The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

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From Hollywood Conducted by M. T. O. WHEN the first motion picture producer took his cue from David Belasco and the other realists of the theater, and used sure-enough water in his pumps, and real houses instead of painted ones for his settings, he probably didn't realize how big a thing he had started. The eager public, rejoicing at sight of a stone wall which did not quiver at the touch of a hand, or a tree which remained firmly rooted even when some burly actor leaned against it, applauded generously, and demanded more of the same. Then all the picture producers, vastly elated at having discovered some- thing brand new, proceeded to enlarge the idea, and improve upon it, each striving to outdo the other, until presently they had developed in their public a passion for realism in the movies that is astounding. At first it was easy, for the idea was so new, and the country was so big. If a director had time enough and money enough at his disposal, he could obtain prac- tically any kind of natural setting that his heart desired or his story called for. But in those days, you must remember, the requirements weren't so very exacting. The motion-picture tastes of the public were simple: we didn't dream of such pictures as "The Three Musketeers," or "Orphans of the Storm," or "Monte Cristo." But as we began to see the possibilities of the screen in so far as realism was concerned, we came to have great expectations and were no longer satisfied with make-believes. If the set called for a chair against a wall, a chair there must be—one that could actually be sat upon, and not one painted on the back drop. And we began to make sarcastic remarks when things didn't ap- pear quite real enough to our now critical eyes. So it was up to the producers to maintain the standards they had set. They searched the surrounding country for beautiful and unusual scenes—not! difficult task, for California proved a rk storehouse. With this enormous supply « hand, all went well with the movies, an incidentally California was exploited sea ically to an extent that could never ha? been possible in any other way. Then, perhaps, producers or directoi grew careless or lazy. If a location wj far away or difficult of access, they sai in effect, "We will just substitute thj other location for that one. Of cours this one has been used before, but w can shoot it from a different angle, an they'll never recognize it." That worke for a time, and still does to some extefl But we are movie-wise these days, and takes a wide-awake location director an a clever camera man to fool us. It was necessary, of course, as desirabl locations were used up, for the studios t develop a definite and efficient organizatio to take care of that particular branch o production. Most of them have at preset a department under a "location director whose business it is to find locations o any type that might conceivably be of us in a picture. An important part of th department is a filing system which con tains a picture or description of every loci tion that has already been used and man that have not, together with notations a to how often they have been filmed, date of filming, titles of pictures in which the! have been used, rental, and any other ne* essary details. Thus, on short notice, th location department can inform a directo whose story is being prepared, where to fin the exterior scenes he needs when he i ready for them. The location director muS) perforce, be a mine of information concern ing the scenic qualifications of the sttt rounding country, and frequent journeys 0 exploration and inspection are a part o his routine. 234