Exhibitors Herald (1925)

32 EXHIBITORSHERALD March 28, 1925 ^TT fF e have note, in effect, followed a photoplay through course from inception to its final issuance from the ^ studio. Arid if what I have said may bring light to even a fetv exhibitors who lacked this information, or cause other exhibitors to folloiv more closely the details of film production, my purpose may be considered well served. — Richard A. Rowland. Concluding the Series — What an Exhibitor Should Know About Production By Richard A. Rowland IK the three preceding articles of this series I have stressed the importance of a knowledge of film production by the exhibitor as an adjunct of box office success. I have pointed out wa^’s whereby such a knowledge, applied to the pictures he books, can be put to exploitation uses. In this, the concluding number of the series, I will endeavor to carrj’ still further the thought of production knowledge as part of an exhibitor’s business knowledge. After all the technical processes I have previously mentioned have been applied to a production there remains one thing without which the most painstakingly planned film play is lifeless. I refer to “atmosphere.” Atmosphere to a photopla} is what the entry of a beautiful woman is to drawing room where conversation is threatening to lapse into boredom. The eye is immediately pleased and communicates its pleasure to the rest of the being. So with the photoplay. The eye is pleased, and the source of this pleasure is the setting in which the photoplay is dressed. It is a thing apart from the drama of the story, apart from the direction and apart from the acting. Atmosphere in the film play is created by the photography and, before that, by the charm of the sets and the costumes, the furnishings, and the lighting effects that enter into the composition of the scenes. The public likes to he dazzled. It likes things that glitter, but it demands the glitter of the genuine jewel and not the tawdry flash of tinsel. The public rebels at cheap imitation in anything on the screen. Producers have been more than lavish in pleasing the public with beautiful and artistic atmospheric effects. In so doing they have catered purposely to the box office. They know that audiences w'ill pay their money more readily for a picture that is brilliant and lavishly dressed. It is for the same reason that they visit art galleries and fashion shows. ^ 'di The man mainly reponsible for the atmosphere of the film play is the art direetor. He is more than an artist — he is also a psychologist. He knows the public’s craving for novel and pleasing effeets. So he strives for these effeets, always seeking something new' and striking in designing his sets. One of the first copies of the finished film continuity goes immediately to the hands of the art director. He studies out minutely the action, visualizing the architectural setting in which the story belongs. Always he muST: suit his imagination to the lone of the story. The art director, after absorbing the detail of the drama and deciding upon the General Manager of First iSational Colleen Moore is again the center of the story in the him version of a Broadway success, "Sally,” which will be released through First National. architectural style, sketches his sets, and passes them on to the production supervisor. There are many things to be determined before the design of a set gets its final approval. Not only must they fit the tone of the story, but they must make provision for entranees and exits for every angle suggested in the seript. To appreciate the eo.mplications involved one must remember that the sets do not have all four sides or eeilings and that every movement of the eamera or change of action constitutes a separate scene. Another detail that the eye of the layman would never detect is the necessity of the costumes worn by the players harmonizing with the sets. This is a matter which must be calculated before the picture is started. Colors of costumes must contrast but not clash with the colors of the sets or they would not stand out. Colors do not show' on the screen to the ordinary eye, but the trained studio artist can sit in a projection room and call off the natural eolors almost without mistake. Many a costly set and the effect of many a gorgeous gown has been w'asted because the value of solors has not been given due attention. ^ A production organization of any respectable size usually has a wardrobe expert who supervises and advises the players in selecting their costumes. The expert advises not only from a critical knowledge of what becomes the player, but also from the viewpoint of harmonizing with the settings and of photographic values. Choosing of a star’s gowns stirs up almost as much bother as a schoolgirl’s graduation dress. There are just as many parents, cousins and aunts whose preferences must be consulted. Sometimes the studio costume designer or the star suggests an original creation they have in mind. Sometimes they tour the shops inspecting finery. Sometimes a famous couturier is commissioned to design gowns from a description of the story. But once a selection of gowns is made, the “relatives” must be called in for their comment. The production supervisor, sometimes the art director and even the cameraman, give the critical scrutiny to the star as she decks herself out in the sartorial finery. Is it any wonder that film stars have won the title of the best dressed women in the w'orld? Another detail in the dressing of a picture are the properties or furnishings. “Props” are as carefully cast in the modern picture as the players themselves. They play their part in the creation of atmosphere by investing the set with tone or dignity. To an extent the actors are influenced in their characterizations by the properties with which they are surrounded. The film fans sit like judges at an inquisition on the properties used in the pictures they watch. Film producers do not dare to allow their sets to be dressed and furnished without proper attention to the detail of period and tone. The public is too quick to recognize errors, and its wisdom is in a large meause due to the educational efforts of the screen experts. * * * Some studios carry large stocks of their own properties, a feature involving the outlay of several hundred thousand dollars. This cost is charged off in the form of rentals from picture to picture, the reduction in rental which means a saving in the cost of production. This saving does not ahvays work out, however, because props cannot be duplicated in too many successive pictures, and other expensive furnishings must be rented. Imagine, now, everything in place — the sets “dressed,” the actors rehearsed and ready to enact their parts before the camera— what then? The lighting, of course! (Continued on page 74)