Motion Picture Magazine (Nov 1916-Jan 1917)

54 TRICKS OF THE SCREEN ACTOR'S TRADE attion and facial expression and words. The main differences in technique arise, I should say, from the fact that on the stage the actor has all the room he wants ; before the camera he hasn't. The stage actor is limited only by the height and width of the proscenium arch; the film actor is, the greater part of the time, less free. Since it is essential that every shade of meaning that gesture and facial play can reveal be registered by the lens, he must be close to the camera. Hence most of the action in a film play takes place about nine feet from the camera, on the 'nine-foot line' ; and many of the most important parts1 require close-ups, in which, of course, the actor is even nearer the lens. He cannot move far to either side, or he will not remain 'in the camera.' Also, he cannot move fast, for any quick action will result in a blur. A swift change of facial expression will have a similar effect. An expression a bit exaggerated will appear on the screen as a grimace and make the actor seem to be 'mugging.' Many quick, spontaneous gestures have, therefore, to be inhibited, for, tho they may be natural in life, on the screen they seem jerky, like the actions of puppets. "Many stage actors come to the studios with the idea that to register on the lens they must overact. That is a mistake. The camera is more subtle than they suppose. You have to be economical with your gestures and time them carefully. Watch the work of Henry Walthall, and you will realize what I mean. He is, it seems to me, the best actor to be seen in the pictures at present. Just as the camera detects postures of a galloping horse which are maintained for so very small a fraction of time that the eye is too slow to detect them, so the lens catches nuances of facial expression that are so unfamiliar that they often seem queer and startling. On the nine-foot line and in the close-up, the Moving Picture actor can make the merest flicker of an eyelash significant. Working more slowly, he has more chance for emphasis ; but he has to avoid becoming ponderous and over-emphatic. It is only on and inside the nine-foot line, however, that he has to perform slowly; in the 'long throws,' when he is farther from the camera, the tempo is about that of life. "And, since the lens registers each action relentlessly, the actor must be always at his best. In the spoken drama he may say, T did that badly tonight ; I'll get it right tomorrow night.' In the films there is no 'tomorrow night/ The actor must hit the nail squarely on the head the first time. And often he must do so with a director shouting advice to him and give no sign that he is being spoken to. This demands a degree of concentration that one finds almost maddening. Actors of long experience on the stage tell me they find the films much more exhausting than acting for an audience directly. "Detail is the Motion Picture actor's curse. He must worry about the details not only of his movements, but of his dress. He needs a better memory than the proverbial liar. For instance, I am posing now for three films at once, and in each I must remember just what pose I was in when I stopped work last, just what I wore, in just what mood I was meant to be and by just what means I was interpreting my mood or emotion. Very often, if I have my hair cut while doing a picture, I have to cover even that slight change in appearance by making up to look as I did before visiting the barber. "Yes, the film actor's job differs from that of the performer on the stage in many matters of technique. But in one respect they are both alike — they are both hard work." C"^«><"» Making a Movie By ADELAIDE R. LOWMAN Country town — business street, General store — gossips meet; Village belle — city cad, Bashful lover — stern dad; Babbling brook — villain's tale, Night express — parents' wail; Automobile — lover's chase, Brave rescue — fond embrace ; Parents' blessings — wedding bell, Family picture — all's well !