American cinematographer (Nov 1921-Jan 1922)

November 1, 1921 Page Nine The AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER To a cameraman standing on the summit of Mount Lowe and looking down upon "the cities of the plain" the whole marvelous panorama suggests nothing so much as a motion picture of unspeakable beauty. The picture does not really move, but the constant shifting of the observer's vision from mountain peak to canyon, to valley, to hill, to sea, to sky, to cloudbank, to rugged trail, to valley mist, to the islands of the sea and back to the majesty of the mountains, every prospect softened by the magic touch of nature's color, produces the effect of motion and the whole scene seems to be alive. Standing at such a point of vantage it is not difficult to project the vision into the future and see spread out there below a city reaching from the Santa Monica Mountains to Sierra Madre, from Balboa far beyond Burbank and from the Beverly Hills to Santa Ana — a city mightier than any ever built by man — with as many millions as London and New York combined! And why not? "Westward the course of empire takes its way" constantly, and, already, West is East. Is the movement to California and the West Coast simply an hegira of some millions of people looking for soft living, or is it a very definite part of the plan of Divine Providence in the evolution of the human race? The world war ends and suddenly all nations turn their eyes toward the Pacific. Japan, already a child of the Pacific, suddenly looms as a tremendous power. For good or evil? That is what all nations are asking. Why? Because Japan in her spirit of Bushido (the Soul of Japan) asserts herself as the arbiter of her own destiny and proclaims her power and intention to fulfill that destiny. This takes concrete form in sundry strategic movements looking indubitably to the dominance of the Far East-China, Siberia and the islands of the sea which, translated into political import, means dominating the Pacific. We see Great Britain hastening to concentrate a gigantic fleet at Singapore; Australia openly disapproves of Japan's aspirations; China, awake too late, plays for time; the United States, with the Philippines on her hands, watches anxiously, while professional war-makers look for an opportunity to precipitate the struggle. And why all this shifting of men on the international chess board? Is what we see with our eyes all there is to these great movements of nations? It is worth remark, in view of these things, that students, teachers and writers of Theosophical subjects have interesting light to throw upon these phenomena, the outstanding headlands or which are: 1. That a new race is in the process of building here in Southern California. 2. That a new continent is in process of forming in the Pacific. 3. That the future great activities of the world are to find their theatre on the new continent and the coasts adjacent to it. It requires deep research into the strange and recondite books of the Theosophical religio-science to gain an understanding of the Great Plan of evolution of the Logos of our solar system; of the building of the root races and their differentiation into subraces; of the rise and fall of nations and the growth, the flourishing and the breaking up of continents. Western science now knows of the existence of the longdeparted continent of Lemuria and of the more recently existing continent of Atlantis. If these two great continents with their mighty civilizations came and went, why shall not others come and old ones go and why may not this great movement toward the Pacific be in truth the outward, visible sign of the working of a great cosmic law — a world movement according to the Great Plan of Divine Law? This same source of information tells us that the dominating race of the present day is the Teutonic (not in any sense the German nationality), including among others all the English-speaking peoples, and that this race is the Fifth Sub Race of the Fifth Root Race; that the next race to be developed is the Sixth Sub Race, the pioneers of which are beginning to appear among the highest types of children of California; and that the glories of all present and former civilizations will pale before the glory of this new type of humanity in the ages to come. Of the Japanese we are told that they have a mighty destiny to fulfill which in no way interferes with nor detracts from the glory of any other peoples. The Theosophical message is, therefore, fraught with glad tidings of great joy to all peoples and especially to the people of Southern California and the West Coast. Let the new continent arise and the new race come forth to the glory of the God of races and, this time, the Divine panorama will not be lost to posterity, for our cameraman of Mount Lowe will be at his tripod ready to record the march of events the like of which in time past perished because their were no cameramen. Composition— W bat Is It? By JOHN LEEZER We are in an art salon where an exhibition of statuary and pictures is being held. Some wonderful paintings have been hung, but we have gone to the photographic department first. Here are several very fine specimens of our art and we glory in the fact that photography, as a medium of expression, ranks above all other mediums. There is one picture, however, in which we are especially interested — a pastoral scene with horses and cows, oak trees and a stream. Did you ever look at a picture and be so impressed with its realness that you thought you were looking through a window frame at the real thing? This was the impression we had upon this occasion. We could even hear the swish of the horses' tails. They called it "Peaceful Valley," but in the final analysis what was the secret of its appeal? It was not the subject. The lighting was effective and had a decided bearing on the general effect, but what caused that restful, peaceful sensation? Why, the sympathetic arrangement of subjects. There was nothing out of place — the balance was perfect (the law of balance holds true in art as well as in physics), it was a photographic symphony. Fundamentally, what makes a picture? Subject, lighting and what we have been talking about, namely, composition. There are some who claim that certain laws govern composition, but, frankly, I don't believe it. The composition in a picture, whether it be still or animated, is YOU. Why be bound by any set rules? Let it be the expression of your own artistic sense. Art is original. Art is individual expression. Let us keep it in mind when we work. The Photorho matist is fortunite in having as its guiding genius Mr. Ted Le Berthon who apparently is not onlv an editor of great ability, but one who knows how to arouse enthusiasm in his co-workers. The Photodraiuati^t is not merely a device to get advertising, but is a valuable help to those aspiring souls who are really sincere in their efforts to learn and apply the art of photoplay construction.