Pictures and the Picturegoer (April - September 1915)

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.'.UNCI -'5, 1915 «yy PICTURES AND THE P1CTUREGOER How to Write a Picture Play BY A SCENARIO EDITOR. PART II. Til B next question the would-be i-lnywricrbt must ask himself is Boh shall 1 put mj scenario into such a form that the audience will !»• able to appreciate its every incident to the full, and have their interest maintained throughout the entire film; that the actors and actresses n ill he able t<> perform it « ith tlii' greatest effect ami the least possible unnecessarj detail; thai its action maj l"1 smooth and continuous, ami not a series of more or less connected episodes, roughly strung together. That the audience should understand and appreciate your storj is, of course, . and moi -eo\ er t bej must l>e able to do bo with as little mental effort as possible. In order to obtain this desirable result, the principal characters in thi> plaj must l>e judi' ciously introduced preferably quite early in the action. Nothing is more confusing than an introduction late in the development of the story. Also, don't introduce more than ttc important characters in any one scene Ear better let them enter the story one at a time, bo that tin' name and appearance of each may lie clearly established in the minds of thiv spectators. Another thing, the relationship which the various characters hoar to one another must 1« definitely shown ; never let the audience hs in such a position that they are obliged to guess as to whether two characters are man and wife, brother and sister, or sweethearts. Yon a the author, know all about it. but your audience do not, and must consequent ly be informed. What to Do and Not to Do. (let to work on the main story at once; don't waste time on preliminaries, even though they may be in themselves " nice touches'" which you feel sorry to omit. Most amateurs take far too long in" getting down to business."' Be careful not to suggest too clearly in on.' scene what is about to happen in the next, and never go away from your theme by adding a lot of !'by-play," which, although it may be quite interesting, has no direct bearing upon the story. Write a skeleton outline of the plot before .starting on the detailed scenario, include only the necessary incidents, and tell the story as concisely as possible. Jt is wise Hot to introduce an episode early in the play, which, while giving the audience the impression that it is of some importance, his in reality \ery little bearing upon t lie climax, or denouement, as it is usually called. Make ev.'.-y episode lead step by step up to this denouement, which, although it should come as a surprise to the audience, ought to be the only really logical termination of the plot. Now with regard to making things easy for the actors. Write out all your directions as brieflj as you can, and in simple, .everydaj language. Long wi and hightlown sentences are quite out of place 111 a scenario. Hear in mind the extent and limitations of the 'stock company." of tic particular linn of producers to whom you are thinking ^\ submitting your plot. Don'l make your actors and actresses do weird and extraordinary thing-, unless you happen to know that sonic particular company is in the habit of employing a performer with the necessary unique qualifications. Don't try to dispose of a plot during the winter season which necessitates a lot o( river rescue work. The act. rs don't like it. The third and last part of the playwright's query, which deals with tinui '"in. is perhaps the" most important of all. The Value of the "Cut-back." Whenever possible, one scene should lead to another, of course this does u.t mean that all the little everyday actions of the characters must of neces"Bity be shown on the screen ; that would be very uninteresting ! The author must provide for the actions of one particular character or set of characters to be constantly alternated with a scene or series of scenes dealing with some other character or set of characters. By this method of alternating continuity is preserved and the interest maintained. .pi. the hero h » tin ned from a aiotoi .; to 1 he v illain'a h uise iodine ; 1 1 he mill eh . an evening suit. Lei him enter the house and go up ial.lv I" make tic I. ut don'l show him actuall) eh 11 commencing to change; on the other lii. I. don'l jump him at once to tievillain's dining-room. Thi is to fill in the (fjip between I Upstairs and taking hi 1 the dinner-table by it two d iling wilh the actions of. sa\. the Icroiue. This is w hat is called the " cut ■). u sysl lee keeping tic audi rii. Btantlj 1 d, n has the advantage of doing away with a super tillitj of • Mill titles.'' or '• le ideis. the screen-message* are called. Sup] (still using the same example) the author had not inserted a scene between the hero's exit upstairs and his appearance at diiucr. it uould have been absolutely essential to write a " sinYtitle,'.' such as Some time later," or '• Later that evening." itinued.) "PUNCH" ON CHARLIE IT^OB weeks there has been no escaping him. Nations might be at each other throats ; Zeppelins might I.. dropping bombs up. hi Bleeping families ; holies anil tears might make "hearts beat faster. v\hilea sense of calamit) filled the air: yet all the time Ilia claims as » gravity-remover have met uiie's eyes at evcrj turn. That Ik is funny is beyond question. I will swear to that. What strikes one quickly i the realisation of how much harder Charlie wv.rks than aiiy other of the more illustrious filmers, II" is rarely .out of the picture. lie joins the film in his unobtrusive nuthoilist v,av ;.s quietly as a smut settling on a nose, ami behold he is the verj spirit of discord, the drollest Of all the lords of misrule. THE PICTURES AND THE POCKET. MH FATHEROF ONE THINKS THE ONLHA IS A SPLENDID PLACE To SEND HiS BOY TO. v/HEN HE WANTS A OUIET EVENING. Hoti£ Swfo Hone. ( A j WE Want, to go y>Cl (to the. Pictures . Father MR quiverful, however, is not Quite s>o sure about m ^ IT \H\\ar? uyrny.s