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produced the gentle black-out without affecting the appearance of the vignette frame.
Perhaps the greatest menace to the homogeneity of the silent film was the necessity of titles to explain what could not be conveyed pictorially. They should never be used unless it is practically impossible to tell some part of the story without them. They are like what a lie is said to be: an abomination unto the Lord but an ever-ready help in time of trouble. In careless hands the time of trouble happened much too often and it was much easier to slip in a title than do without it at the cost of making the scene again properly.
I know it may be said that the silent film is dead and buried long ago: why worry about it now? But the silent film is resurrected and, in the hands of a thousand enthusiastic amateurs, is going through all the joys and tribulations it suffered with me and my contemporaries before these critics were born. If anything I can say may be of use to the amateurs I am not going to be stopped from saying it. The 16 mm. film may be a most valuable training ground for future 35 mm. experts. It may conceivably even take the place of the larger film in due course. To every 16 mm. camera-man I send my most enthusiastic salutations. Go on and prosper! You are the pioneers in a very valuable enterprise. For the time being you must use titles, but make them as carefully as you possibly can, so that their unworthiness as part of a moving picture may not be too obvious. Never use a title if the meaning can be made clear in film without being long and tedious. Never use a title to state what the scene itself is about to state. Use it where necessary to record what speech would say if sound were at your command, and use it to tell of the lapse of time if that must be told. But don't, if you can help it, say ' — Came the Dawn.' And don't say 'End of Part I — Part II will follow immediately.' Because it never does.
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