The art of sound pictures (1930)

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RHYTHM 123 sound pictures. The net velocity of plot movement is much too low. The monotony of the even counterpoint of conversation, which was the curse of the first pattern, has been corrected, in large measure. Now the listener is eased by the intervening silences that accompany the incidental action of mother and daughter. But what is gained thus is more than offset by the loss of speed in action. Esthetically, this rhythm is, on the whole, moderately pleasing. We reject the design on technical grounds alone; no sound picture has time for such leisurely conduct. To speed the pattern up, let us try a third form. Let the mother speak as before, but let the daughter wax ejaculative. And let all incidental action between speeches fall out. Now we have something like this; Mother. What a wonderful show window we have! It cost eight hundred dollars to fix it up, but it will repay us. Daughter [in nervous exasperation']. When? Mother [complacently]. Not at first, to be sure. But after a few days people will begin to come in. They always shy away from new shops until they feel they belong. Daughter. How’s cash? Mother. We’ve enough to keep things going smoothly for two more weeks, even if we don’t make a single sale. Don’t worry, dear — Daughter [a little hysterically]. I? Worry? Pooh! Here is something quite different. Notice the pick-up, as the auto salesman would say. How fast things get under way now! Then, too, observe the brisk alternation of long and short talk. Each serves as a relief to the other. Its diagram is as follows: MMMMMMMMMM — DD — MMMMMMMMM — DD — MMMMMMMMMM — DD — MMMMMMMMM — DD. Count the seconds that elapse. Compare with the