lived through during his life4 ,his arc contains hundreds of lines1 each one distinguished from the other by less than a hair's breadth4 ,and yet1 when he comes to employ the arc in his work1 the exact line he desires immediately stands out in bold relief from the others and the director sets to work upon it4 ,thus the greatest directors of today are the men who have run the greatest gamut of emotional experience4 ,to converse with ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith is to instantly realize that here is a man who has suffered1 sacrificed1 lost1 loved1 triumphed4 ,his brain is a storehouse of emotional experience1 his own particular arc contains so many points upon it that a dozen times a dozen alphabets would not suffice to represent them all4 ,thomas ,h4 ,ince has confessed to tramping ,broadway searching for work4 ,chance led him to the old ,biograph studio4 ,today he is among the greatest producers in the art4 ,and it is a safe wager that his beginnings and struggles have not been obliterated from his mind by his success--rather they have been responsible for it4 ,charles ,chaplin1 greatest comedian in the world and his own director gives evidence in each of his pictures1 mute1 grand evidence of the sufferings1 the sacrifices1 the little joys and triumphs of the days of his youth when he had nothing4 ,and so does every great director today show in his pictures1 whether he knows it or not1 the experiences in his emotional career4 ,and let it be said also that the less great display a remarkable lack of experience4 ,it must be reiterated here that these chapters are not to be taken in the light of a text book4 ,the writer would have a holy horror of having on his mind a happily married family man1 who tossed up his business and his bank account to sleep on a park bench1 and who tossed up his wife and children to enter upon one illicit love affair after another1 just to complete his arc of emotional experience1 because it has been stated here that the fullest arc produces the best results4 ,such experiences must come naturally4 ,the great director is a born artist4 ,the born artist is a natural vagabond and nine-hundred and ninety-nine people of a thousand are not natural vagabonds4 ,after this fundamental requisite of experience come a dozen other assets that go to make the good director--the great director4 ,the ability to handle people1 to be a master of men1 the knack of 8visualization10 to inject those little touches into a scene that perform the miraculous act of 8getting under the skin10 to achieve a proper and telling 8atmosphere10 etc41 etc4 ,these requisites will be dealt with in other chapters1 sometimes by the directors themselves4 ,but no matter how important these other essentials loom it may be stated again that first of all ,,emotional ,,experience counts4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,picture ,,sense ,every director who consistently derives a living from picture making has in more or less degree the power of visualization4--,without it he would be unfit for his position4--,the conclusion that this 8power0 is mere common sense applied to picture directing ,,chapter ,,ii ,all our directors are not great4 ,there would be no fun for the picture audiences if they were4 ,fans would be deprived of that greatest of all pleasures2 writing to the magazines to point out that ,marie wore silk stockings going in the door and lace filigreed hose coming out of it4 ,but in the rank and file of directors whose work appears with regularity on the screen there are many capable and skilled men--each one1 perhaps1 merely waiting the chance or opportunity to step into the limelight with a pictorial masterpiece4 ,most of these directors are noted as 8specialty men40 ,one can do comedy-drama well1 another excels at straight romance1 a third has a particular turn for handling the intricacies of farce4 ,these men are skilled artists but not great artists4 ,potentially great1 perhaps1 but the full extent of their emotional arcs has not as yet been tested4 ,what then1 a student of the screen has a perfect right to ask1 determines the ability of these men8 ,the answer is1 that uncanny sixth sense necessary to become a director1 8picture sense0 or more technically1 the power of visualization4 ,the picture sense is latent in every embryo director4 ,it can be developed1 but no amount of study will acquire it4 ,it seems to be born in some men just as a perfect tenor voice is born in some men4 ,study brings each out but cannot create either one4 ,the 8picture sense0 is the art of seeing in the mind's eye1 or rather the mind's picture screen1 every scene of the scenario writer's typewritten manuscript4 ,readers will probably recall that this accomplishment has also been set down as the scenario writer's fundamental groundwork of learning4 ,thus the writer and the director have much in common4 ,and this is one reason why so many scenario writers have become successful directors4 ,it may readily be seen that this picture sense1 this ability of visualization1 is constantly being used by the director4 ,when he first reads his script he is visualizing it every moment of the way4 ,to himself he says1 8,scene one will look like this1 scene two will follow like this40 ,he then conjures up before his eye what sort of a set he will work in1 what properties it possesses1 how his people will dress1 where they will stand when they go through their emotions1 how they will enter and exit from the scene1 and a hundred and one other details4 ,if1 during this process of visualization1 the story or one of its various scenes rings false1 then the director is prepared to talk it over with the scenario writer and see what can be done to set it right4 ,so right here it may be divined that a director with this sense of visualization developed to the utmost is a most valuable asset to any producing company4 ,if1 on the contrary1 he has to wait until he sees a scene actually screened before he can detect its flaws and1 seeing them1 prepare to take it all over again1 the waste time runs into money lost4 ,illustration3 ,,in 8,,sentimental ,,tommy10 ,,director ,,john ,s4 ,,robertson ,,succeeded ,,in ,,retaining ,,the ,,charm ,,of ,,sir ,,james ,m4 ,,barrie',s ,,original ,,work ,illustration3 8,,the ,,three ,,musketeers0 ,,represents ,,douglas ,,fairbanks ,,at ,,his ,,best ,,and ,,much ,,of ,,the ,,credit ,,belongs ,,to ,,fred ,,niblo1 ,,director ,thus a director with a proper sense of visualization is not prepared to 8shoot0 until he has determined that each scene will screen realistically to the best of his knowledge4 ,all this may sound perfectly easy to those unacquainted with the inside of a motion picture studio4 ,it might be surmised that to detect unrealities in a manuscript is merely a matter of common sense4 ,but it is remarkable indeed to take notice of the many men1 true artists in their particular lines and certainly possessed of a modicum of common sense1 who have experimented in the directorial field and who have failed because of this lack of picture sense1 lack of the ability to visualize4 ,one of the larger producing companies in the field today1 which is constantly seeking new directorial talent1 a company that is actually willing to pay intelligent men to learn the craft of directing1 recently induced an author of national reputation to join its scenario department with a view of later becoming a director after he had become fully acquainted with the construction of manuscripts4 ,this man never had a chance at directing because he never made good in the scenario department4 ,he didn't1 couldn't visualize4 ,and as said 8picture sense0 is required every bit as much by the scenario writer as it is by the director4 ,whereas1 this highly talented individual failed in mastering the picture craft1 another man1 a man who had never written a line in his life1 was given a megaphone and told to go out and 8shoot0 a picture4 ,this man was a cameraman1 had worked on a hundred pictures and1 having the power to visualize1 had developed it to a remarkable degree4 ,the results he achieved with his first picture have earned him a position with the producing company as long as he wants it4 ,the difference between these two 8rookies0 was just that difference of 8picture sense40 ,on the one hand was a man with the inborn power of visualization1 on the other hand a man with a total lack of it4 ,the difference between success and failure4 ,because of these conclusions it might be pointed out that picture sense is a greater asset in the production of pictures than a general experience in human emotions4 ,the argument might stand if it were not for the fact that the cameraman-director is not as yet great4 ,indeed1 he is several degrees below the heights reached by the creme de la creme of the craft4 ,as yet he has only attempted light romance on the screen1 the easiest sort of picture to produce and to produce well as has been pointed out4 ,as yet his real emotional gamut has not been brought into play4 ,it is an unknown quantity4 ,when it becomes known we may determine the degree of the director's greatness4 ,every studio has its stories regarding the amusing predicaments in which a director would have found himself had he not previously taken stock of the situation and summoned his power of visualization to his assistance4 ,it might be well to cite a simple case in point to thoroughly bring out the value of this ability4 ,for instance1 a director came upon the following sequence of scenes in a scenario he was scheduled to produce3 ,,scene #de--;,,interior ,,ballroom4 ,,full ,,shot ,host and hostess stand at door in f4g4 receiving late guests4 ,general dancing and ad lib activity in b4g4 ,run for a few feet and then bring in ,mary escorted by ,john4 ,they exchange greetings with host and hostess4 ,,scene #df--;,,interior ,,ballroom4 ,,semi-,,closeup ,richard sees ,mary enter and starts off toward her4 ,,scene #dg--;,,interior4 ,,medium ,,shot ,mary turns from greeting host and hostess while ,john is still talking with them4 ,richard enters and confronts ,mary4 ,he speaks hotly4 ,spoken ,title3 8,you dare to come here1 now that ,i've found you out80 ,,scene #dh--;,,interior ,,ballroom4 ,,closeshot ,richard and ,mary4 ,richard completes title4 ,she looks at him with scorn4 ,he rages on a few moments and then exits4 ,,scene #di--;,,interior ,,ballroom4 ,,full ,,shot ,mary turns to ,john who leaves host and hostess1 and the couple make their way across the dance floor4 ,this1 of course1 is but a section of a script4 ,moreover1 it is as technically perfect as anyone could desire4 ,and yet here the scenario writer has ,richard denouncing ,mary in a closeshot1 denouncing her quite savagely1 and right on top of this1 in the next scene1 she is walking serenely on with her partner1 neither he nor any of the others in the crowded room having noticed the previous scene4 ,this1 of course1 is an exceedingly obvious instance of how the ability to visualize comes to the director's aid4 ,yet there are many more subtle errors and superficially more realistic1 that are ever lurking in a manuscript1 lurking so securely as to sometimes escape notice4 ,you may choose to say again1 8,tush1 the scenario writer lacked common sense when he wrote the above sequence of scenes40 ,and so he did4 ,after all1 common sense when applied to the art of directing is none other than 8picture sense10 the power of visualization4 ,and so we arrive back at the beginning of the chapter4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,preparation ,,for ,,production ,the routine attached to a director's task before he begins actual production4--,also some instances of stellar temperament1 which1 though mildly amusing in their relation1 are something akin to tragedy in their enactment ,,chapter ,,iii ,before going further into the requirements of actual directing and the methods employed by certain directors1 the various processes through which a scenario goes before the actual work of production starts1 can be noted with benefit4 ,the scenario writer finishes his manuscript and the director goes into retirement for a day or two to study it and to put it through the test of visualization4 ,in the meantime other copies of the manuscript have been placed with the various departments of production of the studio4 ,the production department receives a copy4 ,it is the duty of this department1 first of all1 to estimate the cost of the picture4 ,so a 8scene plot0 is made4 ,this consists of the description of each interior 8setting0 and exterior 8location0 called for in the story4 ,a list is made as follows3 ,interiors ,ball room ,kitchen ,living room ,cafe ,etc41 etc4 ,exteriors ,waterfalls ,open road ,large field ,etc41 etc4 ,after the description of each interior and exterior are placed the numbers representing the manuscript scenes that are played in each interior and exterior4 ,the cost of production is then estimated4 ,the production manager1 the head of the studio1 a man who strives to combine the ability of a business man with the feeling of an artist1 perhaps sees a way whereby the kitchen scenes can be transferred to the living room4 ,this will eliminate the cost of erecting the kitchen setting4 ,details such as this attended to1 he will then give orders to the art and property departments to start on erecting the first setting4 ,this is usually the one in which the greatest number of scenes are enacted4 ,the art department makes plans for the setting4 ,when these are passed they are given to the boss carpenter who sets his men at work on the actual preparation of the set4 ,when they have finished the art department in conjunction with the property and drapery departments 8dress0 the set4 ,this is the working of fixing it up and making it look like the real thing4 ,in the meantime the picture is being cast4 ,probably the star and leading man are already chosen4 ,then the casting director makes the list of all the actors1 actresses and 8extras0 needed in the production of the picture4 ,he refers to his files and calls upon the people he needs1 either upon those in the stock company which most studios of size maintain1 or from the numerous agencies who manage the players4 ,his selections are then submitted to the director and the production manager for ,o4 ,k4 ,in the meantime the location department has secured a list of the exterior scenes required by the picture4 ,the location man refers to his files containing pictures of every likely location within a reasonable distance of the studio4 ,he must find waterfalls1 open road and a large field4 ,he selects these locations1 being sure that the physical action of the story can be played in those he selects and then submits them to the director4 ,if the director has a reason for not liking any of them1 the location man must jump into his automobile and tour the countryside for suitable substitutes to his first selections4 ,all rather hard and serious work4 ,then the director starts to work4 ,the production department must watch him and have the next setting ready for him on time so that not a day will be wasted4 ,if more than one or two companies are working in the studio there may not be room to erect the next setting4 ,then1 perhaps1 if weather permits1 the director goes out on location4 ,thus he is obliged to jump from one place in the story to another4 ,he may be shooting scenes in the last part of the picture on one day and scenes in the first part a few days later4 ,all this is the routine work that must be gone through with the production of each picture4 ,then the temperament of the actors and actresses comes in--comes in very strongly for that matter4 ,if the director be working with a female star she may complain as to her leading man4 ,illustration3 ,,true ,,and ,,penetrating ,,characterization ,,features ,,win ,,de ,,mille',s 8,,miss ,,lulu ,,bett0 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,lost ,,romance10 ,a ,,picture ,,directed ,,by ,,william ,,de ,,mille1 ,,bears ,,the ,,same ,,true ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,upper ,,crust ,,of ,,the ,,social ,,pie ,,as 8,,miss ,,lulu ,,bett0 ,,does ,,to ,,the ,,middle ,,part 8,what's the matter with him80 the director will ask4 8,can't he act80 8,yes1 but he is not quite tall enough10 answers the star1 8why can't ,i have ,so-and-,so from my last picture80 8,well1 ,so-and-,so is busy on another picture just now1 sorry10 answers the director4 8,i won't work without him10 this from the star4 ,of course she will work without him4 ,she has to4 ,the director knows this4 ,so does she4 ,but he has to handle her diplomatically1 to say the least4 ,he would like to come out and say3 8,you will work with any leading man they give us40 ,but he doesn't4 ,he knows the temperament of the feminine star4 ,he summons all his reserve to his rescue and speaks to the lady in cooing words4 ,he brushes her ruffled fur the right way4 ,exasperated husbands might take a fine example from him4 ,after a few minutes talk he has succeeded in convincing the lady that ,such-and-,such has ,so-and-,so beaten eighty ways as to general ability1 furthermore1 his contrasting complexion shows her off to much better advantage4 ,then the star1 thoroughly convinced1 cheers the director up with such an answer as3 8,oh1 all right1 if you insist1 but ,i did want ,so-and-,so40 ,she wouldn't dream of giving in and showing the director he was right4 ,the director doesn't get such satisfaction4 ,but if he's wise he doesn't bother about it4 ,and so the work of production can go on4 ,one day while the director is working in the cafe setting1 which may be erected to represent a ,parisian cafe an extra will come up to him and tell him that it is all wrong4 8,because10 he will say1 8,i've been in a cafe in ,paris40 8,well1 were you in all the cafes of ,paris810 the director will politely ask4 8,no1 but this one didn't have--0 8,back to your place then1 please10 answers the director if he maintains his diplomacy and poise and retains his anger4 ,another extra will have too much makeup on4 ,the director must know how makeup photographs1 what its effects are with people of various complexions and under certain lights4 ,the extra will resent being sent back to the dressing room and told to alter his face4 ,it is a reflection on his ability4 ,another case where diplomacy is demanded4 ,and so finally the director gets everything working smoothly4 ,he gains the confidence of the star and the leading man4 ,he shows the extras that he knows his business and is perfectly able to look out for it1 without their assistance4 ,the only trouble is that just about at this point the director has finished the picture4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,method ,,of ,,william ,,de ,,mille ,facts regarding the manner in which the majority of pictures are made4--,the new order of producing pictures 8in continuity0 with some interesting remarks on the subject from ,william ,c4 ,de ,mille1 director of 8,lulu ,bett0 and 8,the ,lost ,romance0 ,,chapter ,,iv ,one of the most highly publicized tasks which fall to the lot of the director1 highly publicized because of its mere freakishness1 is the routine which decrees that he must often begin 8shooting0 his picture in the middle or at the end of his story1 or at any intermediate point except the very first scene4 ,press agents delight in harping on this fact1 calling attention to the mental agility of the director in being able to jump from love scene to angry outburst1 omitting intervening action in the jump and coming back to it at a later date4 ,this is due to the fact1 as has just been stated1 that all scenes taking place in the same set or exterior location must1 for economy's and convenience's sake1 be photographed at once or rather successively4 ,the 8scene plot10 compiled by the production department1 lists the number of interior settings and exterior locations required by the picture and after the description of each scene in the scene plot a row of numbers1 each indicating a separate scene to be played in the set or location1 follows4 ,thus a section of a scene plot may read3 ,,living ,,room3 ,scenes #ai1 #bj1 #ba1 #ha1 #hb1 #hc1 #hd1 #he1 #aei1 #afj1 etc4 ,,dining ,,room3 ,scenes #a1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #dh1 #di1 #ej1 #ea1 #eb1 #ec1 #ed1 #age1 #agf1 #agg1 #agh1 #agi1 #bia1 #bib1 #bic1 etc4 ,of all the settings required let it be said that the living room contains the majority of the action to be photographed4 ,in all likelihood1 then1 this set is the first one to be erected by the studio production department and as a result the director begins his first days work with scene ,no4 #ai and follows it with scenes ,no4 #bj and ,no4 #ba1 which disclose closely related action4 ,let us say that these early scenes have to do with the first happy days of a young married couple4 ,they discover the little joys and hardships of housekeeping1 etc4 ,well and good4 ,but immediately after producing these scenes the director is forced to jump ahead to the sequence beginning with scene ,no4 #ha4 ,here is a point considerably further advanced in the story and so the director is obliged to mentally leap the action intervening between his first sequence and his second4 ,whereas ,mary and ,john may have been perfectly contented in scene ,no4 #ai1 they may have grown two years older and separated altogether in scene ,no4 #ha4 ,inasmuch as he 8shoots0 ,no4 #ha immediately after ,no4 #ba it must be seen that the director is obliged to adapt his own mood to this peculiar state of affairs created by the ramifications of studio organization4 ,he must live two years in half an hour or less4 ,such procedure requires mental gymnastics that are more difficult than the act of the vaudeville contortionist4 ,it is needless to add that this jumping hither and thither and back to hither again1 requires a minutely adjusted sense of continuity on the director's part4 ,to keep his whole story and the comparative values of certain sequences straight in his mind1 is no easy matter4 ,further complications enter when it is realized that a sequence of exterior scenes may follow immediately after a sequence of interior scenes1 these exteriors being closely identified with the interiors and requiring the same mood4 ,but yet again the plan of work mapped out by the production department may postpone these scenes to the very last day of work4 ,thus the director is forced to jump back into the early mood of his story after he has rehearsed himself and become thoroughly satiated with all the other moods1 a task imposing seemingly insurmountable difficulties4 ,time was when it used to be the boast of some directors that they could produce a picture in this jumping about fashion just as well as if they had been permitted to 8shoot0 their stories in actual continuity4 ,the method is still followed but the boasts aren't as audible4 ,this method of production gave a fine opening to those critics who cried out that the motion pictures would always remain in the cheap state so well described in the word 8movie40 ,really artistic results could never be secured with this eternal jumping from #d to #aa to #dd1 they said4 ,they added1 quite rightly too1 that a consistent1 well developed1 psychologically ascending character was impossible of achievement under this plan4 ,inasmuch as actors often had to play their climaxes first and then go back and play a scene that led up to the climax1 there was considerable point to the arguments of the critics4 ,a very few directors have now managed to arrange their work so that they can actually make their pictures in continuity1 beginning with scene ,no4 #a and proceeding straight through1 with but slight deviations1 to the end4 ,among these directors and leading them all in results attained1 stands ,william ,c4 ,de ,mille1 a director responsible for such artistic successes as 8,the ,prince ,chap0 and 8,conrad in ,quest of ,his ,youth10 both with ,thomas ,meighan1 and 8,the ,lost ,romance0 and 8,miss ,lulu ,bett10 with casts very nearly approaching the all-star state4 ,mr4 ,de ,mille specializes in stories containing the true and dramatic psychological development of character4 ,the artificial melodramatics and blatant heroics he subdues to unnoticeable effect or more often eliminates entirely4 ,his arc of emotional experience is filled1 it is more than obvious1 with all the sensitive lines imaginable4 ,in fact ,mr4 ,de ,mille is one of the few artistic directors in the field today1 though perhaps his name has not been as highly publicized as have those of lesser lights4 ,mr4 ,de ,mille states that both he and his brother1 ,cecil1 produce their pictures in actual continuity4 8,with such pictures as those in which ,i specialize10 he says1 8and by this specialty ,i mean of course pictures such as ',miss ,lulu ,bett' and ',the ,lost ,romance1' pictures that depend considerably for their value on the consistent and progressive development of character1 rather than mere physical action1 producing in continuity is tremendously effective as well as a great help40 8,to jump about in character studies of this type would be exceedingly difficult for both players and director and in many cases1 suitable results would not be obtained40 ,let it be inserted here that other directors may scoff at the ,de ,mille idea1 but it may also be noted by students of the screen that no other director has achieved the highly artistic results in this line of pictures that stand to the credit of ,william ,de ,mille4 ,let him continue3 8,the method of starting with scene ,no4 #a and proceeding numerically to the conclusion of the picture is of benefit to both players and director4 ,the players characterizations become well sustained1 they take a greater interest in their work as they realize it growing consistently with each day's effort4 ,and the director is able to get a better slant on his story as he watches the whole thing grow and take definite shape from day to day40 ,those who ask for proof need only look at one of the four pictures mentioned above that ,mr4 ,de ,mille produced4 8,the ,lost ,romance0 contained four of the most real characters ever developed on the screen4 ,as for the two pictures in which ,thomas ,meighan appeared it is safe to say that his work in them far surpassed anything else he has done before or since with the exception of 8,the ,miracle ,man40 ,and the basic success of these two ,meighan pictures was in each case1 the characterization rendered by the star4 ,this characterization might have been achieved by other methods but it is doubtful4 ,certainly ,de ,mille's method has proven itself4 ,illustration3 ,,william ,,de ,,mille ,,using ,,the ,,magna-,,vox1 ,,an ,,electrical ,,improvement ,,on ,,the ,,megaphone1 ,,which ,,carries ,,his ,,voice ,,directly ,,onto ,,the 8,,set0 ,,and ,,into ,,the ,,ears ,,of ,,his ,,players ,illustration3 8,,miss ,,lulu ,,bett10 ,,directed ,,by ,,william ,,de ,,mille1 ,,lifts ,,the ,,curtain ,,on ,a ,,dramatic ,,slice ,,of ,,life ,the production of a picture after this method necessitates a carefully prepared manuscript1 for once again1 the efficiency demanded by studio organization enters into the scheme of things4 8,naturally the continuity writer must take particular care in building scripts for me10 ,mr4 ,de ,mille continues1 8for it may be seen that this arrangement of production calls for an equally careful arrangement of the different settings employed in the picture4 ,the studio seldom permits a director to keep more than three or four settings standing at once for any considerable length of time4 ,so it must be arranged that the early action of the picture takes place in the first three or four settings erected4 ,in other words1 the settings of the production must be progressive as well as the characterizations4 ,it is a little mechanical trick that is much easier to utilize than it is to explain40 ,it may be added that ,mr4 ,de ,mille himself works with his writers on their scenarios and supervises all such details as this matter of mechanics as well as the more important matters that come under the head of scenario writing4 ,to make his method easier ,mr4 ,de ,mille has evolved still another production trick which is interesting to say the least4 ,many directors after they have photographed a full scene are obliged to lose valuable time in moving the camera and lights up to the principal players in order to take closeups4 ,this time may also account for the loss of the proper mood on the part of the director and his players4 ,to eliminate this unsatisfactory condition1 ,mr4 ,de ,mille has his settings built so that he can photograph them from different angles and from different distances at the same time4 ,so his players while acting one long scene are actually photographed in full shots1 semi-closeups and closeups4 ,the closeups cameras are 8blinded0 behind convenient pieces of scenery4 ,this step of producing pictures in continuity is a big one and one in the right direction4 ,pictures are not perfect in this day by any manner of means but when a point is reached when all those that demand to be so treated can be produced in continuity1 the results will doubtless be obviously better4 ,naturally1 however1 this method would not apply to the director working on the 8action0 picture such as that in which ,william ,s4 ,hart and ,tom ,mix appear4 ,in such cases where physical action and thrills are set at a premium1 it would be useless and an entire waste of time to insist on producing in continuity4 ,imagine calling 8,halt60 on a long shot of advancing train robbers while the cameraman moved up and took a closeup of the bad man's finger pulling the trigger6 ,and then moving back again and permitting the train robbers to proceed4 ,such a procedure would be as foolish as to attempt to produce one of ,de ,mille's works in the old fashioned way4 ,,chapter ,v ,,cecil ,,de ,,mille ,,also ,,speaks ,in which it is noted that the more famous ,de ,mille1 besides employing the method of production described by his brother1 places unusual faith in the intelligence of his actors and actresses4--8,never show them ,,how but tell them ,,what0 is his formula4--,a case where an actor insisted on being shown ,,chapter ,v ,mention of one of the ,de ,milles immediately brings to mind the other4 ,cecil and ,william are as easy to say in one breath as ,anthony and ,cleopatra1 ,nip and ,tuck and ,mutt and ,jeff4 ,cecil ,b4 ,de ,mille is one of the few directors of today whose name carries a picture to the financial success that greets a picture bearing the name of a great star4 ,it appears that he first rode to national fame when he inaugurated a series of pictures bearing such mandatory and interrogatory titles as 8,don't ,change ,your ,husband0 and 8,why ,change ,your ,wife80 ,but long before this he was cutting wide swaths in the old fashioned method of directing by doing his work in a distinctly individual and better way4 ,pictures such as 8,the ,golden ,chance0 and the first edition of 8,the ,squaw ,man0 stamped him as considerably more of an artist than the earlier pioneers in the art of directing4 ,cecil ,de ,mille was1 perhaps1 the first director to use the method of producing his pictures in continuity1 as outlined by his brother in the previous chapter4 ,perhaps this is the reason that he early secured such superior results to those achieved by the general run of directors in the early days4 ,or perhaps on the other hand it is his ability to handle actors and actresses so as to get the very utmost from their efforts4 ,for ,mr4 ,de ,mille claims that one of the primal rules of directing is 8never tell an actor how to play a scene40 ,on this axiom1 he states1 lies the secret of achieving real characterization and absolute naturalness on the screen4 ,this may appear to be a perfectly natural conclusion to some readers4 ,an actor of ability knows his business and therefore knows how to develop a true characterization4 ,all he needs is a few words from the director as regards the timing of his transition from one emotion to another4 ,this is becoming more and more true as the art of picture production develops but the time is easily recalled when directors boasted that they acted out every part of the picture so that their casts might secure the proper grasp of the story4 ,i remember very well one director1 a big man in his day but who has since sunk to oblivion as far as picture production goes1 who used to take great delight in showing his players how to play certain scenes4 ,after a few preliminary rehearsals he would become disgusted1 or pretend to become disgusted1 with the efforts of his cast and thereupon he would act out each and every role for the cast's benefit4 ,it was rather ridiculous to see him affecting the coy mannerisms of an ingenue1 then jumping quickly into the role of the hero and from there to the contrasting part of the villain4 ,he would even perform the butler with pompous dignity for the benefit of the extra who was playing the part4 ,but what effect did all this play on the director's part have on the onlooking cast8 ,the director's personality and individual mannerisms were displayed in every role4 ,thereafter the actors endeavored to imitate him not to enact their parts4 ,the hero merely gave an imitation of the director giving an imitation of the hero4 ,the ingenue gave an imitation of the director imitating the ingenue4 ,and so on through all the parts4 ,the results1 it need hardly be pointed out1 were not natural4 ,in the end all the players gave bad imitations of the director4 ,on top of this they endeavored to effect his mannerism and tricks of expression4 ,as a consequence there was absolutely nothing distinctive about the completed picture4 ,it was the director's and no one else's4 ,the director1 being conceited to a great degree1 was naturally delighted with the result4 ,but he was the only one delighted with it as is testified by the fact that he is not in the art today4 ,this method has gradually been forced out of the studio4 ,there are few directors who insist on acting every part out nowadays4 ,there are some left but not many4 ,a few more years and they will all disappear and then we will have still better pictures4 ,mr4 ,de ,mille evidently believes that a good many directors of the present day still adhere to the old fashioned method4 ,it is to be hoped that he isn't altogether right4 8,too many directors10 he says1 8consider it their duty to show an actor just how to play every scene in the picture4 ,this type of director insists on acting out every role and demands that his cast shall mimic his action before the camera4 ,the results are woefully wooden1 unnatural and characterless4 8,in the perfect photoplay each character must be distinctly itself4 ,it must be sharply differentiated from all other characters in that particular play4 ,this result can only be achieved by permitting each actor or actress to work out his or her own interpretation of a role4 8,if ,i show an actor how to pick up a paper or a book in a scene he will consciously strive to imitate my actions4 ,now1 what may be perfectly natural for me may be unnatural and awkward for him4 ,at the best his attempt to copy my model will be but a poor reproduction of ,cecil ,b4 ,de ,mille on the screen4 ,if ,i carried that program through with respect to each player ,i would have just as many weak versions of ,cecil ,b4 ,de ,mille as there are characters in the play4 8,if1 on the other hand1 ,i explain to the actor what the action of the scene is and what idea or emotion ,i want him to convey to the spectator and then permit him to work out his own interpretation of the scene ,i have a distinctive1 natural and far more powerful piece of work from that actor4 ,i assume that every actor is better at creating than mimicking me4 8,my task comes in in my effort to perfect his interpretation by helpful criticism and suggestion but not by example4 8,before beginning actual production on a picture ,i make it a rule to call together the entire cast and the technical staff4 ,at this meeting ,i tell them the story with all the detail of characterization and atmosphere that ,i am capable of putting into it4 ,i do not read them the continuity scene by scene4 ,i try to make them see and feel the story and the characters and1 as everyone in the production art knows1 the straight reading of a continuity is an uninteresting and tedious proposition4 8,so when the cameras actually start to turn1 each member of the cast has his or her own characterization and its relationship to the others well in mind4 8,at the beginning of each scene ,i sketch out verbally what the action of the scene is to convey to picture audiences4 ,then comes a rehearsal and often many rehearsals before it is actually filmed4 ,but through all these rehearsals ,i make a point of never showing anyone how to do a thing4 ,if an actor does something badly or awkwardly ,i try to locate the cause of the awkwardness and remedy that4 ,by way of example the scene may call for an actor to be seated at a desk thoughtfully smoking a pipe4 ,perhaps the actor may handle the pipe like an amateur4 ,inquiry may uncover the fact that he is far more at home smoking a cigar4 ,thereupon the cigar is supplied and the scene proceeds smoothly4 8,a little thing1 to be sure1 but between the pipe and the cigar lies the difference between a natural and an unnatural performance4 8,no actor worthy of his calling should have to be shown how to play a scene4 ,he may have to be coached2 that is part of the director's task4 ,but it is no part of the director's duties to furnish the acting model for any or every character in the play4 ,i firmly believe that attempts on the part of the directors to show actors how to do certain things will inevitably result in bad performances and consequent damage to the quality of the finished production40 ,illustration3 ,melbourne ,spurr ,,cecil ,b4 ,,de ,,mille ,illustration3 ,,cecil ,b4 ,,de ,,mille ,,at ,,work ,mr4 ,de ,mille's comments are very interesting4 ,it is to be supposed that he does not give copies of the picture continuity to his players that they may thoroughly acquaint themselves with the parts they are to play before actual production work begins4 ,today the majority of directors like to do this4 ,however1 as ,mr4 ,de ,mille says1 8,i tell the story with all the detail of characterization and atmosphere that ,i am capable of putting into it40 ,this appears to be an admirable course to pursue4 ,given the continuity an actor may get quite the wrong idea of the role he is to play4 ,listening to his director sketch the story1 including in it his ideas as to its development1 must of necessity give the actor a clear idea of his work and an idea more coinciding with that of the director's4 ,thus it might appear that misunderstanding and argument are well disposed of4 ,on the other hand ,mr4 ,de ,mille is fortunate in having players of general intelligence and ability to deal with4 ,look over any of the casts he has employed in his recent productions1 8,the ,affairs of ,anatol0 for example1 and you will discover that there is hardly an unknown in the entire cast4 ,it is amusing to consider what ,mr4 ,de ,mille would have done if he had had the task of producing 8,cappy ,ricks10 a picture made by one of the directors that ,mr4 ,de ,mille developed1 ,tom ,forman4 ,there was the role of a ,swedish sea captain1 humorously called 8,all-,hands-and-,feet0 in this picture4 ,an old prize fighter was selected to play the role4 ,he looked the part to perfection4 ,but the scenario called for the star1 ,thomas ,meighan1 to engage in a fight with him and knock him out4 ,the ancient fighter was perfectly agreeable for the fight1 in fact he battered his opponent considerably but when it came time for him to be knocked out he just wouldn't fall down4 ,the scene was tried over and over again and each time when it came to the psychological moment 8,all-,hands-and-,feet0 positively refused to fall down on the deck after ,mr4 ,meighan had delivered a blow on the chin4 8,go down6 ,down60 ,mr4 ,forman kept repeating wrathfully4 8,down8 ,down80 queried the one time prize fighter1 8,i no understand what you say40 ,eventually ,mr4 ,forman had to submit to the ignominy of allowing ,mr4 ,meighan to land on his chin and drop him on the deck4 ,a broad grin crept over the benign countenance of 8,all-,hands-and-,feet0 as he said1 8,ah1 ,i never bane knocked down1 ,i see what you mean4 ,i try to fall next time04 ,mr4 ,forman and ,mr4 ,meighan started a movement to back 8,all-,hands-and-,feet0 for the championship of the world4 ,but when their subject heard of it he mysteriously disappeared4 ,possibly he didn't want to be taught what 8down0 meant in a serious way4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,when ,,acting ,,ability ,,helps ,an amusing incident of studio life that might be seen by a visitor any day in the week with the moral 8,never be shocked by anything you see in a motion picture studio0 ,,chapter ,,vi ,no better illustration of the value of ,mr4 ,de ,mille's foregoing remarks can be found than in the case of ,charles ,chaplin4 ,mr4 ,chaplin as well as being the world's greatest comedian1 also directs his pictures4 ,suppose that ,mr4 ,chaplin decided to rehearse in every part of his picture so that his supporting players might pattern his performances after his4 ,the completed product would show3 ,one good ,charles ,chaplin and a dozen bad imitations of ,charles ,chaplin4 ,mr4 ,chaplin has imitators enough without going to the trouble of bringing them right into his own pictures4 ,incidentally the task that confronts the actor-director is extraordinarily difficult4 ,he not only is obliged to face the lights in makeup and drop his own personality in the role he is playing but he must also be able to see his own work from behind the camera1 to retain his perspective from this angle of the production as well as from the acting angle4 ,his is thus a twice difficult task and perhaps for this reason there are few surviving actor-directors4 ,in the old days there used to be loads of them but the pictures were then too much actor and not enough director4 ,besides ,charles ,chaplin only a few survive today1 prominent among them being ,william ,s4 ,hart and ,charles ,ray and it may be said that each of these stars has done his best work when directed by someone else4 ,when they essay the dual task of acting and directing they pay too little attention to the supervision of the entire production and concentrate too largely on their own performances4 ,despite this criticism of the actor-director and the cry against directors showing their players how to perform a scene no one can deny that a knowledge of acting1 or rather a knowledge of how to act1 comes in very handy from the director's point of view4 ,a little over a year ago ,i happened to visit one of the large eastern studios when ,john ,s4 ,robertson1 probably one of the most competent men in the production craft was working there4 ,mr4 ,robertson has years of acting on the stage behind him4 ,he played in stock for a long period and knows every role in every play of importance produced over a period of considerable years4 ,however ,mr4 ,robertson is now a director and not an actor4 ,what was my surprise then to discover him in the midst of a highly dramatic scene4 ,the setting was the dressing room of a stage star4 ,mr4 ,robertson was half sitting1 half reclining on a luxurious chaise-lounge4 ,the atmosphere was fairly exotic4 ,marc ,mc,dermott1 excellent character actor that he is1 stood in the background1 immaculately clad in evening attire4 ,he was gazing at ,mr4 ,robertson with the glint of evil in his eyes4 ,the door opened and in walked ,reginald ,denny who immediately rushed madly to the couch on which ,mr4 ,robertson was reclining languidly and proceeded to make violent love to him4 ,naturally my first impulse was to make matters known to the ,department of ,health but on inquiry ,i soon learned that ,mr4 ,robertson was merely playing ,elsie ,ferguson's role in the preliminary rehearsal of 8,footlights40 ,miss ,ferguson was a little late and ,mr4 ,robertson was obliging for the benefit of ,messrs4 ,mc,dermott and ,denny6 ,so ,i watched them further4 ,a long scene was enacted with ,mr4 ,robertson playing ,miss ,ferguson's role exactly as the script called4 ,and he was doing it as if it were the most natural thing in the world4 ,as for the other participants they were so engrossed in their work that they didn't seem to notice the absence of ,miss ,ferguson and the presence of her capable substitute4 ,when at last she did appear the scene only needed one brief rehearsal before the cameras started to grind4 ,besides pointing out the value of the ability to act to the director this little tale also points another moral1 to wit1 never be shocked at anything you see in a motion picture studio4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,rex ,,ingram ,,on 8,,atmosphere0 ,the director of 8,the ,four ,horsemen of the ,apocalypse0 and 8,the ,conquering ,power10 two of the screen's greatest achievements1 has something to say about settings and atmosphere4--,using impressionistic methods to realistic ends is his forte4--,the effort demanded to achieve convincing realism on the screen ,,chapter ,,vii ,few people who closely follow the screen will need an introduction to ,rex ,ingram1 the young director who startled the whole screen world with the artistry of his work in 8,the ,four ,horsemen of the ,apocalypse40 ,mr4 ,ingram is one of those to whom the screen gave one of its biggest opportunities4 ,for a long time before 8,the ,four ,horsemen0 was completed the wiseacres were prowling about1 shaking their beards and stating that the young director was running wild and breaking the producing company that was sponsoring the picture4 ,how he startled the world with a magnificent piece of work is still recent screen history4 ,and how he followed his first big success with another great picture1 8,the ,conquering ,power10 is also still fresh in the minds of picture audiences4 ,among many others one thing distinguished both 8,the ,four ,horsemen0 and 8,the ,conquering ,power0 and that was the remarkable atmosphere which ,mr4 ,ingram had managed to inject in both subjects4 ,it was absolutely startling in its effect4 ,those who hadn't stopped to bother about ,mr4 ,ingram's early studies which included art in two forms1 painting and sculpturing1 didn't know how in the world he had managed it4 ,however1 it appears from ,mr4 ,ingram's own words that he merely used common sense and applied the methods of the older arts to the craft of picture production4 ,illustration3 ,,rex ,,ingram1 ,,rehearsing ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,race ,,track ,,scenes ,,in 8,,turn ,,to ,,the ,,right0 ,illustration3 ,,rex ,,ingram ,,directing ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,many ,,mob ,,scenes ,,in 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen0 ,he has some very interesting things to say regarding the value of atmosphere in motion picture production4 ,he writes3 8,after sincerity of characterization and directness in story-telling1 atmosphere does more toward making an audience accept what it sees on the screen than anything else4 ,by accept1 ,i mean1 be entertained1 engrossed in the subject4 8,while good atmosphere gives an air of reality to a picture yet the most convincing and engrossing atmosphere is often far from realistic4 ,this is so because the aim of the director should be to get over the effect of the atmosphere he desires1 rather than the actual atmosphere which exists in such scenes as he may wish to portray1 and which1 if reduced literally to the screen would be quite unconvincing40 ,this principle of ,mr4 ,ingram's is the ideal one on which to work4 ,it is the principle of other arts beside that of producing motion pictures4 ,it is the principle of creating something by implication and suggestion rather than actual reproduction4 ,this1 however1 detracts not one whit from the credit that is ,mr4 ,ingram's for being the first director to apply it to picture production in a consistent and effective way4 ,mr4 ,ingram continues3 8,whether a scene is being made of a beach-comber's shanty1 an underworld basement saloon1 a pool-hall1 a ship's cabin1 a shoe factory or a smart restaurant1 not only should the aim be to convince the audience1 but enough study should be given the subject1 in each case1 to convince the habitues of any of these places that they are in familiar surroundings4 8,one of the most interesting sets that ,i have ever handled from an atmospheric standpoint was the interior of a derelict ship1 beached1 and become the hang-out of beach-combers1 in ',under ,crimson ,skies1' a production some years old4 ,conrad1 the master writer of the sea1 never offered a more wonderful opportunity for color than did this episode in the story provided by ,j4 ,g4 ,hawks1 with its thrilling climax in the battle in the surf between the white man and the black giant4 8,in ',the ,four ,horsemen1' the basement resort of the ,buenos ,aires bocca1 or river front hang-out1 furnished plenty of chances to make colorful pictures--yet had ,i been literal in the way ,i handled it the effect would not have been anything nearly as realistic4 ,for ,i doubt if anything just like that dive ever existed in the ,argentine or anywhere else for that matter4 8,the set was a ,spanish version of a bowery cellar saloon that ,i used in a picture which ,i made several years before and re-created to suit the episode suggested in the great ,ibanez novel4 ,the signs on the wall1 the types of men1 in fact all the bits of atmosphere in the place were the results of painstaking efforts to get 8color0 and local atmosphere into the set4 ,in one corner a sign hung which was the advertisement of a notorious 'crimp1' a sailor's boarding-house keeper1 whose establishment was on the bocca for years4 ,an old sailor who was working in the scene and who had lived in ,buenos ,aires came to me and said3 ',i've been shanghaied by that blood-sucker4' 8,i have gone so far as to have my principals speak the language of the country in which the picture is laid4 ,few of them like to go to this trouble but it helps them materially in keeping in the required atmosphere4 ,the results on the screen are so encouraging that after they see what it has done for them the players don't mind the extra study that this course entails4 8,i know of no branch of a director's job that is more fascinating than getting color and atmosphere into the settings--thinking out bits of 'business1' little flashes of life which1 though only on the screen for a few moments1 can give an air of reality to an entire sequence of scenes1 that would perhaps otherwise be lacking4 8,in screening ,balzac1 as ,i did in making ',the ,conquering ,power1' fine atmosphere and characterization are of more vital importance than incident1 for nine times out of ten it is the characters in a great novel that we remember--rather than the plot40 ,mr4 ,ingram is going on his way1 creating distinctly unusual pictures and one of the chief reasons is this great attention that he pays to atmosphere by suggestion rather than actual reproduction4 ,novelists call atmosphere 8background40 ,the terms are the same4 ,the novelist creates his background1 his atmosphere1 by painting pictures with words1 suggesting the locale and environment of history4 ,thus with ,mr4 ,ingram4 ,he suggests scenes in his pictures and refuses to label them4 ,in this respect he is farther advanced than most any director in the art today4 ,this idea of suggestion can easily be carried too far1 however4 ,the ,german producer who turned out 8,the ,cabinet of ,dr4 ,caligari0 carried it to the point of alleged futuristic 8art40 ,he aimed to suggest but instead he puzzled completely4 ,the producer of 8,the ,golem10 another ,german picture1 came nearer the point4 ,but it appears that neither of them equalled or much less surpassed the work of ,mr4 ,ingram in his two fine productions already mentioned4 ,mr4 ,ingram is one of the very few new directors that the screen has developed in recent years4 ,new in the sense that he has attracted attention not only within the art of picture production but without it as well4 ,he is one of those men who have been recruited from other fields of endeavor and who has fulfilled expectations and gone far beyond them4 ,a man such as ,ingram will always have an opportunity4 ,he may have to fight for it but it's bound to come4 ,mr4 ,ingram's remarks about building settings1 so that people who frequent such places in real life will instantly recognize them1 opens an interesting field of comment4 ,even if a director labors painstakingly to achieve the proper atmosphere there are always some crabs in the audience who are bound to take exception4 ,if they can't find something to criticise in the setting they criticise the way the extras play their parts4 ,for a long time doctors have been grossly misrepresented on the screen4 ,doctors in particular have objected that they never act as if possessed of diplomas4 ,a director recently resolved to put an end to such criticism4 ,it annoyed him particularly inasmuch as he had a friend1 an ,m4,d41 who was forever poking fun at him whenever he introduced a man of medicine into a picture4 ,when the director in question completed his latest picture he took his doctor friend to see it and after it was over asked him specially how he liked the performance of the actor who played the doctor4 8,terrible10 replied his friend1 8,the man never saw a clinic and shows it4 ,no real doctor would act like that40 8,that's funny10 replied the director with a smile1 8because1 you see he wasn't an actor but--a doctor60 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,mainly ,,about ,d4 ,w4 ,,griffith ,the producer and director of 8,the ,birth of a ,nation10 8,hearts of the ,world10 8,way ,down ,east10 and 8,orphans of the ,storm0 works with amazing disregard of system4--,others attempt his methods of procedure and come more often to grief than to glory ,,chapter ,,viii ,no volume on the subject of directing would be complete without the mention of ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith4 ,and yet it is utterly impossible to deal with ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith in any comprehensive way4 ,the producer of the first great picture 8,the ,birth of a ,nation10 the man who strove for something beyond the times in 8,intolerance10 the artist who made 8,hearts of the ,world0 and the masterly technician who stands sponsor for 8,way ,down ,east10 is singularly hard to approach from any ordinary viewpoint4 ,there is no doubt that ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith at intervals gives just cause to the commentators who place him at the top of the list of all directors4 ,but at the same time he often does the most ordinary of things on the screen4 ,in one picture he is an artist and in the next he appears in the light of a producer of hack pieces of motion picture film4 ,the reason1 no doubt1 is that ,mr4 ,griffith is a business man as well as an artist4 ,he sinks an unusually large amount of money in a picture such as 8,hearts of the ,world0 and then realizes that1 while the returns from such a subject are slowly accruing1 he must needs turn out a few pot-boilers to keep the wolf from the door4 ,thus 8,hearts of the ,world0 was followed by two or three shorter and less pretentious war pictures of commonplace variety4 ,mr4 ,griffith is constantly exasperating people by such mixed proceedings and just when his long-suffering public has decided to forsake him forever and turn to more consistent directors and producers1 he startles the world again with another masterpiece4 ,his latest picture1 for instance1 8,orphans of the ,storm10 has proven an artistic success from almost every viewpoint1 and has been quite capable of disposing of the bad taste left in the collective mouths of critical audiences by his recent 8,dream ,street40 ,one of the most interesting things about ,mr4 ,griffith to the lay mind is that he never uses the usual continuity that the majority of directors employ4 ,he has his story clearly in his mind before he starts work4 ,he has something of a subconscious realization of how many different scenes ought to be embraced in each episode and he sets about his work accordingly4 ,this might not seem so difficult as it really is if ,mr4 ,griffith employed the ,de ,mille method of directing his pictures in continuity1 beginning with scene ,no4 #a and proceeding numerically onward4 ,but ,mr4 ,griffith sails right along using one setting or scene after another without much regard for continuity4 ,he takes the number of shots required in each setting and scene with but slight assistance from notes and memoranda4 ,he works in the following order3 ,a scene may represent a room in a country home4 ,a son is saying goodbye to his mother2 he is either going away to war or going to the city to make good4 ,there is1 of course1 a tearful parting4 ,now the average director will refer to his script and note that the scenario writer has given him1 say1 twelve different shots1 including closeups1 long shots and semi-closeups in which to get the 8goodbye0 scene over and done with4 ,illustration3 ,d4 ,w4 ,,griffith ,illustration3 ,d4 ,w4 ,,griffith ,,immortalized ,,an ,,ancient ,,melodrama ,,in 8,,way ,,down ,,east0 ,mr4 ,griffith1 on the other hand1 will refer to no 'script of any kind1 he will merely go about taking the sequence of scenes as they occur on the screen4 ,there may be first a tearful closeup of the mother1 then a closeup of the boy1 nervous1 happy1 sad4 ,then a shot of both of them embracing and the son pulling away4 ,then a wider shot showing the son about to make his exit1 but turning and coming back to say a last farewell to the mother4 ,and so on and so forth4 ,the action itself will suggest other scenes to ,mr4 ,griffith4 ,of course there are many other directors who work in the same way in some respects4 ,such a simple sequence as related above can be accomplished by any director without recourse to an elaborate continuity4 ,but the majority of directors1 even though they don't refer to a continuity minutely with respect to such sequences1 have one handy so that they can refer to it in times when the complications of the story begin to pile up4 ,to draw a clearer parallel1 the usual director is like a motorist who has carefully studied his road map before setting out on a journey and who refers to it time and again during the trip1 specially when he comes to a cross roads4 ,mr4 ,griffith never studies a road map4 ,he just jumps into his car and starts going4 ,when he comes to a crossing he takes the road that seems the best to him4 ,sometimes this road is the wrong one4 ,more often it is right4 ,but at least ,mr4 ,griffith has had the fun of exploring without really knowing what is coming next4 ,as a consequence1 his experiences even though at times poor with respect to picture technique1 are never tedious but always refreshing4 ,mr4 ,griffith explains his aversions to a cut-and-dried continuity by saying that he doesn't want other people to think out his story for him4 ,rather he prefers to think it out himself4 ,he believes that the man who works directly from a continuity is merely carrying out the plans of the scenario writer4 ,it doesn't take any great exertion1 he believes1 to successfully carry out these ideas if they are good ideas4 ,on the other hand when he himself sets to work without a continuity he has the added joy of creating something as he goes along4 ,he is not working from some other person's brain but from his own4 ,mr4 ,griffith's method of working has its advantages and1 under certain circumstances1 it would have its grave disadvantages4 ,mr4 ,griffith1 being his own employer1 can take all the time he wishes on the making of his productions4 ,a director working on a schedule that makes some consideration of time would be quite at a loss in working without a 'script4 ,the chances are he would become hopelessly involved before he got halfway through and wonder what he was producing4 ,and this time schedule would not permit the director to sit down and puzzle himself out of his predicament for hours and hours the way ,mr4 ,griffith does4 ,and then1 even if it did permit him so to do1 the chances are again that he might not come out of the predicament with all the loose ends of his story neatly assorted the way ,mr4 ,griffith does4 ,after all1 there is only one ,griffith and attempting to apply his methods to other directors is something like walking and walking around a block and wondering why you never get farther up town4 ,times were1 in the days of the old ,biograph and ,fine ,arts companies1 that ,mr4 ,griffith had a number of directors working under his supervision4 ,a number of these men1 notably ,chet ,withey1 ,edward ,dillon and the ,franklin brothers have made marks for themselves with other companies1 working somewhat on the ,griffith method but usually with a continuity to guide them4 ,i know of one director who worked with ,mr4 ,griffith long ago and who is still boasting of his association with him 7for working with ,d4 ,w41 you see1 grants one as much prestige in the picture world as having an ancestor that came over on the ,mayflower gives one in the social world71 but who has not yet made a good picture since he left his former chief4 ,among other boasts this director includes the one that he never used a continuity when producing a picture4 ,i happened to be up at his studio one day when he was involved in the production of a particularly difficult and heavy dramatic sequence of action4 ,there were a number of players at work on a large setting and each one of them had an important part4 ,this director worked along fairly smoothly up to a certain point and then suddenly stopped4 ,he was lost4 ,didn't know what came next4 ,but rather than admit it to his company he sat staring at them for fully half an hour1 then proceeded to pace the studio floor in great agitation 8seeking for the missing idea40 ,he then announced that he would retire to his private office and think the matter over quietly4 ,about five minutes later he emerged with all his ideas straightened out4 ,of course1 to the gullible1 his disappearing act had been the signal for a great inspiration but in reality1 as ,i found out afterwards1 he had gone into his office and referred to the continuity of the story which he had carefully secreted in his desk all the time4 ,the director's vanity would never permit him to admit this in public4 ,he chose to be regarded as another ,griffith4 ,unhappily for him his completed picture proved that he was far from another ,griffith or even a second-rate one4 ,really ,mr4 ,griffith has a lot to answer for in this matter4 ,either he or the vanity of the men who formerly worked with him has to be blamed4 ,and as ,mr4 ,griffith is a concrete object we might as well blame him4 ,the realization has dawned on the writer that this chapter is totally inadequate in giving any description of ,mr4 ,griffith1 apart from the small information that he works without a manuscript4 ,such1 however1 seems doomed to be the case4 ,one cannot dissect ,mr4 ,griffith1 take him apart and explain this piece and that4 ,this because he is considerably an artist and no real artist can tell exactly how he works and give the processes by which he achieves certain effects4 ,a painter will begin work on a fresh canvass by putting daubs of color here1 there and everywhere4 ,the layman doesn't know what in the deuce he is up to4 ,but in the finished product these early daubs of color count largely in the effect created by the whole mass4 ,even the artist himself cannot explain concisely and clearly the why and wherefore of every daub he applied early in his creation4 ,illustration3 ,,all ,,the ,,old ,,characters ,,of 8,,way ,,down ,,east0 ,,were ,,recreated ,,on ,,the ,,screen ,,with ,,amazing ,,fidelity ,illustration3 ,d4 ,w4 ,,griffith ,so it is with ,mr4 ,griffith4 ,he probably could not explain his method of working himself4 ,he goes ahead on his creation1 putting a stroke here and another there4 ,the why and wherefore of them are things undefinable4 ,perhaps when his picture is finished he can give you the whys and wherefores but the chances are that he can't4 ,he only knows that he has striven for something and either succeeded or failed in the achievement of his ambition4 ,and so it is with other directors1 after all is said and done4 ,some of the methods of other directors as set down earlier in these chapters are merely ideas1 small gleanings2 but in themselves alone they are no more responsible for the successes of these directors than are their names4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,mountains ,,and ,,molehills ,why ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith has been more successful in producing spectacular features than other directors4--,his ability to step from the mountain to the molehill with agility and delicacy4--,the futility of mob scenes that mean mob scenes and nothing more ,,chapter ,,ix ,the foregoing words on ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith have brought to mind the matter of motion picture spectacles1 those pictures telling a personal story before a background of masses of people and monstrous settings4 ,there is small doubt but that the spectacle is the most difficult of all motion pictures to produce4 ,mr4 ,griffith has succeeded most often with such subjects1 perhaps because he has attempted them more often4 ,rex ,ingram succeeded admirably well in 8,the ,four ,horsemen of the ,apocalypse0 and no doubt will succeed again when he tries further1 as he most surely will4 ,many others have succeeded too1 and many have failed1 the chief reason for the failures being1 it appears1 that the spectacle idea appealed to the director in capital letters while he forgot all about the personal element of the story4 ,no spectacle1 no matter how grand and glittering and gorgeous1 no matter how heavily peopled with costumed supernumeraries1 no matter how thickly smeared with money and elaborate 8art0 can succeed if the director forgets about his personal story in the bigness of his background4 ,he must be able to step from the mountain to the molehill with agility and with such delicacy of touch that he doesn't smash the molehill by treading on it as if it were the mountain4 ,as an example of this appreciation of both the spectacular and personal elements of story1 no better picture can be found than ,mr4 ,griffith's 8,hearts of the ,world10 his story of the ,european war4 ,he brought before the eye all the horrible realities of the battle field1 used them to dramatic purpose time and again4 ,and yet in the midst of all this spectacular action he never for once lost sight of the personal element in the story1 this element represented on the battle field by ,robert ,harron who played the part of the young soldier4 ,how many people who saw 8,hearts of the ,world0 can forget the scene in the shell hole in which the center of attention were the young soldier and the dying negro8 ,this was one of the most remarkable of the personal1 intimate touches in the picture and yet the very next moment the spectator was plunged back into the mass horror of the tremendous conflict4 ,this was only an instance of many4 ,in the last scenes which looked forward to the armistice parade in ,paris 7looked forward to it with an uncanny amount of judgment71 soldiers and citizens were seen going mad with joy in the streets of the city4 ,a thrilling sight in itself were these mass scenes1 showing thousands of people nearly breaking their own and their friends' necks with unrestrained joy at peace come at last4 ,but even in the midst of all these scenes of thrilling revelry the four principal characters of the picture were introduced rejoicing too4 ,and the glimpses shown of them brought the thrills of the big scenes to a tremendous emotional climax4 ,it would seem a simple matter for the clear-thinking director to produce a spectacular picture at the same time keeping his finger on the pulse of the intimate1 personal story that gives color and reality to the bigness of his backgrounds4 ,but it is more often the case than not that the director who tackles a spectacle forgets his story in the mad rush for sweeping effect4 ,as a consequence he loses his grip on the interest of his audience4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,three ,,musketeers0 ,,combined ,,the ,,elements ,,of ,,romance ,,and ,,thrill ,,in ,,exactly ,,the ,,right ,,proportions ,illustration3 ,,director ,,john ,,robertson ,,secured ,,excellent ,,lighting ,,and ,,derived ,,wonderful ,,work ,,from ,,his ,,cast ,,in 8,,sentimental ,,tommy0 ,how many pictures could be named in which just mass scene after mass scene appeared on the screen1 containing no dramatic purpose1 no interest aside from their sheer spectacular value 7an interest that soon dies if not fostered with glimpses of the personal story71 just mass scene after mass scene until the spectator begins to wonder what in thunder the whole thing means8 ,it seems offhand that any number of such pictures could be named4 ,but if the director keeps his senses about him he never loses sight of the little things of the spectacle1 they are as vitally important as the mass action itself4 ,it might be appropriate to mention the recent ,german pictures in this connection4 ,the ,german picture director is noted for the production of spectacular features4 ,in some respects he surpasses the ,american director1 namely in the artistry of his big scenes and the effective manner in which he handles large numbers of people but on the other hand the ,german director has the fault of overlooking the personal story in his eagerness to get the spectacular effects4 ,this fact is particularly noticeable in ,german pictures when they first come to this country4 ,of course the pictures first have to pass through the hands of experts4 ,the titles are translated and revised to fit the styles the ,american public has long since expressed itself satisfied with4 ,but more important1 much that the ,german director left in has to be cut out4 ,pictures made in ,germany and shown here as five or six or seven reel features very often run eight or nine or ten reels when they first are imported here4 ,and in these extra reels which the ,american cutters painlessly remove from here1 there and everywhere in the long stretch of the film1 are mob scenes used just because they are mob scenes4 ,mob scene follows mob scene1 until each scene has no particular meaning1 the mass effects grow tiresome and the spectator longs for a glimpse of the story forgotten so long ago by the director4 ,the ,american cutter is able to eliminate much of these superfluous scenes but he can not give the intimate story the prominence that was denied it in the beginning by the ,german director4 ,probably the reason why so many directors neglect this personal element in their spectacles is because of the fact that several years ago a big scene1 that is a scene containing a few dozen or a few hundred people1 was supposed to impress audiences with the fact that a lot of money had been spent on the picture and that therefore1 because a lot of money was spent on it1 it was a work of merit4 8,here10 a director used to say when he had doubt in the value of the story he was working on1 8,give me a big ball room set and a hundred people in evening clothes and ,i'll give this picture real class40 ,the argument sounds particularly false and unsound today as it was all the time4 ,but the motion picture directors of today1 a great many of them at least1 still seem to think that a picture can be made good by throwing a lot of money away on lavish settings1 and settings containing a lot of people1 even though they fail to regard the personal element of the story in a serious light1 even though they fail to make this element convincing and real4 ,some of the biggest directors in the business have this idea1 strange as it may seem4 ,these fellows1 believing themselves secure1 take delight in poking fun at ,mr4 ,griffith because he will stop a spectacular scene now and then to show a youngster playing with kittens4 ,mr4 ,griffith may have been inclined to pay too much attention to kittens and puppies at one time in his career but he was headed along on the right track and those who laughed at these scenes of his were then and there switched off to the wrong track4 ,,chapter ,x ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,arts ,,of ,,slapstick ,,comedy ,the director of the knockabout comedy grossly neglected in the parcelling out of praise4--,the inventive genius of ,mack ,sennett1 king of comedy1 and a digression on the 8discovery0 of ,charles ,chaplin1 prompted by our present day radical and liberal writers ,,chapter ,x ,the usual critic of the motion picture is given to prating long and seriously about the art and the business of it with relation to the ,griffiths1 the ,de ,milles1 the ,ingrams1 the ,german ,ernst ,lubitschs and the ordinary whatnots and their dramatic productions1 but when approaching the producer of the slapstick-thrill comedy1 they seem to forget that this branch of production is an art too and a very high one and one to be taken just as seriously if not more so than the art of dramatic production4 ,the picture critics of the ,new ,york and ,boston newspapers1 for instance1 will sometimes devote a whole column to a review of an ordinary dramatic production and then close with the line3 8,there is also a ,mack ,sennett comedy on the bill40 ,nine times out of ten this comedy so briefly dismissed is more interesting and entertaining than the featured part of the program4 ,aside from ,charles ,chaplin 7,chaplin is his own director7 the critics don't regard the comedy director in his proper light--often one of high artistic achievement plus a marvelous amount of ingenuity4 ,to digress for a moment1 the case of the critics and the ,chaplin comedies amuses the writer and many of his acquaintance immensely4 ,it appears that the critics1 commentators and publicists of national and sectional standing have only recently 8discovered0 ,charles ,chaplin4 ,the reviewers of the daily newspapers and the magazines now hail each effort of his as masterly1 pointing out virtues in his performances1 in his attitude on life and in his inventive genius with remarkable pride4 ,chaplin has become the 8fashion0 with those who formerly thought his name a synonym for a vulgar1 pie-throwing clown4 ,it was some seven years ago that a number of motion picture trade critics and myself first saw the comedian doing a 8bit0 in a ,mack ,sennett comedy4 ,somebody said his name was ,charles ,chapman4 ,somebody else said it was ,chaplain4 ,they thought so4 ,they weren't quite sure who he was4 ,but everyone in that little room knew then that1 whoever he was1 he was great4 ,five years afterwards1 as the picture subtitle would say1 some of the newspaper critics woke up to the fact that this little man was an artist4 ,and a year later the liberals and radicals of ,greenwich ,village1 ,new ,york1 and points west1 discovered that ,mr4 ,chaplin was somewhat liberal1 even radical1 politically1 and so made the astounding revelation to their worlds that he was a great artist4 ,perhaps the above is a little unfair but if ,mr4 ,chaplin had voted a straight ,republican ticket it is hardly to be supposed that he would have been heralded as such a master of his craft by these people4 ,but we in the motion pictures knew him in his true colors from the first and so perhaps this little excursion into the realm of jealous back-biting may be pardoned4 ,however we feel somewhat as ,columbus1 in his grave might feel if ,marshall ,foch on his recent visit to these shores1 should have announced to the world that he had discovered ,america4 ,but to get back to the art of the director who makes a good slapstick comedy4 ,the directors such as ,mack ,sennett and his staff of associates1 such as ,hal ,roach who guides the destinies of the bespectacled ,harold ,lloyd1 and such as ,henry ,lehrman1 who follows blindly but often quite successfully in ,mr4 ,sennett's footsteps4 ,these men1 laboring tirelessly on the invention of new 8gags10 stunts and fooleries for the amusement of the picture public are deserving of immense credit4 8,slapstick0 is a term that ill describes the efforts of these men4 ,it is a hangover from the period when motion pictures were 8movies0 and deserved no better appellation4 ,it suggests1 besides the act of employing the old stage slapstick itself1 the equally worn trick of throwing custard pies4 ,strange as it may seem to some whose memory of the old days in the making of pictures overshadows their ability to make observations in the present1 pies are seldom used in a comedy studio these days1 except in the dining room for purposes of conventional consumption4 ,the throwing of a pie was ceased long since as a comedy 8gag0 by the high class slapstick directors4 ,other 8gags0 have replaced it4 ,once in a while it is resorted to1 probably just for old times sake but as a rule the comedy directors and those mysterious men of the comedy studio1 who can hardly be called scenario writers1 men whose inspiration is often the combined effect of phonograph music and bottled spirits1 are able to hand out something newer and more amusing than mere pie-throwing4 ,what appears to be most interesting in the production of these comedies is the amazing machinery at the director's control for the entertainment and the fooling1 the funny hocus-pocus fooling1 of the picture going public4 ,mack ,sennett's studio on the western coast is probably the best equipped in this way and every mechanical contrivance he employs in the making of his pictures is guarded jealously by him and his staff as a state secret might be guarded4 ,mr4 ,sennett doesn't believe in telling people how he performs his tricks4 ,he works on the principle that the public is better satisfied by remaining mystified1 of which more anon4 ,so it is beyond the power of anyone outside of ,mr4 ,sennett's confidence to set down the exact manner in which he causes to be done some of the most amazing stunts on the screen4 ,one can hazard the guess that he makes a comedian appear to be walking on water by double exposure but1 given this information1 any other director would be hard put to it to do the trick successfully4 ,mr4 ,sennett is often called upon to assist other directors in producing a thrill4 ,most people well remember ,anita ,stewart's picture of two or three years ago1 8,in ,old ,kentucky40 ,and those who can recall the picture will also be able to recall the scene wherein ,miss ,stewart1 on horseback1 urged her steed to jump a yawning chasm1 rather wide and terrifyingly deep4 ,it was one of the biggest thrills in the picture and it was made in ,mr4 ,sennett's studio4 ,neither ,miss ,stewart1 nor ,marshall ,neilan1 who directed all the rest of 8,in ,old ,kentucky0 had anything to do with this particular scene4 ,it was further said that ,mr4 ,sennett demanded and received a sum equivalent to the yearly salary of the ,president of the ,united ,states1 for his contribution to the old melodrama4 ,illustration3 ,,mack ,,sennett ,,mixes ,,situations ,,ludicrously4 ,,here ,,is ,a ,,marriage ,,service ,,proceeding ,,under ,,difficulties ,illustration3 ,,mack ,,sennett ,,not ,,only ,,goes ,,in ,,for 8,,gags0 ,,wholesale ,,but ,,endows ,,his ,,pictures ,,with ,a ,,fine ,,quality ,,of ,,burlesque4 ,,this ,,is ,a ,,scene ,,from 8,,down ,,on ,,the ,,farm0 ,a great part of ,mr4 ,sennett's art lies in his inventive genius and his happy faculty of applying some basically sound trick of mechanics to a ridiculous comedy situation4 ,in this respect he proceeds from the same principle that ,r4 ,l4 ,goldberg1 the cartoonist1 does4 ,those 8easy machines0 contrived by ,goldberg1 involved1 intricate and ridiculous1 that finally end up by scratching a man's back or slapping a mosquito1 have as a basis an actual mechanical theory4 ,so with ,mr4 ,sennett4 ,in a recent ,ben ,turpin picture the comedian appeared as a baker4 ,he was shown 8holing0 doughnuts with a mechanic's auger and going about his work in a perfectly serious fashion4 ,a little later the subtitle 8testing0 was flashed on the screen1 followed by the scene of the baker testing his doughnuts by slipping them over a bar and chinning himself on them4 ,the effect was utterly ridiculous1 uproariously funny4 ,and what was it8 ,really just an application of sound scientific methods1 never funny when applied correctly1 but as applied to a bakery more or less of a scream4 ,mr4 ,sennett and his staff will startle audiences into fits of laughter time and again by such methods4 ,while on the subject of ,ben ,turpin it is only fair to record here that ,mack ,sennett has never received the credit due him for developing this cross-eyed ,romeo4 ,turpin can be1 and has been1 quite a tiresome bore on the screen4 ,he proved it a few years ago by trying to star himself without ,mr4 ,sennett's guiding hand--and he failed4 ,certainly in his case direction enters into his success largely4 ,ford ,sterling is another who once left ,mr4 ,sennett's guidance to form his own company4 ,but he also came back to the fold4 ,the tricks of the slapstick producers are numerous4 ,the familiar scene of the automobiles skidding all over a wet pavement is sometimes actually hazardous to those participating but more often it is filmed with a slow camera1 the cars also skidding around rather slowly1 with the result that the completed picture gives the impression of sheer and utter recklessness4 ,in the ,ben ,turpin picture already mentioned the comedian endeavored to eat asparagus and just as he would get a tip near his mouth it would curl away like a snake4 ,of course there are such things as wires and springs4 ,the element of surprise enters into the making of the modern comedy to a great extent4 ,harold ,lloyd and his director1 ,hal ,roach1 employ the method of the surprise laugh to admirable effect4 ,one of the biggest laughs that this comedian has ever been responsible for was brought on by a totally unexpected surprise4 ,he appeared as a youth who sought suicide as a way out of all his troubles4 ,he climbed on the railing of a bridge with a rock hung round his neck and leaped into the water below4 ,the water was only about a foot deep and the youth came to a jarring stop when his feet hit the bottom4 ,the laugh that followed was really to be described as an outburst4 ,messrs4 ,lloyd and ,roach probably scorn the tricks by which scenes can be made to look thrilling1 preferring instead to accomplish the actual thrill1 more than any other comedy producers4 ,it may be recalled that ,mr4 ,lloyd once caused a variety of heart afflictions by appearing in a picture in which he was seen walking in his sleep on the edge of a high building4 ,fake8 ,not a bit of it6 ,the real thing--that is the high building1 not the sleep-walking4 ,all the studios in ,california confined to the elaborate production of slapstick-thrill comedy have their own hospitals and their own staffs of bonesetters and doctors4 ,and1 in order that the public may have its fill of laughs1 these hospitals often have their fill of patients4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,other ,,tricks ,,up ,,directors' ,,sleeves ,proving that the illusion once created by the double exposure has been completely spoiled by giving it so much publicity4--,and so the spoiling process is begun on a number of other tricks employed by the director to fool the public ,illustration3 ,,double ,,exposure1 ,,despite ,,the ,,fact ,,that ,,its ,,mechanics ,,have ,,long ,,since ,,been ,,exposed1 ,,was ,,used ,,successfully ,,in ,,mary ,,pickford',s 8,,little ,,lord ,,fauntleroy10 ,,directed ,,by ,,al ,,green ,,and ,,jack ,,pickford ,illustration3 ,,the ,,photographic ,,work ,,in 8,,the ,,conquering ,,power0 ,,was ,,also ,,an ,,achievement ,,every ,,scene ,,in 8,,the ,,conquering ,,power0 ,,carried ,,subtle ,,suggestion ,,in ,,its ,,very ,,atmosphere ,,chapter ,,xi ,mack ,sennett's principle of keeping the tricks of his studio to himself and not spreading them broadcast through a publicity department and acquainting audiences with the 8how0 of all his thrill scenes is basically a sound one4 ,it is the principle followed by ,david ,belasco with respect to his stage productions4 ,mr4 ,belasco never tells how he achieves a certain effect4 ,p4 ,t4 ,barnum proceeded on a like principle2 that there was 8one born every minute0 and that everyone of those liked to be fooled4 ,mr4 ,belasco goes even further and strives to prevent his stars from appearing in public4 ,this of course is exactly opposite in view to the motion picture stars' idea of doing things4 ,the more they appear in public1 the more that is printed about them1 the surer they are of their popularity4 ,it is a question as to whether audiences would care more for ,mary ,pickford if they didn't know the size of her shoes1 what facial cream she recommends1 how much money she makes and how she spends her ,sunday afternoons2 as to whether they would care more for ,constance ,talmadge if they didn't know the size of her shoes1 what facial cream she recommends1 how much money she makes and how she spends her ,sunday afternoons2 as to whether they would care more for ,wallace ,reid if they didn't know the size of his shoes1 what hair tonic he recommends1 how much money he makes and how he spends his ,sunday afternoons1 it is a question that can never be answered4 ,but in regard to giving away the mechanics of picture making1 whether it is a wise or an unwise course1 the question has already been answered4 ,the pointed reference is to the case of the double exposure4 ,this has been explained so many times 7and often explained incorrectly7 that now when a scene appears on a theatre screen in which the same player appears twice at one time1 you can hear all around you the explanation of how it is done4 ,as a result of all the publicity given the subject of double exposure its use to create a real illusion has practically passed4 ,immediately it comes on the screen an audience is snapped out of the story and confronted with the bare and unromantic machinery of picture making4 ,john will thereupon say to ,mary3 8,oh1 they do that by blinding half of the camera lens and dividing the scene in two4 ,first he plays the part on the left hand side and then--0 8,yes1 and then10 ,mary will say to ,john1 8they turn the camera back and expose the other side of the film while he's playing the other part40 ,and there you are4 ,all very simple4 ,easiest thing in the world to explain4 ,but in the meantime ,mary and ,john have lost track of the story1 the illusion has been smashed for them and for all the people sitting around them4 ,therefore having proven that it is a bad thing to give away the secrets of the director and cameraman and cutter1 ,i will now set down two or three other secrets of the director and the cameraman and the cutter so that other illusions of yours may be spoiled when you go to the theatre4 ,consequently1 if you desire to retain your illusions refrain from finishing this chapter4 ,the fight on the edge of a high precipice waged between the hero and the villain of the story is a favorite scene of every director's4 ,it is usually terminated when the hero mustering all his strength1 lands on the jaw of the villain and tumbles him off the precipice into the nothingness below4 ,now1 of course villains are expensive commodities1 often calling for five hundred dollars a week and more and no director can afford to let one drop over a cliff now and then just for the sake of a thrill4 ,furthermore1 they are usually happily married with large families and these families would be inclined to feel some venom for the director if he permitted the villains to go over the precipices4 ,so the following course is decided upon as the next best thing to actually killing the villain4 ,the first part of the rough and tumble fight is gone through in a natural way4 ,then comes the scene which begins with the hero's rush for the villain and ends with the blow that sends the unfortunate over the cliff4 ,the villain takes his nerve with him and stands on the edge of the cliff and leans as far back as he is able4 ,the hero then places one fist on the villain's jaw and allows it to rest there lightly4 ,then he pulls it back suddenly4 ,the villain follows him back to safety and they proceed to fight in a rough and tumble way again4 ,but what has the camera been doing all the time8 ,ah1 the camera has been grinding backwards so that when the above scene is flashed on the screen it looks as if the hero really hit the villain on the jaw4 ,and just at the point where the villain is shown leaning back to the farthest of his ability the film is cut and a dummy likeness of the villain is substituted for the fall1 thereby saving the director's reputation and his standing with the real villain's family4 ,then there is the close shot of the hero's fist landing with terrific impact on the villain's jaw and sending him sprawling4 ,naturally no villain really wants to feel the terrific impact of the hero's fist4 ,the two boys may be good friends in real life4 ,so the hero lets his fist fly gently and merely taps his opponent4 ,but1 of course1 this wouldn't look realistic on the screen so what does the director do or order the cutter to do8 ,he cuts or orders to be cut every second or every third individual picture from the strip of film that shows the slowly moving fist4 ,as a consequence of this cutting the movement of the fist is given actual speed and finally when the scene is shown on the screen it looks like the real thing6 ,of course the old trick of the baby being rescued from the onrushing train in the nick of time or the scene of the automobile just cutting across in front of the thundering express are generally understood4 ,the action is usually taken backwards as in the fight on the edge of the precipice with most satisfactory and thrilling results when shown on the screen frontwards4 ,illustration3 8,,disraeli0 ,,is ,,the ,,play ,,in ,,which ,,george ,,arliss ,,won ,,wide ,,fame4 ,,directed ,,for ,,the ,,screen ,,by ,,henry ,,kolker ,,it ,,stands ,,as ,,the ,,most ,,perfect ,,adaptation ,,on ,,record ,illustration3 ,,wally ,,reid ,,in ,,the ,,george ,,fitzmaurice ,,production ,,of 8,,peter ,,ibbetson0 ,and now that ,i have succeeded in spoiling these illusions for readers who have not previously had them spoiled1 is it any particular wonder why ,mack ,sennett guards the secrets of his study with a certain amount of jealousy8 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,some ,,words ,,from ,,frank ,,borzage ,the director of 8,humoresque0 and 8,get-,rich-,quick ,wallingford10 a born creator1 an instinctive picture director1 believes there is not enough true characterization on the screen today4--,audiences like to see counterparts of themselves on the screen1 not highly glorified heroes and heroines1 is his theory ,,chapter ,,xii ,earlier in these chapters reference was made to the number of capable and skilled men1 as yet unproven with respect to the extent of their emotional experience1 who were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to step into the limelight with a pictorial masterpiece4 ,in only a little over the last twelve months two such men were given the opportunity and both proved themselves1 emerging from their experiences as directors whose names now stand for the best in motion pictures4 ,of and from one of these men1 ,rex ,ingram1 we have already heard4 ,the other is ,frank ,borzage who in the short space of a year has given picture audiences 8,humoresque0 and 8,get-,rich-,quick ,wallingford10 both artistic and financial successes4 ,mr4 ,borzage is obviously a born director1 that is a born creator1 a born artist4 ,the qualities are to be observed in him merely on a chance conversation4 ,it is easy to see that here is a man with a great groundwork of emotional experience to serve him in his art4 ,and ,mr4 ,borzage is one of those who subscribe to the theory set forth in the first chapter of this book2 that without a full background of emotional experience a director can never rise to the heights of his craft4 ,mr4 ,borzage's method of working may not be distinctly individual with him but at least no other director has stated as clearly what he believes to be one of the secrets of making good pictures4 ,mr4 ,borzage believes that behind every face he sees there is some sort of a story4 ,unable to find out exactly what this story is1 he will draw it in part from the face itself4 ,the face will tell him certain things1 the rest will be supplied from the imagination4 8,characterization is what makes pictures attractive10 ,mr4 ,borzage says1 8,sincere1 true characterization4 ,there isn't enough of it in the average picture of today4 ,there is too much dealing with the surface things1 the superficial things4 ,the majority of directors don't go deep enough into the personalities with which they deal4 8,i believe in developing every character1 no matter how small1 that there is in my story if that development is to prove interesting4 ,and by interesting ,i don't mean the blood-and-thunder sort of interest4 ,a character doesn't have to have committed a murder or betrayed a friend1 or to have won a battle in a war or politics to be interesting4 ,it is the commonplace little things in that character's life that can be thrown up on the screen and made interesting1 absorbing1 living4 8,it is my aim to develop characters on the screen that everyone in an audience will recognize4 ,i want a man to say when he sees a character in one of my pictures1 ',well1 that's awfully like ,johnny ,jones1' or ,i want him to say1 ',gosh1 ,i did the same thing myself1 yesterday4' ,that is the kind of a character that makes a hit on the screen4 ,a character that everybody recognizes and immediately loves4 ,in every face ,i see ,i find a story4 ,it doesn't seem hard4 ,the story is right there lying on top1 easily visible4 ,you can take it and make something real1 vital out of it4 ,and by face ,i don't mean face literally when it comes right down to directing pictures4 ,then by face ,i mean the characters in my story4 8,so many times even in the best of stories1 written by the best of writers and prepared by the best of continuity writers1 it seems to me that opportunities have been overlooked for the development of character4 ,it is probably because the majority of authors don't realize the extent to which you can go on the screen in developing a characterization4 ,they are still thinking in terms of the printed page4 ,they don't know quite how to think in pictures4 8,and so if a minor character can be developed without crowding plot interest and the important characters 7and certainly minor characters can be developed in this fashion7 why ,i always want to do it and do do it4 8,again ,i say it is in these homely1 plain1 average characters that there lies the real interest for the majority of audiences4 ,the average picture deals with a hero and heroine who are not average people4 ,they are generally very superior in everything they do4 ,most producers and directors believe that audiences like such people and no other kind because they have always gone to see them on the screen and continue to do so4 ,these superior people are in the majority of plays and pictures and stories that we see and read4 8,but just stop and see where the plain1 average character when elevated to the position of importance in a film or a play1 has captured the hearts of thousands1 millions4 ,i refer to the plays1 ',lightnin'1' and ',the ,first ,year' and to ',humoresque1' the picture4 ,here were plain1 everyday people1 just like all of us and just because they were so like all of us we like them better than we like swashbuckling heroes in modern adventure pictures and entirely too wide-eyed and pretty heroines in pictures supposed to be representing life4 8,of course1 a dramatic picture with average people in it is the hardest thing in the world to write4 ,that is1 it seems to be from its scarcity4 ,perhaps though the writers proceed on the idea that audiences want fantastically heroic heroes and heroines because they believe people like to see themselves as they would like to be4 ,this is a sound theory and no doubt is responsible for the popularity of the average picture but ,i think people really like to see themselves as they are4 ,there are stories1 and dramatic stories in real peoples' lives but of course they are hard to find4 ,it's all very well to say that there's drama in the life of the man who delivers the milk and in the lives of those in the apartment next door4 ,it's there all right4 ,but find it6 ,that's what ,i try to do and that's what ,i try to do in my pictures4 ,that makes them a little bit different from the usual picture perhaps40 ,mr4 ,borzage's 8,humoresque0 and his more recent picture from the ,cohan play and the ,chester stories1 8,get-,rich-,quick ,wallingford0 bear silent witness to his ideas on picture making with respect to character development4 8,humoresque0 contained some of the keenest character studies ever screened4 ,its first half1 dealing with ,jewish family life in ,new ,york ,city's ,ghetto was doted with gems of true characterization1 recognizable as representing actually the average ,jewish family of the east side4 ,much of this characterization was drawn from the work of the author1 ,fannie ,hurst1 and ,mr4 ,borzage is the first to recognize this fact1 and much more was supplied by the director himself4 ,the manner in which he built up the character of the ,jewish father1 for instance1 instilling into it the proper amount of sympathy1 humor and racial characteristic1 is a lasting tribute to its work4 ,there is an interesting story with respect to 8,humoresque0 that has often been told4 ,the picture had cost a deal of money and was watched with particular interest by everyone in the studio where it was made from ,william ,r4 ,hearst1 down to the merest property man4 ,it was something of an experiment4 ,when it was finally completed and in readiness to be put before the public the heads of the organization decided not to put it out6 ,they were afraid of it6 ,why8 ,well1 because it dealt solely with ,jewish characters1 it didn't contain the ordinary type of motion picture plot1 in brief1 it was something quite apart from the usual type of picture4 ,therefore those who stood sponsor for it trembled lest it fail financially and trembled to the point where they decided it shouldn't be released at all4 ,and then someone spoke up and started to champion the picture4 ,it may have been ,mr4 ,borzage4 ,but whoever it was the picture went into a theatre and from the first performance started to break records4 ,and such has been the case with a number of the best pictures produced4 8,the ,birth of a ,nation0 and 8,the ,miracle ,man0 were considered by those supposed to know as failures before they were released4 ,they would never make a penny4 ,and all three of these pictures went out and cleaned up the shekels for their sponsors6 ,mr4 ,borzage has a few words to say on the subject of directing which also stamp him as a man from whom greater successes still are to be expected in the future4 8,every type of picture10 he says1 8whether drama1 melodrama1 comedy or farce can be treated in the same way with respect to characterization4 ,by this ,i mean that all such types of pictures are based primarily on the sincerity of their characterizations4 ,if ,i were making slapstick pictures ,i would pay just as much attention to characterization as ,i do now4 ,look at ,chaplin4 ,characterization1 true characterization1 is at the bottom of his success4 ,it is what makes his pictures more than mere comedies but masterpieces of picture art4 8,as for melodrama1 ,i think it a vastly belittled type of entertainment4 ,of course the old melodrama1 the type disparagingly referred to as 'ten1 twenty1 thirty' contained little merit beside its ability to thrill4 ,then there was no characterization except that which rose from the situations themselves4 ,situations created character1 true to the rule of melodrama4 ,but today in the pictures we have the old melodramatic situations fitted out decently with true characterizations4 ,critics are inclined to belittle them and call them cheap4 ,but they don't seem to sense the idea that life is made up largely of melodrama4 ,the most grotesque situations rise every day in life4 ,read the newspapers1 talk with your friends and see if ,i'm not right4 ,coincidence runs rife in the life of everyone4 ,and yet when these true to life situations are transferred to the screen they are sometimes laughed down because they are 'melodrama4' ,illustration3 ,,frank ,,borzage ,,in ,,directing 8,,back ,,pay0 ,,stops ,,to ,,give ,,directions ,,to ,,his ,,cameraman1 ,,chester ,,lyons ,illustration3 ,,frank ,,borzage ,,and ,,the 8,,humoresque0 ,,company4 ,,the ,,director ,,is ,,seated ,,on ,,the ,,floor4 ,,the ,,little ,,girl ,,is ,,miriam ,,battista4 ,,the ,,woman ,,at ,,the ,,right ,,is ,,vera ,,gordon4 ,,alma ,,rubens ,,is ,,on ,,the ,,left ,,with ,,gaston ,,glass ,,by ,,her ,,chair4 ,,dore ,,davidson ,,stands ,,with ,,his ,,hands ,,folded 8,if this is true then all life is a joke and while some humorists hold to this idea1 ,i am not one of those who believe it so40 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,what ,,tempo ,,means ,,in ,,directing ,the matter of tempo is strictly of the technical side of directing4 ,edward ,dillon explains how comedy pictures can be 8made0 or 8broken0 through close attention to this angle of production1 or a total disregard of it ,,chapter ,,xiii ,one of the most important matters concerned with the direction of a picture is that of tempo4 ,tempo is a term borrowed from the music world but it applies to pictures as accurately as it does to music4 ,its meaning is simple1 of course1 but to put it in a more commonplace way it means the 8timing10 or rather the proper timing of the various episodes that constitute the picture4 ,the value of proper tempo is at once recognizable with respect to some of the familiar episodes of picture dramas4 ,anyone can readily realize the value of an ultra-rapid tempo in dealing with a chase episode1 either in comedy or in drama1 say for instance1 when policemen are chasing crooks4 ,here the motion is speeded up to its greatest possible extent while still keeping within the bounds of realism and probability4 ,sometimes1 as is well known1 realism and probability in a chase are far exceeded in burlesque comedies4 ,likewise1 it is just as easy to pick out a typical sequence where slow tempo is demanded2 any such sequence as a religious ceremony or an important dramatic denunciation4 ,to point out one manner in which the tempo of scenes varies in less typical sequences and to point out the value of its variation is1 however1 a far more difficult thing to do4 ,to the eye of the layman the tempo of a picture may never vary from one end to the other4 ,subconsciously1 however1 this variation of the tempo is in a great part responsible for that person's enjoyment of the entertainment4 ,just as a chase scene is keyed to the greatest possible tempo and just as a denunciation scene may be keyed to the slowest possible tempo1 just so other scenes of varying dramatic calibre should be keyed to rates of tempo of varying and relative importance4 ,sometimes two sequences may be played together in which there is little more than a hair's breadth in tempo but little as it is it is still there1 exercising a subtle effect on the dramatic worth of the picture as it unfolds on the screen4 ,the director who has this realization of the proper tempo down to something approaching a practical science is the best director4 ,to gauge the value of a certain sequence and then to think it out in minutes and seconds is a task of exceedingly difficult proportions4 ,then too1 there is the circumstance of the speed at which the cameraman is grinding to be considered4 ,a cameraman can manage the tempo of a picture by himself if he knows sufficiently and likewise if he is ignorant of the niceties of his work he may well ruin a picture through lack of proper attention to the timing of his scenes1 despite all the efforts of the director4 ,while it doesn't take any unusual amount of judgment to determine the scenes that should be played in fast tempo1 it does take considerable judgment to determine those that should be played in slow tempo4 ,many directors are inclined to award altogether too much film space 7are inclined1 in other words1 to play in too slow a tempo7 scenes of little importance4 ,when a director has erred in this fashion a number of times in the production of one picture1 the results show on the screen in the shape of lost interest on the audience's part4 ,the spectator gets the idea that the picture is padded out with scenes just to fill in1 whether this was the aim of the director or not4 ,scenes that should be played in a rapid tempo are usually played at their normal gait on the studio stages but when it comes to a scene that is played slowly for the reason of registering a certain strong dramatic point1 these scenes are as a rule played a little bit slower than they would normally be presented4 ,the question of tempo simmers down1 therefore1 to the question of how skilled the director of the picture is in securing desired effects on the screen4 ,tempo is so thoroughly a part of a director's manifold duties1 a part of almost each and every one1 that is1 that it is extremely difficult to disassociate it from any of them4 ,in dealing with it1 it is impossible to go thoroughly into the subject without saying something on pictorial and dramatic detail1 about the ability of the players themselves and about the camera and its master4 ,but the picture properly timed and keyed is undoubtedly the best picture4 ,the drama that leads up to an inevitable climax that sustains the interest of the spectator through a considerable series of episodes before that climax is reached2 the drama that1 at the moment of the climax itself1 fairly bursts forth on the admiring spectator in all its strength and force1 is the drama made with close attention to the tempo of each of its episodes4 ,edward ,dillon1 one of the surest directors of light comedy in the producing art who received his schooling under such present day masters as ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith and ,mack ,sennett1 has a few interesting words to say with respect to the topic4 8,tempo1 the gauging of scenes and sequences to their proper time can almost make or break a picture10 he says4 8,this fact is specially true with respect to the light comedy or the comedy-drama4 ,audiences as a whole1 ,i don't suppose1 can properly realize how much the proper tempo means in the success of a comedy4 ,in my experience in producing comedies ,i have often noticed that the slightest variation from the proper tempo in one direction or the other1 often spoils the effect of a possible laugh4 ,a slight slowing down in tempo may throw an entire comedy sequence out of gear1 so to speak1 and irreparably weaken its effect on the screen4 ,too much speed in the wrong place often has the same more or less disastrous results4 8,a player can spoil a dramatic or comedy effect by taking too much time to walk out of a room or going out of it too quickly4 ,he can spoil it by allowing the expression of his face to change too quickly or too slowly4 ,these instances are practical examples of what tempo means4 ,a director has to watch his players constantly in order to prevent such slips4 ,they demand particularly close watching when they are not experienced in pictures1 say when they have been recruited from the legitimate stage4 8,if anyone seeks an actual demonstration of what the lack of attention to tempo means to a picture1 let him go to see one of the various cheap slapstick comedies so often produced4 ,he can find them by steering clear of the theatres that show the well known comedy brands produced by the leading producers4 ,when he finds one of the others he will immediately know it because he will see the familiar old chase scenes done in rank1 amateurish style4 ,the people in the chase will go fast in one scene and slow in the next4 ,the director didn't know how to achieve the effect he wanted4 ,he probably thought doing a chase picture was the mere job of telling one bunch of people to chase another bunch of people4 ,and that is far from all of it40 ,all of which is but one more reason why directing motion pictures isn't the easiest thing under the sun4 ,,chapter ,,xiv 8,,overshooting0--,,and ,,the ,,serial ,lack of proper attention to tempo often results in a director finding himself at a loss when it comes to cutting his picture4--,the severe task faced by the director of the two reel episode serial and how he must make every foot of film count ,illustration3 ,,frank ,,borzage ,,talking ,,over ,a ,,domestic ,,scene ,,with ,,seena ,,owen ,,and ,j4 ,,barney ,,sherry4 ,,the ,,picture ,,is 8,,back ,,pay0 ,,frank ,,borzage ,,directing 8,,humoresque40 ,,the ,,dictaphone ,,was ,,used ,,by ,,mr4 ,,borzage ,,to ,,record ,,the ,,complete ,,continuity ,,instead ,,of ,,having ,,the ,,manuscript ,,holder ,,use ,,stenographic ,,notes ,illustration3 ,,the ,,types ,,in ,,frank ,,borzage',s 8,,get ,,rich ,,quick ,,wallingford0 ,,are ,,recognizable ,,to ,,all ,,chapter ,,xiv ,tempo is such an intricate subject that the more that is said of it1 the more it obtrudes itself on the matter of directing4 ,if a director isn't careful1 watching the progress of the various episodes of his picture and measuring their importance and actual length in his mind's eye1 he is liable to have too much material on hand when he comes to the task of 8cutting0 his picture4 ,the cutting and the editing of a picture present together one of the most difficult processes through which it goes before reaching the public4 ,and while cutting and editing are not exactly part of a director's duties1 he exercises a certain amount of supervision over the process because in it his work is finished off and polished4 ,the cutting and editing of scenes is the process of putting them together in the proper sequences and trimming off unnecessary footage so that the picture approaches the proper length4 ,skilled cutting and editing1 carrying with it a careful appreciation of the director's work1 can sometimes redeem a picture that seems hopelessly bad4 ,likewise lack of skill and appreciation in the cutting and editing process sometimes 8kills0 a picture4 ,but when a director has failed to properly gauge the tempo of the various sequences that go to make up a picture1 there is all sorts of trouble when the finishing off and polishing process is started4 ,the director may have allowed too much space for each of his episodes and thus when the editing starts1 the director or the editor finds it next to impossible to bring the picture down to the required length without mutilating the whole4 ,of course1 the ideal state of affairs would be to permit the picture to run its natural length4 ,then there would be no trouble at all about directors' overshooting4 ,however1 this would lead to pictures being unnecessarily long as there would always be directors who would abuse such a privilege4 ,the length of the average feature is1 however1 elastic enough to permit a director to err a thousand feet or so in his judgment as to the length of a story and still be safe4 ,feature pictures run anywhere from forty-five hundred feet to six thousand feet4 ,the average length is five thousand feet1 hence the term 8five reeler40 ,and most stories can be told easily enough within the average five reels4 ,there is one critic who claims that no story is big enough to consume more than five reels of film4 ,he is pretty nearly right1 at that4 ,but with all these footages known before hand there are directors who will so misjudge the tempo of the picture sequences and who will so misjudge the importance of sequences and include in them more scenes than are necessary 7these directors are usually the ones who work without a continuity71 that when they have finished with the camera work on a picture1 they find themselves with too much footage on hand and forced into the necessity of cutting out much of the story value of their picture4 ,one of the most artistic pictures produced during the last year1 a picture adapted from a brace of novels of universal fame was to a certain extent1 spoiled because the director 8overshot0 various phases of the story4 ,when he had cut it as much as he was able1 when he had brought it down to ten thousand feet1 it was quite perfect4 ,and he was unable to cut it down further because each further cut he made on it would have been like sticking a knife in himself and twisting it4 ,it takes more than courage for a director to cut out a scene over which he may have labored for hours at a time4 ,however1 the public1 through the theatre owners1 has declared itself as generally opposed to pictures taking more than an hour and a half to run unless they provide some remarkably effective sustaining interest4 ,as this picture lacked spectacular quality and was never smashingly dramatic it had to be cut down to average length and in this final cutting much that was good about it was removed and discarded4 ,most directors1 however1 can judge their tempo and their footage to be sure not to run into such trouble4 ,the real difficulty on this score comes when the short two reel picture is made and particularly the serial picture so popular in some theatres today4 ,in the direction of a serial1 each chapter of which is usually told in two thousand feet of film1 or two-fifths as much as is allotted the average feature picture1 the director is faced with the necessity of making every foot of film contain either plot interest or action interest4 ,pictorial beauty1 characterization1 atmosphere1 qualities which sometimes assist the interest of a feature picture to a great extent1 are discarded from the slightest contemplation in the direction of a serial1 even as similar elements are discarded in the writing of the magazine serial story4 ,so it is in the production of the ever-popular rapid-fire1 thrill serial that the matter of tempo is of the utmost importance to the director4 ,if he takes a little too long in picturizing a certain sequence1 where does he stand8 ,he can't resort to the practice of the feature director1 that is cutting out a few scenes here and there that he may have included for their pictorial quality or for their atmosphere4 ,he can't do this because he has excluded those scenes in the first place4 ,every foot of his film is given over to plot and action interest4 ,so it may be seen that this question of tempo enters importantly into the director's work4 ,incidentally the serial director's job is an exceedingly difficult one4 ,often in the two reels allowed him he must tell as much if not more story than is usually told in the five reel feature4 ,he must constantly keep the action going at a break-neck speed4 ,he can seldom let a player stand still for the short space of a half minute4 ,everyone is constantly on the move4 ,the plot and the action demand it4 ,the characters of the story must be characterized by plot and action4 ,there is no space for the human touches and the characterization by little details4 ,not in a motion picture serial4 ,in addition much of the serial's action proceeds at an extraordinary rate of speed4 ,the rate is hardly natural at all4 ,the director must adapt himself to this strictly serial way of doing things4 ,this ultra-speed is particularly noticeable when it comes to the big thrill1 the big punch scene which usually closes an episode of a serial4 ,here the action assumes almost lightning like rapidity4 ,the director must force his players to the limit of their capacity for speed4 ,if in his scenes of plot interest there was not a half minute to be lost here in these scenes there is not a half second to be lost4 ,the serial director works down to the line and doesn't allow himself much to spare on one side of it or the other4 ,so1 it may be seen1 if he isn't a good judge of tempo he is liable to find himself in the very deuce of a mix when he comes to cut and edit his episodes4 ,if he has allowed too much film for a certain incident there usually isn't much to do but cut the entire incident out and cover the hole with a subtitle4 ,if1 by any chance1 he has not allowed enough space for his action1 the episode appears hurried1 awkward1 jumbled1 hard to follow4 ,and if he has slowed some scenes down a bit so that he will have the proper footage when it comes to this cutting and editing1 his audiences will jump on him for trying to 8pad out0 the picture4 ,so1 difficult as is the task that confronts the director of the five reel dramatic or humorous subject1 the task that confronts the director of the serial must needs be set down as more difficult still4 ,the only reason why the serial director is not given greater position in this volume is that the demands of his audiences and the limitations of his footage1 permit him to attempt little that is regarded in a serious way by audiences of taste and discrimination4 ,the average feature picture can be summed up on its merits on the day that it is shown but1 8features may come and features may go1 but serials run on forever0 and consequently no one can attempt to sum up a serial in one sitting4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,method ,,of ,,thomas ,h4 ,,ince ,a survey of the ,ince method of production with due realization of the fact that he stakes everything on the picture continuity4--,proof of his success and a few of the reasons for it with an anecdote about a certain director who wouldn't play ball with ,mr4 ,ince ,,chapter ,,xv ,as a general rule there is no love lost between directors and scenario writers4 ,this is particularly the case in the big producing companies where directors work more or less on a schedule1 an elastic schedule to be sure1 but nevertheless a schedule4 ,in these companies a director seldom has a chance to co-operate with the scenario writer on the construction of a continuity4 ,sometimes he has complaints on it which are never taken up and discussed due to lack of time4 ,as a result the director blames the scenario writer for the mistakes in the finished picture4 ,with the case of the directors who have proven themselves in an artistic way1 it will be found that the majority of them have much to say about the handling of their stories in continuity form4 ,they either actually co-operate on the writing of the continuity from which they are to work or they claim to discard continuities altogether and work from notes1 a brief synopsis or--from the head4 ,both the ,de ,milles have much to say about the writing of continuities from which they work4 ,as a consequence when it comes to the actual task of directing they are dealing with their own ideas4 ,it has been related how ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith prefers to work without a continuity and his reasons therefore4 ,frank ,borzage is a champion for the continuity synopsis1 a running account of the plot1 undivided into scenes4 ,many other directors prefer this method1 dividing their pictures into the desired and natural number of scenes during actual work4 ,all such directors claim that to follow a scene numbered continuity through directly results in a mechanical picture4 ,like the ,de ,milles they claim that to produce such a picture well1 they must also have a hand in the writing of the mechanical continuity4 ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,h4 ,,ince ,,watching ,,one ,,of ,,his ,,companies ,,at ,,work ,,while ,,the ,,cameras ,,click ,,merrily ,,above ,illustration3 ,,the ,,handling ,,of ,a ,,giant ,,megaphone ,,is ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,first ,,things ,a ,,director ,,learns4 ,,observe ,,thomas ,h4 ,,ince',s ,,skill ,on the face of it the arguments of these directors seem sound4 ,but it is easy enough to take the other side of the question and riddle the arguments completely4 ,the stand can be taken that the motion picture director performs no other functions than those performed by the stage director4 ,and many and many a stage director has turned out productions of artistic worth by merely following the author's manuscript4 ,few stage directors decline to direct a ,shakespearean production for the reason that they didn't have a hand in the writing of the play4 ,which brings up the methods employed by ,thomas ,h4 ,ince1 probably the most successful producing-director in the entire field of motion pictures4 ,mr4 ,ince is at the head of a number of producing units4 ,he has a certain number of directors making pictures for him4 ,over the work of these men he exercises an actual supervision4 ,and when a director works for ,mr4 ,ince he does what ,mr4 ,ince tells him to do4 ,mr4 ,ince is one of the veterans of the picture producing craft4 ,he has developed more stars1 perhaps1 than any other man in the field today4 ,william ,s4 ,hart1 ,charles ,ray1 ,dorothy ,dalton and ,louise ,glaum are the brightest of those he has brought out4 ,and the secret of ,thomas ,h4 ,ince's greatness1 whether he admits it himself or not1 is the minute attention he pays to the matter of preparing the continuities of the pictures from which his directors work4 ,probably ,mr4 ,ince pays more attention to this preparation of a continuity than does any other producer4 ,in his opinion the greater part of the work of producing a picture has been completed when the continuity is in final shape to hand to the director4 ,equipped with the power of visualization to a remarkable degree ,mr4 ,ince and his production manager thoroughly scrutinize the continuity when it is handed them by a member of the scenario department4 ,every point in the story1 and every point in its development at the hands of the continuity writer is discussed4 ,as a rule when the continuity is returned to its author there are a number of alterations and changes to be made4 ,and when these are made ,mr4 ,ince goes over the script again4 ,sometimes this interchange of ideas is carried on between ,mr4 ,ince and his scenario department for six or eight times before the continuity is in final shape for the director4 ,then when the director finally does receive the manuscript he finds some such order as this stamped across its face3 8,produce this exactly as written60 ,this1 however1 is not the arbitrary demand of an autocrat4 ,if the director sees a place where a change will work some good to the story he has the privilege of placing the matter before ,mr4 ,ince himself4 ,but for the most part the ,ince continuities are so thoroughly gone over before placing them in the hands of the directors that few if any changes for the better suggest themselves4 ,therefore when the ,ince director starts to work on the picture he is carrying out the ideas of the continuity writer and his chief to the most minute detail4 ,his is the business of directing the picture1 not of creating it in the broadest sense of the words4 ,now according to other directors who insist that such a method of procedure produces mechanical results1 is responsible for a work lacking in inspiration and all the finer qualities that go to make a picture1 and degrades the director into the position of a mere clerk1 ,mr4 ,ince's pictures would be the worst the art has to offer4 ,the fact that they are the most consistently meritorious that the art has to offer would seem to refute the arguments brought up by these others completely4 ,so what is the answer8 ,griffith produces good pictures after his method4 ,borzage and a number of others produce good pictures after the same methods1 or methods practically the same4 ,and ,mr4 ,ince1 hands his director a continuity divided strictly into scenes1 each camera angle is numbered and for a purpose1 for the director to go out and make all these camera angles1 these scenes1 just as ,mr4 ,ince ordered him to4 ,the answer is1 after all1 quite simple4 ,mr4 ,ince has capabilities matched by no other director in the producing art4 ,one of his capabilities may be matched here and there but never all of them by another individual4 ,thus ,mr4 ,ince and his scenario department are the creators of ,ince pictures4 ,the directors he employs carry out his ideas4 ,and these directors1 while the above argument may prove them mere automatons1 are in reality skilled men1 artists for the most part1 versed in all the niceties of picture producing4 ,the fact that the majority of them1 when they have left ,mr4 ,ince's fold1 have succeeded on their own separate accounts1 is proof of that4 ,the matter1 therefore1 simmers down to this simple problem4 ,can a producing organization turn out better pictures than an individual director8 ,the solution of the problem is in the following qualified statement3 ,yes1 when the producing organization is headed by ,thomas ,h4 ,ince4 ,mr4 ,ince's qualifications for such leadership are manifold4 ,to begin with1 he is1 naturally1 a born leader of men4 ,if chance had led him into the business world instead of the art of motion picture producing he might well be a bank director or a railroad official4 ,he would know his business thoroughly whatever it was and then would proceed with the utmost confidence in his own knowledge4 ,of course he would make mistakes even as he has made some few mistakes in picture producing but more often the reverse from mistakes would be the case4 ,anyone familiar with ,mr4 ,ince will talk for hours on his magnetic personality4 ,it is a personality that few1 if any1 seem able to resist4 ,thus he is able to give orders and have them carried out to the letter without giving offense4 ,it seems that giving orders without accompanying them by a modicum of offense is a pretty hard thing to do4 ,dozens of men in the craft of picture producing would trade almost anything they've got for this ability of ,mr4 ,ince's4 ,on top of these qualities1 invaluable from whatever angle of business or art that they are approached is ,mr4 ,ince's thorough knowledge of making pictures4 ,this knowledge is not confined to one department of production1 nor does he specialize in a single department of production4 ,he is conversant with every department and is able to consider each one in its proper light1 to value it properly1 particularly with its relation to the others4 ,still there are the individualists that oppose ,mr4 ,ince and belittle his methods4 ,he doesn't bother about them often as he employs directors who are willing to work into his scheme of production and these for the most part have been richly rewarded4 ,there is an interesting story in connection with one individualistic director1 whose name shall be kept a secret for his own sake1 and the ,ince organization4 ,it appears that ,mr4 ,ince had signed this director to a contract without inquiring into his willingness to work along the prescribed ,ince lines4 ,the continuity of a comedy-drama was handed him shortly after his arrival at the studio and he was told that everything was in readiness for him to begin work4 ,the director read the continuity and addressed himself to ,mr4 ,ince somewhat as follows3 8,you don't expect me to produce this1 do you8 ,why this continuity is so bad that it couldn't possibly turn out to be a good picture4 ,i won't make it60 ,mr4 ,ince1 with the director's name fastened on the end of a contract1 is alleged to have replied with a certain degree of forcefulness3 8,you will produce it40 ,the argument went back and forth4 ,the director wanted to work but he didn't want to work in the ,ince manner4 ,mr4 ,ince's pride and temper were undoubtedly stirred and he insisted that the director produce the picture along the lines prescribed by him4 ,finally an agreement was reached4 ,the director condescended to produce the picture on condition that when it was produced his name was to be left off it as director4 ,mr4 ,ince acceded to this demand4 ,to do the director credit he then went about his work sincerely4 ,mr4 ,ince watched him carefully and realized that he was doing his best1 though still believing the cause was hopeless4 ,the director1 when he finished work1 was dismissed from whatever further terms were contained in the contract4 ,and so the picture was put before the public without the individualistic director's name upon it4 ,it was one of the most successful pictures ever released4 ,it was an irresistible comedy-drama and everyone who saw it fairly revelled in it4 ,the director when he realized how he had talked himself out of credit for one of the art's best pictures must have fretted and fumed considerably4 ,equally galling must have been the large advertising bills he received for pointing out the fact to the motion picture trade in large announcements that he had directed the picture4 ,for ,mr4 ,ince had lived up to the agreement to the letter4 ,he had not only left the director's name off the picture but had removed it from all advertising as well4 ,mr4 ,ince had his little joke4 ,and probably the director doesn't care much now anyway4 ,he is a success with another company and is still saying that he can't make good pictures from a continuity on which he didn't work himself4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,directors ,,schooled ,,by ,,ince ,a partial list of directors schooled under ,thomas ,h4 ,ince who have made successes as individualists elsewhere and who1 because of their successes1 are actual refutations of the argument that ,mr4 ,ince turns out mere picture mechanics and carpenters1 not artistic creators ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,h4 ,,ince1 ,,among ,,his ,,other ,,accomplishments1 ,,can ,,show ,,an ,,actor ,,how ,,to ,,perform ,,in ,a ,,scene ,,and ,,often ,,does ,illustration3 ,,mary ,,pickford',s ,,version ,,of 8,,little ,,lord ,,fauntleroy0 ,,is ,a ,,creditable ,,version ,,of ,,the ,,famous ,,story4 ,,the ,,atmosphere ,,communicated ,,to ,,the ,,various ,,scenes ,,by ,,the ,,director1 ,,played ,,an ,,important ,,part ,,in ,,the ,,picture',s ,,success ,,chapter ,,xvi ,those who cry down the methods employed by ,thomas ,h4 ,ince with respect to the directors who work in his studio often state that the ,ince school of directing snuffs out any original ideas that a director may possess and makes him a mere picture mechanic1 capable only of turning out mechanical and uninteresting pictures4 ,and lest it be thought that sufficient proof hasn't been offered to counteract this argument some few of the directors who started under the early ,ince regime and left to make their marks as individualists elsewhere are mentioned here4 ,there is ,reginald ,barker1 long on the ,ince staff1 who until recently was employed at the ,goldwyn studios and who was entrusted with the direction of many of their most important stories and stars4 ,the facts and records point to only one conclusion1 that ,mr4 ,barker has directed some of the most successful pictures made by the ,goldwyn company and is one of the most reliable men in the field today4 ,there is ,fred ,niblo who after a short session at the ,ince studio turned his energy elsewhere4 ,mr4 ,niblo happens to be the man who directed ,douglas ,fairbanks in the highly successful 8,three ,musketeers40 ,no one1 within or without the field of motion pictures1 has once stated that 8,the ,three ,musketeers0 appears to be the work of an automaton4 ,there is ,r4 ,william ,neill1 who1 since he left the ,ince school some several years ago has been hard put to it to accept all the positions he has had offered him4 ,other picture producers are not in the habit of seeking a man to fill the responsible position of director when he can only carry out the definite orders of his superior4 ,there is ,jerome ,storm who while with the ,ince organization made a big name for himself by directing many of the pictures in which ,charles ,ray appeared4 ,mr4 ,storm left ,mr4 ,ince when ,mr4 ,ray left him4 ,mr4 ,storm directed ,mr4 ,ray's first independent picture4 ,mr4 ,ray1 since he has been directing his own pictures1 shows sadly the lack of ,mr4 ,storm's guiding hand4 ,and ,mr4 ,storm has had various positions since leaving ,mr4 ,ray--in fact1 has had quite as many as he could well take care of4 ,there is ,victor ,shertzinger who while with ,mr4 ,ince also made some very good ,charles ,ray pictures4 ,with the ,goldwyn company he made an enviable reputation for himself as a director of light comedy and proved more successful in handling ,mabel ,normand than any other director with the sole exception of ,mack ,sennett himself4 ,mr4 ,shertzinger is now at the head of his own producing company4 ,a difficult post for a man to achieve who is no more than a mere mechanic taking orders from a producing genius such as ,mr4 ,ince6 ,there is ,lambert ,hillyer1 who with this writing is back with ,mr4 ,ince after several years in the service of ,william ,s4 ,hart1 directing and writing the majority of that star's pictures4 ,mr4 ,hart would hardly pick a mechanical nincompoop to direct his screen efforts which are considerably important both to ,mr4 ,hart and the public at large4 ,there is ,frank ,borzage himself who was with ,mr4 ,ince a long time as an actor and who had ample opportunity to absorb his system of directing4 ,and ,mr4 ,borzage1 as has been previously stated1 is quite a worthy director4 ,there is ,roland ,lee1 one of the younger directors1 developed by ,mr4 ,ince who only recently left him and who immediately made a name for himself directing some ,hobart ,bosworth pictures and who at this writing is with the ,goldwyn company handling the directorial end of some of that company's most important pictures4 ,this is an array of directors rather difficult to match4 ,and if it was tried to match it from a list of directors turned out by any other producing-director or any other producing organization1 the poor fellow who tried would find himself in for a life's job4 ,to work in the ,ince school of directing is1 indeed1 the luckiest thing that can befall a director4 ,instead of making him an insignificant employe1 merely carrying out the work mapped out by the man higher up1 it teaches him thoroughly all branches of picture directing so that when he strikes out for himself he is far better able to approach the excellence achieved by his former superior than he would be without such schooling4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,who ,,creates ,a ,,picture8 ,wherein it is shown that the continuity writer and not the director is the actual creator of the motion picture in its motion picture form4--,proof is offered by the directors themselves who1 perhaps unwittingly1 have previously shown that the continuity writer is the beginning of everything in the studio ,,chapter ,,xvii ,so much discussion has been set down in these pages regarding the results obtained when a director prepares his own continuity or when he works without a continuity in his hand2 and it has been explained that a large number of directors produce the best results when they collaborate with their continuity writers1 that the question naturally arises as to who is the actual creator of the motion pictures seen on the theatre screens4 ,is the director the creator8 ,or is the continuity writer the creator8 ,this is a question that can't be answered without giving immeasurable offense to the one group of artists or the other4 ,every director will publicly announce that he and his fellows are the creators4 ,and every continuity writer will announce the same thing4 ,having had considerable experience in the continuity line and never having directed a picture1 ,i will probably be accused of bias when ,i side with the writing men4 ,however1 the facts of the case seem to point solely to the conclusion that the writers are the creators4 ,the very directors who decline to follow a written continuity in their work give particular significance to this statement4 ,it has been shown that ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith and a number of his lesser disciples decline to use a continuity on the ground that it cramps their originality4 ,they can't make a good picture following another man's continuity4 ,what better answer could be found than that in answer of the question1 8,who is the creator of a picture80 ,both the ,de ,milles are frank with the statement that they work long and arduously over the preparation of their continuities4 ,then there is ,thomas ,h4 ,ince's method which1 as explained1 stresses the importance of the continuity above all else4 ,it appears to be plain1 therefore1 that the continuity is generally regarded as the beginning of everything with respect to the motion picture4 ,of course1 the original story comes first of all and is vastly the most important matter for consideration4 ,but the original1 as a general rule1 is not a picture story4 ,from the original story the continuity writer creates the picture4 ,the continuity writer thinks in pictures4 ,if he is efficient he is able to visualize his work as he goes along4 ,when he has finished his task he has a completed picture in his mind4 ,and if his continuity is a perfect work he has a completed picture on paper4 ,and1 still further1 if the director is capable of visualizing1 he discerns this completed picture that lies before him on paper and proceeds to transfer it to the celluloid4 ,the man who carries out the plans for the construction of a giant building or of a subway1 the man who does the actual building of a great ship or the man who directs a picture1 are not the creators of their work4 ,the creators are the men who draw up the plans4 ,the reason why directors claim that they can't get the best results working with another man's continuity is that they realize that directing has its limitations4 ,to actually create they must invade the field of creation4 ,and so the ,griffiths and the ,de ,milles invade the continuity writers' field and do creating on their own accounts4 ,and some of them1 of course1 are creators of excellence4 ,then1 these matters granted1 why bother about the continuity writer1 it may be asked4 ,without going to the defense of these greatly abused fellows it may be emphatically stated that without the continuity writer the directors would find their work greatly deteriorating4 ,in the field of production today there are certain directors who insist on doing their own continuities1 who refuse even the slightest assistance or suggestion from an outside source4 ,many of these men grow 8stale0 in their work and turn out uninspired and mechanical pictures4 ,they 8live0 with a picture too long4 ,they get to know it so well that they slight it4 ,they know it so well that they think everyone else is on the same familiar footing with it4 ,they see it through their own eyes only and they see it through colored glasses that obligingly obliterate all its faults and intensify its merits4 ,these men won't let anyone touch one of their pictures in any process of production4 ,they even insist on doing the actual cutting and editing of the film and the writing of the subtitles4 ,their work is1 as a rule1 artless1 tedious to watch and flat in the majority of effects striven for4 ,this condemnation of the man who combines both the arts of writing for the screen and directing is not to be taken without exception4 ,the rule is like every other rule and wouldn't be a rule unless there were here and there an exception to it4 ,so1 instead of a creator the motion picture director really finds himself in the same position occupied by the man who sets out to translate a book from one language into another4 ,the work has already been created and lies before him needing only his deft touch to recreate it through a different medium than type4 ,recreate seems to be the proper word4 ,deprived of the privilege of calling himself a creator1 a director can at last call himself a recreator4 ,and when a director proceeds to translate a work of his own from type to picture form he is filling both positions4 ,however1 the fact that he is creating in one of his capacities1 doesn't mean that he is creating in the other as well4 ,this sudden depriving of the director of all award in the creation of a motion picture and handing it to the screen writer may not seem at all just4 ,there are directors who will say that such a claim is ridiculous1 who will say that a continuity writer cannot possibly be the creator of a picture because he doesn't know the exact topography of the exterior location or setting to be used as background for the scene1 who will say that there are hundreds of times when little pieces of 8business0 suggest themselves on the moment to the director4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,jewish ,,types ,,in ,,frank ,,borzage',s 8,,humoresque0 ,,have ,,become ,,world ,,renowned ,illustration3 8,,disraeli10 ,,directed ,,by ,,henry ,,kolker1 ,,is ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,most ,,perfectly ,,made ,,pictures ,,from ,,the ,,standpoint ,,of ,,the ,,producing ,,art ,these and dozens of other arguments will be advanced to riddle the statement that the continuity writer is the creator4 ,but the statement will still stand as a fact4 ,the slight changes necessitated when an exterior location presents some unusual topography never seriously change the plot of the picture4 ,the business introduced1 if it is good business1 enriches the plot so much the more4 ,then if the director wishes he may designate himself as a decorator in addition to a recreator4 ,but despite all these words that seem to detract from the glory of the director1 his work remains a high art1 tremendous and difficult to master4 ,his task of translating from the printed page to the strips of film is no child's play by any manner of means4 ,to accomplish this work he must bring into play all his talents1 his experience1 his level-headedness1 his judgment of story values1 his ability to handle people1 his knowledge of dramatic construction and so on and so forth4 ,if he hasn't many talents he is liable to keenly feel the lack of them before he has progressed far on his work4 ,the fact that the average director refers to his continuity or rather somebody else's continuity to guide him is no reflection on his own ability4 ,it produces proper balance in the work of picture making and the director knows it4 ,he knows too that the art of picture making is no exception to the old rule that two heads are better than one4 ,the best scheme of things and one which is followed in many studios today is to have a director and a continuity writer work hand in hand not only on the construction of the picture story but also on the director's end of it--the writer acting in the capacity of supervisor and advisor to the director4 ,this method of procedure has produced some of the best pictures recently made4 ,it would be ideal if human nature in general didn't contain those qualities which make armies and navies necessary and which make cats and dogs fight4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,music ,,in ,,picture ,,production ,the value of music in inspiring the proper mood in a company of players4--,an argument in favor of this aide to the director and the recitation of an occasion where a director went mad ,,chapter ,,xviii ,many directors use music to inspire from their actors and actresses the best performances4 ,the idea is plausible and often productive of the desired results4 ,often1 too1 it is carried to extremes4 ,there is one quite famous star who needs 8,hearts and ,flowers0 rendered in the slowest pitch of melancholy1 to satisfactorily walk across a setting4 ,she doesn't register any deep emotion in this instance either1 unless walking can be so termed4 ,it was some time in the year #aiad that music was discovered as one of the director's chief aides4 ,a large ballroom scene was being photographed at the old ,thanhauser studio in ,new ,rochelle4 ,invitations were sent to members of the press to attend and watch the work4 ,a rare innovation was promised4 ,the innovation turned out to be the fact that the ballroom dancers actually danced to the strains of an orchestra6 ,previously picture dancers had been forced to rely on their own sense of rhythm4 ,since then musicians have grown to be almost as vital in picture making as the cameraman or the actors themselves4 ,at the studios in the early morning appear almost as many men carrying violin cases as there are with makeup boxes4 ,the idea isn't at all as far-fetched as it may sound4 ,music1 more than all the advice and coaching that a director may give his company1 serves to cast them in the proper mood for a scene4 ,national folk dances and folk songs offer proof of this4 ,it is a familiar sight to see members of ,latin and ,slavic nations1 stirred to the very depths of their souls by the familiar notes of some ancient folk song or dance4 ,it will inspire them to forget their surroundings and break into abandoned action4 ,thus1 when an actor or an actress is called upon to do a particularly pathetic and emotional scene upon the screen1 the proper accompaniment from musicians assists the player in striking the right note in the performance4 ,there are comedians1 too1 who employ musical inspiration4 ,however1 when they are playing a burlesque scene they often call for the slow1 tearful music that is used for the serious scene4 ,it gives them a better slant on the burlesque element in the scene4 ,probably the director first conceived the idea of using music in the making of his pictures from the fact that it is used to such great success in the presentation of the completed picture to the public4 ,sometimes the difference in effect in seeing a picture in the bare projection room of a studio and then watching it shown in a theatre to a full orchestral accompaniment is startling4 ,so1 rightly argued the director1 if music can be employed to such benefit in the exhibition of a picture1 it can be employed to equal benefit in the production of it4 ,in a studio where two or three companies are working at the same time it must be confessed that the effect of the various orchestras is more or less confusing4 ,the actors and actresses would be doing quite the right thing if they went altogether insane4 ,i was in a large studio in the west only recently when a cabaret scene was being filmed on one set to the wildest of jazz tunes4 ,immediately to one side of it there was a subduedly lighted church scene1 wherein hero and heroine were1 for purposes of pictures1 going through the marriage ceremony4 ,the man who was playing the little melodion for this scene was having a furious time trying to make himself heard above the ten piece jazz band only a few feet away4 ,the director of the church scene finally decided to await the time when the director of the cabaret scene paused between 8takes0 of his picture4 ,he thought he had hit the right moment and was half way through his quiet marriage when 8zim-boom-bang0 the jazzers were at it again4 ,the last ,i saw of the poor church director he was learning the latest dance steps from the actor who played the minister4 ,yes1 many motion picture directors turn gray prematurely4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,just ,,suppose ,do you actually know what you could be up against if tomorrow you were given the opportunity to direct a picture8 ,what do you know about light1 camera angles1 makeup1 exits and entrances8 ,could you successfully dominate the stage before a company of wise professionals8 ,,chapter ,,xix ,practically anyone who has given any thought1 whether serious or not1 to picture production1 thinks deep down in his heart that he could direct just as well if not better than the fellows that are directing4 ,in like manner1 when his fancy turns in the direction of writing for the screen1 he is certain that he could write a better photoplay than the 8creatures of luck0 who are writing photoplays4 ,this1 of course1 is human nature and can never be changed4 ,but just suppose1 for the sake of argument1 that you reader 7you representing in this instance one of those everyones who knows he can direct as well if not better than the next fellow72 just suppose you are given your opportunity to direct4 ,just suppose that tomorrow morning you are to start your first picture4 ,you have read your continuity over and again1 you have assembled your cast1 you have seen to it that the first setting constructed in the studio is to your liking4 ,tomorrow you begin work on actual production4 ,you arrive at the studio at nine o'clock 7for directors have to keep hours like everyone else1 you know7 and you step briskly out of your limousine and proceed to your office1 where1 after divesting yourself of outer garments1 you read again the scenes you are to begin work upon4 ,following this you step briskly upon the studio stage and find your company waiting for you 7providing1 of course1 that the star hasn't decided to become temperamental and be an hour late the first morning74 ,illustration3 ,a ,,race ,,track ,,scene ,,in 8,,turn ,,to ,,the ,,right10 ,,directed ,,by ,,rex ,,ingram ,,rex ,,ingram ,,directing ,a 8,,bit0 ,,of 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen40 ,,the ,,white ,,canvas ,,square ,,is ,a ,,reflector1 ,,used ,,in ,,exterior ,,scenes ,,to ,,give ,,the ,,players ,,the ,,full ,,benefit ,,of ,,the ,,sunlight ,illustration3 ,,thomas ,,meighan ,,and 8,,all ,,hands ,,and ,,feet0 ,,in ,,the ,,scene ,,from 8,,cappy ,,ricks0 ,,wherein ,,the ,,latter ,,professed ,,his ,,ignorance ,,of ,,the ,,correct ,,manner ,,in ,,which ,,to ,,fall ,,down ,you glance over the setting to see whether everything is ship-shape and in readiness4 ,perhaps it is and perhaps it isn't4 ,perhaps dust has accumulated on the library table over night and perhaps again the property boy has forgotten to remove it4 7,must a director bother about such little details8 ,indeed1 the director must74 ,the dust removed you turn your attention to the lights4 ,are the 8banks0 in the right place8 7,of course1 you know that a 8bank0 is the moving mass of light that is flooded in from the side of the setting74 ,you go into consultation with the cameraman and the chief electrician to determine whether they are in the right place or not4 ,and you mustn't betray any ignorance about the placing of the lights to these men4 ,if you do your standing with them begins diminishing even before you have begun work4 ,well1 the banks are all right4 ,so are the overheads4 ,and the sunlight arc4 ,and are you going to use any of the smaller 8spots0 to offset your star to the best advantage8 ,these must also be in the right place4 ,you have made sure then that everything is well with the lights4 ,thereupon you turn your attention to the camera4 ,the cameraman has been told from what angle you are going to 8shoot0 the scene first and has 8set up0 his machine according to his own likes4 ,you study the angle and you visualize just how the scene will look on the film1 taken from this angle4 ,you may want the camera a little closer or a little farther away and so you go into conference with the cameraman and after considerable argument you win your point and the camera is moved4 ,this1 of course1 necessitates a slight change in the position of the lights again which1 of course1 you attend to4 ,then finally you come to the consideration of the players themselves4 ,you know all about makeup1 of course1 and you examine the players closely to see whether they know all about it too4 ,is this fellow who is playing the butler made up properly8 ,is this girl who is to do the 8bit0 of the maid all right8 ,no1 you decide1 she has too much rouge on her lips and not enough mascara about the eyes4 ,you politely inform her of her mistake and beg her to hurry to her dressing room and alter her countenance4 ,for this interference the maid looks daggers at you and departs4 ,the star strolls restlessly about and looks at you as if to say1 8,well1 when are you going to begin1 anyway80 ,you look at the union stage hands and realize that while they are standing around here grinning at you they are getting paid for it every minute and their pay is being charged up against your work4 ,and you haven't even started yet and here it is almost eleven o'clock6 ,still you mustn't become obviously flustered4 ,if you did the whole company would give you a laugh1 closely approaching the justly celebrated razz-berry4 ,the maid returns4 ,she is ready at last so are the others4 ,now you begin a rehearsal4 ,your scene calls for the following action4 --maid enters library door and crosses down to telephone4 ,she answers phone4 ,butler pokes head in door and listens intently as she talks over phone4 ,he is startled out of his position by the appearance of the master of the house back of him4 ,he steps into the room and holds the door open for his master4 ,the maid1 realizing that she isn't alone1 drops the telephone in confusion1 and confronts the master4 ,she makes apologies and exits1 followed by the butler while the master of the house looks after her in a quandary4 ,you explain the parts to the butler and the maid who perhaps are not familiar with the scene4 ,then you do start4 ,and like as not the first rehearsal will appear impossible to your well-trained eye4 ,the maid and the butler don't act properly4 ,you call a halt in the middle of a scene and explain matters thoroughly to them4 ,the star1 playing the master of the house1 thinks that you might have explained all this before and plainly shows that state of mind4 ,he is so capable in expressing his innermost thoughts that your sole consolation is the happy thought that he is a fine actor and won't need much direction4 ,finally the rehearsal runs smoothly4 ,you then order 8lights0 and up they all go4 ,and then you order 8camera0 and your cameraman starts grinding4 ,and then you order 8action0 and the players start through the scene1 every motion of theirs recorded by the all-seeing eye of the camera4 ,to you1 the director1 standing there watching and prompting now and again1 every little fault of the players1 every bit of wasted motion1 every insignificant gesture1 stands out in the shape of a tremendous eyesore4 ,you know they are doing what you told them but still you tell yourself it could be much better4 ,at length you tell the cameraman to stop in the middle of the scene4 ,the players look up at you as if to say1 8,well1 what now60 and you step forward and try to explain with the utmost of tact that the maid didn't handle the telephone properly and that the butler didn't listen eagerly enough4 ,so1 despite their frowns1 you proceed with the scene again4 ,and this time it is the star who doesn't suit you4 ,he doesn't seem to stop short enough when he comes to the door and he doesn't seem to regard the maid suspiciously enough when she confronts him guiltily4 ,you explain matters1 therefore1 to the star4 ,now this star of yours may be a particularly conceited fellow4 ,he may sincerely believe too that he is playing the part as well as it possibly could be played4 ,he listens with something approaching a deaf ear to your patient explanations as to how the part should be played4 ,and then he flabbergasts you with this remark1 8,well1 ,i am doing it the best way ,i can and ,i don't get what you mean at all4 ,suppose you go through the scene for me60 ,you try to think quickly and wonder what ,cecil ,de ,mille or somebody else who doesn't believe in showing a player 8how0 would act under the circumstances4 ,you are lost and the only course for you to take is to show the star how you think the scene ought to be played4 ,but can you act8 ,did you ever try8 ,no matter1 you've got to now4 ,so you make a wild stab at the part4 ,everyone1 you know1 is standing around watching you4 ,some actors from another picture may have strolled over to watch you4 ,they linger when they discover that you are to give an exhibition of acting4 ,you rather have the idea that the entire studio force is out there watching you--and laughing at you4 ,following your performance you take the star aside and ask him whether he got the idea4 ,if he is in a condescending mood by that time he may say1 8yes10 and so you start the scene again4 ,and now the trouble is that you are inclined to believe that anything your players do is the right thing4 ,you are still nervous from the exhibit you just made of yourself and trying hard not to display the symptoms of it to everyone around you4 ,so you summon up all your courage and direct that scene with all your might and main4 ,it's just got to be good4 ,and when it's been done once it's got to be done a second time 7all producers make two negatives1 you see1 one for domestic use and one for foreign exportation74 ,inwardly you breathe a sigh of relief when finally that particular scene has been completed and then you want the camera moved up for closeups4 7,again1 of course you have marked exactly where you want these closeups4 ,and you are ready to tell each player exactly what you want him to do over again for the closeups74 ,and the cameraman busies about setting up his camera for the first closeup and you are just about to start taking it when the lunch hour looms up1 the electricians and stage hands leave you flat and you discover that you have to postpone your important work for full sixty minutes4 ,in the silent and lonely confines of your office you pace the floor and wonder how the afternoon is going to turn out4 ,you discover that you have spent the whole hour pacing and forgotten to eat4 ,no matter1 your appetite was gone anyway and you go back to work1 trying to feel ready for any emergency that the afternoon may produce4 ,and so the day ends4 ,the afternoon reproduces the experiences of the morning with variations4 ,the next day reproduces it further4 ,but if you have gained the confidence of your players and your various assistants and if you have proven to them that you know what to direct and how to direct1 the work looms much easier4 ,every late afternoon after the picture is under way you and your cameraman and your star sit in a dark1 silent projecting room and gaze upon the daily 8rushes40 ,these are the first prints of the scenes you made the day before4 ,thus you can see your work grow and thus also your star sees whether he can place full confidence in you4 ,if he discovers that he can1 your relations improve as the picture progresses4 ,and after a while you don't even hesitate about getting out there on the 8set0 and showing him just how to do a thing4 ,he'll like it too4 ,you have also definitely proved to the cameraman and the head electrician and the assistant director 7who knows that he could direct better than you7 that you know more about your business than they know about it4 ,you have shown them that you know how to arrange your players in a big scene so as to get the best possible dramatic and artistic effects1 you have shown them that you can direct the manipulation of the lights so as to produce a different sort of illusion1 you have shown them1 briefly1 that you know more about camera work than the cameraman1 more about lighting than the electrician1 more about acting than the cast1 more about composition than the art director1 and more about writing than the continuity writer4 ,you may know deep in your heart that you have bluffed them into believing in your widespread superiority but they don't know it and so the gods of success are beginning to shine on you4 ,,chapter ,,xx 8,,stealing0 ,,an ,,exterior ,explaining how directors sometimes film scenes on busy streets in broad daylight without passers-by becoming aware of the fact4--,an amusing incident that arose when one director endeavored to 8steal0 a succession of rather dramatic scenes ,illustration3 ,a ,,french ,,town ,,was ,,built ,,for 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen0 ,,merely ,,to ,,be ,,destroyed ,illustration3 ,a ,,scotch ,,village ,,on ,,long ,,island6 ,,erected ,,for 8,,sentimental ,,tommy10 ,,directed ,,by ,,john ,s4 ,,robertson4 ,,it ,,is ,a ,,triumph ,,artistically ,,but ,,proved ,a ,,financial ,,failure ,,chapter ,,xx ,one of the most difficult details of production that confronts the director in the ordinary routine of affairs1 is that of 8stealing0 exterior scenes4 ,those who have consistently attended picture shows are well acquainted with the exterior scenes1 the illusion of which is spoiled1 by the gaping and laughing spectators on the side lines4 ,and then on occasion a street scene will be found that has been filmed right in the midst of heavy traffic and not one of the many people in the scene as much as award a sly gap to the camera4 ,this effect of realism is produced when the director goes to the trouble of 8stealing0 an exterior4 ,in 8stealing0 the director has his camera 8blinded40 ,there are various sorts of blinds used4 ,a taxicab or limousine provide effective blinds4 ,the cameraman can get in with his instrument and shoot the scene going on on the sidewalk and at the same time remain unnoticed before the majority of passers-by who would otherwise donate to themselves the roles of spoil-spectators4 ,sometimes a truck loaded with packing cases can effectively conceal the cameraman and his instrument at the same time affording an unobstructed focal distance between the camera and the scene to be filmed4 ,such scenes require careful rehearsing in the studio before departure for the desired location4 ,even then1 however1 the director must rely on the snap-judgment of himself and his players in the actual taking of the scene for it will offer peculiarities and differences of topography impossible of consideration in the studio rehearsals4 ,then again1 in these scenes the players must wear either the absolute minimum of makeup to prevent them from being detected as players or1 better yet1 wear none at all4 ,if the sunlight happens to be right1 none is worn as a rule4 ,often in these scenes peculiarities arise which are interesting4 ,i recall an exterior scene which a director for one of the large studios in the east endeavored to 8steal0 in which the action was of considerable importance to the story4 ,the scene was supposed to be night and representing a little traversed residential section of the city4 ,the action called for the leading man in the case to effect the actions of a man entirely too full of pre-,volstead liquor for his own benefit4 ,in brief1 after staggering about a bit1 he was to collapse in a heap on the sidewalk4 ,the heroine1 coming along at this moment1 was called upon to take pity on the poor wretch and take him into her house before which he had fallen4 ,just as she succeeded in raising him to his feet a policeman was to come along and question her about the young man's identity4 ,to protect him she was to claim that he was her husband4 ,to give the whole scene an added touch of realism it was thought that it would be better to have several pedestrians pass the hero by as he lay unconscious on the sidewalk4 ,the time chosen to take the scene was late afternoon and a little frequented street was selected for the occasion4 ,a number of people were passing1 however1 and these1 the director thought1 could be used in the roles of unconscious extras in the picture4 ,but the director had miscalculated human nature4 ,the passers-by1 unconscious of the presence of a camera in the taxicab1 really thought the actor was unfortunately drunk and several stopped to offer assistance4 ,the presence of mind of the actor saved the situation4 ,when two people bent over him and offered assistance1 he angrily told them to be on their ways4 ,thus repulsed they moved on4 ,of course the hero accepted the assistance of the girl as the 'script called for4 ,but the general effect of the scene was changed by the interest of the passers-by in the drunken man4 ,it was thought that the majority of folk regarded such figures with antipathy4 ,instead they were interested4 ,the actor who was playing the hero explained the matter afterwards4 8,they weren't so all-fired concerned and worried about me10 he said1 8those two fellows that bent over me really wanted to know where ,i got it40 ,the last part of the scene was interrupted also4 ,the actor made up as the policeman interfered with the hero and heroine as per the scene but as he was questioning the heroine as to the identity of the young man a real policeman appeared on the scene and questioned the made-up policeman as to his own identity4 ,the masquerading cop told the real article that a motion picture was being taken and for the love of the director not to look round at the camera4 ,the policeman sensed the situation and obeyed orders and as a result the scene appeared on the screen as if two policemen had entered into an argument as to what disposition should be made of the drunken man4 ,of course1 when the scene was done the real policeman was not in the least averse to accepting a slight reward for his good services4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,the ,,importance ,,of ,,the ,,art ,,director ,artists are entering field of motion picture production both as directors and art directors4--,advice of the art director should be sought on exterior scenes4--,a few words of ,maurice ,tourneur ,,chapter ,,xxi ,many artists have found the field of motion picture directing exceedingly attractive4 ,the majority of them have entered the new field in the capacity of art directors1 planning and supervising the construction and the dressing of the settings4 ,several others have graduated from such posts to the positions of directors4 ,perhaps the artistic side of picture production is the one which had developed less than any of the others4 ,for a long time art directors1 interior decorators and artistic designers were unknown elements in a motion picture studio4 ,the early picture public demanded sensation and action4 ,when an interior setting was used furniture was thrown in it indiscriminately4 ,the more1 the better4 ,grand ,rapids and ,louis ,,iv furnishings were thrown in regardless4 ,an early biblical picture showed the scene of the last supper with the assembled ,apostles seated in a variety of modern furniture from the factories of the middle western states4 ,it is only of comparative recency that real artists and architects have entered the production field4 ,today all the larger studios have extensive art departments that co-operate with the director and his staff in the preparation of the settings4 ,accuracy distinguishes the majority of the work of these departments4 ,errors in period pictures are seldom to be discerned even by the most watchful4 ,but as yet the art director has failed to put in an appearance where he is needed quite as much as in the preparation of the interior settings2 ,i refer to the exterior4 ,beautiful as are many of the exteriors seen in the modern pictures they often lack the proper balance4 ,any art student could tell you and point out where the composition of many exteriors is faulty4 ,it is too much to ask that every motion picture director be an art director besides4 ,a man might be perfect as a dramatic director and still be utterly lacking with respect to composition4 ,but if the director cannot be versed in both the arts there should be1 and doubtless will be in time1 an art director working along with the dramatic director on every scene1 interior or exterior4 ,the former artists now actually directing are few in number4 ,perhaps the foremost of them all is ,maurice ,tourneur who came from ,france several years ago and who was previous to his stage and screen work in that country1 a mural decorator4 ,his early productions here attracted widespread interest in the art itself because of the evident touch of an artistic hand4 8,the ,blue ,bird0 was a triumph from the standpoint of pictorial artistry4 ,so were several others he made at the same time4 ,but they didn't make money4 ,so ,mr4 ,tourneur turned to the production of frankly melodramatic subjects4 ,these he endowed too with all the art at his command and so lifted melodrama to a higher plane than it ever reached before4 ,perhaps the fate of ,mr4 ,tourneur's 8,the ,blue ,bird0 is timely to recall now4 ,those today who clamor for more artistic and better things on the screen and who opine that no director or producing company has the courage to attempt such things and who insist that if such things were attempted they would be eagerly received1 will do well to heed the pathetic fate of 8,the ,bluebird40 ,the picture director and producer are always willing to strive for something a little finer on the screen but to date the public hasn't given them any appreciable amount of encouragement4 ,hugo ,ballin and ,penhryn ,stanlaws are among the artists now directing who have attained prominence in both fields4 ,the latter has made long strides in the short time he has been in a picture studio and gives promise of attaining the same heights in the newer art that he attained in his original line of creative endeavor4 ,illustration3 ,,rex ,,ingram ,,never ,,lost ,,track ,,of ,,his ,,personal ,,story ,,in 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen0 ,illustration3 ,,pictorial ,,beauty ,,was ,a ,,directorial ,,achievement ,,displayed ,,in 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen0 ,a ,,scene ,,from 8,,the ,,four ,,horsemen40 ,,here ,,is ,a ,,still ,,that ,,illustrates ,,rex ,,ingram',s ,,ability ,,to ,,suggest ,a ,,situation ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,directorial ,,conventions ,in which the business of slamming directors in general is freely indulged4--,directors have created an array of utterly false conventions by their constant use of them4--,a plea for them to stop4--,a particular plea for them to stop picking on tobacco ,,chapter ,,xxii ,most of the chapters in this book1 when dealing specifically with the work of directors1 have been keyed in the general tone of praise4 ,the reader might thus absorb the idea that it is thought no room for improvement in the youngest of the arts exists4 ,however1 most of the men mentioned in former chapters have consistently worthy records but in case the idea prevails that ,i believe the millennium in pictures has long since been attained1 ,i hereby dedicate this chapter to a general slamming of every director in the production art4 ,the awful conventions that every director seems to have adopted as his own 7the best directors and the worst in one degree or another7 are one of the eyesores of modern picture productions4 ,the little slips in technicalities such as showing a cigar just lighted in one scene and burned to a butt in the next and the paradoxical fact that ,john exits from one interior wearing a brown derby and enters another wearing a black derby--these little slips which are themselves conventions of oversight1 can be left to the motion picture fans who constantly write the papers calling attention to them4 ,there are more real conventions that1 little though they are1 have long since become a terrible bore to those who view pictures through eyes at all critical1 simply because directors on a whole seem to have adopted these conventions as if they were actually real and part of life4 ,i mean such little things as the ever-present wall safe in the library setting and the childish and idiotic little dresses with which telephones are clothed4 ,i am not of the socially elect but no friend of mine maintains a wall safe in his library1 a safe which1 with one good firm wrench properly applied1 would leave a gaping cavity in the wall4 ,neither am ,i accustomed to visiting ladies' boudoirs but ,i am firmly convinced that dressing a telephone as a doll is something that simply isn't done in the best regulated families4 ,it is simply and impurely a trick of the 8movies40 ,and no more natural is it for every man to keep a pistol in the top drawer of his desk4 ,i once conducted a surreptitious investigation of the top drawers of various of my friends and could have acquired a miscellaneous collection of everything from old ,overholt to scissors without including in it a pistol4 ,mention these foolish little conventions to a director and he will enjoy a hearty laugh over them with you4 ,but the very next day he will return to his work of producing a picture and use every one of these tricks and a whole lot more with never so much as a thought4 ,fortunately1 however1 the pistol in the drawer trick has so often been laughed at and down on the screen that most directors are fighting clear of it4 ,another convention which seems to grate against people of taste is the habit of directors permitting their property man to pile a breakfast table with dozens of varieties of knives1 forks and spoons4 ,the morning breakfast of the newlyweds usually appears on the screen as a parade of fine silverware4 ,directors1 without number1 also choose to ignore the common conventions of gentlemen until1 ignoring them to such an extent1 they have created an opposite set of conventions to those that actually exist in all social circles of life1 the poorest and the richest4 ,specifically1 directors forget to tell their actors to rise when a lady sits at a table and often are at a loss as to the proper thing for a gentleman to do with his hat when talking to a lady4 ,then there are the horrible directorial conventions regarding college life4 ,a motion picture college is full of snobs1 its dormitories are made up of rooms wall-papered with pennants and peopled with thirty-five year old actors in bulky sweaters who never stir without a pipe with a tremendous bowl and a mandolin or some stringed instrument4 ,there are1 too1 the tiresome conventions of the small town with the inevitable and unrealistic rubes4 ,in fact1 here the director has taken a figure created for burlesque shows and meant only for burlesque shows and impossible farce comedies and adopted it as a real person1 an actual inhabitant of a real small town4 ,there are1 too1 the wearisome conventions of western mining camp life as shown on the motion picture screen4 ,perhaps censor boards and writers have contributed in producing these conventions2 chief of which is the fact that every dance hall queen is virtue personified1 a ,pollyanna in spangles1 but they are conventions and unreal ones1 nevertheless4 ,there is the unreal mother of the films4 ,the convention is that if she is a fond and loving mother she must sit and knit and sit and knit and occasionally wipe away a tear or two4 ,and if she is not represented thus1 as fond and motherly1 she must be represented as an impossible social climber or a freak feminist on a par with the suffragettes of burlesque shows ten years ago4 ,normal mothers reach the screen once in a hundred times4 ,it is granted again that screen writers and censor boards have assisted considerably in building up these false conventions1 but the director is the lucky fellow that has it in his power to change them4 ,let him go about his task gradually if he so wishes1 but let him go about it4 ,only recently ,i had cause to give complaint to the practice of directors in identifying cigarettes solely with villains4 ,some of the screen villains have actually been permitted to reach the point in their careers when the mere manner of toying with a cigarette signifies some specific course of villainy4 ,their actions with cigarettes are as plain as the old-fashioned moustachioed villain's actions when he strode upon the stage and pronounced 8,curses60 ,such a convention is altogether too dangerous besides being funny4 ,the reformers have already begun to associate the cigarette with villainy4 ,and if the directors1 through their villains1 allow them to go that way1 we will soon see the departure of cigarettes from our midst altogether1 even as the lamented drink has departed--or is supposed to have departed4 ,i1 for one1 am going to blame the directors for such a state of affairs4 ,when a cigarette-legger approaches me in future years and whispers1 8,i know where you can get a package of your favorite brand for two dollars10 ,i'm going to hit him and curse the director and his conventions that he wouldn't change even when ,i thus warned him4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,,ernst ,,lubitsch3 ,,german ,,director ,lubitsch1 on his first visit to ,american shores1 gives some few of his ideas on picture directing4--8,passion10 8,deception10 and 8,the ,wife of ,pharaoh0 are proof of his skill but he has faults and can afford to absorb much of the technique of the ,american director4--,his discovery of ,pola ,negri a great stroke ,,chapter ,,xxiii ,earlier mention has been made in these pages to ,german pictures4 ,lest this term be confusing to those without the picture trade and in the hinterlands1 it may be explained that these recently imported pictures are generally advertised as 8,european pictures10 8continental spectacles0 or with any blanket descriptive phrase that possibly but not pointedly includes ,germany4 ,there seems to be no good cause for refusing to give the spade its proper name today and if there are still those unacquainted with the fact1 it can here be announced that 8,passion10 8,deception10 8,the ,golem10 8,the ,cabinet of ,dr4 ,caligari10 8,one ,arabian ,night10 etc41 etc41 were all produced in ,germany4 8,passion0 and 8,deception10 produced under the direction of the man considered ,germany's foremost director1 ,ernst ,lubitsch1 represent the best in the ,german art that has yet been extensively shown here in the ,united ,states4 ,there is another production1 however1 8,the ,indian ,tomb10 called so temporarily at least1 and directed by a gentleman with the unassuming cognomen of ,joe ,may1 that is destined to far overshadow anything that ,mr4 ,lubitsch has yet been responsible for4 ,but of this production more anon4 ,illustration3 ,,here ,,is ,,the ,,scene ,,from ,,cecil ,,de ,,mille',s 8,,forbidden ,,fruit0 ,,that ,,amazed ,,ernst ,,lubitsch ,illustration3 ,,elsie ,,ferguson ,,in ,,the ,,george ,,fitzmaurice ,,production ,,of 8,,peter ,,ibbetson0 ,mr4 ,lubitsch1 as said1 has been accorded tremendous praise on this side of the ,atlantic4 ,the ,new ,york critics swept him up to the plane with ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith as soon as 8,passion0 and 8,deception0 were publicly shown1 and ,mr4 ,lubitsch positively doesn't belong beside ,mr4 ,griffith1 despite the fact that he is a great artist4 ,however and notwithstanding the critics have formed such a habit of awarding fulsome praise to everything that bears the ,lubitsch name that the situation is becoming funny4 ,a gentleman in the production department of one of the large film companies recently advanced the thought that the company should release a domestic picture1 long considered inferior for the ,american market1 with the name ,lubitsch upon it and the line 8made in ,germany0 stamped across its face4 ,no matter how bad it was these counterfeits would assure it of good reviews was the contention4 ,when the work of ,mr4 ,lubitsch is seriously considered and balanced1 the good points and the bad points1 the conclusion must inevitably be reached that he is an artistic director1 but lacking or rather1 to give him the benefit of the doubt1 slighting details of production and story1 that give every great picture its lasting stamp of individualism4 ,in a previous chapter it was contended that the majority of ,german directors1 in the production of spectacular works1 overlooked the personal story in an effort to be awe-inspiring with their mob scenes4 ,in a sense this criticism holds true with ,mr4 ,lubitsch4 ,details of story mean little to him4 ,in fact1 on his first visit to the ,united ,states1 when interviewed1 he expressed amazement over the fact that ,cecil ,de ,mille in one of his pictures1 8,forbidden ,fruit10 to be exact1 brought out the predicament of the heroine1 a social masquerader1 by planting in closeups her hesitancy about the selection of the right fork for the various courses of a dinner4 ,such detail work1 which goes a long way toward humanizing a story no matter how melodramatic the structure of the whole thing may be1 is unknown to the ,german directors of which ,mr4 ,lubitsch is1 at the moment1 the bright and shining example4 ,consequently1 it may be asked3 ,how can ,mr4 ,lubitsch be placed beside the ,american1 ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith1 when in such details ,mr4 ,griffith excels8 ,his latest spectacle1 8,orphans of the ,storm10 is proof again that he is a master of blending the personal story with the spectacular background4 ,at present1 economic situations in ,germany permit the production of spectacles there on a scale of lavishness which our ,american directors could not duplicate without sending their backers into bankruptcy4 ,labor is so cheap that the most magnificent settings can be erected in the ,german studios for small sums of money1 sums that would be small even if the rate of exchange between ,germany and the ,united ,states which makes them seem ridiculously small1 was more evenly balanced4 ,thus a new field of effects is open to the ,german director that is correspondingly being denied the ,american director by the increasing cost of labor and materials4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch is one of those who has made excellent use of these magnificent settings provided him4 ,he has peopled them with thousands of supernumeraries and he is a born artist when it comes to directing the movements and actions of great groups of people4 ,he manages to get more movement and color into such scenes than the great majority of ,american directors have managed to achieve in the past4 ,so1 too1 ,mr4 ,lubitsch seems able to extract the maximum ability from his actors and actresses4 ,he was an actor once himself and a good one and1 contrary to an opinion1 expressed earlier in this book1 believes in showing his actors how to play their scenes4 ,indeed1 they are told very little concerning the story but rely for all their inspiration upon ,mr4 ,lubitsch4 ,in his more serious statements concerning picture directing1 ,mr4 ,lubitsch is mostly inclined to point out the faults of pictures and the difficulty of producing them1 than to explain what he considers the finer points of directorial technique4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch talked1 through an interpreter1 about the very weakness of his and others that has just been noted4 8,so many pictures that promise much in their early stages10 he said1 8are in the end spoiled by a lack of the proper balance and blending of all the elements that go to make the picture4 ,the work of the author is so often sacrificed for the pictorial effect of the director4 ,the painter 7scenic designer7 so often has to give way to the importance of the dramatic scene40 ,all of which is exactly right4 ,the majority of ,american directors whose work has been considered in this book know just how to achieve proper balance in their pictures4 ,they know where the work of the author ends and that of the scenic artist begins4 ,no director worthy of serious consideration in an ,american studio today permits his dramatic scenes to be sacrificed to make way for masterpieces of pictorial background4 ,nor does he reverse the mistake and sacrifice pictorial background for dramatic scenes or anything else4 ,he knows how to achieve the proper balance4 8,i prefer to suggest ideas and situations in my pictures10 he continued1 8rather than to load down a scene with nothing but the starkly realistic4 ,i prefer my actors1 too1 to suggest an emotion rather than to register it obviously on the screen40 ,here1 perhaps1 more than in any other direction does ,mr4 ,lubitsch's greatness actually lie4 ,he uses scenes1 exteriors1 actors to subtly and powerfully suggest an effect1 rather than to use the same properties merely to obviously point out such an effect4 ,it is this method1 too1 that1 as has also been pointed out previously1 is ,rex ,ingram's forte4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch's art in this direction is exemplified in both 8,passion0 and 8,deception0 as well as in 8,the ,loves of ,pharaoh10 his most recent picture which he brought with him from ,germany4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch went on to say1 and every other interviewer seized upon his words with enthusiasm1 that he only cuts his pictures once4 ,some remarks have already been recorded on how important a part of picture making is the cutting and editing of the scenes after they have left the director's hands4 ,it has been my privilege to see many of ,mr4 ,lubitsch's pictures as well as a number of other ,german productions before they have been shown to the ,american public4 ,the one great fault with those produced by ,mr4 ,lubitsch is that they are far from properly cut and edited4 ,hence1 ,i am unable to rush into print to praise ,mr4 ,lubitsch because of his statement that he only cuts his picture once4 ,rather1 ,i will write here the sound advice that in future he cut his pictures eight1 nine or ten times4 ,after ,mr4 ,lubitsch's single cutting of his pictures they run twice too long for the ,american public4 ,a point which can be successfully communicated to an audience in a quick interchange of closeups by an ,american director will take ,mr4 ,lubitsch the laborious interchange of ten or a dozen closeups1 the last one differing very little from the first one4 ,the reason for this ,i am unable to account for4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch believes in the art of suggestion as he says4 ,then why does he drive home a minor point with so many hammers when a little touch from his index finger is sufficient to accomplish his ends8 ,clearly in these two respects ,mr4 ,lubitsch is a direct contradiction of himself4 ,does he do this unwittingly or does he do it because his public 7the ,german public7 demands to have a point driven home with sledge hammer blows8 ,in the light of no other answer1 we must accept the latter conclusion and chalk the matter up against the stupidity of 8continental0 picture audiences which seems a bit harsh4 ,these words on ,mr4 ,lubitsch seem so unsatisfactory on second reading that there is an inclination to discard them altogether4 ,in the first place they have the flavor of #ajj per cent ,americanism1 i4e4 attacking or waxing unenthusiastic about the work of a ,german director merely because he is a ,german director4 ,which is not the case at all and for proof of which ,i ask you to turn quickly to the next chapter4 ,mr4 ,lubitsch has received so much public praise that to go against the tide here can not help but seem purely the inspiration of a pig-head4 ,but then there is no denying that ,mr4 ,lubitsch is a contradiction of himself4 ,he talks about suggestion and then does the sledge-hammer trick1 he talks about cutting his pictures once when such a feat is an impossibility4 ,he is an artist1 potentially very great without a doubt1 but not as mature as many of his sponsors would have us believe4 ,his tours of the ,american studios will doubtless have a marked effect on his future productions made abroad4 ,it is to be fondly hoped that he will absorb only the good points of ,american technique and combine these with the good points of his own technique1 discarding the bad points of each set4 ,when he accomplishes this ,i will line up and sing his praises lustily along with the others who now hail him as a ,moses in the bullrushes of picturedom4 ,but wait6 ,after all ,mr4 ,lubitsch is great4 ,he discovered ,pola ,negri4 ,hoch6 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,joe ,,may3 ,,german ,,director ,in which it is pointed out that in three of ,mr4 ,may's pictures he displays more qualifications to be heralded as ,germany's best artist than ,mr4 ,lubitsch4--8,the ,indian ,tomb0 a superfine blending of popular appealing pictorial elements ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,from the standpoint of producing pictures with tremendous popular appeal and at the same time investing them with artistic settings1 settings that fairly belie description1 and from the standpoint of paying close attention to detail of story and acting1 from these standpoints which are all important1 ,joe ,may1 previously mentioned1 8has it10 in the vernacular1 8all over0 ,ernst ,lubitsch4 ,unfortunately1 ,mr4 ,may had not1 at this writing1 ventured to ,american shores4 ,when he does come it is fondly hoped that the same interviewers and critics who scrambled for words from ,mr4 ,lubitsch and considered them as gold will listen to what ,mr4 ,may has to say and consider it worth something more than the ,german mark4 ,i would have liked to include a first hand interview from ,mr4 ,may in this chapter4 ,if ,i had wirelessed him for his formulae of production he doubtless would have replied in ,german idiom3 8,get a good story and go to it40 ,to date ,i have seen three of his pictures1 one superbly imagined and mounted mystical drama1 8,the ,indian ,tomb10 one thrilling serial entitled 8,the ,mistress of the ,world0 and one intense modern society drama at present entitled 8,lavinia ,morland's ,confession40 ,and so ,i can only form an opinion as to his method of working1 of directing his pictures4 ,and this opinion is that he embraces in his technique all that is meritorious in the ,american director's technique1 exactly what ,ernst ,lubitsch should do to honestly earn the fulsome praise that is his4 ,illustration3 ,,rex ,,ingram ,,caught ,,in ,,an ,,interesting ,,scene ,,while ,,directing ,,the ,,principals ,,in 8,,the ,,conquering ,,power0 ,illustration3 ,,cecil ,b4 ,,de ,,mille ,,directing ,,cecil ,b4 ,,de ,,mille ,,watching ,a ,,rehearsal 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 is by all odds the most amazing picture that ,i have ever seen4 ,to begin with1 ,mr4 ,may had a hand in the adaptation of it4 ,he collaborated on the continuity which is after the generally approved method of the best ,american directors4 ,he spent no end of time on this work1 presumably1 for ,mr4 ,lubitsch tells us that all ,german directors pore over the continuity of their pictures for weeks and months so that finally when they are ready to begin the actual filming of the picture every scene is 8fool-proof40 ,this is the method of ,thomas ,h4 ,ince to the letter4 ,in the second place1 ,mr4 ,may must have been given half a dozen billion marks or more to spend on settings4 ,the beautiful ,indian settings that are to be seen in the picture1 beautiful1 magnificent and tremendous could never be built for an ,american production for less than a million dollars4 ,they greet the eye in such rapid succession that they might be described1 in no tones of aspersion1 as bewildering4 ,mr4 ,may selected an excellent cast4 ,the actors are possibly without reputation in ,germany4 ,it is safe to say that none of them with the exception of ,mia ,may1 the star1 are known broadly4 ,but under ,mr4 ,may's direction1 each works with a skill so effective that the spectator is nearly obliged to forget there is acting going on before his eye4 ,the ,indian ,yogi is a commanding1 inspiring figure4 ,the ,prince breathes passion1 hatred1 cunning4 ,the last extra1 given a bit to perform1 does it with amazing effect4 ,mr4 ,may has given in 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 a marvelous demonstration of what tempo means4 ,the whole tempo of his picture1 once the story reaches ,india is slow--but never tiresome4 ,he seems to have realized that a picture laid in a mystic locale1 a locale strange to nearly everyone who frequents picture theatres1 a locale enriched in poetry1 fiction and song1 as a land of uncanny magic1 that such a picture demanded a slow1 steady tempo4 ,the effect thus achieved strengthens the story ten-fold4 ,played too fast in one phase or another1 hurrying over one sequence to get to another1 would have spoiled the magic effect of 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 completely4 ,when 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 first was imported to these shores its length approximated eighteen thousand feet6 ,an unheard of length1 to be sure4 ,of course1 it will not reach the ,american public in such an amount of footage4 ,there is room for cutting1 very careful trimming4 ,but even if 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 was shown here in all its abundance of footage1 ,i doubt very much if it would have proved tiresome except to those with weak eyes4 ,the magic of its story unfolded before a panorama of astounding scenes would hold the interest of the most jaded picture 8fan0 throughout its entire length4 ,the ,joe ,may serial1 8,the ,mistress of the ,world0 shown abroad in forty-eight reels has also been cut down considerably for ,american consumption4 ,it was made quite some time previous to 8,the ,indian ,tomb0 and as a work of art cannot be compared with it4 ,however1 throughout its various chapters1 ,mr4 ,may shows the skill which was to attain its fullest flower in 8,the ,indian ,tomb40 ,here again are marvelous settings1 here also does he show that he knows the value of tempo1 although in achieving it he has often been forced to labor with poor mechanical effects4 ,and here1 too1 does he know how to secure that awe-inspiring surprise by suddenly showing1 unexpectedly but logically1 the most amazing glimpses of extravagant1 magnificent scenery4 ,in the modern society drama1 8,lavinia ,morland's ,confession10 ,mr4 ,may has not bothered about big settings and has discarded the spectacular4 ,and in this entirely different field of picture production he has emerged triumphant again with a gripping1 intense drama1 related by an accused woman in a crowded court room4 ,certainly everyone who sees the picture here is going to imagine himself just another spectator in that court4 ,those are the three reasons why ,mr4 ,may1 in my mind1 should be placed on a higher pedestal than the much praised ,mr4 ,lubitsch4 ,the latter has shown himself capable of producing spectacles1 costume pictures4 ,the former has shown himself capable of producing any sort of a picture--except a comedy4 ,i don't think ,mr4 ,may could produce a comedy4 ,his comedy touches in one of his pictures are awful4 ,but there aren't many of them4 ,and he didn't try any in 8,the ,indian ,tomb40 ,mr4 ,may is a showman and an artist4 ,he knows values4 ,he knows and seems to know full well how to achieve the proper balance in his pictures4 ,he knows detail and uses it to most effective advantage4 ,and above all1 he seems to be a natural born picture story teller4 ,he is as much a part of his art as it has been shown that ,frank ,borzage is a part of his4 ,mia ,may1 his wife1 is perhaps something about ,joe ,may that ,american audiences will object to4 ,mia ,may is not young4 ,americans like young and pretty faces4 ,europeans1 including ,germans1 it is said1 again referring to the words of ,mr4 ,lubitsch1 tire of a pretty face unless it is accompanied by ability and even prefer a face not quite so pretty and not quite so young if the ability is to be found in it4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,illustrating ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,detail ,bringing just the right amount of detail of story to the screen a rare accomplishment4--8,the ,law and the ,woman0 a practical illustration of the injection of the proper proportion ,,chapter ,,xxv ,the question of detail has come up so often in the discussion of various directors and in their various discussions regarding directing that a few more words are1 perhaps1 due on the all important matter4 ,the injection of detail in a story is by right the work of the continuity writer4 ,however1 most of the directors that have been referred to here1 as said1 are either their own continuity writers or they exercise such close supervision or collaboration over and on their continuities that here at least the injection of detail is the director's duty4 ,even when a director follows a continuity closely without having had a hand in its construction he often realizes where detail will help the completed picture due to some peculiarity of setting and location1 and so he may inject it of his own accord4 ,detail is1 without doubt1 an element that often distinguishes good pictures from bad4 ,a superfluity of story detail is a bad thing4 ,if a director permits himself to wander off the main track and introduce irrelevant details believing that they have interest in themselves alone1 he soon finds trouble getting back to the main track again4 ,on the other hand1 knowing just where a little injection of detail1 a little prolongation of this situation or that1 will help a story1 is a knack or a separate art that is by no means common among directors4 ,to give this exceedingly technical matter a popular light it is best to cite an instance where a picture was lifted into the class of melodramatic masterpieces by the skillful use of it4 ,this instance is represented by 8,the ,law and the ,woman10 a picture directed by ,penrhyn ,stanlaws4 ,this picture is based on the old ,clyde ,fitch play1 8,the ,woman in the ,case40 ,the situation established is this3 ,a woman of no virtue whatever brings evidence to bear against an innocent man who thereupon is tried and convicted of murder and is sentenced to die in the electric chair4 ,the man's wife1 convinced of his innocence1 enters into the other woman's circle of friends1 plays the part of a sister under the skin and ultimately succeeds in forcing a confession from her that frees her husband--at the last minute4 ,this basic situation is rather old4 ,it has appeared on the screen in various guises from time immemorial4 ,the accused man--the last minute confession4 ,the climax used to be the mad dash to the prison 7the telephone wires were always out of order7 and the rescue of the condemned just as the executioner was about to throw the electric switch4 ,naturally then1 a picture-wise being knows full well the outcome of 8,the ,law and the ,woman0 even while he is in the thick of the situation4 ,the director knew this too--knew that his audience was going to know how his story ended4 ,how then to make them forget that they knew it8 ,how to make them so interested in the happenings on the screen that they were caught up in them and lost sight of the foregone conclusion altogether8 ,the answer3 ,by the judicious use of detail4 ,this judicious application of detail is to be found in 8,the ,law and the ,woman0 as directed by ,mr4 ,stanlaws4 ,the wife is several times about to hear the confession from the lips of the other woman4 8,it's coming now10 you think4 ,but no6 ,some little detail arises to prevent it4 ,the telephone rings and when the conversation is over the other woman's inclination for confidences has passed4 ,again the confession is about to come when the other woman 7exercising the prerogative of her sex7 suddenly changes her mind4 ,a half dozen other such little details halt that confession1 the while the spectator has completely forgotten that he knows the outcome4 ,all he is interested in is that confession4 ,in the final climax when the desired words are wrenched from the woman's lips detail is again brought admirably into play4 ,the woman's superstitions are preyed upon4 ,she is alone at a table4 ,a door slams4 ,a shade flies up4 ,her nerves grow ragged4 ,so do yours4 ,throughout it all the utmost suspense is maintained until finally when the confession comes you breathe the same sigh of wonderful thanks and relief that is breathed by the wife4 ,for skillful use of detail then1 ,penrhyn ,stanlaws' work in 8,the ,law and the ,woman0 is commended4 ,and in case ,i am not giving credit where credit is due1 ,albert ,s4 ,le,vino prepared the continuity4 ,illustration3 8,,the ,,law ,,and ,,the ,,woman0 ,,is ,a ,,remarkable ,,illustration ,,of ,,how ,,judiciously ,,applied ,,detail ,,can ,,heighten ,a ,,dramatic ,,effect4 ,,it ,,was ,,directed ,,by ,,penhryn ,,stanlaws ,illustration3 8,,forbidden ,,fruit0 ,,is ,,an ,,extravagant1 ,,fascinating ,,melodrama ,,directed ,,by ,,cecil ,,de ,,mille--,a ,,new ,,version ,,of ,,his ,,old ,,picture1 8,,the ,,golden ,,chance10 ,,done ,,in ,,his ,,salad ,,days ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,marshall ,,neilan ,,summarizes ,mr4 ,neilan1 whose moods run the range of human emotions1 believes that many directors forget to put themselves in the places of their audiences4--,loss of proper perspective results4--,mr4 ,neilan also summarizes in such complete fashion that he concludes the argument ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,it appears after all that ,cecil ,de ,mille is the only director in the producing art who doesn't believe in showing his players how to play a scene4 ,here comes ,marshall ,neilan with some words on directing and the first thing he says is3 8,one of the most potent assets of the director is his own ability to act4 ,it is a difficult matter to tell a person how to do certain things if one doesn't know how to do it one's self4 ,it is a simple matter to stop an actor in his work and tell him he isn't doing it right1 but it is another matter entirely to get out on the set and show him the error of his ways before the camera4 ,therefore1 a director's ability to act is a first asset40 ,this1 coming on top of the ,de ,mille formula is disconcerting4 ,disconcerting because both ,mr4 ,de ,mille and ,mr4 ,neilan manage to get the utmost from their players4 ,and they go about it in entirely different ways it would seem4 ,as a result neither one of them can be wrong and they both must be right4 ,a cold can be cured by repeated swallows of hot scotch but others prefer to stuff themselves full of quinine and let it go at that4 ,the cold is done away with in both cases4 ,hence good performances are seen in both ,neilan and ,de ,mille pictures4 ,mr4 ,neilan elaborates further on the subject thus3 8,by the same token it is more or less impossible to correct the portrayal of a certain piece of business if you haven't the ability to demonstrate just how it should be corrected4 ,in practically every scene that a director takes he is obliged first to get out on the set and show an actor or an actress how to perform a bit of business or how to register an expression4 ,so1 naturally a director must be able to act4 ,he may be a bad actor or a good one but as long as he is able to show what he wants done and how he wants it done his work is going to be much easier4 8,this is specially true in the handling of children on the screen4 ,children1 talented or not1 are not possessed of years of actual stage or screen experience which is necessary to give a performer the proper finesse and polish in actual screen work4 ,the director with the ability to act can get out before the camera and go through the child's part for him1 incorporating in it the polish that he desires the child to put into it4 ,if the child is a good mimic the rest is easy4 ,and ,i am not afraid that in mimicking me the child is going to give a mechanical performance40 ,mr4 ,neilan knows whereof he speaks when it comes to handling children4 ,two of his best pictures1 8,penrod0 and 8,dinty0 were stories with a boy actor1 ,wesley ,barry1 playing the principal role4 ,in fact1 it is due to ,mr4 ,neilan's tutelage that young ,barry has reached his present state of popularity4 ,he has come under other directors besides ,mr4 ,neilan but the teachings he received from the creator of his two best pictures still remain4 ,continuing on the same theme ,mr4 ,neilan says3 8,the merit of an actor's performance depends in ratio on the director's ability to show him what he wants4 ,this accounts for the reason that certain actors and actresses receive flattering praise for their performances under one director while under the next director they may fail miserably4 ,any number of such instances could be cited but ,i have lots of friends among the actors and actresses and ,i don't want to turn them into enemies over night40 ,i do not altogether subscribe to this statement of ,mr4 ,neilan's4 ,it is quite true that players have gained fame under one director and then worked with another and fallen down on the job4 ,in fact one producing company recently elevated a certain actress to stardom because of her excellent work in one of its big pictures4 ,but as soon as she left the guidance of the director who made this picture her ability seemed to take wings and leave her in the lurch4 ,but blaming these sudden transitions from good to bad on the directors ability to show an actor how to work1 and the next fellow's refusal or inability to show him how is not1 to my way of thinking1 exactly right4 ,it may have something to do with it but after all if a director shows all his players how he wants a scene done1 the result1 as ,mr4 ,de ,mille pointed out1 would eventually result in the entire cast giving mechanical imitations of the director in a protean act4 ,an actor does better work for certain directors1 included among which is ,mr4 ,neilan1 because for such directors he has respect1 he believes in their ability1 they retain his confidence4 ,then too ,mr4 ,neilan and the others inspire an actor to his greatest efforts4 ,the enthusiasm of the artistic director is communicated to the actor4 ,if he is any sort of an actor he simply can't go wrong when working under the direction of a truly artistic director such as ,mr4 ,neilan4 8,the dramatic sense--the sense of dramatic construction0 continues ,mr4 ,neilan1 8is another highly important asset of the motion picture director4 ,this remark is1 of course1 somewhat obvious but in my opinion there are too many so-called directors who turn out machine-made pictures and the chief reason that they are machine-made is because their makers don't know the least thing about construction4 ,half of them wouldn't know a dramatic situation if it was thrust under their various noses4 8,it doesn't make any difference whether this dramatic sense is a result of years of study of the drama or whether it is just a subconscious sixth sense thrown in along with the other five4 ,it's the same in other branches of work1 creative or otherwise4 ,some men become great generals through long years of study and application to the science of war4 ,another man just steps in and is able to converse with them on even terms because he is an instinctive general4 ,in the motion picture producing art every director who has created a position for himself has either acquired the dramatic sense through years of study or else has it ingrained in him so deeply that he couldn't lose it even if his job were cleaning streets4 8,there are many of our directors in the latter class4 ,fellows born with the dramatic sense4 ,the art of picture producing has recruited so many young men that perhaps the majority of them must needs be put in this class4 ,in the year to come ,i sincerely believe that the study of the creation of motion pictures will be taught as an art or craft just as playmaking is today4 ,in fact1 the scenario classes in many of the universities now are paving the way for the broader classes to come4 ,most of the dramatic scholars in the picture art have been recruited from the stage4 ,these are the men who have the traditions and the teachings of drama at their finger tips4 8,where does this sense help8 ,a plain instance is the director's ability or inability to know when a situation is handled correctly in a story4 ,his dramatic sense will answer the question for him4 ,if the situation is treated falsely he will know how to change it--he will instantly detect the fault and eliminate it40 ,here ,mr4 ,neilan takes up the same line of thought that ,i endeavored to set down in the second chapter of this book4 ,the power of visualization1 which enables a director to detect the right from the wrong1 is the second most important asset of the motion picture director4 ,without it he is totally at a loss4 ,this dramatic sense1 or rather this dramatic-picture sense is really nothing less than the power of visualization4 ,the two things work to the same end and1 call it what you will1 no man can ever hope to be a director and live to be recognized as such without the power of visualization or1 according to ,mr4 ,neilan1 the sixth sense4 8,perhaps ,i should place ahead of these two requisites10 ,mr4 ,neilan goes on to say1 8the ability of the director to put himself in the place of his audience--to view his work through not only neutral but critical eyes4 ,first it is necessary to keep within the understanding of the average photoplay audience4 ,and1 don't forget1 that it has been discovered that the age of the average picture audience is startlingly low--somewhere in the 'teens'4 ,if we present things on the screen that are five years ahead of an audience we aren't the right kind of creators4 ,it is just as bad to do this as to present something five years behind the times4 8,like all directors ,i know there is room for improvement in screen work4 ,the art is young yet and has got to advance slowly1 mainly because its tremendous and cosmopolitan following will only advance slowly4 ,the motion picture can't afford to go too far ahead of its audience4 ,it can keep a few paces ahead and encourage its audiences to come up those few paces but it can't go too far afield4 8,this matter of a director viewing his work from the vantage point of the audience has a more practical application as well4 ,the director must retain his perspective on his picture--must retain1 that is1 his first fresh perspective4 ,so many directors become so satiated in their work that they lose the value of their pictures4 ,they have gone over their stories in every scene from the scenario all through the process of directing and in the cutting room where they are confronted with the difficult task of bringing their pictures down to the required length they are inclined to cut out valuable story material4 ,they know their stories so well that they forget an audience only sees them once1 that an audience as a rule is in total ignorance of the story until it begins on the screen4 ,therefore every point of value in the story must be retained4 ,and to accomplish this the director must jump outside himself and view his picture from the standpoint of the layman every time that he has anything to do with it4 8,this loss of perspective is one of the reasons why we have 'jumpy' pictures and pictures that seem lacking in continuity40 ,mr4 ,neilan concludes the subject with these words3 8,above all1 ,i consider that the director's appreciation of the human side of life is his greatest asset4 ,unless a director is thoroughly human down to the very earth and appreciative of the things in life that are common to the ordinary mortal he can not hope to attain any degree of success4 ,if he himself has suffered1 if he is a close student of human nature and can reflect the human things on the screen then he automatically becomes a successful director--,i might almost say a true artist40 ,mr4 ,neilan hasn't bothered to list his own abilities which are manifold4 ,his moods run the range of human emotions4 ,he can transport an audience with the quiet beauty and sincere pathos of his work as he did in the best ,mary ,pickford picture ever made1 8,stella ,maris10 or he can become positively ,goldbergian in his creations and rival ,mack ,sennett as he did in 8,dinty40 ,mr4 ,neilan is his own best answer to all the arguments he has set forth here4 ,i had intended to attach a summary to this book1 listing the requirements of the successful director but on beginning the task ,i find that ,i would be merely duplicating ,mr4 ,neilan's words4 ,he has compiled the summary4 ,illustration3 ,,marshall ,,neilan ,illustration3 ,,marshall ,,neilan 7,,seated7 ,,directing ,,wesley ,,barry ,,in ,a ,,scene ,,for 8,,penrod0 ,,chapter ,,xxvii 8,,best ,,directed0 ,,pictures ,a list of contemporary pictures in each one of which the art of the director has been best displayed ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,i am not going to try1 in conclusion1 to list the best directed pictures made during the life of the picture producing art4 ,such a list would necessarily be overlong while those that we considered masterpieces three years ago are inferior when matched beside the worthy productions of today4 ,the only picture that seems to have lived is 8,the ,birth of a ,nation40 ,this first pretentious work of ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith will naturally rank high in any list of 8best pictures40 ,so1 too1 do some of the earlier ,chaplin pictures which have been reissued many times under different titles4 ,the list of best directed pictures appended therefore does not belong particularly to one period of producing activity4 ,it does contain1 however1 pictures that will be as good five years from the moment of writing as they were when first shown on the screens of the picture theatres4 ,time dims the quality of the great rank and file of pictures but it will have a difficult time rubbing the polish from these4 ,doubtless many others should be included4 ,there are the delightful comedies of ,constance ,talmadge1 the more serious works of ,norma ,talmadge1 numbers of ,mary ,pickford pictures and numbers of ,douglas ,fairbanks pictures that will perhaps live longer than those included here4 ,william ,s4 ,hart has immortalized himself forever yet recent pictures of his fail to react in as powerful a manner as his earlier work4 ,furthermore1 there have been some exceedingly popular pictures that have been very badly directed4 ,no effort has been made to include these4 ,and no effort has been made to include minor pictures quite well directed4 ,all points in the matter of direction have been considered4 ,minor faults have been glossed over when the merits have swung the scales overwhelmingly in their direction4 ,the list1 finally1 is not to be taken as anything more than contemporary4 8,shoulder ,arms0 and 8,the ,kid10 directed by ,charles ,chaplin4 ,because1 in addition to being the best comedies produced1 they show a marvelous insight into human nature and because the dividing line between their comedy and the tragedies that might result from the same situations1 is but the width of a hair4 8,way ,down ,east10 directed by ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith4 ,because here is a masterly handled picturization of a famous old melodrama4 ,because the rough edges have been smoothed over by the master hand of the director and because it closes in the biggest thrill ever presented on the screen4 8,orphans of the ,storm10 directed by ,d4 ,w4 ,griffith4 ,because here is a masterly handled picturization of a famous old melodrama1 etc4 8,miss ,lulu ,bett0 and 8,midsummer ,madness10 directed by ,william ,c4 ,de ,mille4 ,because both pictures1 dealing with classes of people remotely removed from one another1 contain a penetrating and true study of character and because these characters have been welded together in both instances in potent1 dramatic pictures4 8,the ,four ,horsemen of the ,apocalypse0 and 8,the ,conquering ,power10 directed by ,rex ,ingram4 ,because tragedy and spectacle has been handled in the one1 and tragedy in the other1 with the discriminating eye of an artist4 ,because each presents its director as able in creating an illusion on the screen so complete as to dissolve the theatre walls into a part of the picture itself4 8,the ,three ,musketeers10 directed by ,fred ,niblo4 ,because it is the best of ,douglas ,fairbanks' many best4 ,because it displays the fact that its director knows how to apply modern technique to a classic and still preserve the worth of the classic4 8,disraeli10 directed by ,henry ,kolker4 ,because it is the best screen version of a celebrated play ever produced4 8,the ,city of ,silent ,men10 directed by ,tom ,forman4 ,because it raises a crook melodrama to the level of high art4 8,humoresque10 directed by ,frank ,borzage4 ,because it is the most faithful presentation of racial traits and characteristics filmed4 ,because its director reveals in it his uncanny power of developing a screen character until you can almost hear it speak4 8,sentimental ,tommy10 directed by ,john ,robertson4 ,because a rare and beautiful story has been transferred to the screen without harm or loss and because in it its director gave one of the most eloquent answers ever given to those who claim there are no artists in the art of picture producing4 8,peter ,ibbetson10 directed by ,george ,fitzmaurice4 ,because a rare and beautiful story has been transferred to the screen without harm or loss and because in it its director gave one of the most eloquent answers ever given to those who claim there are no artists in the art of picture producing4 8,stella ,maris10 directed by ,marshall ,neilan4 ,because it is the best picture in which ,mary ,pickford has ever appeared4 8,little ,lord ,fauntleroy10 directed by ,al ,green and ,jack ,pickford4 ,because something approaching an artistic achievement has been made from this ancient too-sentimental work4 8,the ,indian ,tomb10 directed by ,joe ,may4 ,because1 with the exception of humor1 it blends every motion pictorial element in a whole so absorbing that time means nothing4 8,tol'ble ,david10 directed by ,henry ,king4 ,because the spirit of the original work1 a work of literary merit1 has been skillfully communicated to the screen4 8,the ,law and the ,woman10 directed by ,penrhyn ,stanlaws4 ,because an old plot has been translated into terms of intense melodrama through the judicious use of detail4 8,scratch ,my ,back10 directed by ,sidney ,olcott4 ,because it is an original1 ingenious comedy done in excellent taste4 8,over the ,hill10 directed by ,harry ,millarde4 ,because it is a sentimental tear-jerker done in the most highly skilled fashion4 8,forbidden ,fruit10 directed by ,cecil ,b4 ,de ,mille4 ,because it represents its director at his exotic1 most extravagant best4 8,passion10 directed by ,ernst ,lubitsch4 ,because it displays the art of handling big masses of people colorfully and because with its spectacular scenes there is a blending of an absorbing personal story4 8,dinty10 directed by ,marshall ,neilan4 ,because it is one of the most captivating1 rollicking and delightfully foolish things ever done on the screen4 8,doubling for ,romeo10 directed by ,clarence ,badger4 ,because it is one of the most captivating1 rollicking and delightfully foolish things ever done on the screen4 8,the ,silent ,call10 directed by ,laurence ,trimble4 ,because it is the best melodramatic novelty of the year4 8,the ,miracle ,man10 directed by the late ,george ,loane ,tucker4 ,because--well1 just because4 8,the ,loves of ,pharaoh10 directed by ,ernst ,lubitsch4 ,because it is the best work of this director4 ,because in it he more nearly actually reaches his publicity pedestal than in any other of his pictures4 ,other ,exceptional ,books on ,,photography ,,and ,,kindred ,,subjects ,motion ,picture ,photography ,by ,,carl ,,louis ,,gregory1 ,f4 ,r4 ,p4 ,s4 ,formerly ,chief ,instructor in ,cinematography1 ,signal ,corps ,price #f4jj ,school of ,photography1 ,columbia ,university1 ,new ,york4 ,with special chapters by ,charles ,w4 ,hoffman1 and by ,research ,specialists of the ,research ,laboratories1 ,eastman ,kodak ,company4 ,motion ,picture ,projection ,by ,t4 ,o',,conor ,,sloane1 ,ph4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,associate ,editor1 ,practical ,electrics and ,science and ,price #e4jj ,invention ,magazine4 ,the above book of ,motion ,picture ,projecting includes ,electricity1 ,optics1 ,projecting ,machines1 and the ,intermittent ,movement of all kinds and the fullest details of practise4 ,screen ,acting ,by ,,inez and ,,helen ,,klumph ,with the assistance and advice of ,lillian and ,dorothy ,price #c4jj ,gish1 ,colleen ,moore1 ,mabel ,ballin1 ,mae ,murray1 ,william ,s4 ,hart1 ,ruth ,roland1 and many other distinguished motion picture players1 directors1 cameramen1 and makeup experts4 ,particular thanks is due ,arch ,reeve of the ,famous ,players-,lasky ,corporation who supplied much valuable data4 ,photoplay ,writing ,by ,,william ,,lord ,,wright ,author of 8,the ,motion ,picture ,story10 8,the ,art of ,price #c4jj ,scenario ,writing10 formerly ,editor for the ,selig ,polyscope ,co41 and ,pathe ,exchange1 ,inc42 also ,western ,representative for ,united ,picture ,theatres1 ,inc41 ,editor1 ,serials and ,western ,department1 ,universal ,film ,mfg4 ,co41 ,universal ,city1 ,calif4 ,published and ,copyrighted by ,,falk ,,publishing ,,co41 ,inc4 ,department #af #ade ,west #cfth ,street1 ,new ,york ,used as supplementary texts in ,,new ,,york ,,institute ,,of ,,photography ,,new ,,york ,,chicago ,,brooklyn 7,send all orders to the ,publishers7 ,the ,new ,york ,institute of ,photography gives a complete ,residence ,course in ,photography ,,motion ,,picture ,,commercial ,,portraiture covering in a thorough and practical way every phase of this profitable profession ,for ,complete ,catalog and location of our most convenient ,school address the central office3 ,new ,york ,institute of ,photography ,department #af #ada ,west #cfth ,street ,,new ,,york ,,city ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,corrected require to acquire on p4 #e4 #b4 ,corrected exists to exits on p4 #bg4 #c4 ,corrected chining to chinning on p4 #ig4 #d4 ,corrected everyone to 8every one0 on p4 #aia4 #e4 ,corrected ,pharoah to ,pharaoh on p4 #aie4 #f4 ,corrected pour to pore on p4 #bji4 #g4 ,added of after most on p4 #bad4 #h4 ,corrected site to cite on p4 #bad4 #i4 ,silently corrected typographical errors4 #aj4 ,retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed4 #aa4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4