American cinematographer (Nov 1921-Jan 1922)

December 15, 1921 THE AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER 13 Jimmy the Assistant CLAYING THE GAME In my offishal position of Assistant Cameraman I have been gave advice on all matters from the proper way to hold a slate to the location of my most probable eternal dwelling, and most all this valyooable advice has came from cameramen. Sometimes a director or so has pointed out the locations of several differnt lakes, all admirably sooted for jumping purposes, but on the whole, I have been bawled out almost exsclusively by cameramen. I've been kinda leery about returning any such favors, because jobs is awful scarce, but heres where I'de like to ask you cameramen a few pointed questions. Are you playing the game? Are you being a sport or a crab? Are you buckling down to the new conditions like a fighter or are you whining about hard times? Lets just give the sityuation the once over. Salaries has taken a general drop. There aint very many companies working. Forrin pictures is raising hell with our standards of perduction costs, and snowing a few companies under. Studios is paring expenses, and you aint allowed to spend money like you used to. And worst of all, theres a lot of you out of jobs, with nothing very exciting in the way of prospects. That about the gist of all the various crabs I've heard from cameramen all during the past year. The trouble with most of you fellows is that you use the rong standards of comparison. You seem to have forgot that we had a war a short time ago, and that prices was inflated, including cameramens salaries. I dont expect theres more than 1 out of 743,739 of you that figures it was conditions and not grate merit that boosted your weekly insult a hundred or so higher. The actyooal facts is these; your dough got boosted right along with the price of eggs. Well, eggs aint a dollar a dozen no more. Get me? Dooring the war, when all our brave prizefighters and baseball heros, and famous idols of do and dare braved untold dangers from falling hammers, etc., in the shipyards, there was a lot of you that went on airplane sight-seeing trips over the German lines. Your place was took by men less capable than you, but whove since learned. Consekwently, there is now more cameramen than jobs. It's down to a competitive basis, where the best man (for the money! ) wins. That explains part of the overplus but not all. Dooring that same war there was a lot of people which hadn't never had a decent job in their lives, found themselves getting more dough in a week than they used to get in a month, so they made the sky the limit on their spending money. Shows, as well as silk shirts, was much in demand, and the exhibitors begun to yell for films. The people was willing to look at anything, so long as it was expensive, and so we had a time when anything that had sprocket holes in it, and could be perjected, sold, and at a good price. That boom started all the studios working overtime to turn it out, and new companies sprung up everywhere. Cameramen was scarce, and, troo to the workings of the old familiar supply and demand idea, their salaries got tilted, and a lot of seconds had a chance to grab off a good first camera job. Most of them had plenty of chances to improve, and now that the balloon has busted, and the business is settling down again, here they are, perfectly good capable cameramen, and not enough jobs to go around. Now heres the way to look at the whole proposition. Figure how you stood before the war, and make all your comparisons by that standard, and then you will know just about where you really are at. A lot of you will see a big improvement. Yes, I know you have improved in knowledge, but so has the whole industry, for that matter; if you hadnt improved you would have been in the discard long ago. Looking at it from that angle, you dont feel half so sorry for yourselves, do you? It's a matter of fact that the cameramans salary, which was about $30.00 a week in 1913, had made a steady increase up to the time of the war. What happened then wasnt a normal thing at all, and hadnt ought to be figured as anything but a freak. You fellows is a lot better off than you ever was. All thats the matter with you is that you aint the pampered pets of Dame Fortune any more, and this idea of having to dig in with all four feet to get anywhere dont seem so very good. It's the cold grey dawn of the morning after, not a permanent residents with Dame Fortune's ugly daughter, Miss Fortune, that youre up against. Come on! Snap out of it! Play the game like a sport, not a spoiled child! Youre not picked on, you only think so, and nursing a grudge about it aint getting you nowhere. Jump into the work like you would pitch ball in a ninth inning pinch, and show 'em youre not yellow. Youre up against competition now, and you gotta fight to hold you're job. Therese a lotta good men outa work, and its up to you to keep awake if you dont want to trade places with them. That's the proposition youre up against, and if you dont like it you'de better get out. Mr. Barber (joes Into Figures According to John E. Barber, assistant to the president of the First National Bank, of Los Angeles, 30 per cent of the ultimate gross returns of a given film are collected in the first two months, 25 per cent more in the following three months and 90 per cent in the first year. The earning power is completed in the first four months of the second year, this calculation disregarding foreign rights sales. Here is Mr. Barber's estimate of the distribution of costs of a big feature: Salaries, Wages, Etc. P.C. Directors and staff $21,462 15.33 Acting personnel (including extras) 26,224 18.73 Administrative (office and executives) 11,069 7.90 Mechanics, electricians, carpenters, laborers, etc 26,656 19.04 Total $85,411 61.00 Other Expenses P.C. Scenario (including cost of story and continuity) $2,795 1.99 Materials used in scenery and sets 5,648 4.04 Properties (including rentals) 14,969 10.70 Wardrobe (including rentals) 2,123 1.52 Publicity 2,676 1.90 Raw films 5.583 3.99 Insurance and taxes 3,243 2.32 Depreciation 5,487 3.92 Interest on advances from banks 3,338 2.38 General expense and miscellaneous overhead.. 8,727 6.24 Total $140,000 100.00 r The Negative Is the Important Thing Unless your negatives are properly handled in developing, no laboratory can give you perfect release prints. We specialize in good, consistent, even negatives and daily prints. Below are some of the productions on which we handled the negatives: DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS "The Three Musketeers" "The Mark of Zorro" "The Nut" ANITA STEWART "The Woman He Married" WARD LASCELLE "Hip Van Winkle" ROBERT BRUNTON "Without Benefit of Gere Clune Film Laboratories 5356 MELROSE AVE. HOLLYWOOD 2700 "Quality and Individual Service." Our Motto