The Cine Technician (1938-1939)

92 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN Sept. -October, 1938 IT is the firm conviction of the Directors Guild that rehabilitation lies, first, in changing the present "system of production" which pervades the industry, namely, eliminating the involved, complicated and expensive system of supervision which separates the director and writer from the responsible executive producers, which practice has steadily lowered the quality of motion pctures through a number of years. No director questions the need of executive supervision, nor are the directors endeavouring to tell the producing comj)anies how to run their businesses, and in referring here to executive personnel who are engaged in supervision of creative work in both "A" and "B" pictures no director questions the contribution of many individual producers who have given prodigiously to the industry. These men need no identification. Their contributions speak for themselves, and of them we have no words but praise and recognition for their accomplishments. We speak here of the army of the inept, who have been promoted to positions of authority for which they are unqualified, inexperienced and utterly lacking in creative ability. A survey of the major studios has revealed that 40 per cent of the cost of production is represented by overhead and miscellaneous. Never in the history of the industry has this cost been so high. We believe that it is to be explained by the "system of production" described above. Even within the other GO per cent is to be found a record of uncertainty, duplication and waste that characterises the present "system of production." There is no desire on our part to absolve the director of some of the responsibility, and one of the intentions of the Screen Directors Guild is to undertake self-discipline, which the overwhelming part of the membership is eager to undertake for the good of the industry. But we must emphasise that the larger responsibility rests with those in executive positions of power. The director finds himself very often actually carrying on wasteful and costly practices because of the present system. PROBLEM OF SUFFICIENT PRODUCT In recent years most studios have faced an everincreasing difficulty in meeting their release dates, and have fallen short of making the number of pictures yearly contracted for. This in spite of the increasing number of producers and associate producers. In large measure this can be attributed directly to the growing estrangement between the producer and the director on the one hand, and the director and the writer on the other. Let us be factual for a moment ! Following is a brief summary of findings covering the position of the director today — in comparison to ten years ago ! The most alarming and significant fact uncovered was the amazing increase in the producer class during the decade. 1926-27 1936-37 DIRECTORS with Feature Credits 246 ... 234 PRODUCERS, including Supervisors and Associates 34 ... 220 1927 1937 feature American-made Releases 743 ... 484 800 per cent more producers to produce 40 per cent less pictures. There arc 60 directors with 1936-1937 credits who were directing pictures in 1921 and earlier. It would seem but natural that the director whose greater knowledge of the mechanics of the picture and the THE ARMY OF THE INEPT We reprint the bulk of the anaylsis of motion picture production adopted by the Screen Directors Guild in Hollywood recently. actual working conditions on the back lot can ease and hasten stories and scenarios through many difficult situations, and whose trained and experienced mind can foresee many of their "retakes" and obviate them. Times without number when the producer has prepared a story without assistance or advice of the director, situations, stunts, and scenes are incorporated into the script which are either impossible of satisfactory achievement, or involve an expense out of all proportion to their importance to the picture. In many of these instances, had the director been present, he could have brought this to immediate attention and suggested mechanical alternatives that would have expedited the writing and facilitated the shooting. STORIES IN VAULTS Let us analyse this present "system of production" even further. Millions of dollars worth of story properties are in the vaults of studios. Much of this material never was of any value, much of it never will be of any value, and most of it was the ill conceived product of the unqualified. A great portion of this money is tied up in fully completed screen plays which will never be made. On many of these dozens of people have worked to no avail. In the great majority of cases no director has ever scanned a single line. This is a waste of money. Of these properties enough has been said — but one last statement must be put down, namely: that of all the people in the studio the directors have not been asked to go over this material for salvage and reconstruction. Weekly conferences on production take place in every studio. Here production questions relating to scripts to be bought scripts on hand, scripts in work and general policy are discussed. In a large majority of instances the directors are not invited. The directors would be happy to give of their experience to such meetings. Millions of dollars worth of fresh material is now. at this writing, being readied for the cameras. It is being cut into many parts, in accordance with the practice of subdivision of labour. The one man who, in the great majority of cases, has nothing to do with the preparation of the material is the man who will finally have to direct its exposure on film. Because of the separation of the director and the writer, when a script is finally handed to a director, he often finds in it an accumulation of writing done to order with little clarity or entertainment value which he must attempt to infuse with life without changing a line, a scene, or coming in behind schedule. In the making of "B" pictures these conditions are even more prevalent and are aggravated by the fact that the economy of production is paramount. In the majority of cases the men in charge of these pictures are utterly unqualified. They have little respect for the medium, less (Continued on page 94)