Motion Picture News (Jul-Aug 1916)

400 MOTION PICTURE NEWS Vol. 14. No. 3 City stands out pre-eminently as an eloquent illustration of the remarkable advancement made by the motion picture industry since the last review of the film colony. For some months, or smce ground first was broken on the new tract, this frequently has been alluded to as " the quarter million dollar plant," but late statistics furnished by the business department of the organization tend to show that ultimately this mammoth pictureplay factory will have entailed a total expenditure of a half million. The Ince plant, which incidentally serves now as headquarters for the production of Triangle-Kay Bee plays made under the supervision of Thomas H. Ince, is located on a fifteen-acre tract in the heart of Culver City, nine miles from the business section of Los Angeles. Plans for the plant were made by Raymond B. West, director, who has been with the organization longer than any other employe. Mr. West, being familiar with all matters pertaining to production, laid out the studio so that the maximum amount of sunlight can be secured for each stage, the maximum amount of hours daily, the average being nine hours daily throughout the year. Furthermore, the stages are so located that production is affected by the minimum amount of shadows. All buildings are located so as to give the producing stafT the greatest efficiency. The plan consists at present of ten buildings, two of which still are in course of construction, and five stages. The structures now occupied are: administration building (2 stories), 65 by 80 feet; dressing room building (2 stories), 500 by 25 feet; scene Exterior of the Administration Building at Ince's Culver City Plant dock, 480 by 25 feet; wardrobe building (3 stories) 48 by 125 feet; varied arts building (2 stories), 31 by 90 feet; garage, 50 by 90 feet ; and film vault, 20 by 32 feet. Those in course of construction are the carpenter shop, 50 by 190 feet and the receiving depot, 48 by 50 feet. Four of the stages are glass-enclosed and each measures 150 by 50 feet, while the fifth is exposed and measures 200 by 50 feet. There is also a permanent water tank on the premises, measuring 40 by 80 feet and having a capacity of 104,000 gallons of water. Plans now in the hands of the contractors call also for the erection of thirteen more different structures. These will be a heating plant, 20 by 40 feet; hot house, IS by 40 feet; cleaning plant, 30 by 30 feet; paint shop, 40 by 50 feet; stars' dressing quarters, 120 by 20 feet; laboratory, 50 by 136 feet; boiler room, 26 by 26 feet, and six small ofiices, each a distinct building, for the directors. I I I Figures Give Idea of Immensity of Plant | Proof conclusive that the plant is the most modern now in operation is evident from the fact that the buildings are virtually of fireproof construction. And this is in spite of the fact that compilation of statistics shows that to date approximately 1,500,000 feet of lumber have been used. An idea of the completeness of the glass stages may be gained from the statement of the builders that each required a carload of glass, making a total of 54,600 rquare feet. In addition to this a half ton of white lead was used in the construction of every stage. This is designed to prevent leakage of rain. The new plant was built by the Milwaukee Building Company, under the supervision of its Foreman, G. E. Sitts. At the present writing, the finishing touches are being applied to the premises, while plans are being drawn for the early erection of the structures still to be made. Fifty workmen, under the direction of Jefferson-Davis Company, are busy laying the cement sidewalks which eventually will form a network about the entire plant. For this work 2,472 yards of gravel, 793 yards of stone, 1,270 yards of sand, and 21,228 sacks of cement already have been used. The personnel of the Ince forces has seen few changes since the last review. It embraces in respective executive capacities, in addition to Director-General Ince, Business Manager E. H. Allen, Advisory Director J. Parker Read, Jr., Superintendent of Production David M. Hartford, Art Director Robert Brunton, Chief of the Photographic and Art Department Irvin Willatt, Scenario Editor C. Gardner Sullivan, Purchasing Agent Spencer Valentine and Publicity Manager Kenneth A. O'Hara. While the Culver City plant stands as the principal source of the Ince output, the organization still retains Inceville, that picturesque 18,000-acre rancho in the mountains beyond Santa Monica. This continues to serve for the making of all scenes jequiring magnificent natural scenery and is used almost exclusively for the filming of all plays in which William S. Hart appears as star. Like the executive force, the Ince directorial staff has remained the same for some months. It includes Raymond B. West, Reginald Barker, Walter Edwards, Charles Giblyn, William S. Hart, and Charles Miller. The prominent stars under contract are Bessie Barriscale, Enid Markey, Louise Glaum, Clara Williams, Dorothy Dalton, Margaret Thompson, William S. Hart, Frank Keenan, William Desmond, Howard Hickman, and Charles Ray. Forty Companies in Work at Universal City The world's largest motion picture producing plant, Universal Panorama of the Great Plant and Studio Built on a Fifteen-Acre Tract at Culver City, a Suburb of Los Angeles, by Thomas H. Ince for the