Hands of Hollywood (1929)

Hands of Hollywood The making of title cards and backgrounds is a profession in itself, because all the work is done by hand. The lettering of the titles and the background scenes are drawn by trained artists. These designs are submitted to the director or producer who chooses which type he will use in his picture. The titles and backgrounds are then painted upon special cards, photographed, developed and printed. It is impossible to give the salary of the makers of title back' grounds, because these men work for private concerns. FILM EDITING The cutting department edits the pictures after they have been filmed. In this department are film editors, cutters, assistant cutters (negative cutters), and patchers. The scenes of the picture are numbered on the film but, as these scenes are not "shot" in the order of the script numbers, the developed film comes from the laboratory to the cutters in long rolls of non'consecutive scenes. The cutters break down the film and reassemble the scenes in their proper sequence. The Film Editor is in charge of the cutting department and superintends the work of all the cutters. When a dispute arises concerning the cutting of a picture, such as the director insisting that certain "pet" scenes be retained and the cutter insisting that these scenes be eliminated to speed up the tempo of a picture, the film editor is consulted. He usually manages to settle the difficulty amicably. The qualifications are the same as those of a first cutter, plus diplomacy and the ability to handle men. The salary ranges from $150.00 to $250.00 per week. The Cutter is the unsung hero of many famous productions. Though his talents are many and his work is of the greatest im' portance, he rarely receives the credit which is his just due. In a practical sense, he rewrites the continuity — with his scissors — re' telling the story more dramatically, more coherently, than it was originally written and directed. [88]