Hands of Hollywood (1929)

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The Story The title writer not only composes the ordinary titles indicated by the script, but frequently inserts titles merely "for laughs. M This becomes particularly necessary when the picture is weak in story and "draggy" in action. Indeed, many poor pictures have been saved by clever, crisp, laugh-provoking titles. Sometimes a big cut is necessary in a picture, which leaves the action of the story disconnected. Perhaps the story was not very clear in the first place; perhaps the director has not "shot" enough footage for a certain sequence. In such cases, the title writer comes to the rescue by inserting explanatory titles. Though the Talkers have seriously threatened the hitherto secure position of this craft, title writers are still earning large salaries. Many of the Talkers are not 100 per cent dialog, so the titles must be written for these as well as for silent pictures. Qualifications of Title Writers: Ability to write tersely. Possession of a fair blend of pathos and humor. Good judgment of screen laughs. Understanding of the characters in a picture and their likely vocabulary. This is particularly important when writing conversational titles for historical and foreign characters. Salaries of title writers range from $250.00 to $1500.00 per week, or $500.00 to $3000.00 per assignment. DIALOG WRITERS Dialog writers write the dialog, i. e., the words actually spoken in a talking picture. Many playwrights, etc., have been brought to Holly-wood and have signed contracts with the producers to write dialog, but some of the most effective dialog is being written by the old time scenarists. The writing of dialog is not so much a matter of laboriously acquired technique as it is one of natural born talent. Much nonsense has been written to the effect that talking pictures would rob the regular scenarists of a living. Such witless predictions ignore this pertinent fact: A motion picture, whether silent or talking, is still a picture. [33]