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INTRODUCTION
John Seitz*
THE motion picture of today is the greatest medium of expression the world has ever known. Its possibilities are as limitless as the written word. But few there are who even faintly realize its destiny; the power it will exert in influencing mankind before it will be supplanted (if ever) by a more expressive medium.
All of our present knowledge had its beginning in the fixation in some form, such as writing, drawing or sculpture, of the thoughts and emotions of our predecessors on this earth. Until our emotions and thoughts are fixed in definite form they cannot live after us or be transmitted to others. It can be stated therefore, that the written word, the most abstract, flexible and limitless medium of thought transmission, has been the basis of practically all of our present knowledge and progress.
It is to the art of writing, alone, with its limitless power of expression, that the talking picture can be successfully compared. It is useless to compare the motion picture to painting, sculpture, music, the drama and other arts because of their obvious limitations. Each of these arts, supreme in its particular realm, never attempts to go beyond certain well-defined limits. The color of Titian and Veronese, the form of Michelangelo and Phidias, the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms, are beyond word description. No writer, however great, could give an idea the same form or substance in words that the masters of these arts imparted to canvas, stone and music.
All ideas of the earth, its life, the thoughts and emotions of its people, can be expressed in more or less satisfactory manner in words; certain ideas of nature and life can be expressed through painting, sculpture, music and other arts much more perfectly and completely than in writing. But, whereas these arts express only those phases of life which lie within their particular provinces, the whole of nature with all its complex life, lies within the province of the pen.
As the fine arts are superior to words in completeness of expression, so will the motion picture of the future be superior to writing in expressing every concrete form and phase of human endeavor. As a medium of education, seriously and intelligently exploited, the motion picture can equal and even surpass the text-book. Subjects presented in this form would excite greater interest and make more lasting impression upon the memory. As a molder of public opinion and thought, what newspaper or magazine could be as eloquent or carry as much conviction as the carefully prepared motion picture? Its power in this field is well-nigh limitless.
As an instrument for the expression of life, thought and emotion it is the most expressive of the arts. While not so pure an art form as
* President, The American Society of Cinematographers
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