The Motion Picture Director (Sep 1925 - Feb 1926)

1925 ©irector 49 I S the motion picture industry a closed shop and does “Who do you know?” constitute the only open sesame? Apparently that is the view point held by many who seek their careers within its ranks as witness this letter from a reader of The Director, the answer to which, because of the generality of the question, has been prepared by members of the editorial staff: Editor, The Director: In your last issue of The Director you ask for ideas and comment upon things that concern the motion picture industry. May I ask a question — What is the relation of higher education as at present expressed in the universities to motion pictures? Do the heads of this field encourage college men and ideas, or is entrance into the motion picture field limited to — Who do you know? I know of a history professor with unlimited experience in the field of research, two Oxford men, a specialist in the field of costume design and origin and a great many degree holders from universities of the West, all of whom have found little or no encouragement, each telling the same story: that motion pictures are a closed industry. I myself have had much the same experience. After studying with the express purpose of motion pictures in view, I have for some time been following promises that lead but to other promises, blind alleys and officious office boys. This is not a crank letter, for I love the work and being young can still manage to more or less subsist on dreams and odd jobs and continue to like it. But motion pictures being one of the largest industries in existence must eventually have trained men of theoretical background as well as practical experience. To the point — It has been proven by a great many corporations that the conducting of courses in the line of practical experience over the various phases of their industry more than pays for itself by securing thereby executives who fit their job. This method is based merely on taking promising young men, paying them enough to subsist on and giving them a few months of intensive training in various departments, thus getting a certain amount of work at a cheaper price than before in addition to finding to what line various individuals are best suited. At the end of this period the student is either employed, if he has made good, or all relations terminated. Incidentally it has given the student a wedge with which to dig himself in and has supplied a source of new blood for the corporation, thus benefiting employers as well as employe. Could not some deviation of this be put into practice by the larger producing companies ? D.W.C., Hollywood. THE evident sincerity of D.W.C. in asking his questions and presenting what he conceives to be a constructive criticism, accompanied, as most constructive criticisms are, by a remedial suggestion, generates a desire to try and answer his query as fairly and as completely as possible. In drawing his parallel between the motion picture industry and others of a commercial nature, D.W.C. has in a measure answered his own question, for speak The Directory A source of authentic information concerning the making of ep« Motion Pictures " ing generally the attitude of the motion picture industry toward new blood and toward men of educational attainments is much the same as that of any other large industry. New blood and educational attainments are always welcome and are constantly being sought. But as do other large industries the motion picture industry prefers that when a man of specific educational attainments is brought into the industry one of two conditions shall exist : Either that such a man be a specialist in some particular field for which the industry needs highly specialized knowledge, or that he have, in addition to his educational background either some experience in the dramatic field or an understanding of the peculiar requirements of the industry and a sympathy for the silent drama. No more than any other are motion pictures a closed industry. But like most other enterprises entry, excepting through the door of experience, is difficult, particularly so to the man who because he has made a specialized study of some particular field, or because he has achieved the degrees of higher education, is impelled to the belief that he should step into a responsible and well-paying position by virtue of those attainments. Because a man of such qualifications may happen to have friends, relatives or intimate acquaintances holding responsible positions in the industry and thereby may be given an opportunity to demonstrate his value is not necessarily a sufficient reason for declaring that the motion picture industry is closed excepting to those who have “pull”. The same is true of any industry. Opportunity is sometimes made for some individuals, others make their own, But in any industry the surest mode of entrance is that which is expressed by “beginning at the bottom.” However there is one factor of the motion picture equation which is peculiar to this industry: The fact that it is in all probability the most popular line of activity in our modern business world, — the most romantic, the most alluring and the most attractive profession in the world. Result : Everybody and his brother wants to break into it. Figuratively and literally they want to “break in” for nine out of every ten applicants who apply for positions seek to crash to the top overnight. Now all this invokes the immutable law of supply and demand. With the gates of the motion picture industry being besieged by thousands demanding and beseeching entrance, the supply of available material is grossly in excess of the actual demand. Employment offices of the studios are swamped with talent of all sorts. Under such circumstances experience is naturally given the preference over theoretical knowledge. It is human nature to follow the line of least resistence. And yet the studios are not at all unmindful of the importance of training new blood. Exemplification of this fact is found in the establishment of schools for the training of specialized workers by Universal, Paramount and other large producing organizations. The motion picture industry has no quarrel with higher education, nor does it discourage college men and college ideas. Both are welcome, particularly ideas, for the motion picture industry is essentially creative. But somehow ideas based on theory or evolved from without the industry by people who have had no practical experience in the field of the silent drama seem consistently to fail through lack of understanding of the principles involved. In the matter of research, not only does each studio maintain a highly developed research department of its own with specially trained men and women of education and experience in charge, but there have grown up as adjuncts to the industry research organizations who specialize in accumulating accurate data on all sorts of subjects. In addition when special knowledge in any one subject, historical or otherwise, is required that knowledge is sought from the most authentic source attainable. It might be well for D.W.C. to consider that the production program of each studio in the space of a comparatively few months will cover a wide range of diversified subjects. One unit may be producing a story of Ancient Rome and follow immediately with a story of the South Seas and again with a modern society drama, an epic of the old West or a story of the French revolution. It is the business of the research department to provide on short notice all the essential data and facts necessary to build sets, design costumes and plan the atmosphere of the locale in which action of the story is laid. It is rare that specialized knowledge on any one subject is required with a degree of regularity to warrant the retention of such a history professor as D.W.C. refers to, for presumably, being a history professor he has specialized on that subject, and equally as presumable is the assumption that he has specialized on some specific period in the history of the world. After all, regrettable as it may seem from an idealistic point of view, the attitude of the business world of today is not “What can we do for you?” but “What can you do for us?” The motion picture industry is no exception.