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CINEMATOGRAPHY AN ART FORM 25
fore. We may well emulate such a man as Leonardo da Vinci who was probably the most generally cultured man of whom we have ever known. There was little time wasted by such a man, who lived during a time when general knowledge was poorly disseminated; when painters made their own brushes, ground their own colors, whose wives wove their canvas. How rich in aesthetic enjoyment must have been the life of this one man who was master of all the arts. Consider, also, the labors of Michelangelo, who wrought before the time of steam or electric drills. Think of the mental fortitude of a man approaching a huge block of marble and beginning to chip, with mallet and chisel and never leaving off or tiring until he had completed his design. How many of such works he has left to delight the aesthetic minds of succeeding years; what monuments of colossal industry, infinite patience, consummate skill; what evidence of little wasted time.
Now, if the cinematographer cannot study his lighting in the academies, he can, at least, resort to the reproductions of the work of some of these masters whom we love to cite. In recommending this line of study, there is another favorite whom we delight in mentioning, a name that suggests itself repeatedly, it is that of Gustave Dore, for if there is one man's work that can be taken as the cinematographer's text, it is that of Dore's. His stories are told in our own language of "black and white," are highly imaginative and dramatic and should stimulate anybody's ideas.
The demands upon the ingenuity of the cinematographer, as regards lighting, are evidenced in the ever changing position of his subjects. Unlike the portrait artist, who can place his sitter at will, carefully arrange his lighting, make several exposures, pick the best and retouch the negative and nurse the printing, the movie photographer must provide for every change of position, pose and expression in a single run of film; and this is no easy matter.
Lighting is also so closely related to composition that we may almost consider them together by pointing out the fact that a light effect can often be made a feature of drawing and composition, and it requires a practised eye and skillful treatment to effect this. Very often (especially in out door work) a mere shifting of the camera angle will convert a harsh, ugly shadow into a very pleasing effect of drawing or composition. Sometimes it also happens that the set requirements are so simple that very little possibility is furnished for picture display. In such a case, artistic instinct can supply this lack of beauty by clever arrangement of the lighting. In this manner, we have frequently seen very simple sets made to appear very beautiful. This suggests an element of art that has been grossly neglected — that of simplicity.
Where there is too much complication of source and direction in lighting, there is likely to be too much discord in effects and values. If we ever keep in mind natural effects we cannot go far astray. We should not leave so important a subject without mentioning a prevailing fault in cinematography; it is the apparent fear of shadow. We admit that this fear is excusable for if the shadowy portions of a