,,the ,,authors' ,,hand-,,book ,,series ,,the ,,photodrama ,,the ,,philosophy ,,of ,,its ,,principles1 ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,its ,,plot1 ,,its ,,dramatic ,,construction ,,and ,,technique ,,illumined ,,by ,,copious ,,examples ,,together ,,with ,a ,,complete ,,photoplay ,,and ,a ,,glossary ,,making ,,the ,,work ,a ,,practical ,,treatise ,,by ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips ,author of 8,the ,plot of the ,short ,story10 8,art in ,short ,story ,narration10 ,formerly of ,staff of ,path ,frres1 ,successful ,contestant in ,vitagraph-,sun ,contest ,,introduction ,,by ,j4 ,,stuart ,,blackton ,pioneer ,manufacturer and ,producer and ,secretary of ,the ,vitagraph ,company of ,america 7,,second ,,edition7 ,,the ,,stanhope-,,dodge ,,publishing ,,company ,,larchmont1 ,,new ,,york1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,,copyright1 #aiad1 ,,by ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips 7,published ,september1 #aiad7 ,the ,william ,g4 ,hewitt ,press ,brooklyn1 ,new ,york ,,to ,,all ,,literary ,,workers ,,who ,,strive ,,to ,,elevate ,,and ,,dignify ,,the ,,photodrama ,i ,,dedicate ,,this ,,little ,,volume ,,contents ,,chapter ,,page ,,introduction ix ,,foreword xv ,,part ,i4--,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,the ,,photodrama4 ,i4--,a ,,new ,,medium ,,of ,,artistic ,,expression #bg ,the ,premise of ,all ,art2 the ,battle of ,new ,standards2 the ,drama of the ,eye2 ,not 8,moving ,pictures02 ,all the ,world's the ,stage2 a ,field ,without ,limitations4 ,,ii4--,,differentiation #cb ,how ,photodrama ,differs from ,stage ,drama in ,construction1 ,technique and ,expression2 ,also from ,fiction ,construction and ,narration in ,general and the ,short ,story and ,novel in ,particular4 ,,iii4--,,parts ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay ,,and ,,their ,,purposes #ci ,title2 ,synopsis2 ,cast of ,characters2 ,author's ,remarks2 ,scenario2 the ,scene2 the ,setting4 ,,iv4--,,various ,,devices--,,their ,,use ,,and ,,misuse #dh ,the ,caption2 the ,insert2 the ,close-,view2 the ,vision2 ,dialog2 ,breaking ,up ,long ,scenes2 ,preserving the ,illusion4 ,v4--,,visualization #fe ,its ,relation to ,action2 ,importance of ,vocabulary2 ,literature2 to ,register2 ,interpretation2 in ,terms of ,emotion2 the ,part of ,imagination4 ,,vi4--,,characterization #ge ,identity and ,personality2 ,characteristics and ,idiosyncrasies2 ,description and ,delineation2 ,establishing ,relationship2 ,motives2 ,expression2 ,contrasts4 ,,vii4--,,theme1 ,,treatment ,,and ,,the ,,censor #hg ,morals and ,ethics2 ,crime2 ,national ,board of ,censorship2 ,taste2 ,inspiration and ,influence4 ,,viii4--,,rules ,,of ,,the ,,game #ig ,duration and ,number of ,scenes2 ,perpetual ,motion2 the 8,now0 ,element2 ,effective ,form2 ,natural ,laws2 ,scene ,principle4 ,,ix4--,,bromides ,,worth ,,repeating #ajg ,the ,virtue of ,economy2 ,producing ,policies2 ,period and ,costumes2 ,animals2 ,copyright and ,carbon ,copies2 ,relation of ,author's ,work to ,his ,audience2 to the ,manufacturer2 to ,his ,manuscript4 ,,part ,,ii4--,,the ,,plot ,,of ,,the ,,photodrama4 ,i4--,,what ,,plot ,,material ,,is #aai ,the ,plot ,germ2 the ,premise ,advanced2 ,ancient ,theme and ,original ,treatment4 ,,ii4--,,where ,,to ,,get ,,plot ,,germs #abd ,observation2 ,reading2 ,employment of ,facts2 the ,daily ,newspaper2 ,dangers2 ,propriety2 ,originality2 the 8,true ,story02 ,importance of ,notes2 ,titles2 ,plot ,classification4 ,,iii4--,,beginning ,,with ,,the ,,end #acb ,seeking the ,climax2 ,when to ,begin the ,photoplay2 ,ever-,forward ,movement2 the ,live ,beginning4 ,,iv4--,,development ,,and ,,continuity #ach ,each ,scene ,contributes to the ,climax2 ,element of ,time and ,chronological ,sequence2 ,problems of ,continuity2 the ,central ,theme2 the ,return2 ,instantaneous ,sequence2 ,time ,indicatives4 ,v4--,,the ,,climax ,,and ,,completed ,,plot #adf ,sequence and ,consequence2 ,logical ,cause and ,complete ,solution2 ,sustained ,climax2 ,all ,expectations ,fulfilled4 ,,part ,,iii4--,,dramatic ,,construction ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay4 ,i4--,,drama ,,and ,,photodrama #aej ,definition2 ,principles2 ,structure is ,everything2 the ,dramatic ,idea2 ,emotion is the ,secret2 ,desire the ,motive ,power2 ,drama and ,melodrama4 ,,ii4--,,dramatic ,,expression #aee ,the ,laws of ,movement and ,action2 ,character and ,motive2 ,relation to ,audience and ,character2 ,dramatic versus ,dynamic2 ,realism2 ,romanticism and ,idealism4 ,,iii4--,,sequence ,,and ,,suspense #afa ,cause and ,effect2 ,effects ,due to ,arrangement2 the ,raw ,coincidence2 ,suspense ,motors2 ,battle of ,opposing ,motives2 ,motive as ,well as ,idea4 ,,iv4--,,the ,,potential ,,situation #aff ,contrast2 ,situation's ,relation to ,audience2 ,harvesting ,situations2 ,peril and ,death2 ,climax and ,punch4 ,v4--,,unity ,,plus ,,harmony ,,equals ,,effect #age ,questions in the ,mind of the ,audience2 ,reason2 ,truth2 ,struggle2 ,solution2 the ,title2 ,harmony ,values4 ,,part ,,iv4-,,forms ,,and ,,types ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay4 ,i4-- #ahe ,drama and ,melodrama2 ,tragedy2 ,comedy2 ,other ,forms2 8,split ,reel02 ,short ,play2 ,long ,play2 ,spectacle2 ,adaptations2 ,play ,divisions4 ,,ii4--,a ,,specimen ,,photoplay #aib ,the ,effectiveness of ,typography2 8,the ,salt of ,vengeance10--a ,short ,play ,drama4 ,,glossary #bab ,the ,most ,used ,terms ,defined1 with ,many ,suggestions for ,revision and ,alternative ,terms4 ,,introduction ,as one of the pioneers in the most wonderful art-science of the age--the motion picture industry--the writer feels doubly qualified perhaps to throw some light upon a subject equally interesting to author and producer4 ,a few years ago to the uninitiated 8moving pictures0 spelt little more than pantomime1 buffoonery or sensational catch-penny device4 ,to-day1 there are few who maintain this view1 and they are the unenlightened2 for to the vast majority of those familiar with the art and interested in its progress1 the word has become symbolic of things important and far-reaching4 ,literature is literally the basic foundation upon which the already gigantic edifice of picturedom has risen4 ,ten or twelve years ago picture manuscripts were unknown--office boys1 clerks1 camera operators1 any one with an 8idea0 furnished the material from which motion pictures were produced4 ,plot was unknown1 technique did not exist1 and literary and constructive quality was conspicuous by its absence4 ,the art1 however1 developed rapidly4 ,it was found possible to do more than portray outdoor scenes of moving trains and other objects1 or simple pantomimes with exaggerated gesture la ,franaise4 ,methods were discovered and evolved whereby powerfully dramatic scenes could be reproduced1 subtilty of expression in either serious or humorous vein could be communicated to numberless people--their emotions played upon1 laughter or tears evoked at will--in other words1 the ,silent ,drama was born4 ,classic and standard literature was then reproduced in photodrama4 ,shakespeare1 ,dickens1 ,thackeray1 ,scott and ,hugo became known to millions of people whose previous acquaintance with their famous works was either very slight or non-existent4 ,it was at this stage1 when literature was combined with other arts allied in picture production1 that the real impetus was given and the triumphant onward march of the world's greatest educator and entertainer commenced4 ,to-day1 millions are invested in great industrial plants for the creation and manufacture of the wordless drama2 thousands of people rely upon it as their sole maintenance and profession4 ,millions upon millions of men1 women and children all over the world look upon this form of entertainment as their principal recreation and1 incidentally1 are being unconsciously educated to understand and appreciate the higher forms of art4 ,bernard ,shaw says3 8,the great artist is he who goes a step beyond the demand and1 by supplying works of a higher beauty and a higher interest than have yet been perceived1 succeeds after a brief struggle in adding this extension of sense to the heritage of the race40 ,there is no doubt that the works of higher beauty and interest accomplished by the real artists in the motion picture profession have been widely productive of the 8extension of sense0 above quoted4 ,all this brings us to the practical purpose of this discussion--the dissemination among those who write of the intelligence that a new and fruitful field is open for the works of their pens4 ,the short-story writer who gets from one hundred to five hundred dollars for magazine stories can get a similar amount from the picture manufacturers2 the authors of international fame1 who make thousands in royalties1 can make thousands more from picture royalties--and in every case without interfering with their magazine or book rights4 ,in fact1 the greatest advertising a novel could receive would be a preliminary exhibition all over the world in pictures4 ,many of the best modern authors have already gone into this field and many more will4 ,for the day has arrived when1 in addition to producing well-known plays and successful books1 there is a need for big original features1 especially written for pictorial presentation4 ,the motion picture has narrowed the field of the playwright1 but there is another and broader pasture awaiting both the play and fiction writer when he has mastered the technique of the 8life portrayal40 ,it is the writer's belief that a gripping1 compelling story1 hitherto unknown and unpublished1 properly picturized and bearing the name of one of the best known writers of modern fiction1 would be a greater success artistically and financially than a revived popular play or 8best seller40 ,the words 8properly picturized0 emphasized above are significant4 ,the motion picture manufacturer stands to the author in the position of publisher--he needs you--you need him4 ,there are good and bad publishers4 ,you1 whose name is an asset1 would not deal with a publisher of questionable methods2 ergo1 when seeking out a market for your work1 deal with none but the highest class and best and old-established motion picture concerns4 ,picturedom is looked upon by many as the ,new ,eldorado4 ,many misguided fools are rushing in where experienced angels fear to tread4 ,many theatrical concerns are now 8going into the moving picture business10 and they blithely announce their intention to uplift the motion picture and show the public some real stage productions done in pictures4 ,the few that have come to light so far have been very sad affairs1 as is but natural4 ,the average theatrical man makes about the same brand of pictures as the average picture producer made five years ago4 ,to quote again the invaluable ,shaw1 8,vital art work comes always from a cross between art and life40 ,the art of the picture is to convey an impression of absolute realism in a manner artistic4 ,the theatrical stage manager has been proven to be utterly useless in picture production until he has unlearned all traditions of the stage and acquired an entirely new technique4 ,it is unfortunate that many stock-jobbing1 security-selling schemes are being offered to investigators and the public under the magic 8movie0 name4 ,many royalties are being promised that will never be paid and of many of these cardboard houses great will be the fall thereof4 8,a word to the wise is sometimes money in pocket40 ,all summed up in a paragraph1 the answer is1 without a story motion pictures would be what they were styled at their inception--a novelty or a fad4 ,so literature is indissolubly linked with the future and success of the greatest of the allied arts4 ,the 8life portrayal0 or 8thought visualized0 is perhaps better than all 8literature realized40 ,j4 ,,stuart ,,blackton4 ,the coarse passion of the ,crowd constitutes 8,what the public wants0 in the way of productions2 the refined emotion of the artist must discipline1 guide and gratify it by his appealing creations4 ,,foreword ,writers of fiction and dramatic literature have been less apt to respond to the call of a new literary vocation1 than a world-wide public has been ready to flock to the appeal of a new dramatic art4 ,a wonderful event has come to pass in the annals of dramatic literature thru the development of cinematography4 ,so wonderful indeed was this new addition to the art of effective dramatic expression1 that even after a decade of existence1 scarcely a dozen successful writers of literature had realized its potentiality and had allied themselves with the new drama4 ,the public's first recognition of cinematography was as a novel diversion4 ,people flocked to see these presentations that crudely reproduced not merely static likenesses1 but moving realities1 just as they had appeared before the camera4 ,in those early days only the elemental reproduction of moving objects was attempted4 ,the photography was miserable2 the presentation itself a blurred1 eye-racking ordeal4 ,luckily for the waning novelty1 the possibilities for the trick picture were suddenly realized and cinematography took on a new lease of life4 ,but once the wonder1 amazement and speculation that surrounded the unnatural phenomena of these animated photographs wore off1 they became deadly monotonous for the mature mind4 ,once again cinematography hovered near the abyss of oblivion4 ,something significant1 however1 had transpired3 the trick picture had blundered1 as it were1 into the realms of misadventure and laughter4 ,slap-stick farce supplemented and finally succeeded the trick picture4 ,cinematography as an entertainment acquired a tremendous commercial impetus immediately4 ,in less than a year the puling infant became a healthy youngster1 and the five-cent theater began to take its rightful place as 8the poor man's playhouse40 ,thus we have arrived at the beginnings of a need for a literature to provide for the screen portrayals4 ,what had previously been the device of a moment or the conception of an hour1 on the part of some ingenious--or ingenuous--director1 together with the combined aid of all concerned1 now became a matter of serious consideration in order more nearly to meet and to co-operate with the mechanical requirements of length of film1 speed of operation and duration of projection4 ,all products were 8home-spun0 and in no way belied their crude sources4 ,in a very short while it was discovered that there were surprisingly few funny ideas and situations in real life4 ,the comedy personalities of clever actors were worked to death trying to put something new into old1 frowsy and threadbare saws4 ,but a world-old1 child-young desire had been awakened4 ,the now vast audiences wanted to be told a story--logical1 dramatic1 gripping1 living6 ,they did not quite realize--as they never do--what they were clamoring for1 and the producers had paused aghast1 as tho conscious of the new and ,silent ,drama that stood at that moment on the threshold of cinematography4 ,the first cinematograph stories were humorous4 ,most of them were pathetic--which is the case when any but a story teller tries to tell a funny story4 ,the serious story was attempted with even worse results4 ,the arrogance of the trained writer of fiction or of drama and the price of the producer were still beyond conciliation4 ,the first borrowings may have come in taking excerpts from history to make the modest spectacles that gave a new note to cinematography4 ,suffice it to say1 that soon familiar masterpieces of fiction and dramatic literature began to appear4 ,the moment that the exhaustless stores of literature were opened to the needs of cinematography we may say that the photodrama really had its inception4 ,in the voracious search for a story1 borrowing became more general1 descending from the greater to the lesser lights4 ,at first1 borrowings were looked upon by both authors and publishers almost good-naturedly4 ,not until the intrinsic commercial value of literary work1 from a photodramatic point of view1 became obvious was the virtue of the copyright called into effect4 ,several successful suits by publishers brought the fear of the copyright into the producers' hearts4 ,the scenario editor and the photoplaywright became a power from that time on4 ,all said and done1 a large percentage of the photoplaywrights developed in the mechanico-commercial atmosphere of the early days of cinematography were bound to be limited in their range of vision1 in their conception of artistic drama and in their ideas of the needs of the ever-widening audiences4 ,from the five-cent show1 with its audiences of crude farce- and melodrama-loving people of small or limited education1 had sprung the million-dollar theaters1 including the rich and poor1 the learned and the ignorant1 the young and the old in their vast1 changing throng of patrons1 demanding something always better4 ,is it any wonder--with the heads of the companies becoming wealthy magnates by the hour--that many of them gave little thought to anything else but the income end of their wonderful business1 forgetting the output almost to the point of killing the goose that laid the golden egg8 ,many of these men had not the slightest conception what the word drama meant2 altho their employees had grown up with the business1 yet they knew nothing of those more cultured professions of literature and drama4 ,drama to them meant only the production of so many feet of 8pictures40 ,on the other hand1 the consummate handlers of plots1 the trained writers of fiction and dramatic literature1 who had made writing their profession and had given years of their life to demonstrating their ability to make men laugh and cry and wait1 by means of dramatic pictures on page or stage--they had stood aloof4 ,the studio-bred photoplaywright smiled indulgently as tho an insuperable barrier separated these literary mastodons from their preserves2 the writers scanned the field arrogantly as tho viewing the common herd4 ,neither was giving the other his due4 ,it is true1 many well-known writers have failed as photoplay technicians2 but it is even more true that most photoplaywrights would fail as writers of fiction or stage drama4 ,thus we arrive at our point3 photoplay writing is a new profession1 for the simple reason that the photodrama is a new form of dramatic expression1 tho in many ways like1 yet in even more ways differing from1 either fiction or stage drama4 ,the studio-bred photoplaywright needs just as much to study and to learn the valued art of choosing1 developing and completing the dramatic idea artistically1 as the writer of fiction or stage drama needs to master the difficult and effective technique of the photoplay4 ,the photodrama is more sophisticated than either the writer of other forms of literature1 who dabbles with it1 or the studio-bred photoplaywright1 who struggles with it1 at first suspects4 ,each new test of illusion that is put to it has been met effectively1 maintained realistically and completed convincingly--providing it has had the artistic co-operation of director1 actors and appropriate scenic effects4 ,it was but a natural consequence that years of dearth of play material and practical apprenticeship should have brought to the surface many promising photodramatists from among the studios4 ,while there have been a limited number of plays effective from a purely artistic standpoint1 and depending thruout on emotional situations1 there have been thousands upon thousands of productions1 startling because of dynamic spectacles1 with scarcely a dramatic suggestion outside of outlandish peril4 ,the clash of souls is lost sight of in the orchestral crash of falling buildings2 the climax in the struggle of a heroic spirit is hidden behind locomotives coming head-on and smashing themselves into junk2 the pathetic twilight closing over some wonderful character depiction is lost in the glare of a bona-fide fire advertised to cost thousands of dollars4 ,these are melodramatic sensations1 not drama4 ,just as the average person can seldom appreciate a startling sensation except for the first time1 so we find producers1 directors and audiences clamoring for something new and surpassing all that has gone before1 resenting repetition or spectacles that are keyed below the highest pitched sensation they have already witnessed4 ,one visit to the circus a year suffices most people2 tho few of us are contented with a weekly attendance at the theater with the promise of a good drama4 ,dramatic revivals are always welcome4 ,and so we see the feverish daily change of program1 and films that flare for a day and then1 like the reams of cheap reading trash of the hour1 are literally thrown into the waste-basket and justly perish4 ,many problems have been met with wonderful facility in this new art4 ,the actor1 for instance1 has had to mould himself to new requirements1 demanding of him oftentimes a more exquisite art than the spoken drama comprehends4 ,a vast number of actors have acquired something near perfection4 ,a power has risen in the production of the photoplay1 however1 that has often hampered the progress of the new drama4 ,all authority1 in too many instances1 has been given to the director4 ,even tho the meaning of the word classic was as remote from his understanding as the study of astronomy1 yet all manuscripts were subject to his interpretation1 alteration and elimination1 from 8,lucile0 to 8,lear40 ,too often actors en masse have had no further intimation of what they were doing than the vociferous bellowings of a director beyond the camera4 ,thus was the writer deprived of his most necessary ally in the interpretation of his finer dramatic ideas4 ,if many directors cannot 8see10 and possibly perceive every scene and situation of a manuscript with all their five senses1 they have been known to return it to the author as 8impossible for production40 ,in true drama our five senses--in photodrama but one1 sight--merely act as the agent of the emotions1 the real participant in the drama4 ,the photodrama is bound to be taken seriously in the end4 ,we have theaters1 we have actors1 manufacturing plants1 we have a world-wide audience--but no vital drama worth mentioning yet4 ,when we are supplied with good plays the millennium of the photodrama will begin1 which1 in its universality1 will eclipse anything known in the realms of artistic expression4 ,the photodrama needs thinkers1 not tinkers4 ,there must come writers with ideas as well as methods4 ,the future has room only for swayers of world-wide emotion1 and not mere footage producers4 ,the trained writer has only a slight advantage over the untrained writer1 because he must reject all his well-grounded rules of fiction and dramatic technique4 ,the novice has a better chance in photoplay writing than in any other field of expression1 providing he is mentally and temperamentally equipped to take it up4 ,photoplay writing is bound to become a dignified profession despite the obloquy that seemed to rest upon it for so long4 ,but the photoplaywright must elevate himself thru his artistic product and thru a demand for recognition of meritorious work by appropriate compensation and also by credit of his name to appear on the screen as author of his plays4 ,it is to further these high aims in the realization that the photodrama needs students earnest in their desire to become honest artisans and true artists--that this book has been written by an ardent student of the new art4 ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips4 ,may #ah1 #aiad4 ,,part ,i ,,the ,,principles ,,of ,,the ,,photodrama ,the writer of the ,silent ,drama must portray emotions that may be felt by all mankind1 and create heartbeats that may be heard round the world4 ,,chapter ,i ,a ,,new ,,medium ,,of ,,artistic ,,expression ,,the ,,premise ,,of ,,all ,,art2 ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,new ,,standards2 ,,the ,,drama ,,of ,,the ,,eye2 ,,not 8,,moving ,,pictures02 ,,all ,,the ,,world',s ,,the ,,stage2 ,a ,,field ,,without ,,limitations4 ,in all expressions of true art we find the portrayal of a message from the soul1 mind and emotions of one man to those of his fellows4 ,the message may be graven in stone1 wrought in iron1 blended in color1 soaring in song1 poured thru a pen1 or spoken from the stage4 ,if it be art none may pass by without a portion of it entering his soul and enriching his experience4 ,there is one essential condition1 however1 that precedes all participation in1 and mutual enjoyment of1 art--only true believers may enter the shrine of complete illusion4 ,the observer1 the reader1 the listener1 the participator in a work of art1 must concentrate the attention of his body1 mind and soul upon the emotional message it contains1 regardless of the artificial mediums employed in giving it material existence4 ,for art consists simply in an endeavor to express thru an outward and visible symbol some inward and spiritual truth1 or struggle4 ,all new and unfamiliar forms of art1 therefore1 are subject to superficial criticism1 if not ridicule1 on the part of the uninitiated1 who either fail1 or refuse1 to see the underlying truth interpreted by a work of art4 ,upon being shown one of the splendid marbles of ,angelo they see but a piece of chiseled stone and not the wonderful vision that inspired the artist4 ,to them one of ,turner's symphonies of color is but a daubed canvas4 ,but once let appreciation of art values become part of a people's understanding1 and the glories of a new and more wonderful world is opened to them1 which brings us to the conclusion that there is a division of opinion regarding even the ,fine ,arts--some of which are patronized by the few1 others are participated in by the many4 ,among the latter we find the devotees of fiction and dramatic literature far outnumbering all others4 ,the reason1 without doubt1 for the wider popular approval of these two mediums of artistic expression lies in their portrayal of a segment of life with all the vicissitudes1 settings1 characters and contributing elements that lead to its dramatic climax1 as opposed to the single static incident that the artist has limned in stone or wood or on canvas4 ,stage drama takes even a step in advance of fiction literature in its approximation of realistic illusion4 ,the characters of the play become the breathing1 living1 walking and talking persons conceived by the playwright and anticipated by the audience4 ,audiences laugh and weep1 rejoice and sigh1 despite themselves1 wherever good stage drama is offered4 ,thus we come to the inception and introduction of a new medium of artistic expression that is destined to be numbered among the ,fine ,arts4 ,while the ,photodrama is closely allied and dependent upon both ,fiction and ,dramatic ,literature1 yet it has a construction1 an expression1 and a production so uniquely its own that it is even more unlike than like its allied sources4 ,the ,photodrama is notable1 too1 in being science's first contribution to the ,fine ,arts4 ,the ,photodrama has had to fight its battle of the new standards4 ,the day was when we scoffed at the possibility of a mere animated photograph making an artistic appeal to us sufficient to stir our emotions4 ,the conquest of the lighter emotions is already a reality1 as any one may learn who will take the trouble to step into a photoplay theater while a good comedy is being run4 ,but the supreme test of the appeal of art--the drama that loosens the treasured tears of a self-conscious1 conservative audience--is still the unattained1 but attainable1 goal of the new profession4 ,too often the message of fiction or stage drama is limited1 by the printed or spoken word1 to the understanding of one's own people2 but the drama of the screen is told in terms of world-wide action1 spelt in a tremor of world-old emotion1 and writ in the simple language of the human heart--regardless of culture or color1 clime or creed4 ,he who has eyes to see may readily understand4 ,in ,photodrama1 as in real life1 we are never permitted to reverse the hand of ,time and relive the deeds of yesterday--except we pass thru the gateway of visions and dreams4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,differentiation ,,how ,,photodrama ,,differs ,,from ,,stage ,,drama ,,in ,,construction1 ,,technique ,,and ,,expression2 ,,also ,,from ,,fiction ,,construction ,,and ,,narration ,,in ,,general ,,and ,,the ,,short ,,story ,,and ,,the ,,novel ,,in ,,particular4 ,the very first impulse that comes to the photoplaywright1 as a true exponent of literary art1 must be stifled--he cannot clothe his message in glowing words that will ravish the ear and please the eye of an esthetic public4 ,rather1 he must construct a silent1 technically wordless picture4 ,he must smother his vocabulary under a mass of technique4 ,he must hide the light of his diction under a bushel of 8business40 ,nevertheless1 there must be the message to radiate1 the story to tell1 the gratifying material for entertainment4 ,granted an idea worth artistic exploitation1 there remains the exercise of one of the most difficult processes known to literary or dramatic construction4 ,a photoplay is composed primarily of mechanical units1 technically termed reels4 ,a full reel consists of #a1jjj feet of film and occupies approximately twenty minutes to display its contents upon the screen4 ,by contents1 we mean to include everything that is projected3 trade-mark frame of manufacturer1 including title of play and name of the author2 cast of characters1 with ,board of ,censorship notice at the end4 ,the foregoing take approximately two minutes of valuable time and are merely incidental to the play4 ,they concern the writer only in so far as they act as limitations4 ,the essential photodrama itself includes portrayal of dramatic action of the characters2 printed words contained in captions and inserted dialog2 close-views for the purpose of emphasis2 inserted printed matter bearing upon the unfolding of the story4 ,we find a distinct advantage in the construction of the short stage play over that of the short photoplay in the fact that the former permits us approximately as long a time for its single scene as we are allowed for the entire photoplay composed of from #be to #fj scenes6 ,again1 the short stage play is merely episodical in an intensive sense1 developing a single dramatic situation to an immediate and effective climax2 while the short photoplay is usually expansive in character1 comparable to the wider boundaries of the short story in selecting a supreme dramatic moment in the life or lives of characters and portraying even the remote cumulative incidents that began1 contributed to and compelled the climax1 and possibly containing many situations1 tho of lesser power than the climax itself4 ,aside from the incidental employment of a mob now and then1 we may say that a vital characteristic of the short stage play is economy1 often two and seldom more than five characters appearing in the play4 ,because of its multiplicity of scenes1 however1 the short photoplay normally includes the employment of many extra characters who establish and naturalize settings1 and seldom employs less than five important characters1 for the reason that frequent change of scene is necessary to photoplay development and effect4 7,,example #a47 ,in a short photoplay it may be necessary for our hero to visit his club1 to gamble and to lose the money that he is holding in trust4 ,while he and the villain1 his opponent in the game1 are the two principal characters1 it is essential to introduce many others to make the club-setting natural4 ,we might call these 8setting characters40 7,,example #b47 ,we must always take into consideration those scenes that act as a foil for those in which our principal characters appear in their important situations4 ,photoplay scenes without the prop of dramatic dialog begin to lose power after being sustained for two or three minutes4 ,new power is provided by reverting to another scene that has a direct cumulative bearing upon the scene in hand4 ,with but two characters1 or only a small group that must be kept together for effect1 quick changes would keep the characters moving unnaturally fast4 ,an examination of the three-act1 or long1 stage play and a comparison with either short or long photoplay1 likewise disclose some advantages in favor of the stage drama4 ,each act of the long play allows the playwright approximately forty minutes in which to attain a desired effect1 or about one hour and twenty minutes of combined action in all4 ,by means of the condensed method and rapid action of photoplay drama1 we may often get a three-act play into a single reel of photoplay action1 while a solid evening's entertainment may include several short plays1 and one long one1 equivalent in itself to a meaty drama4 ,the great advantage of photodrama over stage drama1 however1 lies in the playwright's privilege to fill in all essential action of the most infinitesimal character in exactly the order and degree of its occurrence1 so that the spectator gets everything first-hand and not thru hearsay4 ,furthermore1 the photoplay begins at the beginning of things essential4 7,,example #c47 ,stage drama1 thru the use of a few well-chosen phrases1 will often make clear to the audience the relationship between characters and the cause for the struggle that is the basis of the play4 ,photoplay construction takes us back to the causal act1 tho it may have happened months before the opening of the bigger situations4 ,the great problem that confronts the photoplaywright is how to make his story convincing without words1 how to interpret every emotion into pure action4 ,he must learn the truth of that axiom which states that 8actions speak louder than words40 ,with fiction construction and expression1 the photoplay has much in common4 ,the short photoplay1 as we have pointed out1 is expanded to practically the same degree as the short story1 while the multiple-reel1 or long photoplay1 has within its scope the complete and satisfactory dramatization of the novel or many-volumed literary work1 thus enriching the dramatic field with new forms of surpassing material which must forever have been denied millions of people who abhor reading even the glorious treasures of fiction literature4 ,the two fields--of fiction writing and photoplay writing--diverge into opposite directions the moment we discuss the narration of one and the visualization of the other4 ,in fiction narration1 we resort unequivocally to words to express our inmost vision and weave our story2 in the photoplay our words merely indicate the line of action4 ,the effectiveness to be gained thru descriptive writing is barred to us2 we must confine our description to a line at the head of each scene4 ,fine paragraphs on introspection1 or mental agony1 or deep feeling are helpless1 unless they have their counterpart in vivid action4 ,artistic narration is a handicap2 expressive vocabulary is essential4 ,we must express ourselves1 then1 in terms of action rather than in periods of rhetoric4 ,but does not the absence of the spoken word make it easier to give expression to the universal language of the heart8 ,all motives and emotions must be made to appear on the surface4 ,even sounds must be silently1 yet effectively1 portrayed4 ,the music artist peoples the imagination of his audience with a glorious phantasmagoria4 ,there is a music of vision that delights the beholder of motion and action1 typifying life1 health and sanity4 ,we have only to give photoplay art its premise and we may find it ranked among the muses4 ,in artistic photodrama we perceive with the ears of the heart and the soul1 gifted1 it would seem1 with a new soul organ4 ,the day of the skilled spectator must follow the dawn of the art of the ideal interpreter4 ,here we do not want that mechanics of motion which labors and creaks1 revealing the machine2 but rather that poetry of silent action which translates itself emotionally into visualized motive and visible drama4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,parts ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay ,,and ,,their ,,purposes ,,title2 ,,synopsis2 ,,cast ,,of ,,characters2 ,,author',s ,,remarks2 ,,scenario2 ,,scene2 ,,scene-,,plot4 ,we find the presentation of the photoplay in manuscript differing widely from that of both fiction and stage drama1 in that it represents a mechanical point of view4 ,whereas the entire fiction manuscript is submitted verbatim as it will appear before the reader1 and the stage play manuscript contains every word as it will be heard by the audience1 the photoplay manuscript contains only a few lines of captions and possibly several inserts which alone of the actual manuscript will appear on the screen4 ,the first item that appears on the manuscript1 the title1 is coming more and more to be regarded from its literary and story-fulfilling point of view4 ,we must ever bear it in mind1 however1 chiefly as a commercial asset4 ,first1 will it attract and reach the pocketbook of the hesitating public and add a drawing power to the poster displayed in front of the theater8 ,second1 will it successfully compete with the ever-increasing number of releases brought to the attention of the exhibitor to choose for his daily or weekly change of program8 ,third--and in a lesser degree--will it appeal to the photoplay editor because of its promise of high-class literary or dramatic material8 ,it is possible in nine cases out of ten to combine all these desirable features1 but not without careful thought4 ,the synopsis of the photoplay is something more than a mere synopsis1 it is an abridgment1 a condensation of the scene contents4 ,to write a perfect synopsis requires the exercise of rare literary skill4 ,by this is not meant rhetorical flow1 but the power of such a choice and command of words that enables the writer to reduce possibly several thousand words of instructive scenario to a few hundred words of suggestive synopsis without missing a single essential point4 ,there must be a style of telling the photoplay story that is terse1 crisp and suggestive4 ,there is a studio convention that seems to have limited the length of the synopsis to #bej words4 ,it is unfair to make a hard-and-fast rule governing the synopsis1 for the reason that most aspirants get an erroneous impression4 ,experience demonstrates that most clean-cut1 vivid plots may be perfectly delineated in a synopsis of even less than #ajj words4 ,on the other hand1 the power of the slight play made great thru pure dramatic artistry would suffer from a too brief synopsis4 ,the refined emotional play free from all the coarser strain of exaggerated melodrama and sensational spectacle would sacrifice its finer points if it did not touch upon them and reveal their beauty in the synopsis4 ,employ as few words as you can to amplify and completely tell the abridged story of your play6 ,the synopsis is designed primarily for the convenience of the editor or reader who takes up your manuscript with a view to its acceptability4 ,the synopsis is its recommendation4 ,if it does not tell him all its dramatic possibilities in a brief space1 its opportunity is lost1 for the editor seldom has time or inclination to peruse the scenario4 ,should the manuscript meet with acceptance1 the synopsis is thereafter used as a guide for the director4 7,,example #d47 ,showing how little side-lights are thrown on character1 and shades of emotion may be revealed in the synopsis3 8,frail1 piquant ,rosalie1 with whom ,malcolm is in love1 is often piqued because he never comes to the point in anything4444 ,malcolm prefers to sit on the porch and dream of his coming deed4444 ,douglas is a doer of things and immediately carries out the music in his heart in appealing words40 ,the cast of characters should mention individual characteristics if possible and clearly show the relationships at a glance4 ,the cast is for the convenience of the director in computing the number of players necessary1 in selecting actors for the parts according to their talents and personal characteristics4 7,,example #e47 ,,malcolm ,,french4444 7,lead74444 ,in love with ,rosalie2 ,artist1 ,dreamer4 ,,rosalie4444 7,ingnue-lead74444 ,piquant1 impatient1 frail1 flirtatious4 ,characters that appear singly should be mentioned singly2 those appearing in groups1 or mobs1 described en masse1 so that the director may form at a glance a comprehensive idea of outlay in characters1 costumes and possible character props4 ,there should be a distinct part of each photoplay manuscript known as 8,author's ,remarks40 ,these should be brief and contain such helpful suggestions as a mention of the period of the play1 its locale1 where ideal locations may be found near particular studios1 the need of extraordinary properties and where they might be obtained 7possibly the author might have in his possession a coin1 ,,ms41 or oddity71 maybe the suggestion of specific actors whom you have in mind for important parts4 ,confine these remarks to #ej words or less4 ,the part of the manuscript next to appear is the scenario1 or enumeration of scenes1 including the respective action taking place in each4 ,after numbering the scene1 a single line is devoted to the description of the scene of setting4 ,this is the only space permitted the writer for description1 and one or two words are supposed to suffice unless he wishes a certain arrangement of setting that will have dramatic bearing on the development of the action4 7,,example #f47 ,scene #c--;,,front ,,of ,,shop 7,window plainly lettered3 ,j4 ,,cadwallader--,,antique ,,jewels74 ,despite the fact that it is the same in name as a division of stage drama1 a photoplay scene is by no means identical with a stage play scene4 ,an apt parallel may be drawn by saying that while a stage scene is all that is seen and acted in one setting without dropping the curtain1 a photoplay scene is all of the setting and action that is photographed without stopping or changing the position of the camera4 ,if the position of the camera is changed an inch1 or if we should return to the same scene a score of times1 viewing it from the identical point1 it must bear another scene number and be treated as a new scene4 ,there is one exception to this rule4 ,when a scene is broken by an insert or a close-view we 8continue0 the scene1 for the reason that the scene is not interrupted at all in the taking1 the film being cut to insert either close-view or other inserted matter4 7,,example #g47 ,scene #bd4--;,,interior ,,pawn-,,broker',s4 ,broker takes necklace from case1 examines it1 eyeing ,douglas all the while1 examines jewels with jeweler's glass1 then turns1 with shake of head3 ,,insert #d4444 8,i ,,don',t ,,receive ,,stolen ,,goods4 ,,get ,,out ,,or ,i',,ll ,,call ,,the ,,police60 ,scene #bd--7;,continued74 ,douglas slinks out with a scowl4 ,it is presupposed that every scene set down in the manuscript is absolutely necessary1 and by necessary we mean essential to the cumulative advancement of the play4 ,the contents of the scene itself consists of the writer's process of visualizing his story thru appropriate directions for the movement of the characters and a description of the resultant action1 vividly1 tersely and suggestively told in the present tense4 ,the same economical care should be practised in the selection of only essential material and the rejection of unessential details as one observes in the construction of the short story4 ,while the writer is supposed to tell only what is to be done and not to presume even to suggest how1 yet there are many subtile emotions the perfect interpretation of which he may have in mind4 ,a happy suggestion may often save the busy and hurried actor or director time1 and express exactly what the writer has in mind instead of making it necessary to guess at his thoughts4 ,as the writer plans the effect to be produced by his completed play1 so he must keep in mind a desired effect to be accomplished by each scene4 ,the length of a scene is determined precisely by it attaining the single effect for which it was created4 ,thus a scene has a unity of its own which is comparable with that of the complete play3 ,introduction1 or establishment of relationship sufficient for the audience to grasp the significance of the action2 rising development2 pronounced climax1 which is the signal for its termination--for a scene never has a denoument4 ,the succeeding scene always carries the play a step forward or higher4 7,,example #h47 ,scene #eb--,,on ,,the ,,balcony4 ,malcolm singing with his whole soul in his expression4 ,scene #ec--;,,jewel ,,room4 ,douglas still kneeling before the cabinet1 suddenly pauses1 his face contorted with painful memory4 ,much confusion would be eliminated1 and clearness and precision affected1 if there were a change in terminology calling scenes 8acts10 for they are distinct units of action and definite and complete acts in the development of the play4 ,the scene1 as its etymology indicates1 has primarily to do with the scenery or setting4 ,the same scene is repeated over and over again1 tho it always bears a new number4 ,the same act is never repeated 7except in facsimile in the vision scene71 so that the consecutive numbering of acts from beginning to end of play would have a specific value1 just as the consecutive numbering of repeated scenes is decidedly confusing4 ,,special ,,note4--,in ,part ,,iv of this volume will be found one complete photoplay1 embodying all points discussed in these chapters1 and from which1 in the main1 illustrative examples have been chosen4 ,a ,glossary contains a modified definition of all technical terms employed4 ,artifice is the edged tool of ,art which1 when wielded skilfully1 may carve lines of life in a piece of clay and bring fame to the artificer2 when handled clumsily it is sure to mar the material and may injure the hand of the artisan4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,various ,,devices--,,their ,,use ,,and ,,misuse ,,the ,,caption2 ,,the ,,insert2 ,,the ,,close-,,view2 ,,the ,,vision2 ,,dialog2 ,,breaking ,,up ,,long ,,scenes2 ,,preserving ,,the ,,illusion4 ,do not seek to write photoplays that are sufficient in themselves and do not need the aid of tricks of the trade1 devices or artifices4 ,such plays must need be crude because1 even tho perfect in plot1 they are bound to appear cut-and-dried1 clipped and cured1 and wanting in all those little human touches which by piercing the emotions and gaining the sympathies of the audience1 do more than win the approbation of the mind4 ,the impression that the perfect play is the one which can dispense with any of the legitimate devices1 no doubt comes from a misconception of the precise potentialities of these artifices4 ,it is true1 if they do not serve as a means to an end2 an integral part of the play2 units in the development of the story2 then they not only may1 but should1 be dispensed with1 by all means4 ,we employ nothing--property1 actor1 scene1 spectacle1 spoken word1 insert1 incident or device--in the perfect photoplay that has not a bearing on the climax of the play4 ,the caption--variously miscalled leader1 sub-title1 etc4--is the most necessary1 the most difficult and the most powerful of the illusory agents employed in screening the dramatic story4 ,its importance to the writer may be reckoned from the fact that it is one of the few small parts of the photoplay that is supplied by the author and shown intact to the audience4 ,the caption is an action-title and1 like the chapter headings of a novel1 portions and savors the great bulk of the story and collectively gives its gist4 7,,example #aj47 ,take1 for instance1 the captions of 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince0 7,reliance71 and we have the big moments in the play that made it impossible for the audience to lose its vital significance3 7#a7 ,,annie',s ,,widowed ,,mother1 ,,left ,,penniless1 ,,opens ,a ,,boarding ,,house2 7#b7 ,,the ,,drudge2 7#c7 ,,annie ,,finds ,,solace ,,in 8,,cinderella02 7#d7 ,,the ,,dream ,,of ,,prince ,,charming ,,and ,,the ,,wondrous ,,city ,,begins2 7#e7 8,,no1 ,,bud1 ,i ,,have ,,given ,,my ,,heart ,,to ,a ,,wonderful ,,prince20 7#f7 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,prince2 7#g7 ,,the ,,following ,,sunday ,,they ,,go ,,for ,a ,,stroll ,,in ,,the ,,enchanted ,,forest2 7#h7 ,,the ,,fairy ,,treasure--,,hidden ,,by ,,annie',s ,,miserly ,,father2 7#i7 ,,the ,,prince ,,sees ,,an ,,easy ,,opportunity ,,to ,,filch ,,two ,,treasures2 7#aj7 ,,the ,,flight ,,to ,,the ,,wondrous ,,city ,,of ,,dreams2 7#aa7 ,,the ,,magic ,,awakening ,,of ,,mother-,,love2 7#ab7 8,,for ,,the ,,prince ,,was ,a ,,mighty ,,good ,,fellow60 7#ac7 ,,the ,,glory ,,of ,,the ,,prince',s ,,domain ,,begins ,,to ,,fade2 7#ad7 8,,you ,,wouldn',t ,,have ,,me1 ,,mother1 ,,so ,i ,,dreamed ,,of ,a ,,prince60 7#ae7 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,real ,,prince444 ,and there's the complete story1 which any one with imagination can readily fill out4 ,a play screened without captions or inserts would be wanting in all the little human1 intimate and sympathetic touches that warm the heart and pitch the emotions of the audience4 ,the figures that flitted thru the play1 unintroduced1 would be identified by the spectator as this or that actor1 and not as ,tess1 or ,mr4 ,barnes1 or ,sherlock ,holmes--all characters of delightful memory4 ,pantomime sufficiently powerful to suggest every relationship2 costume and accompaniments obvious enough to establish every environment2 and action violent enough to interpret every emotion without the aid of captioned or inserted matter1 belong to the elemental days of photodrama4 ,first of all1 the caption should never be employed to tell of an action that is to follow in the scene1 for a caption should never be used if it is possible to translate its essence into action3 7,,example #aa47 ,for instance1 in the following scene3 ,scene #ef4 ,,jewel ,,room--,douglas has just finished forcing open the door of the jewel cabinet and holds the necklace in his trembling hand 444 it would have been superfluous to have captioned1 ,,douglas ,,steals ,,the ,,necklace4 ,too often important points are unsuccessfully left to the imagination of the audience because they have been so clear in the mind of the writer4 ,frequently these points are essential to preserve an unbroken continuity1 yet too subtle to be conveyed by action1 deduction1 suggestion1 inference1 implication or relationships4 7,,example #ab47 7a7 ,to economise1 by getting right into the pith of the story3 ,,annie',s ,,widowed ,,mother1 ,,left ,,penniless1 ,,opens ,a ,,boarding ,,house 444 introduces us to ,annie and her mother1 tells that her father has died1 they are penniless1 they must work1 the place we find them in later is their boarding house4 7b7 ,to indicate a lapse of time and tell what worth-while has happened3 ,,the ,,spring ,,comes--,,and ,,with ,,it ,,her ,,prince 444 the previous scene had been in the winter1 ,annie has been dreaming of her prince and we might not have identified the weak1 flashy young man as such2 the caption is1 also1 a link in the suspense4 7c7 ,to communicate a mental or psychological process3 ,,the ,,dream ,,of ,,prince ,,charming ,,and ,,the ,,wondrous ,,city ,,begins4444 contains the very essence of the climax and reveals the psychological trend of the entire play4 ,we must bear in mind that there is something more important than sequence of visible action1 and that is unbroken continuity or perfect cohesion of story unity--of which every intelligent audience is ever conscious--that knows no such thing as gaps1 breaks or retrogressive movement4 ,the caption is the bridge that spans these and supports1 quickens and gratifies the imagination in addition4 ,the caption can be made to fulfill its most artistic function by combining all the essential qualities1 already referred to1 and also by serving as the action-title for a complete sequence of dramatic action4 ,thus one caption may cover all the scenes in a sequence1 each caption adding a link in the development of the story and all together giving the gist of the story itself 7as illustrated by ,example #aj74 ,thus the caption becomes a distinctive aid in building the dramatic plot1 a contributory force in its expression1 and a gratifying parallel to lead1 guide and fulfill the action for the audience4 ,captions are not labels1 but means of suggesting beyond the visible action and of furnishing deeper motives than those on the surface4 ,there are beauty and harmony captions which often add a poetic touch1 or an emotional tone1 and intensify the dramatic effect4 7,,example #ac47 ,,the ,,flight ,,to ,,the ,,wondrous ,,city ,,of ,,dreams 444 but we must take care that the poetic title is not a part of the harshly realistic play1 for we are seeking integral harmony4 ,for example1 in ,,hell--,,second-,,hand1 we find captions to suit the theme3 #aj ,,minutes ,,this ,,side ,,of ,,eternity6 444 ,,the ,,life-,,blood ,,red ,,flag4 ,an insert is filmed matter which is inserted in the appropriate place in a scene1 the film being cut for this purpose4 ,this matter must appear and be known as an insert to the writer and manufacturer only2 to the audience1 it becomes the normal1 logical and only natural phenomena that could be presented under the circumstances and sustains and strengthens the illusion of reality4 ,from the point of view of the screen1 an 8insert0 would suggest something stuck in1 or a patch2 therefore it must never be recognized as such except in the workshop4 ,technically speaking1 all inserted matter is inserts4 ,from a mechanical point of view1 the film must be cut in order that captions1 printed or inscribed matter1 close-views1 visions1 spoken lines1 etc41 may be inserted4 ,but we should ignore the manufacturer's construction and consider inserted matter only as an essential to the perfect visualization of our dramatic story4 ,the letter1 telegram and newspaper insert are dangerous expedients to employ too frequently in the artistic photoplay4 ,they are so easy to stick into a play that1 like slang1 they become a ready makeshift for the lazy mind1 with results that are damaging to dignity4 ,we cannot repeat too often that everything employed in the photoplay is done so with a specific purpose1 for a progressive effect1 and for no other reason4 ,likewise1 it must bear some cumulative and contributory relation to the climax4 ,thus inserts and captions must be something more than mere explanatory matter by becoming important contributory data4 ,the insert is a great factor for economy1 and when properly used in this respect may contribute to heightened effects thru suggestive condensation4 7,,example #ad47 ,the following letter insert not only saves many scenes but teems with revelation3 8,dearest--,you simply can't stand it any longer4 ,come with me to the city at daybreak4 ,meet me in the office40 ,what it has told fills the gap2 what it promises because of this audacious proposal makes the play4 ,the telegram is similar in character1 only it allows still greater condensation3 7,,example #ae47 8,meet me in the office at daybreak40 ,it serves as a further amplification of the same example1 tho there is an obvious inconsistency in conveying such startling intelligence by wire4 ,the employment of the newspaper heading and paragraph is a decided novelty in conveying artistic data4 ,the seeming awkwardness of the medium must be overshadowed by a simple and convincing naturalness on the part of the character in obtaining information from this source that strengthens its plea as dramatic material3 7,,example #af47 ,,library--,nelson enters with tray containing letters and papers4 ,shelburne opens paper1 reads1 pauses1 laughs3 ,,insert ,o 444 7,news item heading7 ,,wealthy ,,society ,,woman ,,learns ,,she ,,has ,,married ,,bogus ,,baron ,scene 7,continued7 ,shelburne thoughtful4 ,mary steals in and places her hand over his eyes4 ,the fact disclosed in the item wiped out all the past that stood between ,mary and ,shelburne4 ,the library scene was made more natural by the reading of the paper and what followed was inevitable4 ,neither the sense of the scene nor any conceivable action alone could have told adequately what really transpired4 ,an insert alone filled the purpose4 ,perhaps the most effective use of the insert is to establish the premise of the plot1 to cover the causes leading up to the opening of the play and possibly the relationship of the characters3 7,,example #ag47 8,dear ,george3--,as ,i write this ,i am preparing to run off with the ,baron ,komiskey4 ,to be frank1 ,i've gotten tired of not seeing you take any interest in anything4 ,forgive your former fiance1 ,,petronella40 ,in which we see the characters of both ,petronella and ,george laid bare1 besides furnishing a motive for ,george's change of character and future actions4 ,this insert breaks the first scene4 ,the theory of breaking scenes with inserts has been discussed and has grounds for objections from an optical point of view only4 ,the argument advanced against their use is based on the persistence of vision with which the eye retains for a considerable period the image of that which has passed before it1 obscuring that which follows4 ,this theory would become seriously operative when applied to inserts should we look upon them as extraneous matter--as for example the vaudeville acts that intervene between the parts of the long photoplays produced in many of the variety theaters4 ,but1 far from it1 the ideal insert is contributory dramatic material that rather precludes a possibility of gaps1 jumps or discontinuity of dramatic sequence4 ,the perfect insert emphasizes an otherwise too modest period of action4 ,optical delusion is a negligible quantity in the face of dramatic illusion1 which sweeps everything mechanical before it4 ,to speak of inserts as explanatory matter is objectionable1 because of the natural inference that the story is to be interrupted and the audience button-holed while a formal explanation is inserted4 ,unless an insert becomes essential interpretive material1 quickening the movement of the play and heightening the interest in the story1 something must be wrong with the construction4 ,inserts should be classed with all other forms of essential interpretive material1 such as expressive action1 gestures and attitudes2 logical characters and effective settings2 and should be mercilessly dispensed with unless they fulfill a specific mission in carrying the story forward toward an inevitable climax4 ,the term1 close-view1 makes a finer distinction1 signifying that an object or a portion of it is magnified1 or that a close-view of a segment of the action is seen on the screen at close range by itself4 7,,example #ah47 84444 ,annie reads letter1 a great joy breaking over her face3 ,,insert ,,letter4444 8,dearest--,come with me to the city at daybreak40 ,in which the letter is presented for our perusal with the same care that it would be inserted in a story at the proper moment4 ,it is part of the story4 ,in the same manner a calling card1 an inscription on a grave-stone1 a monogram on a ring1 a miniature photograph1 may be brought1 as it were1 close to our eyes4 ,the illusion is ingeniously preserved by the presence of the character's trembling or tracing fingers following the emotion in his soul4 ,the close-view1 however1 may take a step farther than merely photographing an inanimate object2 it may dramatically emphasize a segment of exquisite action4 7,,example #ai47 ,,insert ,,close-,,view of title page of 8,cinderella10 ,annie's trembling hand tracing first word 4444 ,,insert ,,close-,,view of ,annie's face1 she closes her eyes1 her lips move with a smile of ecstasy4 ,the close-view is indispensable for acute emphasis2 for peculiar dramatic effect2 for discernment of some essential object too small to be sufficiently noted or noticed otherwise2 for the display of the finer and more subtle emotions2 for the revealment of some otherwise hidden object or action important in unfolding the scene and developing the action4 ,the last named takes the same latitude as fiction in bringing in essential data beyond the discernment of the human eye4 ,the optical process1 too1 of looking at distant objects thru a strong glass is effectively reproduced by the close-view4 ,a rather bizarre use is made of the same device by showing a sectional view of some inclosure3 7,,example #bj47 ,the hero may be eavesdropping on the villain and be concealed in a box or a barrel2 this fact is disclosed by means of the sectional view4 ,or a man crawling thru a tunnel and shaking the earth beneath the scene of action4 ,the close-view has no equal for breaking dangerously long scenes in a manner so natural and potential that oftentimes it makes a brilliant presentation of something that would in all probability have become tedious4 ,the vision insert is treated more particularly later on1 under other captions4 ,suffice it to say1 that the vision insert simulates the more subtle mental processes of thought and fantasy--such as reflection1 introspection1 dreams and hallucination--that have a simultaneous dramatic bearing on the conduct of the character and on the psychological development of the story4 7,,example #ba47 ,,caption 4444 ,,after ,,five ,,years ,,without ,,her4 ,scene #ca4 ,simply marked grave in cemetery4 ,malcolm discovered kneeling1 closes his eyes4 ,fade to ,,insert ,,vision 4444 ,reproducing scene #bj in part 7great rock above beach1 etc474 ,fade to ,,insert ,,vision ,,close-,,view 4444 ,malcolm looking intently at ,florence1 whose eyes disclose her tender love for him4 ,fade to ,scene #ca 7,continued7 ,malcolm has opened his eyes1 arms opened as tho to take ,florence4 ,a helpful distinction between the simple insert and the close-view insert--tho they are both close-views1 as a matter of fact--is to designate all static and inanimate matter that is neither alive nor in motion1 as simple inserts2 and that which is properly part of the action and has life1 motion and expression1 as close-view inserts4 7,,example #bb47 ,letters1 telegrams1 news excerpts1 printed1 carved1 engraved matter1 miniatures or other likenesses reproduced1 and objects incapable of automatic effort are simply inserts4 ,close-views of a hand1 face1 or other part of the anatomy under the stress of emotion1 or merely revealing a contributive peculiarity1 remote objects with their contingent action brought near1 and fragments of action isolated for emphasis1 are close-view inserts4 ,the question of the employment of dialog at all in the photodrama has been widely discussed4 ,it would seem to hinge on the meaning of the word 8dialog40 ,if the word is used in its strict sense of 8a conversation between two or more persons10 then we may eliminate it from the photoplay without further question4 ,the photoplay is no place for conversations4 ,but there are occasions upon which the apt employment of a spoken line of dialog has no equivalent or substitute4 ,it becomes one of the fine contributory elements that establishes and preserves the illusion4 ,the effective use of the spoken line is usually as an insert1 being timed to appear simultaneously with the representation of its utterance3 7,,example #bc47 ,to be precise1 the insert follows its actual utterance3 ,scene #bc4 ,vine-covered arbor4 ,follows business both pathetic and ludicrous of ,bud proposing3 ,annie smiles1 shakes head4 ,,insert ,,spoken ,,line 4444 8,,no1 ,,bud1 ,i ,,have ,,already ,,given ,,my ,,heart ,,to ,a ,,wonderful ,,prince60 ,scene #bc4 7,continued7 ,bud broken up but manly4 ,the spoken line is occasionally used also as a caption1 giving voice to the climacteric sentiment or situation in a single scene1 or series of scenes1 that follows3 7,,example #bd47 ,,caption #f 4444 8,,to ,,be ,,hanged ,,by ,,the ,,neck ,,until ,,dead60 is followed by a courtroom scene4 ,the nature of the proceeding is obvious4 ,the judge rises and pronounces the conventional sentence of death that gives dramatic significance to the entire sequence of action that follows4 ,the spoken line has a poignant directness in it that is scarcely equaled by any other piece of business4 ,the mental process should be so cunningly imitated that the enthralled spectator hears the words he craved just as distinctly as tho they had beat upon the drums of his ears instead of the drums of his soul4 ,the words pierce the spectator with personal sympathy1 or antagonism1 and fairly thunder thru the silence4 ,like all other inserted matter and devices1 the spoken line must not be used if it can be dispensed with to the artistic betterment of the play4 ,it must come naturally and bridge a possible gap4 ,it must be used as a supplement to1 not a substitute for1 effective action4 ,visualized action takes first and foremost place in the photoplay2 all other matters are harmonious trappings and devices or illusion that decorate creaking mechanics with esthetic realities4 ,inserted matter1 unless artistically used1 becomes theatric instead of dramatic4 ,it becomes a sign of weakness and appears in the same light as clumsy explanations in stories written by inexperienced writers4 ,the perfect photoplay leaves no doubts1 offers no explanations1 starts nothing it can not finish--it is all action1 action1 ,,action6 ,and by action we mean technically visualized interpretation of whatsoever nature that convincingly contributes to the perfect illusion of emotionally seeing a dramatic story4 ,visualisation consists in giving tangible form to ,inspiration2 clothing ,thoughts in flesh2 creating living matter from ,ideas2 transmuting ,emotions into thrilling substance2 and peopling the imaginations of millions with the glorious company of ,dreams come true1 ,desire gratified1 ,justice fulfilled1 ,brotherhood universal and ,love triumphant6 ,,chapter ,v ,,visualization ,,its ,,relation ,,to ,,action2 ,,importance ,,of ,,vocabulary2 ,,literature2 ,,to ,,register2 ,,interpretation2 ,,in ,,terms ,,of ,,emotion2 ,,the ,,part ,,of ,,imagination4 ,technique and rules1 idea and action are as chaff on the threshing floor of the photodrama compared to visualization1 which is the precious kernel to be sought4 ,visualization is both the key and the keynote of all photoplay-writing4 ,hitherto1 too much emphasis has been laid on the importance of action1 with but a half-formed idea of the true technical definition of the term1 which is 8the connected series of events upon which a piece depends2 the main subject or story1 as distinguished from an incidental action or episode40 ,too often has the novice had in mind the violent1 whirling1 feverish and physical action1 familiarized by the 8going into action0 of the battlefield4 ,such action is always dynamic and spectacular1 but not necessarily dramatic or interpretive4 ,everything is on the surface4 ,it is all a matter of primal passion and primeval emotion4 ,it is the stuff that melodramas are made of4 ,but the deeper1 more powerful and moving emotions of a civilized people are not surfacial4 ,their true interpretation is not expressible in immediate violent action4 ,culture and civilization are recognized and realized thru their repression of passion4 ,even the savage and the dumb beast have their refined emotions1 expressed most vividly thru unwonted inertness or carefully concealed cunning4 7,,example #be47 ,the eternal mother-heart broods in dark corners over its dead offspring2 it softly croons over and gently caresses its babe2 deepest hate is manifested by the savage or sage thru cunning1 soft-footed revenge and veiled thrust4 ,there are two sides to the technical difficulties that confront the photoplaywright4 ,given the conception of an idea worth while1 he must first have the power to visualize its phenomena to himself2 he must then be able to represent its dramatic development visibly in terms of action and symbols of emotion4 ,the power to visualize a story to one's self can neither be taught nor learned2 its exercise lies in the gift of imagination4 ,the ability to represent this story in a form that may be readily interpreted depends on a practical assimilation and a working knowledge of dramatic construction and photoplay technique4 ,it resolves itself into the task of telling the story indirectly with 8business10 instead of by direct discourse4 ,a careful examination of the conditions of photoplay acceptance has revealed a curious and valuable piece of information4 ,an unusually large percentage of the manuscripts received by producing companies contain good ideas1 but they are very often rendered unacceptable because of imperfect and unilluminating expression4 ,the editor1 the director and the actor must understand from your scenario exactly what action1 interpretation and suggestion your words are intended to convey4 ,many big ideas1 striking situations and splendid scenes never see the light of the screen because of the photoplaywright's poverty of expression4 ,a broad vocabulary hesitates at no flight of inspiration1 no matter how transcending2 it falters at no wave of emotion1 no matter how profound2 it pauses at no thought1 no matter how beautiful4 8,beyond words10 8inexpressible0 and 8indescribable0 are confessions of literary and dramatic weakness that disappoint editors and bring manuscripts back by return mail4 ,there are human words to express every impression that the human mind records4 ,the language of the heart1 of the soul and of the photoplay is the language of the dictionary4 ,familiarity with words begets fluency and accuracy in their use4 ,there is but one word to express one situation under a given condition2 do not be content until you find it4 ,that diligence alone will make the finished and successful writer4 ,given inspiration1 the right words to express it will carry it to production1 perhaps fame4 ,perfect visualization1 then1 demands an exquisite command of language capable of nicely interpreting the finest shades of pathos1 the deepest wells of passion1 the most delicate waves of emotion1 and a thousand grades of feeling4 ,passing from the literary construction of the manuscript and play1 we must become familiar with the mode of translating ideas1 which must be clearly indicated by the writer4 ,the three possible modes are by means of psychological action1 suggestive attitude and mimetic expression4 ,these are the elements of the new mimetic art of the photodrama just as the notes and keys are to music2 words and sentences to literature2 pigments and brushes to painting4 ,the secret of visualization lies in the nice employment of symbols of emotion4 ,the danger lies in over-emphasis1 which the writer can forestall by using an indirect or relative method1 which means a constant exercise of repression4 7,,example #bf47 ,a girl is made to show pity for a sister-woman who is weeping because of some fell blow4 ,she does not go over and embrace her2 that would show sympathy and participation4 ,pity comes into her face1 her poise of the head1 her wistful attitude4 ,and if sympathy1 she would probably stand with hand half-raised in helplessness if the woman was bereaved4 ,if some lighter grief1 she would gently caress the other and smile encouragement4 ,gentleness is poignant6 ,it is the thoughtful addition of the little human touches and scenes that makes the great plays and gives appropriate expression to great ideas4 7,,example #bg47 ,in scene #h1 of 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince10 we see ,annie being driven from the kitchen by her unfeeling mother4 ,the gist of the story would have been clear without dilating on this sequence4 ,but the tragedy in ,annie's heart that was responsible for the play needed further visualising1 so we see ,annie passing up the back stairs with a broken-hearted look in her eyes2 we see her cast herself upon her miserable cot and sob as tho her heart would break4 7,,example #bh47 ,in scene #bb1 of the same play1 we see the very depths of ,annie's soul visualized4 ,first in the caption3 ,,the ,,dream ,,of ,,prince ,,charming ,,and ,,the ,,wondrous ,,city ,,begins4 ,annie1 in grotesque position in bed beside battered lamp1 reading 8,cinderella40 ,close-view shows her face1 with lips moving1 an ecstatic smile lightening her features4 ,we return to the scene and see the book slip from her fingers1 and in her dreaming sleep her hands clasp on her breast2 she raises her hand as tho she saw someone approaching4 ,a vision-scene pictures ,prince ,charming in doublet and hose4 ,returning to the scene again we find ,annie wakened1 with her hand over her eyes as tho what she saw was too brilliant to look upon4 ,the photoplay is silent only technically4 ,in order that convincing illusion be accomplished1 there must be a successful registration of all such sounds as affect the characters and action in the normal and natural development of the play4 ,we are interested only in such sounds as have a direct bearing on the matter that holds the attention of the audience4 ,in other words1 it must--like all other interpretive matter--be contributory4 ,in indicating that the character hears a particular sound1 we say that he 8registers0 it4 ,the term register has been used too generally in photoplay construction to indicate what actors shall do under the stress of every emotion4 7,,example #bi47 ,for instance1 8,annie registers anger10 or 8hate10 8that she will not consent to something10 8that she is displeased40 ,a character who registers anything taking place in his own heart or soul becomes merely an actor--he is pretending4 ,characters do not pretend--they ,,are4 ,they do not register their feelings--they ,,feel them with results unquestionably natural4 ,sounds are recorded then thru reflex action1 or registration1 just as they actually reflect against the drums of the ear1 telling the hearer that vibrations have been produced affecting the ear4 ,sounds are visualized by showing the appropriate affect on the character or characters4 7,,example #cj47 ,we might have a deaf old father and his daughter4 ,her forbidden lover is behind a stone wall4 ,he whispers softly several times before she is conscious of his call4 ,she turns1 joyously1 and the two pantomime behind the old man's back4 ,sounds are even more effectively visualized thru the employment of one or more correlative scenes4 7,,example #ca47 ,in one case we see someone in the act of calling2 in the next we see the call registered4 ,the intervening distance may be gauged by the amount of energy expended by the character4 ,or we may see a man escaping from peril1 he stumbles and falls4 ,the next scene shows the captors registering the noise of his fall4 ,in the elemental days of the cinematograph1 it seemed improbable that music could ever be effectively registered4 ,the visualization of strains of music1 however1 has met with most successful accomplishment4 ,it is effected thru a careful imitation of the auricular and mental process of recording sound1 combined with the use of symbols of emotion4 7,,example #cb47 8,the ,lost ,melody0 7,vitagraph7 is a play the plot of which is based on visualized sound4 ,a strain of music sung and heard by a man under most virtuous circumstances is repeated when he is on the point of committing a crime1 and it saves his soul4444 ,in one scene we see the four leading characters walking along and singing each his love song1 with his soul in his face2 next we see the dancers at the club pausing and listening1 some of the rapture of the singers faintly transmitted to their faces2 in the roadway an automobile party stops1 they put their hands behind their ears and listen1 two keeping time1 the other two put the spirit of the song in action and steal a lover's kiss4 7,,example #cc47 ,five years later the song is sung to save ,douglas4 ,the mental process of receptivity is imitated4 ,we see ,malcolm on the terrace singing2 a close-view is then screened of a line of the music and words2 then we see ,douglas pausing in his act of robbing his best friend1 registering in alarm2 then what he suddenly sees in his mind and heart is visioned1 being the scene of that wonderful night years ago4 ,thus the silent drama may become vibrant with emotional music and resonant with tongues that need no interpreter1 for all nations understand the universal language of the heart4 ,the most sublime characters and valiant deeds1 ravishing color and mellifluous voices1 are in our soul2 sublime sympathy is in our world-old heart2 profound understanding is in our ,god-given reason1 and this multi-glorious human marvel is gratified to the utmost in having its humanity called into active being4 ,the leading characters must become the center of all action2 the supernumeraries are nothing more or less than animated portions of the set itself4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,characterization ,,identity ,,and ,,personality2 ,,characteristics ,,and ,,idiosyncrasies2 ,,description ,,and ,,delineation2 ,,establishing ,,relationship2 ,,motives2 ,,expression2 ,,contrasts4 ,if we will view characters and characterization as elements of interpretive and contributory matter1 along with inserts1 setting and action1 it should aid us in building perfect climaxes4 ,this view would protect us from that error resulting from the leading characters seizing the bit in their teeth1 so to speak1 and running amuck with the story4 ,characters are subservient to climax4 ,we have no use for any manifestations of their character outside of the needs of properly developing the big moment of the story4 ,character is the most effective means to our photoplay end4 ,photoplay actors in particular should become exquisite interpreters of character4 ,directors should be skillful managers and directors of interpretation and other mechanical detail4 ,the photoplaywright alone should be the originator and creator of ideas and an expert in their expression4 ,but1 because photoplaywriting has been in a crude elemental state1 and the new mimetic art of photoplayacting has had to be slowly and thoughtfully developed1 abuses have crept in4 ,too often the director becomes the self-appointed creator1 interpreter and adapter1 withholding complete knowledge of the play from the actors and remaking the author's artistic ideas according to the mold of his own mental and emotional understanding1 and the mechanical and material equipment he has at his command1 or deems essential4 ,still1 we cannot too harshly blame the officious director until the photoplaywright has become an indubitable master of expressive and comprehensive 8business40 ,photodrama differs radically from the short story1 in that there are at least two leading characters1 instead of a single predominating1 all-absorbing character4 ,such a character would be capable of little else than the development of itself thru introspection1 reminiscence and possibly ambition1 which would result in a character study4 ,a character study is next to impossible in photodrama4 ,an internal struggle of one being with himself can sustain but a few scenes at most4 ,there must be two1 or more1 souls 7and bodies7 struggling to accomplish1 overthrow or maintain a certain end4 ,we find in the photoplay1 then1 two leads1 or leading characters1 at least2 while there may be often three or four4 ,all the important action surrounds these characters4 ,we see the characters in their characterizations standing out clearly as symbols of the motives and forces in the play4 ,the hero and the heroine battle for1 and accomplish1 the gratifying conclusion2 the villain and his accomplices employ their villainous designs in an unprincipled effort to overthrow the good1 wholesome and happy elements4 ,obstacles thrown in the path of one side constitute suspense1 and in their removal form a situation4 ,after the leads1 there may be an economical number of supernumeraries to carry the action along with logical environment and natural life-likeness4 7,,example #cd47 ,a courtroom1 a busy street1 the floor of the stock exchange1 or any other setting wherein other characters should appear to naturalize it1 must be appropriately peopled4 ,these characters are animated portions of setting and contribute to harmony4 ,the early identity1 or differentiation between the leads themselves1 and between the minor characters is of vast moment and importance4 ,the moment a character appears1 or is discovered in a scene1 his identity must be disclosed1 and his relationship to the other characters and the action made known4 ,there are three ways of establishing identity3 7a7 thru personality1 which discloses strength or weakness of character and the manner in which it dominates or is subservient to others with whom it comes in contact2 7b7 by means of idiosyncrasies1 or marked personal oddities1 deformities1 or deportment2 7c7 vocational garb1 national characteristics1 uniform or peculiarity of personal ensemble4 7,,example #ce47 7a7 ,the line1 8,mother weeping and ,annie supporting her10 in ,scene #a of 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince10 foretells a certain strength and weakness that manifests itself thru the two characters4 7b7 ,a character exhibits a continual frown1 or sniffs1 or winks1 or limps1 or has a scar or deformity4 7c7 ,as a soldier1 policeman1 a character would wear his uniform1 or a foreigner might wear all or part of his native costume1 etc4 ,strong personalities flourish in the serious drama1 while the leads in comedy are usually distinguished by peculiarities4 ,each human being has his normal characteristics that differentiate him from the rest of his fellows2 this must become well marked in photodrama1 tho not exaggerated to the point of becoming a personal oddity4 ,they must be clearly brought out and maintained in a dignified manner thruout the play4 ,in the serious play1 character is but a means of developing a moving personality1 and personality is but the outward symbol of the internal truths of the story4 ,personality is motive visualized4 ,your few words describing your characters and indicating their actions must be suggestive enough to enable the combined efforts of director and actor to delineate truthfully the personality that is part of your dramatic vision4 ,nothing stands still in the photoplay2 therefore characters must be delineated in terms of emotion--repressed or active--or described in words of action--commonplace or dramatic4 ,the audience should be informed unmistakably who and what your characters are thru what they do4 ,the motives of the leading characters must come to the surface at once in order to ignite the audience's interest with the dramatic spark4 ,there must be sufficient insinuation in what your characters do1 to reveal why they do it4 ,altho a character1 during the action of the play1 may develop from weakness to strength1 yet each bit of action has a determining character of its own1 that is either weak or strong4 ,the immediate and unmistakable identity of your characters is essential to knowing your characters2 the early and clear establishment of relationship between characters is essential to grasping your story4 ,a profound study of the subject yields the conclusion that the simplest1 most economical1 quickest and most effective means of revealing the identity and establishing the relationship of the character is the caption4 ,without the caption we must resort to the inartistically obvious and more or less clumsy devices1 such as doors labeled 8,private ,office of ,john ,smith02 trade-signs1 as 8,solomon ,isaacs1 ,pawnbroker10 or have the actors overgesture their parts in a laborious effort to tell the audience who and what they are4 7,,example #cf47 ,a perusal of six produced plays discloses the unanimous use of the caption for the combined purposes of identity and relationship4 ,these captions usually appear early in the play--before the second or third scene3 7#a7 ,,georgia ,,wants ,,to ,,be ,a ,,leader ,,of ,,her ,,sex ,,and ,,not ,a ,,drudge2 7#b7 ,,annie',s ,,widowed ,,mother ,,left ,,penniless2 7#c7 ,,colonel ,,farrington ,,forces ,,his ,,daughter ,,on ,,marston1 ,,his ,,supposed ,,benefactor2 7#d7 ,,malcolm ,,decides ,,to ,,wait ,,and ,,make ,,his ,,proposal ,,to ,,rosalie ,,an ,,artistic ,,occasion2 7#e7 ,,shelburne1 ,,hard ,,hit1 ,,turns ,,against ,,his ,,irresponsible ,,life2 7#f7 ,,archer ,,durand ,,and ,,his ,,wife ,,arrive ,,in ,,the ,,mining ,,district ,,half ,,starved4 ,the letter insert can be employed with equal effectiveness4 ,the characters once introduced effectively1 their future actions are easily understood--providing they are logical and natural4 ,the relationships1 as they are established by the first appearances of the characters1 form the premise of the plot and the argument of the story that are readily followed1 if the scenes are well-knit and the story interesting4 ,in conjunction with the caption or letter1 then1 something occurs immediately to grasp the attention and offer insight into characters1 their relationships and motives4 ,furthermore1 both vocation and character may be indicated by environment1 make-up1 costume1 tools1 manner and culture4 ,contrasts in action1 appearance and conduct between characters is always effective in clarifying characterization4 ,where there are no voices and many characters1 great care must be exercised to differentiate4 ,the sooner the writer realizes the difficulties that beset actor and director in differentiating character1 the quicker he will begin to economize on the number he employs and to strengthen personalities4 ,it is an axiom of photodrama that the bigger the idea1 the fewer the characters6 ,thus it is seen that too many important characters make too great a demand on the audience4 ,in order that the character may exhibit the motive underlying the action1 the writer must visualize it1 and the actor must realize it4 ,there must be mimetic harmony1 sympathy and naturalness4 ,we are cautioned by some savants never to tell the actor how to act a line1 but tell them only what to do4 ,we disagree4 ,providing the writer has become an expert in the writing of business and dramatic expression1 he can scarcely infringe on the director's right1 the actor's profession1 or injure the prospects of his play by offering an analysis of the construction of the characters he himself has created4 ,co-operation is too often lacking from the fact that the actor seldom knows exactly what he is trying to do4 ,the director extricates a jumbled part from the inseparable whole of the play1 recites it extempore for the actor and drills the requisite action into him4 ,how1 then1 can the actor be expected to interpret things and put them in that were in the mind of the writer8 ,he must guess at the harmony of the composition1 surmise the relationships1 and consequently lose all the nice touches that the true artist would incorporate in the well-made play4 ,it is the actor's sole business and art to interpret ideas4 ,he is the living motive of the play and the most important symbol in the expression of its inner truth4 ,when will actors learn their lines in order to catch the very soul of your play1 instead of yah-yahing at each other when a visualized exchange of words is necessary8 ,but the writer will have to write the essential words--perhaps that's the rub8 ,violent action will always excite and thrill the mind2 but it takes passive repression to move the soul4 ,the body that suffers1 writhes and flings itself about2 the hurt soul shrinks back and lies stunned4 ,the prick of a pin will make a strong man jump spasmodically a foot in the air2 a sharp word will make the noblest soul sink deep into gloom4 ,we actors1 directors and playwrights are seeking the artistic expression of the life of the soul2 the existence and agency of the body are merely means to that end4 ,we should be striving to capture the soft lights and shadows of mental impressionism2 and not be struggling to imprison the bold sunlight and harsh lines of physical photography4 ,deep emotion and its characterization lies not in the bold step forward1 but in the shrinking half-step backward2 not in the brazen eye1 but in the shy1 drooping eye-lid2 not in the defiant word1 but in the silent1 quivering lip2 not in the blow of the fist1 but in the gentle1 stroking hand2 not in the violent embrace1 but in the tender caress2 not in the sudden turn on the heel1 but in the shrug of the shoulders--one is a matter of physical mechanics1 the other emotional art4 ,if emotional art is put first in our endeavors1 all the range of physical mechanics will follow logically1 but secondarily4 ,our writers have been frightened away from suggestive artistic detail1 and have fallen upon the evil way of bald physical mechanics that leave nothing to the imagination4 ,the gentle gesture1 the poise of the head1 the trembling lip1 the downcast eye1 of the story vision are usurped by the over-emphasized action4 ,decisive action is essential in the photoplay1 but the producer's version is too often another story4 ,characters should tend to personify and visualize the tender twilights of pathos2 the soft shadows of pain and sorrow2 the gentle glow of goodness and nobility2 the serene surface of happiness4 ,they should build the lives of the audience anew2 inspire them to noble deeds2 let them touch the hem of the garment of sublimity and teach them life's lessons of humility1 forbearance and faith4 ,the playwright should never take advantage of his audience's moral weakness to display 8strong0 scenes of character depravity2 but rather he should employ a character's weakness to strengthen his audience's morality4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,theme1 ,,treatment ,,and ,,the ,,censor ,,morals ,,and ,,ethics2 ,,crime2 ,,national ,,board ,,of ,,censorship2 ,,taste2 ,,inspiration ,,and ,,influence4 ,what shall we write about1 and how shall we write it8 ,here the playwright must pause and look his fellow men1 his friends1 his parents1 his children1 his wife1 and his conscience square in the eye4 ,they are one and all his intimate audience4 ,they will be influenced by his product1 be pleased or offended in its production1 and thru it see his heart with all its strength and weakness laid bare4 ,broadly1 our theme shall be ,life--,life in all its aspects3 the gorgeous and the threadbare2 the noble and the sordid2 the happy and the sorrowful2 the righteous and the sinful2 the healthy and the ailing2 the youthful and the aged2 the strong and the weak4 ,but it must be the life that we know--not necessarily thru experience1 but possibly thru study1 observation or intuition4 ,choice of theme is a matter requiring1 chiefly1 a respectful observance of the general popular demand and the particular needs of the studios1 unless you are genius enough to initiate and lead the popular tastes4 ,but the subject of treatment is one requiring a far more delicate exercise of judgment4 ,any conceivable theme may be spoiled by an indiscreet or injudicious viewpoint4 ,the playwright conveys powerful personalities to his characters1 but remains passively impersonal himself4 ,he immovably records truth1 never interposing himself1 his opinions or his bias4 ,his characters pursue their own lives2 they are neither automatons nor marionettes2 they live according to their individual natures and have provokingly free wills4 ,the photoplaywright has but to remain on the side of right and justice1 good citizenship and decency4 ,he communicates nothing thru the symbols of his play that he would hesitate1 refrain or be ashamed of telling those nearest1 dearest and most sacred to him4 ,public audiences are daily made up of millions of people1 who are highly impressionable1 of tender age and of simple susceptibilities4 ,providing our play is effective1 it contains a very positive influence1 that means either a rise or a fall in moral values in every community wherein it is exhibited4 ,the playwright must be the figure of justice that shows no mercy to the wrongdoer2 the sword of retribution he carries in one hand1 in the other he holds the scales of just rewards4 ,there simply must be a moral ending4 ,it is more essential that the villain be vanquished1 than punished4 ,our story is not vengeance1 but is usually concerned with the victory of the good element--or hero--and the incidental adventures of circumventing the villain and misfortune4 ,stories in which the good element is overcome by the bad1 thus placing a premium on the bad1 are unmoral4 ,stories or plays showing the delights to be gained from illicit pleasures or pursuits1 followed or not by adequate punishment or retribution1 are immoral4 7,,example #cg47 ,thus the so-called 8white slave10 8drug terror0 and underworld plays1 reeking with depravity1 leering with lasciviousness and groveling in intemperance1 are actually immoral4 ,their symbols of vice are all-powerful1 and any symbols of virtue introduced are usually wishy-washy in comparison4 ,the hero or heroine is usually a weak character1 instead of a strong one4 ,we see vice exercising a baneful influence1 robbing its victim of will1 health and life4 ,vice conquers4 ,we do not need 8examples0 of what not to do4 ,we should be inspired by the nobility of good1 and not cowed by the fear of evil4 ,the countless throngs that crowd the exhibition of these so-called plays for the most part are craning to get a view of gleaming flesh quivering in pools of forbidden passion1 rather than seeking a glimpse of a tortured soul--neither one being an edifying entertainment4 ,at first thought1 it would seem as tho crime were the most frequent factor among the sources of dramatic construction4 ,as a matter of fact1 accomplished crime does figure powerfully in more than two-thirds of all dramatic productions1 including the highest class4 ,active vice1 the venial and deadly sins and potential crime occur even more frequently thruout the course of our dramatic development4 ,it would seem as tho we should have no little difficulty in making our good characters walk the straight and narrow path among such a network of pitfalls4 ,but even the writer of the most moral plays should glory in the omnipresence of sin and crime1 tho never glorify it4 ,good would be colorless as dramatic material1 were it not for evil4 ,evil is the foil for goodness2 it is the contrast that delivers goodness from monotony2 evil is the shadow that gives the highlight of goodness its chiaroscuro2 it is the salt that saves it from saccharinity4 ,when evil1 misfortune1 or bereavement oppose us1 they oftentime bring to the surface and develop our otherwise hidden virtues1 making them illuminate the lives of others and add a ray of undying nobility to the world's fiction experience4 7,,example #ch47 ,five produced plays selected at random reveal the following facts in relation to the employment of crime3 7#a7 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,real ,,prince--,an immoral1 flashy man of the city attempts to seduce an innocent1 visionary country girl4 ,he is thwarted by the rousing of dead mother-love and of a sublime nobility in a country yokel2 7#b7 ,,the ,,lost ,,melody--,the memory of his sweet1 innocent dead wife1 brought back to him thru hearing a forgotten melody1 stays a man's hand from robbing his best friend2 7#c7 ,,unto ,,the ,,children--,a boy inherits the vice of gambling from his father1 but it is burnt forever out of his nature1 by the sublime heroism and sacrifice of his mother at the critical moment2 7#d7 ,,the ,,struggle--,the brutal assault of strikers on a strike-breaker1 brings the capitalist and laborers face to face on a common plane of pity and nobility2 7#e7 ,,branded ,,for ,,life--,an ex-convict1 striving in vain for reinstatement in the eyes of society1 is enabled thru a noble and inspiring sacrifice to win the respect of all men4 ,a play will exert influence in the same proportion as it is artistically effective2 which is as much as to say1 the greater the artist the greater his power for good or evil4 ,to become over-zealous in presenting morality leads to propaganda2 to be too realistic and careless in the portrayal of immorality leads into the mire of obscenity4 ,true art has nothing to do with morality1 for or against2 it is intrinsically noble1 uplifting and inspiring4 ,whether the life of the artist is exemplary or not is a matter of his own conscience2 the life of his character creations must keep within the bounds of decency1 be amenable to the laws of the country and subject to the rewards and punishments gratifying to the best impulses of the wholesome minded4 ,tragedy is an exception1 in that we often see a good character overwhelmed by circumstances1 environment and nature4 ,but tragedy should conform to inspiration1 in that we behold the doomed character revealing unguessed sublimity in the unequal struggle4 ,together with this question of treatment comes that of1 8,how real do we want our realism80 ,it is answered indirectly by saying that just so much of any of life's experiences as we may disclose or relate in promiscuous company1 in the presence of innocent--not necessarily puritanic--understandings and quick perceptions1 may be delineated on the screen4 ,each age has its own broadnesses and limitations in this respect1 of which every refined and intelligent person is cognizant4 ,drama is not dependent upon frank discussions of revolting or lascivious subjects2 entertainment is its prime function4 ,a searching analysis of either vice or virtue is contrary to the principles of dramatic action4 ,the actual commission of crime is not as important as the cause and effect of it4 ,morbid curiosity is the only excuse for the sight of a deed of murder1 suicide1 or other vicious crime4 ,how a crime is committed is an element of criminology1 not drama4 ,we have to thank the ,national ,board of ,censorship for the exclusion of actual deeds of crime4 ,this censoring body1 unfortunately1 has been composed almost wholly of persons who are theoretically the very antipodes of crime and naturally intolerant to its employment at all4 ,time may bring us a less biased exercise and a broader view of their powers4 7,,example #ci47 ,criminal deeds are easily and effectively handled in photoplay4 ,for instance1 murder--we see the culprit and the victim in separate scenes3 a man at his desk in one scene2 the murderer breaking into the office1 in another4 ,another scene brings us to the instant ,,before the deed--the weapon poised1 or culprit and victim in mortal combat4 ,we may here interpose a scene of someone registering a pistol shot1 or hearing the scuffle4 ,in another scene we return to the crime and find it has just been committed4 ,any crime may be effectively delineated in this manner4 ,in the matter of casting characters1 no character can properly be cast a villain unless his actions comprehend a conscious knowledge of guilt4 ,our hero oftentimes commits a crime or misdemeanor unwittingly1 or in that stage of his character development before the elements of the story itself change him from weak to strong4 ,the thoroly bad character must remain bad1 just as he would in life2 the good character may be bad temporarily and become bettered1 but we must make him suffer from his misdeeds4 ,in other words1 our characters become living people who are endowed with human traits of which their every action is the natural outcome4 ,good taste in the selection and treatment of theme brings us back again to the same admonition of exercising the simple quality of being well-bred4 ,just as we would not think of startling a drawing-room assembly by forcing our personal bias upon it1 so we must select our dramatic matter in a serious1 humane and delicate manner4 ,there are potent commercial reasons1 as well as the dogma of good taste1 for not caricaturing races1 ridiculing creeds1 satirizing politics and making fun of physical deformities and mental infirmities4 ,occasion1 occupation and environment each has it own propriety and convention that must carefully be observed by the photoplaywright4 ,this is not a matter of delicacy so much as it is one of producing conviction thru naturalness4 7,,example #dj47 ,the seashore is an occasion for women wearing extremely abbreviated costumes that would be improper in the street2 the occupation of the doctor is one that permits women to enter his quarters alone with propriety2 the environment of the ,orient makes it a convention for women to smoke and guests to sit on the floor4 ,in summing up this most important phase of the photodrama1 we may say briefly3 ,let your sympathies ever be found with the purest1 best and noblest there is in life2 make your story show your condemnation of the low and evil4 ,but don't be a prude or a preacher6 ,do not permit yourself to be accused of trying to teach better things1 but let your work inspire them6 ,technique is the ,training ,school of all organised knowledge2 ,art is its ,life3 ,technique is a matter of ,rules and a space of study2 ,art is one of principles and eternity4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,rules ,,of ,,the ,,game ,,duration ,,and ,,number ,,of ,,scenes2 ,,perpetual ,,motion2 ,,the 8,,now0 ,,element2 ,,effective ,,form2 ,,natural ,,laws2 ,,scene ,,principle4 ,in no literary effort is technique more important or essential than in the construction of the photoplay4 ,there are arbitrary rules that must be followed and conventions that cannot be ignored4 ,we must cater to the manufacturer's possibilities2 we must conform to fixed mechanical limitations2 we interpret our art thru 8business02 we must gather the world-wide vision within the narrow focus of the camera's eye4 ,our play-form and technique must be sufficiently potent1 suggestive and revealing to enable competent co-operators to discern1 interpret and manufacture an effective concrete and vividly alive reproduction of our abstract vision1 so that it may be readily recognized and emotionally realized by independent audiences the world over4 ,the photoplaywright is the only literary craftsman who does not carve1 model and perfect with his own handiwork the actual presentment of his creation offered to the public4 ,and1 greatest obstacle of all--our photoplaywright must accomplish his eloquent task by remaining technically silent6 ,we come to the inevitable conclusion that construction and technique are equal in importance--if not superior--to idea or conception of the writer4 ,the matter of bare photoplay form is but the slightest move in the direction of perfect effect4 ,it is the subject of effective photoplay form and how to produce the effects that really count4 ,we may set down as one of the first principles of photodrama1 that the playwright must make his rule of construction3 ,people go to the theater to see a deed and not to read or hear about it4 ,there are several ways of construing a breach of this principle4 ,the first is that of telling the story indirectly by means of captions and inserts1 instead of directly thru consecutive action4 ,this is the method of the poor plotter and shallow artificer who sticks in a caption or insert whenever he encounters an obstacle1 oftentimes skipping the climacteric situations and showing the trifling details4 7,,example #da47 ,,after ,,the ,,riot ,,joe ,,kept ,,in ,,bed ,,with ,,broken ,,arm 4444 ,audiences simply will not accept that broken arm as convincing unless their reasons can vouch for the violence that led to it4 ,but riots are more easily skipped than successfully delineated4 ,all climacteric scenes must be shown and not merely referred to4 ,we always take the commonplace for granted2 but never the extraordinary4 ,next we deal with an offending heritage from short story fiction1 the story within a story or1 as we shall here call it1 a story within a play4 ,it should never be resorted to2 it need never be done4 ,it breaks the thread of one story to insert another that in nearly every case is stronger than the original1 forming an anti-climax instead of contributing to one4 ,its use means that the play has not been carefully plotted1 that it has not been begun early enough1 or in the right place1 and that it is trying laboriously to explain something that would not stand by itself4 7,,example #db47 ,in the ,vitagraph's 8,a ,million ,bid10 the quasi-hero is picked up again after having been absent for more than a reel1 and sets in to tell what has happened to him while he has been away6 ,most of it was entirely 8another story10 but much of it might have been effectually interwoven with the progressing action of the play4 ,as it was1 it was most difficult to grasp the fact that we had been hauled months back in point of time4 ,in the mental mele we lost sight of the main theme altogether1 and most of us never quite got back to it4 ,all of us were befuddled to some extent4 ,it was intended1 no doubt1 that the audience should not know the identity of the narrator until the heroine herself found it out1 which would have made it worse in thus having an entire stranger break into our story and consume nearly one-third of the entire play6 ,the most common form of a story within a play is the one in which the hunter1 or the veteran1 or the old person blighted in love1 or some such character sits down1 with a younger person usually1 and in the end there is a laborious effort to make the experience of the older person play a part in the younger's career4 ,there may be exceptions to a hard-and-fast rule of avoiding these devices1 but usually it will be found that there is a remedy in the principles of the photodrama itself that say begin your action back at the very beginning and always go forward4 ,the third pitfall1 is that of trying to record speeches--dramatic tho they be--by supposedly visualizing what the speaker is referring to2 of trying to tell the story of a crime1 for instance1 thru the trial of the culprit1 rather than by showing the events preceding and causing the trial in their chronological order4 ,here1 as in the former instance1 the vision is resorted to4 ,the vision is apt to be employed in dramatizing the detective story that is primed with a surprise in the climax in which the method of its revealment is disclosed by going back and showing the steps4 ,let it be a rare exception that makes you ever turn backward2 for neither time nor drama can do it without violating a natural law4 ,to be explicit1 the photoplay is a now play6 ,the now may be a thousand years ago1 but it must be relived again1 now4 ,all of which should warn us to avoid long lapses of time1 occurring especially in the one-part play4 ,nothing quite emphasizes the 8now0 quality of the photodrama as the invariable practice of employing nothing but the present tense in writing the photoplay4 ,synopsis and scenario are seemingly conscious of the things they are engaged in doing now4 ,past deeds and future prophecies--employing their respective tenses--frequently occur in captions and inserts1 however4 7,,example #dc47 ,from a letter3 8,i have never seen you take any interest in anything40 ,caption3 8,in fifty minutes your child will be on the scrap heap1 too60 ,the laws of natural movement and action should never be violated by the characters themselves4 ,any character who is to appear in the next scene must always be seen to leave the present scene1 disappearing from view in that action1 and again be seen to come on the scene that follows4 ,it is unnecessary to accompany the character thru the various and uninteresting steps between his leaving one scene and arrival on the next4 ,if something dramatic happens to him en route then we should see it4 ,contrary to fiction construction1 scene precedes character in presentation4 ,we are carried to the new scene and meet the character at the door as it were1 and the illusion is complete4 ,a preliminary fragment of action transpiring in the following scene1 before the appearance of the character1 will lend a further contribution to naturalness4 7,,example #dd47 ,in scene #bg1 of 8,all ,power for a ,day10 we find ,alice hurriedly leaving the crowd when she has seen the face of the man she hates4 ,in scene #bh1 the room1 in her boarding-house is shown1 her landlady--her enemy's confederate--snooping for a bit among her things before she enters4 ,characters must not be left in one scene and be discovered in the next following4 ,they are not clothing dummies or marionettes1 to be picked up bodily and helplessly and placed in set poses for the inspection of the audience4 ,if another scene intervenes in which the same character does not appear1 then it is not necessary for him to 8come and go10 since we presume he has had time and freedom for the necessary action while we were engaged with the alternate scene4 ,the scene principle in the photoplay is one of reflective power4 ,one scene reacts1 rebounds1 reflects1 reverberates from the scene that precedes it to the scene that follows it2 all bear a cumulative relation toward the climax4 7,,example #de47 ,in 8,the ,master of the ,lost ,hills0 we have six scenes all different1 yet showing the reflective power with tremendous force3 7#a7 ,mary aims gun out of window and tells brother to step back or she will shoot2 7#b7 ,brother hesitates in his advance2 7#c7 ,close-view of ,mary taking aim2 7#d7 ,just at edge of woods ,mary's desperate lover is taking aim at her2 7#e7 ,portion of dense forest showing sheriff and posse1 who have come to rescue ,mary1 lost2 7#f7 ,exterior of shack shows mob drawing closer4 ,another scene principle that we have learned is that every time the camera is shifted an iota we have a new scene4 ,theoretically1 the eye of the camera never moves1 excepting in the disillusioning practice of some operators to follow the movements of energetic characters by 8panoram-ing40 ,our rule for length1 duration and number of scenes is governed by the unalterable unit of the reel1 or #a1jjj feet of film4 ,a short play--one reel--may consist of from #be to #ej scenes2 according to the directness1 tone1 treatment by the author and the method of the director4 ,the exciting play of comedy1 adventure and peril moves along rapidly1 with short1 quick scenes and many 8returns10 just as in fiction we use short sentences and employ words and phraseology that remind us of and constantly revert to the hero's imminent peril4 ,the duration of a scene is in direct ratio to the vital relationship of its action to the climax4 7,,example #df47 ,in 8,the ,salt of ,vengeance0 the grief-crazed father of an injured child sets a bomb under the rails that will blow to atoms the child of the man who is responsible for the injury4 ,the lunatic pens up the guilty man1 taunts him with the swiftly approaching fate of his precious child4 ,this scene endures for several minutes4 ,the next is a mere 8flash0 of a speeding railroad train occupying several seconds4 ,it is a natural law of drama that demands the establishment of identity almost the moment that a character appears4 ,this is especially requisite in photodrama because of the rapid panorama of scenes that hurry on and off1 at the rate of #ge to #bjj an hour4 ,one moment's doubt on the part of the audience--so incredibly swift and fleeting is the hurry of photoplay events--may mean the misunderstanding or losing of a year of the hero's life4 ,learn and follow rules always with a willing mind2 but never let them lead you around by the nose4 ,the man who cannot take a single step without consulting his rules will become a wooden worker4 8,the way to make rules really valuable is to thoroly learn them1 then literally forget them by perfectly practicing them40 ,now and then we see something in a play that is superior to rules and technique2 something that would have been cramped and crushed by rules4 ,at present the photodrama has many superficial rules and a technique that is often archaic and lacks the element of futurity4 ,all said and done1 we are not teaching technique1 or laying down rules2 rather1 we are trying to interpret the laws of human conduct1 the science of being natural and the art of entertaining effectively4 ,real success is not as likely to come to the man who grinds out a play a day1 year in and year out1 as it is to him who writes 8the play of the day0 once a year2 film footage is not the measure of photoplay fame4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,bromides ,,worth ,,repeating ,,the ,,virtue ,,of ,,economy2 ,,producing ,,policies2 ,,period ,,and ,,costumes2 ,,animals2 ,,copyright ,,and ,,carbon ,,copies2 ,,relation ,,of ,,author',s ,,work ,,to ,,his ,,audience2 ,,to ,,the ,,manufacturer2 ,,to ,,his ,,manuscript4 ,so many volumes have been written merely describing the photoplay1 representing it primarily as a manufactured article and larding the treatises with an appalling number of 8dont's10 that the author of the present work has made an especial effort constructively to analyze photodrama1 to embody it as a new and complete form of drama-literary art1 and show the student not only what to do but how to do it4 ,hitherto1 photoplay inception and construction have been carried on chiefly with a view to facilitating its manufacture4 ,it is about time that we took the profit-yielding audiences into consideration by supplying the artistic entertainment for which they are crying4 ,the manufacturing end is well able to take care of itself2 the actor has demonstrated in a vast number of instances that he is able 8to deliver the goods0--if he is supplied with them2 a large number of directors have demonstrated remarkable ability in assembling and directing the material elements that perfectly interpret and visualize the story of the playwright4 ,all that is needed is the trained writer in adequate numbers to supply the infinite demand4 ,by the trained writer1 is meant the man who needs the artistic co-operation of editor1 director1 actor and manufacturer1 and not the mechanical collaboration with them4 ,it takes1 then1 a knowledge of the things that enable you to do your good idea effectively2 a negligence of the don'ts will not make for the flawless play1 yet alone would not succeed in smothering the great idea4 ,there are three relationships of the writer that will bear repeated cautions and dont's3 7#a7 ,the ,audience2 7#b7 ,the ,manufacturer--7a7 editor1 7b7 studio1 7c7 photography1 7d7 manufacture2 and 7#c7 ,the ,manuscript--7a7 technique1 7b7 preparation1 7c7 sale4 ,we shall discuss these considerations in the order named4 #a4 ,,the ,,audience4--,your audience in general is world-wide4 ,because of the brevity of the plays1 the cheapness of admission to the theaters1 and the quick and universal appeal to the emotions our first and most numerous patrons are the lower classes and especially the children4 ,for these reasons alone1 suggestiveness1 the portrayal of crime in such a way as to show how it is done1 or as to inspire its commission1 are not to be exploited4 ,taking sides with either the masses or the classes2 with labor or capital1 or with the white race versus races of color1 is not only inartistic but dangerously incendiary4 ,politics are too local as play material1 as we must always bear in mind that our play is to appear in ,timbuctoo as well as in ,tonopah4 ,religion is too delicate1 too cherished and too sacred a subject for anything but dignified and unprejudiced treatment4 ,films that in any way reflect upon the ,roman ,catholic ,church will be barred out of many ,catholic countries4 ,the ,european market is a most profitable source of income to many ,american manufacturers4 ,in this connection we have but to remember that the human heart has the same strength and struggle1 the same weaknesses and tragedies the world over4 ,difference of language1 however1 raises a few minor pitfalls4 ,for example1 placards of warning1 ransom1 rewards and other matter which play a part in the story thru the audience's reading it in the picture1 should be eliminated4 ,these points are easily circumscribed--and made more effective--by the use of the insert4 ,just as captions have to be made in the language of each exhibiting country1 so do the proper inserts4 #b4 ,,manufacturer4 7a7 ,editor--,some reader will have to pass on your manuscript1 in all likelihood1 before the editor sees it4 ,in both cases1 the ,synopsis becomes the gate of approval4 ,they do not read the ,scenario at all unless the ,synopsis is eminently promising4 ,an editor wants what he needs1 rather than what he personally desires to see presented4 ,your manuscript might contain the most pleasing and producible play in the world1 yet if it did not fit his existing needs it would be poor policy to purchase it4 ,your manuscript is its own appeal and needs no personal letter2 it is advisable not to write one4 ,your title is surely going to influence the editor strongly for or against further perusal of the manuscript4 ,the editor will naturally be partial to the short ,synopsis1 but do not coddle this partiality by making your ,synopsis too bald4 ,the editor does not accept a manuscript1 as a rule1 until he has held a conference over it--possibly with the managing-director of the company adapted to producing the type of story in question4 ,a careful observance of the rule of economy--economy of supers and principals1 of interior sets1 of props1 of difficult scenes1 of energy1 time and expense--is bound to be appreciated4 7b7 ,studio--,in the term studio1 we may include director1 actor1 stage carpenter1 and interior lightings and effects4 ,no one is more pleased with a simple and powerful story than the director1 and frequently no one has quite as much to say about the acceptance of the manuscript as this same highest-paid employee4 ,it has often happened that even a bought manuscript of undoubted merit has never seen the light of the screen because there have been several difficult scenes to master1 either mechanically or emotionally4 ,the manuscript must be concise and quick in showing the director how many sets must be constructed or got out1 how many actors must be employed1 what props and costumes must be bought1 rented or ordered4 ,it is in this relation1 that a scene plot may be used to advantage1 for it will enable the director to consider the matter of suitable locations for exteriors4 ,unless he has child actors available1 the matter of juvenile leads may mean the rejection of an otherwise desirable play4 ,military1 costume or period plays are sure to be frowned down unless it is the producing policy of the manufacturer to put them on4 ,unless the producer has at his command trained animals1 either wild or tame1 it will be a waste of postage to send him plays the scenes or situations of which depend upon animal acting4 ,several manufacturers maintain menageries6 ,each studio has a star or two of either sex who is best known for certain types of characters and plays4 ,these high salaried artists must be kept busy4 ,study their needs6 7c7 ,photography--,such photographic marvels have been accomplished in motography1 that the playwright is apt to forget that there is any boundary line to possibility in photographic effects4 ,first of all1 there is the matter of color2 blue1 for instance1 becomes white on the screen1 and red1 black4 ,black and white alone are resultant except in kinemacolor or in tinted negative4 ,when a situation or dramatic point depends upon color1 it will have to be indicated either by caption or by insert4 ,the camera is quicker than the human eye and more unfailing1 in that it records everything that passes within its range of focus4 ,tyros have to be told again and again that exteriors cannot be made at night4 ,the night scene would have to be artificially lighted by a flash1 which would result in a daylight effect6 ,rain1 night1 lightning1 storm and pictures taken in a darkened or over-lighted atmosphere1 are usually 8effects0 artificially created4 ,we do not see1 for instance1 bona fide lightning descending from the sky and simultaneously striking a man dead4 ,the technical secret of portraying all difficult effects of this kind is by showing them in two or more scenes--first cause1 then effect4 ,first1 we see lightning in the sky2 then1 we see the man the instant after being struck1 collapsing4 ,night exteriors may be well simulated by having the action isolated under the rays of a street lamp or other direct rays of light1 with darkness surrounding4 ,light and the want of it are the chief obstacles in the way of photography2 the genius of the directors and their co-operators have made almost any conceivable 8effect0 possible4 ,frequently manuscripts call for exteriors in foreign countries4 ,very seldom can backgrounds and sets do anything more than make a cheap1 wooden presentment of the ,eiffel ,tower1 or the ,pyramids or ,st4 ,paul's1 ,london4 ,the playwright may accomplish his aim1 by keeping his foreign scenes all interiors1 with possibly a glimpse of the distant landmark thru the window4 7d7 ,manufacturer--,every manufacturing company has some producing policy or characteristic4 ,the ,kalem1 for instance1 is noteworthy for its war dramas1 ,edison for its leaning toward topical themes--and so on4 ,in this relation1 it may be well to remember that each company has a staff of salaried playwrights who furnish many of their typical features4 ,the manufacturers both love and hate the spectacular2 they feel that it is beloved by the public and the life of competition1 yet they abhor the dangers1 destructivity and tremendous expense and superhuman effort it entails4 ,some day they will realize that the public really loves simple drama more than they do sensational spectacle4 #c4 ,,the ,,manuscript 7a7 ,technique--,in fiction the deeds need only be probable2 in photodrama they must be actually performable1 because the audience must see them4 ,for the photoplay must show whatever is vital4 ,keep your captions down to #ae words at the most1 and your inserts to #bj1 as every word means a foot of film4 ,tell how your characters shall act1 leave to the director where and how they enter and exit4 ,write mainly about characters that arouse the spectators' sympathy4 ,our photoplay is not told1 but acted4 ,photoplay happenings should transpire in the same order as they do in life4 ,there is nothing so unconvincing as a multiplicity of coincidences4 ,first become an expert on words1 if you would be a master of thought4 ,be certain that you state briefly all crises1 situations1 and the climax in the ,synopsis4 ,be sure that you feel all the emotions you plan to inspire in others and that you have a dramatic idea before you worry about technique4 7b7 ,preparation--,good ,english is essential to the photoplaywright1 not merely because it is the badge of literacy1 but because thru good1 clear1 forceful ,english alone can the playwright hope to give searching expression to an exquisite impression6 ,beside being a literary offering1 the submission of a manuscript is a purely business venture4 ,we offer our goods for sale2 we put them up in an attractively neat parcel2 we label them plainly with our name and address in the left-hand corner of the ,cast1 ,synopsis and ,scenario sheets only2 we prepay the postage of the manuscript both to and from the prospective buyer1 sustaining a good impression by inclosing a self-addressed envelope4 ,a carbon copy of a manuscript is the only perfect safeguard in case of loss4 ,the hand-written manuscript is as out-of-date as the hand printing press4 7c7 ,sale--,you can not force a firm to buy what it does not want1 and it is unbusinesslike to demand reasons or to censure it for its refusal to do so4 ,you will be paid1 naturally1 what the manuscript is commercially worth and not what it may be valued at by you4 ,you should always be conceded the privilege of refusing an offer1 just as the buyer is given the right to buy4 ,a photoplay cannot be copyrighted1 thanks to a ludicrous ,department of the ,united ,states ,government4 ,happily1 published works of ,literature can--after a fashion--so that the aspiring playwright will do best to photodramatize only such plays1 books1 short stories and poems as he himself is author of4 ,if you wish to reserve story or stage rights1 make it clear in the receipt you sign4 ,the photoplay market has a unique bit of etiquette--for a business transaction--that demands of you to submit your manuscript to but one manufacturer at a time4 ,sales are influenced1 of course1 by the excellence of the playwright's product2 but they are forced alone by the law of supply and demand4 ,a few important admonitions remain1 chief among which is to eschew the sterile pseudonym of 8moving pictures10 when photodrama is meant4 ,furthermore1 scorn and cry down the derogatory and ignominious term of 8movie0 that stands between the playwright and his claim to a dignified profession4 ,be original--and you can only acquire the virtue thru a constant attendance at the theaters1 seeking what has been worn to triteness and learning what has never been done at all4 ,observe what 8gets the hand10 and you will surely find what will get the heart6 ,be persistent--if you have faith in your play2 keep revising it2 keep sending it out4 ,,part ,,ii ,,the ,,plot ,,of ,,the ,,photodrama ,a photoplay ,plot is the unpolished material for a ,,complete decisive action2 it is composed of cumulative and interesting incidents rising to a dramatic climax1 and terminating in a manner calculated to gratify and warrant the interest roused in its beginning4 ,,chapter ,i ,,what ,,plot ,,material ,,is,a ,,the ,,plot ,,germ2 ,,the ,,premise ,,advanced2 ,,ancient ,,theme ,,and ,,original ,,treatment4 ,to the producer a plot is material capable of being dramatized thru visualized action into a life-like story4 ,to the playwright a plot is suggestive material capable of being developed into the nucleus of a story4 ,a 8,the ,plot of the ,short ,story--an ,exhaustive ,study1 ,both ,synthetical and ,analytical1 with ,copious ,examples1 ,making the ,work a ,practical ,treatise10 is recommended to students desiring to study this important subject exhaustively4 ,the average plot builder makes the mistake of looking upon plot material as ready-made plots4 ,he thus confuses plot germ 7or material7 with complete plot4 ,plot germs lie about us by the score2 complete plots are hidden in the most evasive creases of our imaginative genius4 ,the plot germ is merely an item of suggestive plot material1 which may be lost sight of entirely in the search for the logical incidents to complete the plot that is eventually led up to4 ,plot germs1 then1 are ready-made2 but complete plots are made-to-order4 ,the source1 manifestation and aim of all plots is ,man 7or humanity71 his desires 7or passions7 and his emotional relationships with his ,god and his fellow-man4 ,a plot germ is an isolated incident1 phase1 deed1 relationship1 fragment1 or moment1 vitally connected with and suggestive of man's emotional life4 ,a plot germ is seldom used exactly in the form in which it originally presents itself4 ,it is valuable principally as suggestive material4 ,like other germs1 it must be pregnant with a life of its own that will vitally affect any other mass upon which its energies are concentrated4 ,carrying the simile further1 we find that plot germs1 too1 often so change the nature of the ideas they fasten upon1 that they lose their own identity in the master idea4 7,,example #dg47 ,man's relations with the ,devil is in itself plot material1 but too general4 ,we must become more particular4 ,crime is one of man's relationships with the ,devil1 but that is not available as definite plot material2 at least it is not a plot germ as yet4 ,we further particularize1 and select sub-divisions of crime3 ,bomb1 ,thief and ,finger prints4 ,here again is elemental plot material1 but there are further steps still to be taken before we can class them as legitimate plot material1 or plot germs4 ,at last1 we arrive upon pregnant material--among the items of the daily newspaper--which we can seize upon as plot germs3 8,bomb ,throwers ,trailed by a ,boy20 8,caretaker ,locked in ,closet by a ,thief20 and 8,take ,finger ,prints of ,everybody40 ,the discovery of a plot germ1 however1 merely marks the beginning of the exercise of one's plotting power4 ,this starts our thoughts in a definite train in search of an idea4 ,the idea proves to be something big that comes to pass2 that is our story4 ,now we will begin to build our plot by seeking a cause for the great deed that culminates the story4 ,that cause becomes the beginning of our play4 ,the effect of the causal condition1 ambition or deed1 results in the events that happen between the beginning and climax of the play1 and raises three standard questions that our complete plot must answer3 7#a7 ,what is the ,cause8 7#b7 ,what is the ,effect of the cause8 7#c7 ,what ,climax does the effect lead to8 ,a great photoplay plot should concern a ludicrous1 a pathetic1 an heroic or a tragic episode in the lives of two or more people4 ,a complete plot is1 in fact1 a perfect syllogism4 ,we advance our first premise for the action to follow in the ,cause2 our second premise is the ,effect1 or action2 there can be but one conclusion1 which we demonstrate in the ,climax4 ,original themes are few in number and were all used scores and scores of times before this generation was born2 original plots are inexhaustible and admit of as many variations as there are products in literature from different minds based upon the original twenty-six letters of the alphabet4 ,do not be afraid of the ancient theme1 because the fact that it still survives shows its popular sway2 but your survival as a playwright depends on your originality in treatment of plot material in its application to theme4 ,plot material is the tell-tale dust of ,deeds that lies heavy behind the curtain of ,commonplace ,events2 in the crevices pried open by ,ambition2 in the niches worn by ,crime2 and in the knot-holes gnarled by ,nature4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,where ,,to ,,get ,,plot ,,germs ,,observation2 ,,reading2 ,,employment ,,of ,,facts2 ,,the ,,daily ,,newspaper2 ,,dangers2 ,,propriety2 ,,originality2 ,,the 8,,true ,,story20 ,,importance ,,of ,,notes2 ,,titles2 ,,plot ,,classification4 ,daily life is filled with dull routine and monotonous detail2 but drama is contrary to actual life1 in that it picks and chooses the events it requires for its purposes1 isolating1 magnifying and suppressing them according to its needs4 ,drama demands that there be a keynote of human interest1 a bond of vital relationship1 in the life of man1 or the revealment of a soul's supreme moment under pressure of struggle4 ,to have one's eyes open in his search for plot material is not sufficient2 the plot seeker's imagination must be sensitively alert1 and his emotions prepared to throw some feeling into the impression4 ,thus equipped1 he may acquire visions thru observation1 and not mere mental photographs4 ,bear in mind that this matter of creating ,literature and ,drama draws just as heavily on the emotions as it does on brains4 ,the imagination is the frontier post between the two4 7,,example #dh47 ,a plot germ resulting from observation3 ,a man sits in his office looking out of the window when a blinding flash assails his eyes4 ,it proves to be a boy passing the window opposite with a bright can in his hand which refracted the sun4 ,a plot germ instantly suggests itself3 ,he visions an old house1 set back from the road2 surrounded by shrubbery2 he is the hero who sits in his own home some distance away2 the flash2 he gets his glasses and sees a woman in distress--there is productive material for a play4 ,scarcely a vestige of the original suggestive matter remains4 ,it is more beneficial for a student of literature or drama to associate with the works of a master than with the master himself4 ,few successful artists are successful teachers2 their success lies in their having absorbed and forgotten technique4 ,thus in hearing and seeing drama and reading literature1 the promising student should normally feel all that is noble and great within him rise--like a host on the wings of inspiration--to meet and do honor to the master creatures of thought and feeling created by the playwright and author4 ,exaltation is the coveted gateway to inspiration1 thru which every artist-creator must pass4 7,,example #di47 ,a visit to the drama might yield a plot germ in the following manner3 ,let us say we saw ,douglas ,fairbank's noteworthy impersonation of ,bertie in 8,the ,new ,henrietta40 ,we were inspired at once with a story surrounding 8,the ,boy ,who ,couldn't ,be ,bad0--which is the title and theme of our incipient play4 ,in employing facts to any large degree1 the photoplaywright will encounter danger in two particulars3 7#a7 ,the more commonplace the plot material1 the more subtile the dramatic art necessary to make it attractive as a play2 7#b7 ,the more extraordinary the fact material1 the greater the tact requisite to make it seem plausibly real4 ,the simple rule is1 ,dramatize your facts before you employ them6 ,develop the dramatic habit in all your five senses2 better still1 create a sixth and call it the ,sense of ,drama4 ,little tragedies1 romances and dramas are constantly happening in the circles of people with whom we come in daily contact--therein lies danger1 however4 ,more than a mere change of scene or character is necessary4 ,the actual1 intimate happening must form1 if employed in any degree1 but a suggestive plot germ1 or only an episode in an entirely new story4 ,the best way to avoid disaster in this relation is to see to it that the development and elaboration of your resultant plot is not the same as that of the incident upon which it was based4 7,,example #ej47 ,the almost daily sight of an old character who is brow-beaten by his entire family1 inspires speculation as to how he lost his nerve and prestige1 possibly a fortune too8 ,for the purpose of our plot1 we say that he gambled away his fortune4 ,he had a theory of beating the market4 ,he and his wealthy son-in-law become friends1 and before anyone realizes it he has induced his son-in-law to put his whole fortune back of the old theory6 ,the daily newspaper is perhaps the most prolific source of plot germs4 ,take special note that this does not mean complete plots4 ,the question of originality arises--for suppose other seekers choose the same news clipping for development8 ,in answer to this1 it may be said that not two persons in a thousand--providing they employ only the suggestive germ and do not try to follow verbatim the news story--will take the same point of view1 will assume the same mood1 will employ the same plot development1 or will choose the same plot manifestation4 ,true originality consists in doing the much-done thing in a new way4 ,be sure that you are not trite1 then go ahead4 ,the newspaper is most useful1 perhaps1 as a source of novel situations1 which are in constant demand in the development of the photoplay4 ,we arrive at a pass in the progressive building of our plot and find that we are about to use an incident that has been worn threadbare4 ,if our press clippings are classified1 all we have to do is to turn to the proper classification1 and in all probability we will make a discovery worth while4 7,,example #ea47 ,suppose we are seeking some new way of catching a thief1 some of the following ought to be illuminating3 7#a7 ,clue to ,leegson ,murder2 7#b7 ,join ,dictograph to ,telephone2 7#c7 ,police ,hoax ,brings ,gunmen's ,capture2 7#d7 ,women ,sleuths ,catch a ,fugitive2 7#e7 ,bomb ,throwers ,trailed by a ,boy4 ,here are five items of plot material1 plot germs and dramatic situations4 ,beware of 8true stories0 as plots4 ,they lack the essential ingredients of the fiction story1 or dramatized play4 ,they are loaded with deadly personal detail that is usually too localized for the world-sweep of the photodrama4 ,they need most of their prime facts ripped out and to be larded with choice bits of invented detail4 ,true stories make excellent anecdotes2 but not one in a thousand bears any resemblance to a complete photoplay plot4 ,plot material is useless unless it is stored in sufficient quantities to enable the consulting plot seeker to make use of it without being cramped in his selection4 ,photoplaywriting is too arduous labor to resort to slip-shod methods such as trying to remember items of plot material4 ,it is part of the author's business to store up energy and ideas4 ,the application of a simple system1 along the line of that which follows1 will permit the playwright to catalog1 classify and file all of his plot material 7notes1 clippings1 pictures1 etc47 in a manner that will enable him to file or find any conceivable item instantaneously4 7,,example #eb47 ,this classified plot directory and catalog is elastic and universal4 ,the ambitious student may readily carry it to completion along the lines indicated4 ,there are easily a thousand sub-divisions possible4 ,there are #g grand divisions3 7,i7 ,the ,heart of ,man2 7,,ii7 ,the ,ambition of ,man2 7,,iii7 ,the ,flesh of ,man2 7,,iv7 ,the ,soul of ,man2 7,v7 ,the ,mind of ,man2 7,,vi7 ,not-,man2 7,,vii7 ,humor4 ,we will divide but one of these grand divisions3 7,i7 ,,the ,,heart ,,of ,,man--7#a7 ,man2 7#b7 ,woman2 7#c7 ,love2 7#d7 ,marriage2 7#e7 ,children2 7#f7 ,family2 7#g7 ,home2 7#h7 ,friendship2 7#i7 ,separation2 7#aj7 ,re-union4 ,the sub-divisions of 7#d7 ,marriage3 7a7 ,name2 7b7 ,money2 7c7 ,bigamy2 7d7 ,deception2 7e7 ,beauty2 7f7 ,blunder2 7g7 ,runaway2 7h7 ,miscegenation2 7i7 ,morganatic2 7j7 ,eugenics4 ,a final suggestion as a source of plot material 7as well as a harvesting of titles for plays and stories7 is a persistent search for1 and a diligent setting down for future use1 of happy phrases1 which may be heard1 read or conceived by the playwright4 ,he will find that a large percentage of these phrase-titles are the nucleus of plots in themselves4 ,in most cases they suggest the coveted big story4 7,,example #ec47 ,the ,tides of ,fate2 ,when a ,man ,cannot ,pay2 ,give ,him a ,chance2 ,somebody ,had to ,do ,it2 ,to ,those ,that ,have2 ,who ,live in the ,past2 ,the ,quality of ,youth2 ,for ,a' ,that2 ,for ,good and ,all2 ,one ,chance in a ,hundred4 ,plot material is the stuff that souls are made of2 it is the composition from which careers are moulded2 it is sparks from the forge of nobility and salt distilled from the tears of humanity4 ,plot material means a record of man's activities outside of the four dull walls of ,convention and beyond the dominion of the ,commonplace4 ,the great principle that governs the construction1 outcome and solution of all organizations1 plans and plots1 is the ever-conscious ,,foreknowledge ,,and ,,foreshadowing of the objective mission1 the sum of all the parts and the decisive action4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,beginning ,,with ,,the ,,end ,,seeking ,,the ,,climax2 ,,when ,,to ,,begin ,,the ,,photoplay2 ,,ever-,,forward ,,movement2 ,,the ,,live ,,beginning4 ,the great question in the minds of the audience is1 ,what will be the outcome of it all8 ,audiences generally take all beginnings of plays for granted4 ,no ambitious playwright1 however1 can afford to take and employ plot beginnings as a mere matter of chance4 ,every particle employed in the building of a plot is the part of a conscious1 pre-arranged design--most especially the beginning4 ,in the first place1 we must find something to write about2 some condition1 experience or deed that is worthy of a plot1 a story or a play4 ,as we consider this or that item of plot material1 in our search for a plot germ1 we pause and ask of it3 ,to what end8 ,to what good8 ,the moment we discern the culmination of a big moment1 or the performance of a decisive action1 or the accomplishment of a great deed1 we have found our plot germ4 ,this is not the beginning of our play1 but its culmination1 or climax4 ,we at once set about to clarify1 strengthen and heighten this climax4 ,the process should fill us with inspiration1 give our thoughts the impetus of flight and point our course clear and straight4 ,thus inspired1 equipped and confident1 we set out to begin our play4 7,,example #ed47 ,we may peruse newspapers1 read books1 witness plays and give our attention to plot material in vain and then stumble over a pregnant plot germ in an unexpected quarter4 ,for instance1 we suddenly discern in our old neighbor whom we have seen around all our life1 a picture of tragedy1 that echoes ,lear4 ,he had slouched around the place1 scolded by his wife and brow-beaten by the grown children until he seemed the acme of the commonplace4 ,tears in his eyes one day suggest a story4 ,he was the plot material2 his tears the plot germ2 how to make the old man happy in the last great moment of his life1 is the climax and aim of the prospective play4 ,the climax resolves itself into a definite purpose to guide the playwright2 for he writes every scene with a view to its influence on the climax2 if it has no influence on the climax1 that is sufficient evidence that it is not necessary for his play purposes4 ,the writer who sits down to write his play with no definite idea of the outcome is bound to be swayed by every new development that appears on the horizon of his imagination4 ,his characters will lead him around by the ears1 tweak his nose and play blind man's bluff with him--as the resultant play will show4 ,we begin our photoplay with the incident that marks the beginning of the vital relationship between one of the principal characters and the climax4 ,the birth of the plot1 however1 does not mean the birth of the characters4 ,the ever-forward trend necessitates our going back only once--when we begin4 7,,example #ee47 ,to resume our plot of ,example #ed3 ,having resolved on the climax to bring the affairs of our old-man hero to the greatest moment of his life1 we must turn now from the facts entirely and weave our fiction tale3 ,the old man in his youth was a gambler2 he lost the fortune for which his wife married him2 he won his family's everlasting disregard2 he had always had a 8system0 which he knew could beat the market2 this is what they all say2 one of his daughters marries a well-to-do1 genial young man2 he becomes the old man's friend2 the old man confides his 8system0 to him and manages to make him believe in it2 these two plan to invest all he has2 they do2 the family discover it too late2 they drive him out2 the son-in-law's fortune is apparently lost2 the tide turns and he wins a fabulous amount2 it is he who brings the old man back--ready to die now that he has proved his precious 8system40 ,since our play concerns the old man's relations with his son-in-law1 we may properly begin it just previous to that young man's engagement with his daughter4 ,our first scene could be captioned3 8,ill-treated ,half ,his ,life for ,losing the ,money ,ma ,married ,him ,for40 ,the action would establish the old man's relations with his family4 ,to go back to the old man's losing his fortune would be to run the risk of telling another story and necessitates the 8years later0 breach in the development4 ,by a live beginning we mean one that quickly gets into the heart of the theme with as few scenes as possible4 ,it can be done in the first scene very often1 especially if preceded by a meaty caption4 ,the first scene must be suggestive at least of the climax4 7,,example #ef47 ,in the first scene of 8,all ,power for a ,day0 we establish the irrascible character of ,col4 ,farrington that led to his attack on ,ridgway and his death that brought about the big moment of the play 444 ,in 8,the ,salt of ,vengeance0 the first scene depicts ,dalton discovering the rotten bridge that later precipitated the train that maimed his child and caused him to seek vengeance4444 ,in 8,the ,master of the ,lost ,hills0 the letter is screened that jilts ,shelburne and sends him out to the ,lost ,hills on the great adventure that makes the play4 ,our course lies between beginning the play too early and injuring the continuity by 8years-later0 breaks2 or not beginning it soon enough and having to resort to explanations1 thru hitching visions1 of many important scenes depending upon something that has gone before4 ,try to begin at that point where the first scene in the vital action occurs2 make the identities powerful and clear2 establish relationships that nothing will efface from the minds of the audience4 ,then go ahead with as little loss of time as possible1 for the audience is apt to be skeptical at first and sit back demanding1 8,well80 ,every scene should develop the plot a step in advance and contribute to the climax1 or it has no reason for being in the play4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,development ,,and ,,continuity ,,each ,,scene ,,contributes ,,to ,,climax2 ,,element ,,of ,,time ,,and ,,chronological ,,sequence2 ,,problems ,,of ,,continuity2 ,,the ,,central ,,theme2 ,,the ,,return2 ,,instantaneous ,,sequence2 ,,time ,,indicatives4 ,as we have learned1 that which happens in our play happens ,,now4 ,all time is present time1 therefore all things must happen chronologically correct4 ,whatever period of time we carry our audience back to in our first scene constitutes the beginning of all things1 as far as our present purpose is concerned4 ,affairs relentlessly and inevitably move forward4 ,in this relation1 special care must be taken in the screening of simultaneous action in different scenes4 ,perfect continuity can be maintained always by having the contributory scenes obviously bear upon the principal theme1 or that which is held in suspense4 7,,example #eg47 ,in 8,the ,master of the ,lost ,hills0 our principal scenes are those picturing the hero himself4 ,the contributing scenes are those showing the peril that threatens him4 ,scene #ie discloses ,shelburne dodging missiles as he barricades door2 #if shows angry mob outside2 #ig gives a rear view of the house showing his personal enemy building a fire against shack4 ,subsequent deeds follow this simultaneous action4 ,in the photoplay we have no wait1 as in stage drama1 while the scenes are being shifted1 therefore we must have perfect continuity of time4 ,we cannot digress with irrelevant matter2 we must fill in with contributive material always4 ,an episode is an isolated incident that has no place in the photoplay4 ,the plot begins with the cause of it all and can never pause until it has arrived at a satisfactory solution4 ,lapses of time should never appear to be gaps or voids1 but become well rounded periods suggestively filled by artistic construction4 ,we have seen how only forward or simultaneous action can win conviction of actuality4 ,a very fine phase of this principle is essential when a vital causal action demands an immediate view of the effect4 ,in other words1 instantaneous sequences must follow instantaneously4 7,,example #eh47 ,a man is about to commit suicide in one scene2 he lifts the revolver--the next scene shows his frivolous wife1 the cause of it all2 laughing and chatting in the next room2 she springs up suddenly in horror--another scene shows the instant following the shooting4 ,or1 a man breaking thru a door in one scene1 appears instantly in the next scene4 ,this method of showing immediate continuity is also employed to accelerate action and maintain suspense4 ,it is called the 8cut-back10 which term has the objectionable quality of suggesting 8going back40 ,what we do is to revisit1 or return1 to a scene previously screened4 ,the strict application of the 8cut-back0--or ,return1 as we shall hereafter designate it--is in the case of a rapid sequence of action wherein the ,return reoccurs for an extended period in almost every other scene4 ,we find its abuse in the 8chase0 picture1 which by some directors is still considered drama4 ,rarely we find that one scene need sustain the action for a longer period than is apt to be interestingly safe4 ,in that case we must break up the scene with one or more ,returns of another scene1 or action1 that has a contributive effect on the thematic scene which we have broken4 ,a long scene may be broken effectively by the insertion of a ,close-view4 ,all of these constructive possibilities must be resorted to in building the effective plot4 ,in other words1 we must test each scene by visualizing it before we write it out4 ,our rough draft is our plot1 that may be changed to meet1 create and strengthen dramatic exigencies4 ,remember that we must suggest even more than fiction1 since we must tell the director and actor what must be done1 as well as show the audience a moving drama6 ,definite actions1 or tasks1 that take considerable time in the execution1 are readily encompassed by the ,return1 or the introduction of new material of a cumulative nature4 7,,example #ei47 ,a mob's march of a mile or so2 the burning of a house containing prisoners2 the digging of a tunnel in order to escape2 the cutting down of a tree in which the hero is perched--progressive stages in the task are shown1 alternating with scenes bearing upon the result that readily present themselves to the playwright4 ,a play should progress even when it appears to go back4 ,this seeming paradox is concerned especially with the employment of the ,vision4 ,it means that every scene should contribute action--and every insert supply data--that advance the play in the mind of the audience1 by indirectly clearing away some obstacle that has stood in the way of its further progress1 or by supplying material that heightens lingering suspense1 or by directly adding new action that impetuously drives the development toward a climax4 7,,example #fj47 ,in 8,the ,lost ,melody0 we are shown1 thru a vision1 the picture that is passing thru ,douglas's mind ,,now2 its presence was necessary to clear away the great obstacle that barred ,douglas's reformation 7the ,climax72 the play bounded forward in interest as it was visualized4 ,we do not advance far in the construction of our photoplay plot before we realize that variety is the spice of its life4 ,simplicity of theme is essential1 but simplicity of plot seems out of the question4 ,this1 in a large measure1 is true4 ,it is the parting of the ways from the short story1 for in that the single1 simple plot is essential2 in the photoplay the complicated plot is not only best but next to essential in creating cumulative suspense4 ,our theme should be so simple that we may state it in a few words4 ,it is the subject-matter of the play2 the ,climax is its direct outcome2 our hero is with it thru thick and thin because his body and soul are made of it2 it is the play4 ,all else is contributive matter4 ,the theme is comparable to the main line of a railroad that is fed and sustained by way-stations and branch lines2 if we expect to reach an important destination we can arrive only by way of the main line4 ,continuing this view of the complications as tributary material suggests a method of plot building that has exceptional merits4 ,we shall call it the building by dramatic sequences4 7,,example #fa47 ,we shall quote 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince10 in this connection again4 ,a sequence includes a definite section of action marking the dramatic crises in the play4 ,in the instance of this play a caption has designated each sequence4 #a4 ,annie's ,widowed ,mother ,left ,penniless ,opens a ,boarding ,house2 #b4 ,better ,times ,but ,no ,sympathy ,from a ,busy ,mother2 #c4 ,annie ,finds ,solace in 8,cinderella02 etc4 ,we take #a4 ,annie's ,widowed ,mother ,left ,penniless and append all the tributary scenes we can conceive2 possibly not in the exact order in which they are finally employed2 7a7 ,arrival home after the funeral2 7b7 ,failure of the boarding house2 7c7 ,servants discharged2 7d7 ,annie becomes the drudge4 ,and so on1 in each sequence until the ,climax is reached4 ,the only rule is to keep as close to the central theme as possible1 for the completed action must be so perfectly woven that all matter fits as a perfect whole with no suggestion of patches1 so artistically is the construction hidden4 ,the element of time is the secret of logical sequence in the photoplay--always make certain that the following scene is without question the scene that follows4 ,perfect continuity insures perfect illusion4 ,one of the big little problems that lies before the playwright is to invent a time indicative without the monotonous mention of time at all--at least by means of such trite ,captions as 8,the ,next ,day10 8,two ,years ,later10 8,that ,night10 etc4 ,lapses of time in the continuity of essential action are inevitable4 ,it is vitally necessary to an appreciation of the dramatic significance of a scene that the audience know whether a day or a year has elapsed4 ,the ,caption alone proves to be the only reliable source of information4 ,the real difficulty lies in eliminating the aforementioned type of time indicative4 7,,example #fb47 ,the solution seems to rest in incorporating time significance to the entire ,caption phrase1 or at least in transposing the actual time words from an isolated position to a relative place in the ,caption itself4 ,instead of1 8,the ,next ,day4 ,ridgway ,returns ,tho ,forbidden ,ever to ,trespass20 why not1 8,tho ,forbidden ,ever to ,trespass ,ridgway ,returns the ,next ,day08 ,it is infinitely stronger4 8,alice ,reconciled to ,fate ,,has ,,become ,gov4 ,marsten's ,secretary40 8,mrs4 ,dalton ,learns the ,truth ,,after ,,two ,,months' ,deception40 8,,after the ,operation40 8,,summer ,brings ,hope for ,dalton40 7,the capitalization is for the student's benefit only47 ,plot building is simply carrying a dramatic premise to a dramatic conclusion4 ,in the ,beginning of the ,plot we have seen the ,cause2 in its ,development we have felt the ,effect of that cause2 in the ,climax we cannot avoid its inevitable ,consequence4 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,climax ,,and ,,completed ,,plot ,,sequence ,,and ,,consequence2 ,,logical ,,cause ,,and ,,complete ,,solution2 ,,sustained ,,climax2 ,,all ,,expectations ,,fulfilled4 ,we have learned that we must create interest with the very first scene by significant action1 and that our characters must win admiration or dislike upon their first appearance1 but the fond hopes that we create in the beginning and excite thruout the development of the play must not be gratified till the ,climax is reached4 ,nevertheless1 thru painstaking construction1 it is usually the unexpected that happens in the ,climax1 tho always that which is logical and has been the secret desire of the audience4 ,a premise once advanced in the beginning of the plot must be conclusively proved1 right or wrong1 in the issue of the ,climax2 that is all there is to the play4 7,,example #fc47 ,in the plot introduced in ,example #ec1 we picture the old man in such a way that he wins the audience's immediate sympathy and thus premise and promise to do all in our play-power to win his emancipation from abuse4 ,we make the audience hope that he will win out with his 8system0 that once lost his fortune4 ,to put every obstacle we can in his path marks the dramatic development of the plot2 to remove them is the part of the ,climax--providing it is not designed to be a tragedy4 ,climax brings the suspense to its summit and determines the outcome of the play in a single scene4 ,what follows should be rapidly disposed of1 and constitutes the ,conclusion4 ,the most effective drama is that which concludes with and is one with the ,climax4 ,this leaves an impression with the audience that minor details in a drawn-out ,conclusion often efface4 7,,example #fd47 ,in 8,the ,salt of ,vengeance10 the ,climax comes in ,scene #ci2 ,dalton makes a superhuman effort to wave his handkerchief with the speeding train bearing down on him4 #dj shows the cab of the engine1 closing the throttle just in time4 #da shows the ,climax still sustained but waning2 ,dalton has collapsed and the little girl whom he had risked his life to save1 running toward him4 #db is the real ,conclusion taken some time later with inimical factions all united in perfect happiness4 ,in 8,all ,power for a ,day10 we find the ,climax and ,conclusion synonymous2 ,marsten1 who has hampered1 jailed and almost had our hero executed for a murder he himself had committed4 ,the release of the hero and accusation drives him to suicide4 ,the hero claims the heroine and they are handed a telegram for ,marsten which tells them that ,marsten has won that for which he had labored all his life--he is dead2 it is the hero who holds all things4 ,that is the end of the play4 ,that our characters are married1 have children and live happily forever after1 are separate outgrowths of our present play and require a new plot to handle any story they may contain4 ,the play deals solely with removing the obstacles that stand in the way of our hero in his accomplishment of a definite object4 ,the obstacles once removed1 his object must be within his grasp1 if the play is properly plotted4 ,preliminary to the ,climax1 the plot deck must be cleared for a decisive action2 minor characters must be disposed of and nothing permitted to interfere with the titanic struggle for supremacy between the hero and his foes4 ,the instant one or other receives the mortal blow1 our plot has achieved its purpose2 our tale is told2 our play is over4 ,,part ,,iii ,,dramatic ,,construction ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay ,drama is the presentation of man laboring under the stress of an ,emotion that personifies ,pathos2 a ,passion that flames into ,struggle2 or a ,desire that embodies itself in ,deeds--sufficiently entertaining and edifying to make mankind pause1 feel1 think and be benefited4 ,,chapter ,i ,,drama ,,and ,,photodrama ,,definition2 ,,principles2 ,,structure ,,is ,,everything2 ,,the ,,dramatic ,,idea2 ,,emotion ,,is ,,the ,,secret2 ,,desire ,,the ,,motive ,,power2 ,,drama ,,and ,,melodrama4 ,photodrama is--as we all know--a coherent series of animated photographs projected life-like and life-size on a screen1 realistically visualizing a dramatic story4 ,the one word 8animated0 eliminates forever the authority to employ the word 8picture0 in this relation4 8,moving pictures0 or 8motion pictures0 may be pictures that are standing1 or moving1 or dancing1 or jumping--for all the adjective suggests--but it is impossible to make the term synonymous with photodrama4 ,it is1 to say the least1 a misnomer that misleads--especially the playwright4 ,photodrama is not pictures1 but life6 ,the man who writes photoplays should study and master the principles of dramatic construction4 ,before all things he is a playwright4 ,later he will learn that photodrama is the older dramatic art and something beside1 requiring a new type and a new school of artists4 ,he will learn that what is in demand with fiction and stage drama is in vogue with the photodrama4 ,he should realize by this time that dramatic art is both a faithful reflection of the vital and contemporaneous emotional1 mental and spiritual life of the civilized world1 and an appeal to the elemental passions of humanity4 ,with the perpetuating of existing literature and drama in photoplay form1 the independent playwright will have little to do1 as this work usually falls to the lot of the staff writer4 ,it is collaborative rather than creative work4 ,as plot is the science of structure1 so dramatics is the art of treatment4 ,plot is a matter of selection2 drama one of application of the selected material4 ,we take it for granted that all plot material is inherently--tho crudely1 perhaps--dramatic4 ,we hint at both plot and treatment when we state that drama is a supreme human experience interpreted by characters in terms of emotion with piercing effect4 ,it is the clash of soul against soul in visualized struggle4 ,it is spiritual conflict4 ,it is not the contention of ideas merely1 for that could be expressed only in words2 nor is it the strife of matter1 for that could be expressed only in dynamic and spectacular action--it is a clash of interests that involves both4 7,,example #fe47 ,in the play 8,the ,struggle0 7,kalem7 the methods of producers in going out of their way to make spectacle of drama is shown4 ,the plot was built on the idea of the struggle of ,labor against ,capital1 which in itself is essentially dramatic4 ,the dramatic construction developed two characters symbolising their respective classes4 ,the contrast was essentially dramatic4 ,they were made to see--not each other's strength to crush and kill1 but each other's power of human kindness under the test of sympathy4 ,that was the idea of the author4 ,the following line on the posters shows that the producers had ideas of their own which substituted spectacle for drama3 8,see the great iron mill in operation and the sensational rescue from fire60 ,neither of these contingencies had been a part of the original play6 ,thus we find our first essential is to make sure that our plot germ is dramatic4 ,our plot development has conditions and needs of its own that carry us forward logically to the point of successful treatment4 ,finally1 we are prepared to proceed with our dramatic construction1 which is to convert a mechanical framework into an appealing play4 ,plot construction is a matter of form2 dramatic construction one of effect4 ,provided the plot construction is excellent1 dramatic construction resolves itself into the task of arrangement and re-arrangement of the matter contained in the plot4 ,the secret of all dramatic effects is emotional impression on the audience4 ,to endure1 such an impression must contain a big dramatic idea2 one that involves an emotional experience that1 under the given circumstances1 might happen to anybody anywhere4 ,love1 ,sacrifice1 ,honor1 ,reconciliation1 ,re-union and ,retribution are a few of the great themes that never fail to stir the hearts of audiences the world over4 ,the success of the photoplaywright lies in his dramatic skill and originality in weaving new situations from old relationships4 ,addison's statement of the nature and qualifications of drama still stands3 8,first1 there must be one action2 secondly1 it must be an entire action2 thirdly1 it must be a great action40 ,melodrama is pure drama exaggerated4 ,the hero and the heroine are very1 very good2 the villain and the adventuress are very1 very bad2 their manner is extraordinarily violent2 their method is to startle both the audience and each other by their actions and deeds2 all emotion with them is passion2 they accomplish superhuman tasks and are generally untrue to all conception of real life4 ,daring spectacle is one of their favorite resources4 ,actions are only the ,alphabet of ,drama1 which must be spelt into critical ,words of ,emotion and coherent ,sentences of ,suspense before they express ,deeds--the common ,language and ,bond of all human heart ,interest4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,dramatic ,,expression ,,the ,,laws ,,of ,,movement ,,and ,,action2 ,,character ,,and ,,motive2 ,,relation ,,to ,,audience ,,and ,,character2 ,,dramatic ,,versus ,,dynamic2 ,,realism1 ,,romanticism ,,and ,,idealism4 ,in drama we make no attempt to reproduce facts1 but to induce reality4 ,illusion is all things4 ,the dramatist deliberately sets about to make the hour that an audience gives to seeing his play become one of the greatest events in their emotional history4 ,he does not merely imitate or mimic life1 he lives the life1 and then1 thru his dramatic and technical skill--or ,art--translates it into such familiar terms that all who see can understand4 ,strictly speaking1 action is but the external conduct of the characters1 or actors4 ,great danger lies in the playwright's failure to understand and appreciate the marked difference between movement and action4 ,movement is the internal undercurrent of real dramatic progression4 ,that actors come and go rapidly across the screen1 or that their actions shall be violent or punctuated with gestures1 is not by any means sufficient4 ,actions must express and portray an internal struggle with which the audience is in sympathetic understanding4 ,there must be an underlying emotional meaning for every prominent action that is displayed on the screen4 ,thus the dramatic element is perceived by the audience thru its effect upon the characters and their consequent actions4 ,this is called motive1 as well as movement2 it begins and continues in the guise of cumulative insinuations from the very first scene1 reaching its full stage of development in the climax4 ,this requires the most skillful and technical execution on the part of the playwright1 who must throw his whole soul into it without once showing his hand4 ,in other words1 dramatic effects must come about as naturally as the normal actions of the characters4 ,too often photoplays are nothing more than a series of continued pictures1 anyone or more of which might be cut out without affecting the final scene4 ,to the contrary1 drama is a living thing1 and amputation will either maim1 or mar1 or kill it outright4 7,,example #ff47 ,a single scene from a play in which a girl who has discovered and developed a talent in a man is thrown off by him in the moment of his triumph1 shows the difference between ,movement and ,action3 7,action7 ,forbes is standing in the center of the room1 the lion of the hour2 ladies crowding around him in excited contest2 one seems to get the major share of attention4 7,movement7 ,alica1 the heroine1 enters with joy and pride on her face2 steps forward to shake his hand2 at first he pretends he does not know her2 then accompanies his handshake with a curt nod2 turning away almost rudely to the other woman4444 ,showing that the chief difference lies in action affecting the character and movement affecting the audience4 ,movement1 then1 is that which is felt more than it is seen4 ,it brings us face to face again with the power of suggestion1 which is one of the secret springs of dramatic effects4 ,by means of it everything is made to play a dramatic part in our drama4 7,,example #fg47 ,in a scene picturing the hour a man has selected to declare his love1 we find a moonlight effect2 they sing a love song2 8the time1 the place and the girl0 are all harmonious4444 ,in another scene we depict this man's poverty by showing his threadbare room2 there are many suggestions of better days2 his manner shows refinements that suggest his former affluence and make his surroundings pathetically dramatic4 ,the finer points in dramatic construction are equivalent--and just as necessary--as those of fiction narration4 ,dramatic construction and expression are modulated according to the nature of the theme4 ,realism1 ,romanticism and ,idealism each has its methods of producing effects4 ,we must guard against the vulgarity of ultra-realism and bear in mind that all idealism must be edifying and romanticism refined4 ,realism is materialistic and calls for gross details and convincing spectacle2 ,romanticism is luxuriant and revels in the vagaries of youth1 the desire for love and the intoxication of adventure2 ,idealism is delicate and speculates in beauty1 dreams and perfection4 ,the three are like solids1 oil and water that can never mix4 ,if our play be a romance1 its contributive elements must be romantic to produce the desired romantic effect4 7,,example #fh47 ,the three plays following are examples of ,realism1 ,romanticism and ,idealism1 as their titles appropriately suggest3 8,the ,salt of ,vengeance10 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince0 and 8,the ,lost ,melody40 ,the first is a play of revenge and does not mince matters in delineating it2 there is a wreck1 a thrilling hold-up scene and a sacrifice involving bloodshed4 ,the second shows the blowing and bursting of the romantic bubble of a visionary country girl4 ,the third depicts the effect of a youthful ideal upon a man later in life4 ,there are grave dangers1 as we have hinted1 in substituting dynamic or spectacular action for dramatic movement1 as illustrated in the foregoing chapter by ,example #fe4 ,even melodrama can be ruined by it4 ,the toppling over of a house1 the realistic battle between two armies1 or the smashing of two locomotives1 obliterates the fine mechanism of the drama with a realism that satiates and makes everything that follows insipid4 ,the play1 the characters and the audience are lost in the debris both literally and artistically4 ,our object in dramatic expression is to enthrall1 not to paralyze4 ,every distraction of attention from the elemental mediums of pure art is an obstacle thrown into the clear channel of receptivity4 ,spectacles are for the most part acts that concern themselves and not deeds that are an intrinsic part of the drama4 ,the characters and the action step back as it were1 while the precipitated spectacle usurps the stage and the attention4 ,unlike the circus1 drama has no legitimate side-shows4 ,we are not interested in anything that happens or that a character may do1 but only in what his action indicates and reveals of the story4 ,spectacles are real 8moving pictures02 what we want is moving drama4 ,true drama appeals to the heart2 spectacular theatrics assault the nerves4 ,we should employ the spectacle then1 not as an adjunct to drama1 but as a vital necessity--which will be rarely4 ,when you can honestly say that what you have written is good drama1 and that you cannot do without one or more spectacular scenes1 then make use of them by all means4 ,suspense marks each dramatic ,situation1 and consists in retarding its ,crisis and withholding its solution as long as it is feasible4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,sequence ,,and ,,suspense ,,cause ,,and ,,effect2 ,,effects ,,due ,,to ,,arrangement2 ,,the ,,raw ,,coincidence2 ,,suspense ,,motors2 ,,battle ,,of ,,opposing ,,motives2 ,,motive ,,as ,,well ,,as ,,idea4 ,sequence in photodrama may almost without exception be called consequence1 so continuous and binding are the presence and relationship of cause and effect thruout the photoplay4 ,the very first scene must contain a definite cause1 followed by more or less suspense until the effect is revealed4 ,each effect develops a new cause for suspense which accumulates in volume--if skillfully constructed--until it becomes an almost unendurable burden of expectation1 speculation and anxiety in the ,climax1 or biggest ,situation1 wherein it is effectively solved4 7,,example #fi47 ,in the first scene of 8,the ,master of the ,lost ,hills10 the hero's fiance writes him that she is jilting him4 ,this is really the cause of the entire play that does not find complete solution until the last scene4 ,the second scene of the play shows us the effect of the first upon the hero4 ,hard hit1 he turns from his irresponsible life4 ,seeing his valet sending annual gifts to the poor whites on his ,southern estate becomes the cause of which his sudden departure to the estate of ,lost ,hills in person is the effect4 ,the startling adventures that follow are the logical consequences4 ,unless scenes are fragmentary1 that is mere supplementary 8flashes10 an analysis will disclose a uniformity of development1 that has a counterpart in the structure of the play itself1 namely3 ,introduction1 ,situation1 ,crisis and ,solution4 7,,example #gj47 ,we take a scene from 8,all ,power for a ,day10 wherein ,ridgway is discovered by his sweetheart with a gun in his hand and suspected of killing her father who lies dying on the floor3 7,introduction7 ,servants rushing in2 ,ridgway discovered with smoking revolver in his hand gazing dully at ,colonel who lies writhing on floor4444 7,situation7 ,alice enters1 rushes to father's side4 ,he points accusingly at ,ridgway4444 7,suspense7 ,ridgway comes forward pleadingly2 ,alice hesitates and starts at what her father is saying2 at length nods yes4444 7,crisis7 ,alice repulses ,ridgway with a gesture2 father falls back dead4444 7,solution--at least of the scene in hand7 ,the sheriff enters and arrests ,ridgway4 ,the progressive effects of scene or play are due to arrangement1 as may readily be seen4 ,each minor effect1 tho begun in the first scene1 must heighten and tighten the ,climax4 ,it accomplishes this by bearing constantly and cumulatively upon the main theme of the play4 ,no matter how many contributive scenes may be necessary1 the main theme1 or medium1 must again predominate4 ,we should engender suspense by so arranging incidents that a vital desire is manifested in the character first2 many things may happen before the next unit of sustaining suspense rises--,opportunity to gratify the ,desire2 the third unit of prolonging suspense is the ,frustration of the ,opportunity to gratify the ,desire4 ,on the other hand1 suspense is terminated immediately by the advent of ,change1 ,decision or ,fulfillment4 ,the instant that the playwright feels that suspense is being overstrained1 he should bring it to a close4 ,the minor incidents of suspense are not closed1 however1 until they have disposed of themselves by contributing an element of suspense to the main theme that will be felt in the climax itself4 ,for1 after all1 suspense is merely a suspension of the ,climax2 each suspension is marked by a crisis1 or minor climax4 ,we sustain interest by suspending the ,climax4 ,in drama nothing should be left to motiveless chance1 or raw coincidence4 ,suspense is a promissory note to the audience that the culmination they have been waiting for is worth while1 and not a hoax by the author or a termination by an 8act of ,god40 7,,example #ga47 ,writers often get their characters in a dilemma that defies solution on their part1 upon which an unsuspected treasure is made to appear2 or an unhinted-at rescuing party helps the author and hero out2 or someone 8marries the girl0 rather than leave her unprovided for at the conclusion of the play2 or it becomes necessary to kill off the unpunished villain or hero-who-has-gone-to-the-bad4 ,suspense is much stronger than mere expectation4 ,we may say that expectation is the hope that something will happen2 suspense is the fear that something may happen4 ,suspense is not always occasioned by the emotional strain of the character2 that is only tension of action4 ,if there is an emotional strain on the audience1 then there is sheer suspense4 ,the most dramatic suspense is possible thru the suggestion of impending catastrophe of which the character is blithely and emotionally ignorant1 but of which the audience has seen ominous portents in alternating scenes4 ,thus1 in photoplay1 we are permitted the excitement of seeing the progress of both sides in the battle of opposing motives4 ,for in drama we must have the swiftly-moving motive as well as the big idea4 ,the course of dramatic sequence follows the line of this motive1 the only deviations being those made for the purpose of creating suspense4 ,contrast is the essence of all striking ,situations--meaning a contrast between characters or their conditions or environments1 resulting from or leading to relations between them4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,potential ,,situation ,,contrast2 ,,situation',s ,,relation ,,to ,,audience2 ,,harvesting ,,situations2 ,,peril ,,and ,,death2 ,,climax ,,and ,,punch4 ,the most poignant dramatic effect is that obtained by contrasting a character with his most coveted--tho ungratified--condition4 ,the most powerful situations are those in which a character is confronted with that which should have been1 that which might might have been1 or that which can never be4 ,therein we plunge into the deepest wells of pathos4 7,,example #gb47 ,as a case of that which should have been1 we find the man who failed suddenly coming into the presence of the man who is prosperous because of his failures4 ,that which might have been1 we see illustrated in the man and woman meeting years later--the husband and wife of others--when a silly misunderstanding is all that separated them4 ,that which can never be is pathetically shown by an old man making the acquaintance of a youth1 who alone can accomplish what he himself wishes to do4 ,these are all dramatic situations of the highest order4 ,since drama is an artistic process of obtaining striking and gratifying effects upon the emotions of an audience1 the situation is the most frequent and positive means to that end4 ,the situation is what lends novelty1 fire and brilliancy to the progressive units of the play4 ,it places the characters in a galvanic relationship with each other or with their condition or environment4 ,it means the introduction of the unexpected--either from the point of view of the character or of the audience4 ,its introduction marks the beginning of ,suspense1 and raises the question1 ,what will he do about it8 ,for it means a relationship about which something must be done immediately1 and that something is a ,crisis4 ,the ,situation itself is of short duration but of tremendous power and effect4 ,it succeeds the introductory action1 or a sudden revealment to the audience1 of which the character may remain in ignorance1 or an unlooked-for entry1 or an undreamed-of relationship disclosed--that suddenly change the whole aspect of development4 7,,example #gc47 ,a woman's old father has sent for the police to arrest the young criminal whom he has raised from a foundling--when the daughter discloses that the boy is her illegitimate son1 and his grandson6 ,a girl betrays a man to the mob for murdering her wealthy benefactor whom she has never seen--when it is seemingly too late the man proves to her that he is the benefactor1 and that her brother murdered his valet6 ,in both cases the audience was aware of the relationship and reveled in the characters' embarrassment4 ,the foregoing ,example has touched a point that should be driven home4 ,it concerns the extent to which the author shall take the audience into his confidence4 ,in this relation1 writers will have to discard in photoplay writing what in story writing is undoubtedly one of their greatest assets2 namely1 the withholding of some of the important details in order to build the delightful surprise at the end4 ,in the photoplay we must take the audience into our confidence1 for the simple reason that everything is screened in the order of its occurrence4 ,that is the first principle of perfect illusion--perfect continuity4 ,the second principle is1 that all that is essential must occur on the screen1 which is the principle of perfect progression4 ,both the spoken drama and the fiction story permit a development that is contrary to these principles of photodrama4 ,the writer of those forms builds up a fabric of deception1 as it were1 around the real events that hides the truth and makes it seem as tho it were just the opposite--until the grand surprise at the end4 ,he does this by means of cleverly framed innuendoes1 artificial explanations offered by various persons in the play or story and the delay of misleading evidence that is cleared up in speeches and dialog1 that in turn explains why they made the mistakes4 ,the photoplay gains power by being more direct4 ,we do not try to outwit our audiences2 we take them into our confidence4 ,if we can do this cleverly and suggestively1 we can equal1 if not surpass1 any of the effects to be obtained by other forms of dramatic expression4 7,,example #gd47 ,we see a crime about to be committed1 but all of the criminal that appears is a hand--possibly scarred--slipping thru the parting of the portires4 ,when the hero who was robbed or assaulted by that hand finds the ring1 the audience finds the criminal4 ,another instance of showing the essential progressive action1 but reserving the full disclosure till the climacteric ,situation1 is found in the finding of a woman's lost boy by the man she loves4 ,later she is led to believe that the boy has gone the evil way he started for4 ,she comes to the man she had scorned1 for help2 the man takes her to a boy's school where her boy is the leader4 ,we had only seen the lover find the boy and then we returned to the main line of action4 ,but are not the audiences' hopes and fears heightened by omniscence8 ,their knowledge does not mean foreknowledge1 by any means4 ,the hero must work out his own salvation and overcome the villain just the same4 ,the fact that they know that the hero is sitting on the box that contains the treasure for which he is looking is a hundred times more dramatic than if they are not told till the end1 when the circumstance may be forgotten4 ,the finest ,situations are those wherein he does not realize the true state of affairs that the foregoing scene has fully disclosed to the audience4 7,,example #ge47 ,in 8,madame ,x0 we find the young barrister defending his own mother who has committed murder4 ,at first neither mother nor son is aware of it4 ,the audience knows1 and this knowledge makes of this scene one of the most powerful ,situations in all ,drama4 ,the ,close-,view--in the capacity of showing only a small portion of the physical action magnified--is most effective in producing ,situations4 ,again1 it brings that to the knowledge of the spectator of which the recipient is blithely ignorant4 7,,example #gf47 ,a ,close-,view shows us the hand of the villain stealing the priceless scarf-pin2 or the hero's wallet that means his all4 ,or again1 the ,close-,view can bring close what the audience witnesses almost unemotionally from a distance1 possibly showing the burglar's ugly face where they saw but a head in the foliage4 ,the ,close-,view is1 in fact1 one of the most effective devices at the command of the playwright4 ,the ,caption1 too1 is capable of doing service as a ,situation1 by rousing a thrill in drama just as they rouse a laugh in comedy4 ,our difficulty in this relation is to prevent it from robbing the scene1 or scenes1 to follow of surprise or suspense4 7,,example #gg47 ,the following strengthens a fact that has half-dawned in the mind of the audience4 ,without the ,caption the fact would have passed without particular notice3 8,mrs4 ,donnelly ,handles ,dalton's ,deadly ,messenger1 ,neither ,dreaming ,that ,she ,is the ,intended ,victim40 ,again we impress a ,situation that must not be lost sight of3 8,marsten ,thinks the ,mortgage ,lost ,that ,has ,slipped ,into the ,lining of the ,coat40 ,thus we have seen that even infinitesimal1 tho important1 points may be made potential ,situations by bringing them 8down front0 in the spot-light1 or giving them the advantages obtained thru introspection in fiction4 ,death in itself is neither dramatic nor a ,situation4 ,drama is dependent on life1 struggle and complication2 and a ,situation may be evolved out of a perilous circumstance in which the character is threatened with death4 ,a ,situation always germinates further life-action2 death terminates a line of action and eliminates forever an active participant4 ,death is never the ,climax1 but the end4 ,since ,situations are a matter of such consequence to the playwright1 it behooves him to harvest them with the same diligence that he garners plot material4 ,he may readily file and classify them under the same captions and sub-divisions as he does his plot material4 ,again1 the same sources of material are available1 especially the daily press1 which graciously condenses ,situations and ,climaxes in the large type of its head-lines4 7,,example #gh47 ,ten are chosen at random from current newspapers3 7#a7 ,bee ,upsets ,big ,auto2 7#b7 ,deceived by ,his ,valet2 7#c7 ,two ,women ,claim ,boy2 7#d7 ,finds ,woman ,stowaway2 7#e7 ,claims ,wife--,she ,laughs2 7#f7 ,woman ,gives ,away ,coins 7#g7 ,prince ,weds a ,commoner2 7#h7 ,president ,is ,captured2 7#i7 ,blind ,man ,made to ,see2 7#aj7 ,identified by ,x-,ray4 ,among the great number of technical terms that photoplaydom has acquired is one identified with literary work-shop slang as well--the 8,punch40 ,it is more expressive than elegant1 however4 ,the ,punch is the ,climax and something more4 ,it must first be an effective ,climax2 secondly1 it is the effect of that ,climax4 ,the ,punch is the momentous event that is the excuse for the play4 ,it is the tremendous moment of revealment1 when the dramatic struggle that has waged uncertainly from side to side suddenly pitches forward with the victor for good and all--just as the audience had been schooled either to hope or be afraid that it would4 ,the issue of the ,climax-,punch must be sufficient to make the audience literally hold its breath1 or emotionally rise to the occasion4 ,it is the thing that hits you square between the eyes with an effect that stuns and lasts4 ,if a play has no ,punch1 it is not a perfect play4 7,,example #gi47 ,in 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince10 the ,climax of the first part was the coming of the bogus prince2 the ,punch came at the end of play when the real prince came4 ,the first was a city 8tin horn ,sport02 the second was the plain grocer's boy1 who had been ,annie's neighbor all her life1 and a real prince too--that was the ,punch6 ,the ,punch1 then1 is the motive-idea of the play summed up in a cumulative stroke4 ,it bears the same relation to the story that the climax does to the plot4 ,it is not the big culminating action so much as it is the effect that dawns on the audience4 ,it is the emotional truth of the author's vision come home to dwell in the heart of each one who sees the vision4 ,the ,punch is the recognition by the audience of a visible symbol of spiritual struggle4 ,a successful play must be able to claim an honorable place among the most important emotional experiences of the spectators--,unity and ,harmony must have induced exquisite ,reality4 ,,chapter ,v ,,unity ,,plus ,,harmony ,,equals ,,effect ,,questions ,,in ,,the ,,mind ,,of ,,the ,,audience2 ,,reason2 ,,truth2 ,,struggle2 ,,solution2 ,,the ,,title2 ,,harmony ,,values4 ,unity resolves itself into a rule of reasonable cause2 ,harmony becomes solely a matter of consistent effect4 ,unity has to do with selection1 and is a part of the plot2 ,harmony with arrangement1 and is essential to dramatic expression4 ,one is the perfect relation of the parts2 the other the perfect expression of the whole4 ,first of all1 there are unities of language that must be observed to insure perspicuity1 precision and perfect presentation of the idea4 ,this demands a command of words1 a knowledge of grammar and an exercise of rhetoric4 ,the illiterate writer is beyond imagining and might be compared with a blind painter or a mute singer4 ,the next step toward eventual harmony is the choice of an appropriate idea and a subsequent coherent development4 ,the units of development should not merely stick together2 they must cling to each other4 ,thus we fulfill the unities of impression1 which is the simpler part of our task4 ,perfect unity in expression is harmony4 ,there is a measure1 a key1 a pitch1 a tone--or a color scheme1 if you will--that cannot be violated4 ,the main theme is the refrain1 or motif1 to which we continually hark back1 until we build up a volume of melody that releases itself in a grand finale of harmony4 ,we describe a crescendo--tho it is not a perfect arc1 in that its highest point is near the end instead of the center1 when it descends rapidly to the plane of its beginning4 ,that is the mark of the perfect artistic production3 ,balance1 the last bar pitched in the same keynote as the first6 ,this suggests the entire play in a single effective impression4 7,,example #hj47 ,in the first scene of 8,the ,master of the ,lost ,hills10 ,shelburne receives a letter from ,petronella ,dupuyster saying that she is jilting him for ,baron ,komisky4 ,the blow shatters his ideas of women1 and he cynically thinks none of them is worth while4444 ,in the last scene it is the morning of his coming marriage to ,mary4 ,he reads an item in the paper saying ,petronella is seeking divorce from her bogus 8,baron02 ,mary enters and he takes her in his arms1 making it clear that he has found ,,the woman4 ,every element must be in unison1 then1 in the perfect play4 ,the poetic play must be rendered every artificial aid available to delineate1 identify and appeal to poetic feeling4 ,the same is true of romantic1 realistic1 idealistic1 or any other specific type4 ,each play1 for that matter1 has its own peculiar exigencies that call for unity auxiliaries for the sake of harmony4 ,the character must have his consistent traits1 condition must have its appropriate environment1 situations may be heightened by setting1 deeds are strengthened by atmosphere--just as the effect is enhanced by harmony4 ,thus we disclose one of the most vital reasons why the least element in the play should become a factor in the ,climax2 why it should contribute to1 color1 culminate and sustain the desired effect of totality to be left in the mind of the audience4 7,,example #ha47 ,in 8,the ,lost ,melody0 we begin with the ,caption3 8,malcolm ,decides to ,wait and ,make ,his ,proposal to ,rosalie an ,artistic ,occasion40 ,this typifies ,malcolm's character that loves to luxuriate in his own dreams4 ,we next find him a collector of rare jewels1 of which his business-like rival1 ,douglas1 only realizes the monetary value4 ,the night of the proposal1 ,rosalie mistakes ,malcolm's dreaming for lackadaisical disregard4 ,douglas seizes the opportunity and proposes4 ,the setting is a glorious1 lover-like night4 ,they sing the melody that intoxicates ,malcolm and sobers ,douglas4 ,when ,malcolm has detached himself from his ideal state1 he finds ,rosalie in ,douglas' arms4 ,they part forever4 ,douglas1 true to his type of sordid materialism1 rises and falls thru his desire for money4 ,malcolm becomes the big artist we have felt he might be4 ,and so1 till the lost melody is found again1 we find a potent strain of harmonizing units building a persistent effect that will haunt the audience after seeing the play4 ,the literal construction of the photoplay has evolved a method of writing the manuscript that peculiarly lends itself to the composition of dramatic 8business40 ,while action is the language of emotion1 brevity vivifies action4 ,terseness is a potential factor1 then1 in the construction of the manuscript1 and there are several ways in which terseness may be suggestively conveyed thru the physical treatment of written action4 ,in this connection1 we must bear in mind that verbs are natively action words2 adjectives are color or quality words2 and adverbs are essentially drama words4 7,,example #hb47 ,a simple analysis of the fiction value of the nine parts of speech reveals that 7#a7 ,,article is insignificant and is to be used as little as possible2 7#b7 ,,adjective is a quality word that visualizes the image and description cannot do without it2 7#c7 ,,noun tells what or who we are talking about2 have no more nouns than you want the reader to see objects1 and no object unless it is clearly visible2 7#d7 ,,verb is the action word1 the dynamo of emotion1 the important word in drama2 7#e7 ,,pronoun is he1 she or it--nothing more and the noun is always to be used in preference1 if its repitition permits2 7#f7 ,,adverb is the word of color1 manner1 time1 subtilety1 charm and emotion and tells ,,how1 which is what the reader wants to know2 7#g7 ,,conjunction joins together qualities1 objects1 groups and may connect short statements and break long ones2 7#h7 ,,interjection is the less artful way of expressing emotion2 7#i7 ,,preposition is the word of passing1 the bridge1 pause at it and you have suspense4 ,the ,synopsis1 while it does not permit of unctuous detail1 yet there seems no reason why it should not follow the rules of all narration and be written tersely1 but in full1 rounded sentences1 instead of in the abbreviated forms suggested for the ,scenario4 7,,example #hc47 ,some writers employ the comma thruout the entire scene3 8,donnelly reading over letter girl has written1 scowls1 roars for girl10 etc4 ,others use the dash in the same manner3 8,donnelly reading letter--scowls--0 etc4 ,a more effective way is suggested by the use of the semi-colon and the use of sentences4 ,each sentence is to mark either all the consecutive action of one character1 or the short sequences of action in which possibly all the characters are involved3 8,donnelly reading over letter girl has just handed him2 scowls2 roars for girl2 reprimands her brutally4 ,boy enters2 says ,dalton is outside2 ,donnelly shakes his head can't see him2 boy says it is urgent4 ,donnelly nods and turns belligerently to receive ,dalton40 ,there is vivacity in the short periods and the reader almost instantly falls into the recurring sequences with perfect understanding4 ,we come to the conclusion at length that idea1 technique1 situation or dramatic atmosphere alone is not the thing1 but the harmony of all of these4 ,and in attaining this harmony we find that delineation is essential1 while description is incidental1 for the simple reason that the characters and setting describe themselves the instant they are seen4 ,the physical picture saves all the space fiction devotes to visualization4 ,there is nothing more distracting to harmony than the method of some directors in accelerating action by means of perpetual short scenes1 regardless of the nature of the theme4 ,if used to excess1 this continued employment of the ,return sinks its subject to the low level of the 8chase0 picture that was the curse of the early attempts at dramatic depiction4 ,the time will come1 it is hoped1 when the chase1 the crude pantomime and the actor who flirts with the audience1 will become taboo just as the telephone dialog1 the soliloquy and the aside are avoided in the best spoken dramas4 ,both the ,return and the ,flash are merely alternatives to be employed as special devices for special occasions and not stable units upon which the entire play may be built4 ,they are merely effective accelerators of contributive action and secondary to the main theme4 ,unity is agreeable accord2 harmony is artistic concord4 ,unity is a perfect assemblage of the parts 7seen from the constructive viewpoint72 harmony is the spontaneous chord shed by the newly created instrument 7felt from its perfect operation74 ,in unity we make the parts absolutely consistent with well-known rules2 in harmony we make the whole naturally real according to the principles of life and experience4 ,strictly speaking1 the photodrama is not governed by the so-called ,dramatic ,unities1 restricting dramatic operation to a single ,time1 ,place and ,action4 ,for the photodrama1 thru the latitude permitted in its multitudinous scenes1 may cover continents and span generations4 ,the old order remains unchanged in the matter of ,action--there can be but one ,action4 ,there is an axiom in drama1 however1 that applies equally to spoken drama and to screen drama3 ,the nearer a play approximates the actual time consumed in a definite1 continuous and centered story that it represents1 the more convincing is its effect likely to be4 ,in other words1 if the consumation of a deed required exactly fifty minutes in actuality and took fifty minutes to be acted1 it would be a perfect unity in point of time4 ,but how rare it is to conceive a deed1 every consecutive second of which is dramatically worth while6 ,finally we come to the harmonious element that appears first on the manuscript1 but is conceived wisely last--the ,title4 ,the title must fit the play like a glove1 and hide its complete nature as tho it were a glove4 ,fortunately1 photoplays are not chosen--by either public or producers--because of their titles1 as books and short stories are often selected4 ,yet1 because of the seeming lack of importance attached to this part of the play1 writers1 editors and manufacturers do not always accord it the important place it deserves1 and will eventually demand4 ,good1 fitting and perfect titles to plays are a distinct commercial asset1 beside being a requisite to artistic and harmonious completeness4 ,the title is the head1 the handle1 the greeting1 the introduction1 the pleasing personality1 the cue and the bid to favor of the as-yet unread manuscript and the as-yet unseen play4 ,a title should be exquisite--like a finely-carved casket1 obviously containing a precious treasure--its exterior suggesting mystery1 wonder1 and delight that must follow its revealment4 ,the title must suggest the individuality of the play without revealing its identity as shown thru development1 climax and denouement4 ,unity we may find if we look for it2 ,harmony cannot be discovered by the keenest critic1 for it is not hand-made but born4 ,when the flesh and form of the play is perfectly built1 ,harmony enters in a breath--it is the soul of the play6 ,harmony is the last word of drama6 ,,part ,,iv ,,forms ,,and ,,types ,,of ,,the ,,photoplay ,above all things ,drama is human--it has its hours for laughing and weeping1 for strife and death2 it is governed by both free will and destiny--it calls its moods ,drama and ,melodrama2 ,comedy and ,tragedy4 ,,chapter ,i ,,drama ,,and ,,melodrama2 ,,tragedy2 ,,comedy2 ,,other ,,forms2 8,,split ,,reel02 ,,short ,,play2 ,,long ,,play2 ,,spectacle2 ,,adaptations2 ,,play ,,divisions4 ,photoplay audiences arrived at a stage of mature understanding and appreciation of the photodrama long before the manufacturers and producers had emerged from the jungle of crudity4 ,the latter are inclined to remain money-makers and not become art producers2 they are filling their pockets today from the emptied brains of yesterday and forcing tomorrow to go begging4 ,with few exceptions the plain drama is exaggerated into melodrama1 startling the audiences thru the violent acts of the characters1 or dynamic spectacle1 or extraordinary setting--rather than thru the simple medium of pure dramatic construction that stirs the imagination and sways the emotions with a semblance of real experience4 ,drama is one of life's exquisite emotional phenomena brought home to an audience thru the pictured experience of others4 ,melodrama is easiest to write1 since it is all high-lights and black shadows4 ,it demands the concoction of a series of violence and spectacle to happen in a logical and progressive order4 ,melodrama resembles farce1 in that the characters are cursed with all the earmarks of the deepest-dyed type they portray--the beetle-browed villain1 or the ludicrous ,jew-,irishman-,nigger4 ,in the true drama we meet men and women who live poignantly in our lives--tho we see them for the first time4 ,the melodramatists had things their way because the few artists had no co-operation4 ,comedy is most difficult to write1 and is easiest to sell--meaning1 of course1 pure comedy4 ,it is more difficult1 for instance1 to keep an audience laughing for twenty minutes than it is to keep them in suspense over a dramatic story for an hour or more4 ,the photo-counterpart of the ,play of ,manners1 or the ,polite ,comedy1 is bound to become one of the future developments of the ,photodrama4 ,photoplay ,comedy has been in the hands of the ,philistines since its inception4 ,rarely do we see anything but the rollicking farce4 ,polite ,comedy has its exquisite moments that mingle delighted smiles with pathetic tears2 ,rollicking ,comedy is all wide-mouthed laughter4 ,if we are careful in distinguishing from its coarser parasite--8slap-stick0 farce--we may say that ,rollicking ,comedy is an art worthy of one's serious effort4 ,there are certain temperaments1 however1 incapable of comedy in any form4 ,these playwrights are self-conscious of their failing6 ,the ,polite ,comedy is marked by grace1 repression and humor4 ,it is a delicate cameo of the serious drama--only it avoids the villainies1 perils and horrors of life1 substituting in their place the failings1 fantasies and prejudices that are both humorously and pathetically human4 ,in the ,rollicking ,comedy1 then1 everything must be comical4 ,the term 8everything0 is imperative2 it means idea1 title1 plot1 every situation1 every scene1 every insert1 every reference1 every character1 every setting1 every action1 every suggestion4 8,it is to laugh60 ,comedy demands exhaustive treatment of detail4 ,it is insufficient to say that a character performs an act in a funny way2 we must tell in detail how the action is done to make it so funny4 ,comedy must always be delineated good-naturedly1 and never with satire or animus4 ,misfortune is not a comedy subject4 ,in all good drama--whether it be drama1 melodrama1 comedy or tragedy--there must be an idea in the material1 a motive in the characterization1 a definite end to be attained2 a reasonable cause1 a logical effect and a climacteric deed2 a plot4 ,in all drama there is struggle with an obstacle4 ,in pure drama and melodrama we have the hero struggling against the obstacles and pitfalls placed in his path by the villain2 in comedy the character struggles against the ludicrous situations that rise in his course2 in tragedy evil circumstances overwhelm the hero no matter how heroic his struggles are against them4 ,the reel1 or unit of photoplay length1 has both its advantages and its disadvantages4 ,the 8,split reel0 play is under a disadvantage4 ,if it be only a plotless farce--which it is most frequently--it makes little difference1 since that form is only a fragment1 or series of them4 ,there are many ways in which the ,short ,play--or one-reel--may be compared to the ,short ,story1 and the ,long ,play--or multiple-reel--to the ,novel4 ,the ,short ,play1 is intensive in method4 ,we pursue the development swiftly and relentlessly from the opening scene to the culmination4 ,the ,long ,play is not a ,short ,play amplified--as we so often see them padded4 ,it is not in any sense a ,short ,play told in two or more parts 7or reels74 ,each part 7or reel7 of the ,long ,play1 like each chapter of the ,novel1 is a unit in itself1 having its own beginning1 development and climacteric situation4 ,yet it is progressive and becomes fragmentary unless considered as an intergral part of the whole production4 ,each part 7or reel7 of the ,long ,play accumulates and takes care of its own situations and complications1 which may tend to pile up revelations of dramatic interest to heighten the suspense of the reel to follow1 or which may be a direct progressive result of the reel preceding4 ,in the ,long ,play each reel ends with the introduction of a new complication that necessitates an entirely new line of treatment4 ,it is literally 8continued in our next40 ,each reel must always advance2 it never can go backward4 ,in each succeeding reel of the ,long ,play we find that the story has just received a set-back in its solution1 thru the introduction of a new and formidable obstacle that demands another line of solution from that employed in the preceding reel4 7,,example #hd47 ,in 8,the ,coming of the ,real ,prince10 the first reel ends with the climacteric situation showing our heroine really won heart and soul by the unprincipled villain4 ,but the story cannot end here2 common sense and instinct tell us that that is not the culmination of the plot4 ,and sure enough1 just as the audience thought the villain was going to be caught and thrashed perhaps1 by the hero--the heroine elopes with the villain6 ,thus we have the constructive foundation for another reel1 that demands an entirely different course of action4 ,the studios themselves are usually responsible for the thrilling or gorgeous spectacles displaying a wonderful array of scenery1 setting1 hordes of actors1 marvelous mechanism and a hundred other entertaining1 and possibly pleasing1 features that bear only a distant relationship to bona fide drama4 ,if the manufacturer has a menagerie1 a railroad1 a thousand pounds of dynamite1 a wild west outfit or a military equipment on his hands he naturally desires to make use of it4 ,it is then that the photoplay hack is called upon to write one or more stories 8around0 it--and they usually are considerably around it and seldom inside of it4 ,the play offered in the following chapter is an unpretentious example1 falling short of perfection in more than one particular1 tho equal to the occasion of modestly exemplifying most of the rules and principles set forth in the present work4 ,an ,example can but show you what to do and what not to do2 it cannot teach you how or why to do a thing2 the more perfect it be the less mechanics it will reveal2 it is not a lesson to you in ,technique1 but the result of ,technique by another4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,a ,,specimen ,,photoplay ,,the ,,effectiveness ,,of ,,typography2 8,,the ,,salt ,,of ,,vengeance10--,a ,,short ,,play ,,drama4 ,typographical display in preparing manuscript will effect its immediate understandability4 ,a careless and unintelligent display will require extra time and patience on the part of the reader to fathom its full significance4 ,a careful and intelligent arrangement will enable the reader to grasp the full meaning of every detail on sight4 ,the special features of the arrangement and display of type adhered to in the following play are3 7#a7 ,single-spacing body of ,synopsis2 7#b7 ,underlining setting1 or location1 above the text of scene action2 7#c7 ,indenting scene text1 single-spacing it and making it stand out as by putting double space before and after it2 7#d7 ,all ,captions and dialog typed in capital letters2 7#e7 ,using the red ribbon for all matter that is to appear intact on the screen2 7#f7 ,numbering ,scenes and ,captions in ,arabic numerals and ,inserts in ,roman2 7#g7 ,indenting ,close-,views double the distance of ,scene indentation2 7#h7 ,in case of more than one reel1 numbering the scenes consecutively 7#a to #ajj1 etc47 but1 after the first reel1 putting in parenthesis the number of scenes it represents in current reel1 as3 ,scene #dh 7#ac71 always referring back to the serial number on its reappearance4 7,the foregoing remarks are necessary since print-type gives only the effect without following the rules identically47 ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips1 ,new ,york ,city 4444 ,n4 ,y4 ,,the ,,salt ,,of ,,vengeance4 ,a ,short ,play 7,one ,reel7 ,drama ,in #bc ,interior and #ag ,exterior ,scenes4 ,by ,henry ,albert ,phillips4 ,synopsis3 ,the matter of a rotten bridge is brought to the attention of ,donnelly1 a penurious railroad president1 by ,dalton1 a conscientious consulting engineer4 ,donnelly refuses to listen or heed the report4 ,dalton pleads1 insists and finally is discharged4 ,dalton does not tell his wife of his misfortune4 ,failing to get work after two months he is on the verge of a breakdown4 ,his wife has learned the truth and sets out at once with their little boy1 ,arthur1 to her father's for aid4 ,on the way home ,dalton reads of the terrible train wreck at the very point he had condemned4 ,hardly able to think1 he hurries home1 finding a note from his wife saying that she and the child have taken--the train that was wrecked6 ,more than half-crazed1 ,dalton hurries to the scene of the wreck4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly1 the sweet wife of the president1 has learned of the wreck and hurries to the scene to offer aid4 ,with her is her own lovable child1 ,florence4 ,it is her car that carries the terribly maimed little ,arthur to the hospital4 ,the child's leg is amputated4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly has kept her identity secret1 but continues to bestow every blessing in her power upon the stricken family4 ,dalton has gone completely mad4 ,there seems but one influence under heaven that makes ,arthur want to live1 and brings intelligence and peace to ,dalton--that is ,florence4 ,they worship the wonderful little girl4 ,dalton's insanity takes the form of a blind obsession4 ,he seeks vengeance on ,donnelly4 ,he learns that ,donnelly has an only child4 ,he immediately sets to work and makes a terrible bomb4 ,he then plans to telegraph for ,mrs4 ,donnelly and her daughter and have the train wrecked and the child blown to atoms on the spot where his child was maimed4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly and ,florence are with ,arthur when the telegram is brought by a servant1 they just catch the fatal train4 ,meanwhile1 ,dalton has forcibly entered ,donnelly's office1 tells him at the point of a gun what will happen in less than an hour and waits4 ,in that hour ,donnelly passes thru hell4 ,when there is but twenty minutes left1 ,dalton espies the picture of ,florence1 realizes that she is the victim1 his mind clears and the men hurry away on the almost hopeless task of rescue4 ,it is ,dalton who arrives alone1 half dead1 just as the train looms up4 ,they ignore his white signal and he heroically cuts his wrist and saturates the handkerchief with blood that warns the engineer of danger the last instant4 ,dalton recovers2 the men are reconciled2 ,dalton gets back his position2 ,donnelly mends his ways4 7,,note3 ,use another sheet of paper47 ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips1 ,new ,york ,city 4444 ,n4 ,y4 ,,the ,,salt ,,of ,,vengeance4 ,author's ,remarks3 ,in the explosion scene1 the supposed bridge that is blown up could be a set erected to look like portion of bridge showing thru trees4 ,the question of color of the blood is solved by the ,caption4 ,scene ,plot3 ,,interiors ,donnelly's ,office1 #b1 #d1 #be1 #bg1 #bi1 #ca4 ,ante-room1 #c1 #h1 #aj1 #bj1 #bd4 ,dalton living-room1 #e1 #g1 #i1 #aa1 #ac1 #ba1 #bh1 #dj4 ,hospital1 #ai4 ,telegraph office1 #bc4 ,passenger coach1 #ce4 ,engine cab1 #ch4 ,,exteriors ,beneath bridge1 #a1 #bb4 ,veranda1 #f1 #bf4 ,city street1 #ab4 ,field hospital1 #ae1 #ag4 ,open field1 #ad1 #af4 ,near automobile1 #ah4 ,railway station1 #cj4 ,stretch of railroad1 #cb1 #cd1 #ci4 ,another stretch1 #cc1 #cg4 ,on railway trestle1 #cf4 ,cast3 ,,charles ,,dalton--,arthur's father2 consulting engineer2 serious1 nervous4 ,,john ,,donnelly--,florence's father2 railroad president2 brutal4 ,,florence ,,donnelly--7,ingenue7 ,sweet child with wonderful influence4 ,,arthur ,,dalton--7,juvenile7 ,injured in accident4 ,,mrs4 ,,dalton--,anxious type4 ,,mrs4 ,,donnelly--,kindly4 ,telegraph ,clerk1 ,newsboy1 ,stenographer1 ,employe1 two laborers1 ,engineer1 ,fireman1 ,guards1 ,doctors1 ,nurse4 7,,note3 ,use another sheet of paper47 ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips1 ,new ,york ,city 4444 ,n4 ,y4 ,,the ,,salt ,,of ,,vengeance4 ,scenario3 ,,scene #a4 ,,beneath ,,rickety ,,railroad ,,bridge4 ,dalton making notes2 he directs one of two laborers to strike pier of bridge4 ,he does so2 there is a hail of debris2 they all hurry out in alarm4 ,,caption #a4 ,,consulting ,,engineer ,,dalton ,,brings ,,matter ,,of ,,rotten ,,bridge ,,before ,,donnelly1 ,,president ,,of ,,the ,,road4 ,,scene #b4 ,,president ,,donnelly',s ,,office4 ,donnelly bullying stenographer over an error4 ,boy enters2 announces ,dalton2 ,donnelly shakes head emphatically can't see him2 boy says it is urgent2 ,donnelly looks at him a second1 then nods and turns belligerently to receive ,dalton4 ,,scene #c4 ,,anteroom ,,of ,,office4 ,dalton pacing determinedly and anxiously4 ,boy enters2 nods2 exit ,dalton4 ,,scene #d4 ,,same ,,as #b4 ,,office4 ,dalton advances and begins confidently4 ,donnelly stops him4 ,dalton amazed2 walks to map and points out bridge4 ,donnelly angrily refuses to listen4 ,dalton turns2 delivers eloquent tirade4 ,donnelly in rage rings bell2 obsequious employe enters2 he is told to put ,dalton out and pay him off4 ,dalton speaks his mind before he goes4 ,scene #e4 ,,dalton ,,living-,,room4 ,mrs4 ,dalton sewing a man's shirt2 kisses sleeve tenderly2 turns in surprise and pleasure as ,dalton enters2 looks into his eyes2 questions him anxiously2 looks at clock4 ,he pats her on shoulder and smiles1 shaking head2 asks for ,arthur4 ,they call and child runs in2 ,dalton takes him in his arms and makes plain his love4 ,,scene #f4 ,,veranda1 ,,donnelly ,,mansion4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly reading to ,florence2 pauses occasionally to lavish affection2 they register approach of motor4 ,mother sighs2 child brightens4 ,car swings up2 ,donnelly alights2 scolds chauffeur about tire2 brushes maid who holds open door2 scowls at wife who approaches yearningly2 sees child and softens2 takes her in his arms4 ,,caption #b4 ,,mrs4 ,,dalton ,,learns ,,the ,,truth ,,after ,,two ,,months' ,,deception4 ,,scene #g4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,dalton leave-taking2 marked change in his appearance which he tries to hide from wife4 ,he looks at clock saying it is time he was at office2 kisses her and child2 exit4 ,mrs4 ,dalton looks after him1 then turns resolutely to telephone4 ,,scene #h4 ,,same ,,as #c4 ,,anteroom ,,of ,,office4 ,same boy as in #b at switchboard2 looks up name in book2 same employe as in #d4 ,passes thru2 pantomimes throwing person out bodily at boy's question2 boy shakes head emphatically and bangs up receiver4 ,,scene #i4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,mrs4 ,dalton staggering back from telephone2 sinks into chair and takes ,arthur tragically into her arms4 ,,scene #aj4 ,,another ,,outer ,,office4 ,dalton pacing up and down2 another man enters2 men shake hands cordially2 ,dalton asks question2 other points to empty desks2 ,dalton turns sadly away4 ,,scene #aa4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,mrs4 ,dalton and ,arthur dressed for journey2 bag on table2 she is finishing note2 holds it up and reads3 ,,insert 7,i7 ,,letter4 8,,father ,,will ,,help ,,us ,,out1 ,,dear1 ,,and ,i ,,am ,,taking ,,arthur ,,to ,,hoytsville ,,with ,,me40 ,,scene #aa4 7,,continued47 ,she has ,arthur kiss note2 she kisses it1 sticks it in the mirror2 exeunt4 ,,scene #ab4 ,,city ,,street4 ,dalton going along despondent2 boy asks him to buy paper4 ,dalton brushes him away2 boy insists1 pointing excitedly to scare head4 ,dalton shows wild interest2 ,,insert 7,,ii7 ,news head1 ,,terrible ,,train ,,wreck4 ,,hoytsville ,,local ,,plunges ,,thru ,,faulty ,,trestle4 ,,scene #ab4 7,,continued47 ,dalton devours news2 boy demands payment and he absently hands him coin2 boy offers change1 but he moves away1 paying no attention4 ,,scene #ac4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,enter ,dalton still reading2 pauses2 realizes no one is there to welcome him2 shrugs shoulders and sits down shaking his head2 suddenly espies note in mirror2 seizes it with a look of apprehension2 reads1 falling back in chair and clutching his hair2 rises unsteadily2 gropes his way out his face contorted in agony4 ,,caption #c4 ,,mrs4 ,,donnelly ,,incognito ,,offers ,,aid4 ,,scene #ad4 ,,stretch ,,of ,,road4 7,train wreck and field hospital visible47 ,crowd held back by guards1 evidently railroad employes4 ,donnelly car drives on2 ,mrs4 ,donnelly orders car stopped and alights1 inquiring the trouble2 face convulsed in horror2 asks guard to let her pass2 he refuses2 she shows pass2 he takes off his hat and sends one of men with her4 ,,scene #ae4 ,,field ,,hospital ,,near ,,scene ,,of ,,wreck4 ,mrs4 ,dalton on stretcher in foreground2 she becomes conscious2 cries for ,arthur4 ,but everyone seems to be working over form on cot a few feet away2 a doctor steps aside2 ,mrs4 ,dalton screams and creeps toward them2 falls1 fainting as she clasps a limp little hand2 ,arthur is revealed to audience4 ,doctor turns to companion4 ,,insert 7,,iii7 ,,dialog4 8,,we ,,must ,,operate ,,immediately60 ,,scene #ae4 7,,continued47 ,one doctor has opened case2 stands scratching his head in despair2 instrument missing4 ,,scene #af4 ,,same ,,as #ad4 ,,roadway4 ,guards pushing back the curious4 ,dalton1 now completely mad1 enters hatless and wild-eyed2 looks about till he sees people on beds2 gives a cry and tries to pass2 guard pushes him back4 ,dalton beats down guard murderously2 rushes on4 ,,scene #ag4 ,,same ,,as #ae1 ,,field ,,hospital4 ,mrs4 ,dalton on her knees sobbing before pallet4 ,doctor is telling ,mrs4 ,donnelly of predicament2 she instantly points to car2 doctor calls his aid and instantly the cot is lifted and hurried away1 ,mrs4 ,donnelly supporting ,mrs4 ,dalton from scene4 ,,scene #ah4 ,,very ,,near ,,donnelly ,,car4 ,florence standing alongside and looking painfully at what is approaching4 ,men enter with stretcher4 ,they are halted this moment by appearance of ,dalton who lifts cover from ,arthur's face and sobs like a child4 ,the two women appear4 ,a terrible look of frenzy comes into ,dalton's eyes2 it gradually disappears as he feels ,florence's hand in his2 she soothes him completely4 ,mrs4 ,dalton is helped into car that drives away4 ,a buggy nearby is requisitioned2 they all get in and exeunt4 ,,caption #d4 ,,florence ,,becomes ,,the ,,daltons' ,,angel ,,of ,,happiness4 ,,scene #ai4 ,,hospital ,,private ,,room4 ,arthur in bed2 opens his eyes and speaks2 nurse motions toward door2 ,mrs4 ,dalton enters2 ,arthur half turns away to mother's great grief4 ,dalton enters listlessly2 maniacal cunning in his eye2 in turn1 he is almost repulsed by ,arthur4 ,florence enters with bouquet2 tiptoes to downcast parents2 her influence marked1 especially on ,dalton2 she puts her arm round both of their necks and kisses them in turn4 ,she moves to bedside2 ,arthur looks up and smiles immediately2 she strokes the hand he puts out2 kisses his cheek and moves away4 ,dalton now sobbing takes her in his arms1 showing great affection4 ,they all exeunt on tiptoe4 ,,caption #e4 ,,seeking ,,terrible ,,vengeance ,,dalton ,,learns ,,that ,,donnelly ,,too ,,has ,a ,,child4 ,,scene #bj4 ,,same ,,as #c4 ,,anteroom4 ,dalton conversing with boy to latter's discomfiture2 asks cunningly1 pointing toward ,donnelly's private office1 if he has children4 ,boy annoyed nods and indicates height of child4 ,dalton persists2 finally boy writes ,donnelly's country home address on piece of paper2 ,dalton stows it away with vicious delight and sneaks out4 ,donnelly enters hurriedly2 tells boy never to let ,dalton in again4 ,,caption #f4 ,,the ,,messenger ,,of ,,destruction ,,and ,,its ,,unsuspected ,,victims4 ,,scene #ba4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,arthur in reclining chair2 crutches beside him4 ,dalton in corner working on obvious bomb with time clock connection2 looks around crazily now and then1 gathering the outfit in his arms when he thinks he hears someone coming4 ,mrs4 ,dalton pats him gently when he shows violence toward an unseen enemy4 ,enter ,florence2 ,dalton is first to see her2 takes her in his arms joyfully2 changed at once4 ,florence plays with machine2 he shows how it operates2 imitates train2 points to clock2 then pantomimes big explosion4 ,they have not heard ,mrs4 ,donnelly enter2 she comes forward and picks it up2 but he is suspicious and will say no more4 ,mrs4 ,dalton draws her gently away2 two shake their heads sadly2 approach ,arthur4 ,,caption #g4 ,,the #d4bi ,,train ,,doomed6 ,,scene #bb4 ,,similar ,,to #a4 ,,beneath ,,railroad ,,bridge4 ,dalton's face slowly emerges from bushes2 now hideously maniacal2 opens valise and hurriedly arranges mechanism of bomb2 clock in plain view2 connects wires already strung2 hears a noise and crawls away grinning fiendishly4 ,,scene #bc4 ,,telegraph ,,office4 ,dalton enters2 takes folded telegram from pocket2 hands it to clerk who opens and reads3 ,,insert 7,,iv74 ,,mrs4 ,,john ,,donnelly1 ,,manorview4 ,,your ,,husband ,,injured--,,come ,,and ,,bring ,,child--,,will ,,meet ,,you ,,on ,,train ,,leaving #d4bi4 ,,dr4 ,,savage4 ,,scene #bc4 7,,continued47 ,clerk looks up skeptically2 points to signature2 he nods with a frown2 he pays and hurries out4 ,,scene #bd4 ,,same ,,as #c1 ,,anteroom4 ,boy reading2 registers bell2 shakes his fist at it2 reluctantly shuffles thru door other than that marked 8,president40 ,enter ,dalton cautiously2 hurries to and thru president's door2 boy returns2 puzzled at finding no one2 resumes reading4 ,,scene #be4 ,,same ,,as #b4 ,,donnelly',s ,,office4 ,enter ,dalton1 softly locking door2 ,donnelly alone at desk2 does not look up2 ,dalton throws key thru window as ,donnelly looks up2 covers him with revolver as he rises angrily2 ,donnelly startled at something he sees in ,dalton's eyes1 sits down2 reaches for button2 ,dalton stops him and makes him move chair from desk2 places two photographs in his hand2 he glowers at them4 ,,insert 7,v7 ,,close-,,view ,,photographs4 ,one showing little ,arthur smiling and healthy4 ,other of him emaciated2 face disfigured2 on crutches1 with but one leg4 ,,scene #be4 7,,continued47 ,dalton now convulsed with madness has taken rope from pocket2 springs on ,donnelly2 there is an uncertain struggle in process as scene fades4 ,,scene #bf4 ,,same ,,as #f4 ,,veranda4 ,maid returning telegram to messenger and urging him to follow disappearing auto2 he rides away as fast as he can4 ,,scene #bg4 ,,same ,,as #b4 ,,office4 ,dalton sits facing ,donnelly whom he has bound and gagged2 both men with clothes half torn off4 ,dalton approaches pointing to photographs2 tries to speak2 breaks down and weeps like a child4 ,donnelly merely indifferent and defiant4 ,dalton pantomimes tragically the whole story2 beats his breast1 points accusingly at ,donnelly2 raises his clenched fists as tho to brain him2 then remembers and smiles crazily2 whispers behind his hand3 ,,insert 7,,vi7 ,,dialog4 8,,in #ej ,,minutes ,,your ,,child ,,will ,,be ,,on ,,the ,,scrap-,,heap1 ,,too60 ,,scene #bg4 7,,continued47 ,instant change in ,donnelly who rises horror-struck2 searches the maniac's face with terrible anxiety4 ,dalton begins to laugh exultantly4 ,,scene #bh4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living-,,room4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly has just entered with ,florence with packages which they put on table before ,arthur2 it is a big iced cake and delicacies2 ,florence claps her hands and kisses boy2 ,mrs4 ,dalton admiring4 ,messenger interrupts2 at first too exhausted to speak2 ,mrs4 ,donnelly takes telegram2 nods2 tears it open2 half faints2 hands it to ,mrs4 ,dalton who is amazed at her identity4 ,she comforts ,mrs4 ,donnelly1 who seizes ,florence2 hurries out4 ,florence kissing flower ,arthur has given her4 ,,scene #bi4 ,,same ,,as #b4 ,,office4 ,shocking change in ,donnelly2 hair almost white2 jaw sagging as he slumps in seat4 ,dalton points malignantly to time with gun2 gives way to terrible memory4 ,donnelly now turns supplicatingly2 pleads2 weeps4 ,dalton laughs tauntingly4 ,donnelly makes a furious but futile effort2 curses gnashes his teeth2 tries to cry out4 ,dalton springs to door menacing it with gun4 ,,scene #cj4 ,,railroad ,,station4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly and ,florence anxiously clamber aboard train4 ,,scene #ca4 ,,same ,,as #b4 ,,office4 ,donnelly now exhausted and still more terribly changed2 hair matted on brow2 all arrogance burnt out of him2 brutality gone4 ,dalton now walking about room in a ferment2 suddenly pauses before a photograph of ,florence on bookcase2 pleasure comes in his eyes2 he kisses it4 ,suddenly he springs back2 pain in his eyes2 a shudder passing over him4 ,horror in his eyes as he extends portrait toward ,donnelly4 ,,insert 7,,vii74 ,,close-,,view ,,photograph of ,florence2 ,dalton's twitching thumb grasping it4 ,,scene #ca4 7,,continued47 ,dalton's face has lost its madness and has become like ,donnelly's2 he approaches ,donnelly1 his gun falling to the floor2 he tries to speak2 ,donnelly nods2 like a flash he unties ,donnelly2 the two men look into each other's face an instant2 then grasp each other's hand1 making it plain that they forgive2 they rush to the door which they tear and break down after desperate effort4 ,,scene #cb4 ,,stretch ,,of ,,railroad4 ,train speeding along4 ,,scene #cc4 ,,stretch ,,of ,,railroad ,,with ,,highway ,,alongside4 7,be sure to have auto moving toward train47 ,follow swaying1 madly-driven car containing ,donnelly and ,dalton4 ,obvious explosion of tire2 auto stops2 both spring out in dismay4 ,show futility2 rush despairingly to track2 suddenly ,dalton points ahead with a glad cry2 a hand car is on a siding close by2 laborer tries to stop them from seizing car and is thrown down the embankment2 they propel it away4 ,,scene #cd4 ,,straightaway ,,stretch ,,of ,,railway4 7,following car47 ,both men working in half exhaustion2 suddenly ,donnelly collapses and pitches off the side of the car4 ,dalton tries in vain to push car alone up steep incline2 seeing the futility he too drops off exhausted2 is up again and runs on4 ,,scene #ce4 ,,interior ,,of ,,passenger ,,coach4 ,florence and ,mrs4 ,donnelly in foreground2 ,florence seeing her mother weeping asks her to kiss the flower ,arthur gave her2 both smile4 ,,scene #cf4 ,,stretch ,,of ,,railway ,,trestle4 ,dalton making his way groggily over it in dangerous manner2 looks down once while resting and draws away in horror1 realizing that dynamite is there2 glances at watch2 registers the singing of the rails2 hurries on in terror4 ,,caption #i4 ,,dalton ,,severs ,,his ,,wrist ,,to ,,make ,,the ,,blood-,,red ,,danger ,,signal4 ,,scene #cg4 ,,curve ,,of ,,railroad4 ,dalton has fallen at last between the tracks2 structure 7artificial7 of bridge may be seen several hundred feet behind2 train plainly in sight bearing down on him4 ,he has been waving his handkerchief weakly with no effect2 shakes his head and with frantic weakness gets out his knife2 severs his wrist2 presses handkerchief4 ,,scene #ch4 ,,engine ,,cab4 ,cab swaying2 fireman leans over frantically signalling to engineer to down brakes2 engineer pulls throttle back and both jump down4 ,,scene #ci4 ,,same ,,as #cg4 ,,railroad4 ,dalton1 his arm still raised waveringly2 streams of blood running down it2 he collapses4 ,mrs4 ,donnelly and ,florence among first passengers to appear4 ,doctor comes forward and tourniquets arm4 ,they are all startled by tremendous explosion that sends debris up in a cloud2 supposed bridge collapses4 ,all turn thankfully to ,dalton4 ,,caption #i4 ,,the ,,balm ,,of ,,vengeance4 ,,scene #dj4 ,,same ,,as #e4 ,,living ,,room4 ,dalton sleeping in chair1 his arm1 in bandage2 ,florence enters2 signals someone2 ,donnelly enters tenderly carrying ,arthur2 ,dalton opens his eyes2 sees ,donnelly caressing his boy2 ,donnelly turns2 they look at each other and smile2 ,florence takes her father's hand and puts it into ,dalton's4 7,fade47 ,,the ,,end4 ,,glossary ,to listen continually to words you do not understand1 is ,ignorance2 to use words persistently and inaccurately1 is ,pedantry2 to essay the ,business of ,expression and not study the significance of its terminology1 is ,dabbling4 ,,the ,,most-,,used ,,terms ,,defined ,,with ,,many ,,suggestions ,,for ,,revision ,,and ,,alternative ,,terms4 ,it was but natural that photoplaydom should be all cluttered up with the crude material from the workshop where it first saw the light of the screen--the ,studio-,factory4 ,the ,photoplay1 step by step1 was manufactured4 ,ideas1 pictures1 crude plays and even playwrights were manufactured6 ,let the factory have its own terminology1 but do not cripple technique with it4 ,that day has past forever1 but we have many of the relics still remaining1 most noticeable are those to be found among the terms applied to the technique of the photodrama4 ,they all smack of the factory4 ,there was never a question of literary quality1 value or significance4 ,many of them are unique in their homely appropriateness and should remain4 ,others are ridiculous and should be changed4 ,among the latter are terms that are without reason1 and which are used with different significance in different studios4 ,there should be a dignified standard of universal usage and recognition4 ,with this aim in view1 several suggestions are offered4 ,action--,specific act of a character2 the ,scenario2 the combined elements that compose a drama4 ,business--,the playwright's instructions to the actor to perform the expressive acts that transform him into a character4 ,bust--7,meaningless1 misleading47 ,see ,,close-,,view4 ,caption--,the interpretive reading line preceding a ,scene1 or ,sequence1 that explains1 excites interest and indicates passage of time4 ,close-,up--7,unliterary2 confusing because of both verbal and adverbal use47 ,see ,,close-,,view4 ,climax--,the supreme moment in the play2 the end toward which all elements tend in the ,plot4 ,cut-,back--7,really instruction in manufacturing to cut film and go back2 misleading to playwright who goes only forward47 ,see ,,return4 ,censor--,person employed by ,national or ,local ,board of ,censorship to criticize plays with a view to their moral influence4 ,chase--,an inartistic device in which many scenes are consumed in showing the pursuit of one or more characters by others1 and their perilous or ludicrous difficulties4 ,close-,view--,the isolated1 microscopic or magnified close view of some important fragment of action or essential piece of evidence or reading matter4 ,co-,incidence--,a chance incident1 meeting or discovery that conveniently helps out the plot and is obviously unconvincing to the audience4 ,crisis--,the instant that follows the 8planting0 of a ,situation and precedes the ,solution2 the turning-point when something must happen4 ,characters--,what the actors should become in the eyes of the audience4 ,cast--,the list of names1 parts and required characteristics of the characters 7in some cases includes names of actors taking the parts74 ,dissolve--,to dissolve one scene or character gradually into another4 ,director--,the person or persons who translate the playwright's manuscript into action1 setting and effects by directing the production of the play1 which is simultaneously photographed4 ,discover--,means to find a character already upon a scene when it is thrown upon the screen3 8,douglas discovered at window40 ,denouement--,that part of the ,plot left after the ,climax2 the part of the play following the culmination1 when 8just deserts0 are meted out as a result of the foregoing action4 ,dynamic--,the visible exercise of force1 violence and physical effects1 as opposed to visualized emotion4 ,enter--,said of a character as he enters a scene3 8,enter ,douglas40 ,exit--7,plural ,,exeunt47 ,said of a character as he leaves a scene3 8,exit ,douglas40 ,establish--,to make certain the relationship of a character with other characters and with his surroundings1 or to make known his identity4 ,episode--,an isolated incident not bearing upon the climax which has no place in the ,play4 ,editor--,person who reads manuscripts to determine their availability1 and possibly edits1 revises and rebuilds promising manuscripts to practicability4 ,exterior--,a scene laid actually or presumably in the open-air4 ,film--,the celluloid strip upon which the photographs are to be--or have been--portrayed4 7,,film as a verb seems almost eligible because of usage47 ,fade--,to cause a scene to fade gradually into blackness4 ,flash--7,variously used by different ,companies47 ,accurately1 when referring to a scene fragment that is flashed for a second on the screen4 ,farce--,extravagant ,comedy4 ,harmony--,the perfect agreement1 consistency and balance of all the parts with the whole in a complete1 artistic and gratifying effect4 ,insert--,any matter that breaks the continuity of a scene2 printed matter1 letters1 inscriptions1 captions1 dialog1 close-views1 visions and devices other than action4 ,interior--,a scene laid under the roof and within the four walls of any structure4 ,jump--,a gap1 not merely in the continuity1 but in the progressive action of the ,play4 ,leader--7,prominent editorial in a newspaper47 ,see ,,caption4 ,lead--,one of the 8star0 actors having the leading part in a ,play4 ,locale--,the combined ,settings for the main theme of the ,play1 including ,atmosphere4 ,long ,play--,a ,play occupying more than one ,reel4 ,multiple ,reel--7,see ,,long ,,play47 ,manuscript--,the written form of the playwright1 containing ,synopsis1 ,cast1 ,scene-,plot1 ,remarks and ,scenario4 ,pantomime--,sign language and inter-communication between characters4 ,punch--,an effective ,climax2 the effect upon the audience of the ,climax4 ,plot--,the organized dramatic material upon which the ,play is elaborated4 ,properties--,all articles necessary for the effective staging of a play4 ,reel--#a1jjj feet of film2 length of a ,short ,play2 the spool upon which the film is wound4 ,register--,the method of visualizing sounds by showing the reflex action of recipient4 ,release--,to place a ,play upon the market2 the ,play so released4 ,screen--,the framed surface upon which the ,play is projected2 the act of projecting4 ,spectacle--,a ,scene or ,play or series showing daring deeds1 gorgeous settings or dynamic force or numbers2 not necessarily dramatic4 ,set--,specific ,scene artificially constructed4 ,short ,play--,a one-reel1 one-part ,play2 comparable to the ,short ,story1 or ,one-act ,play4 ,setting--,the scenic environment in which the action takes place4 ,scenario--,the ,action of a ,play laid out in progressive ,scenes with appropriate ,business4 ,synopsis--,a condensed version of the play in story form and present tense4 ,script--7,slang1 by which nothing is gained but ill-repute47 ,see ,,manuscript4 ,sequence--,logical order of succession of events2 a connected series of incidents4 ,serio-,comic--,comedy written in vein of seriousness that makes it ridiculous4 ,split ,reel--,a subject1 or ,play1 occupying less than one reel4 ,scene--,all the ,action in one ,setting taken without moving or stopping the camera2 a ,scene broken by any form of ,insert is 8continued10 technically unbroken after the interruption4 ,stage--,the ,cinema stage never exceeds in limits the range of the camera4 ,sub-,title--7,a secondary title1 as3 8,st4 ,valentine's ,day1 or ,the ,fair ,maid of ,perth10 8,the ,fair ,maid of ,perth0 being the sub-title to 8,st4 ,valentine's ,day407 ,see ,,caption4 ,title--,the name by which the ,play is called and known4 ,technique--,the science of giving established and effective photoplay form to the dramatic ,plot4 ,theme--,the main line of ,plot development2 the subject-idea of the ,play4 ,tint--,to color the scene to represent moonlight1 lamplight1 firelight4 ,unity--,the agreement and appropriateness of the elements that constitute a ,play4 ,visualize--,to interpret the playwright's ideas in such a way that the audience will see and understand them4 ,vision--,the screening of some remembered or contemplated action bearing on the play that is passing thru the mind of a character2 picturing a dream4 ,,other ,,volumes ,,in ,,the ,,authors' ,,hand-,,book ,,series ,,the ,,plot of the ,,short ,,story ,,by ,,henry ,,albert ,,phillips ,author of 8,a ,complete ,course in ,short ,story ,writing10 8,a ,complete ,course in ,photoplay ,writing10 8,a ,complete ,course in ,plot ,construction10 8,art in ,short ,story ,narration10 8,the ,photodrama10 and formerly ,associate ,editor of the 8,metropolitan ,magazine40 ,introduction by ,matthew ,white1 ,jr41 ,editor of 8,munsey's0 ,the only serious work on ,plot ,sources1 ,construction and ,analysis there is2 just as valuable to ,photoplaywright as to ,fiction ,writer4 8,we think the ,photoplaywright will find many helpful hints in #8,the ,plot of the ,short ,story4' ,those who are building up their working library will find this book a welcome addition4 ,mr4 ,phillips proves himself a teacher as well as an author40--,,epes ,,winthrop ,,sargent in ,the ,moving ,picture ,world4 8#8,the ,plot of the ,short ,story' will prove invaluable to the ,photoplaywright4 ,originality and treatment of plot are the essence of the successful picture play1 and ,mr4 ,phillips points out very clearly how these plots may be obtained40--,,phil ,,lang1 ,editor of the ,kalem ,company4 8,the most practical hand-book for ,photoplaywrights ever written40--,e4 ,v4 ,,brewster1 ,editor ,motion ,picture ,magazine4 8,it is certainly a fine little work60--,,arthur ,,leeds1 ,editor ,photoplay ,author4 8,it is the best thing of the kind that has come my way40--,,modeste ,,hannis ,,jordan1 ,editor ,writer's ,bulletin4 8,this hand-book may be regarded as the best thing of its kind extant40--,north ,carolina ,education4 8,it is an excellent thing excellently done40--,,jack ,,london4 ,a ,thousand ,other ,testimonials6 ,now going into a ,second ,large ,edition4 ,,price ,,postpaid1 #a4bj 7,add #aj;c4 for collection of out of ,new ,york checks47 ,the ,stanhope-,dodge ,publishing ,company ,book ,department ,larchmont1 ,new ,york1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,the ,most ,noteworthy ,auxiliary ,that the ,writer's ,workshop ,has ,ever ,known6 ,,the ,,phillips ,,automatic ,,plot ,,collector1 ,,file ,,and ,,catalog ,elastic and limitless in ,scope and ,capacity4 ,will hold more than #aj1jjj uniform items of ,plot ,material4 ,designed for ,plot ,material1 ,plot ,germs and ,complete ,plots in the form of ,notes1 ,items1 ,newspaper ,clippings1 ,excerpts1 ,references1 ,statistics1 etc4 ,five hundred specially made ,receptacles1 in handsome1 serviceable filing cases4 ,more than #a1jjj headings and sub-headings under which ,plot matter is catalogued4 ,all divisions are logical1 progressive and comprehensive4 ,the most infinitesimal phase of fiction can be located1 filed or produced instantly4 ,each receptacle is numbered with 8,contents0 plainly printed upon it4 ,progressively indexed under seven grand divisions3 ,i4--,,the ,,heart ,,of ,,man--,man's ,relations with ,woman and ,family4 ,,ii4--,,the ,,ambition ,,of ,,man--,man's ,relations with ,his ,people and ,fellow ,man4 ,,iii4--,,the ,,flesh ,,of ,,man--,man's ,relations with the ,devil and ,death4 ,,iv4--,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,man--,man's ,relations with ,his ,god and ,religion4 ,v4--,,the ,,mind ,,of ,,man--,man's ,interpretation of the ,unreal and ,realization of the ,unknown4 ,,vi4--,,not-,,man--,the ,personification of the ,elements1 ,nature and ,animals4 ,,vii4--,,humor--,man ,under the ,spell of the ,ludicrous4 ,a ,stupendous ,work ,that ,has ,taken ,years of ,its ,author's ,time4 ,a ,positive ,inspiration ,that ,creates ,plot ,material from ,every ,phenomena of ,life1 ,eliminates ,all ,bungling1 ,untidy and ,haphazard ,methods of ,gathering ,plots4 ,will last a ,lifetime1 ,keeping ,material ,under ,double ,covers in ,original ,state4 ,it ,will ,save ,hours of ,time and ,days of ,wasted ,effort4 ,,plot ,,collector1 ,,file ,,and ,,catalog 7,invented and ,copyrighted by ,henry ,albert ,phillips7 ,sent ,prepaid ,anywhere in the ,postal ,union for ,,five ,,dollars ,,sole ,,distributors3 ,,stanhope-,,dodge ,book ,department ,larchmont1 ,new ,york1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,,other ,,volumes ,,the ,,authors' ,,hand-,,book ,,series ,art in ,short ,story ,narration ,a ,searching ,analysis of the ,qualifications of ,fiction in ,general and of the ,short ,story in ,particular1 with ,copious ,examples1 ,making the ,work ,a ,,practical ,,treatise ,by ,henry ,albert ,phillips ,introduction by ,rex ,beach 8,have read the book with continued interest40--,,brander ,,matthews4 8,the book is admirable2 as a series of sermons illustrative of the canon of literary good taste it is faultless40--,toronto ,mail and ,empire4 8,teachers will find much in ,mr4 ,phillips' book that will help them40--,america4 8,you have treated your subject with great justice and discernment40--,,anthony ,,hope ,,hawkins4 8,i find it full of suggestions40--,w4 ,j4 ,,locke4 8#8,art in ,short ,story ,narration' is a wonder book4 ,a constant source of enthusiasm4 ,it answers all the vital questions so perplexing to the beginner40--,,nelle ,,jackman4 ,price ,postpaid1 #a4bj ,,in ,,preparation ,the ,mechanics of ,fiction ,by the same ,author4 ,introduction by a ,famous ,literary ,critic ,price ,postpaid1 #a4bj ,glimpses of the ,unusual ,around the ,world ,by ,,howard ,s4 ,f4 ,,randolph ,written in a trenchant1 intimate style that brings the most remote and interesting corners of the whole world to the reader's armchair4 ,the odd byways of the earth are visualized microscopically4 ,the author truly takes you with him6 ,illustrated by #fh of the most superb photographs that ever appeared in any book4 ,price ,postpaid1 #a4jj4 ,,combination ,,prices3 8,plot10 8,narration0 and 8,mechanics0 and 8,glimpses10 #d4jj2 #c of the above1 #c4ae2 #b for #b4aj4 8,the ,short ,story ,market0 or 8,the ,photoplay ,market10 each #aj cents4 8,list of #ejj ,books of ,interest to the ,literary ,craft10 #aj cents4 ,note--,add #aj cents for collection of all out of ,new ,york checks4 ,,the ,,stanhope-,,dodge ,,publishing ,,co41 ,book ,department ,larchmont1 ,new ,york1 ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,italics are shown thus3 sloping4 ,bold type is shown thus3 strong4 ,variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained4 ,perceived typographical errors have been changed4