Motion Picture News (Jan-Feb 1920)

rii ii r y J S . i p j u 2105 the Press Book by the Men Who Use Them A Series of Articles Secured by C. L. Yearsley, Director of Pub licity and Advertising for the First National Exhibitors Circuit 3 OWN' at Atlanta. Georgia, there lives a red headed \oiiii!: rliap 1)\ tlie name of ('.. A. Carroll. ullo^e job is niolion picture editor of the Atlanta-Georgian American. He is the contributor this week to our series of articles on the press books. He asks four questions. Four very .ent questions. Three of these questions a lot of people, exhibitors, reviewers, publicity men, etc., ,ire been asking themselves without arriving at a conclusion. All of which hasn't a great deal to do h this special article, but will serve to editorially introduce the writer in what we call one of the -tories yet to be published on the subject of what the men who use the press book think of them. By C. A. CARROLL >n I'icturc lidilor. Ailaiita-Gcor(jiaii .American WE been lookinji lor a lonp. long time for the y who edits the average press sheet of the on picture producers. There are several crows nt to pick with him. lere arc a few questions 1 want to put to him. to wit, as follows : . or what purpose do you write a press sheet? For whom do you write it? WTiy all the decorations and scare heads? ■ 1 you ever hear that there are motion picture -cs in small towns, or that large cities rmi a '.re for more than two days? , so, what provision have you made for tlicmr ' .\nd if he answered these satisfactorily, I would 'loot a few more at him in kind and not very indly. \ real press agent — and that, in sum, is what a hook is supposed to be to the average exaor— is the fellow who writes first for the city ditor, second for the men who employs him, and lird for the subject under discussion. A man may write the finest story in the world, ull of pep, snap and sales arguments ; a story, in ne, that would make five thousand people fall ver one another's neck on Monday to get the first )ok at the show; but if this story fails to get by c'ink on the desk who wields the blue pencil, not worth half a stick written by the cub :ter who has just been sent out on his first -iiment. l irst and foremost, then, the editor must be coiiidered. The man in front of a typewriter should r take his eye off the gent with the ugly copy cator. He must write to him. What does the editor want? First, if he is itally interested in motion pictures and in the welare of the exhibitors of his city (and he is a 'oor movie editor if he isn't), he wants a story hat gives an excuse for being printed. He wants t to stimulate real news as much as possible. He vants all personal advertising left out. He hates, n fact, to cut stuff. It makes him sore as the iiischief to get a piece of copy that is trying to ■put something over" every second line. He also wants the facts of the picture, including he plot, the stars, the theatre, brought out clearly ind concisely-. He wants his readers to be able to ?rasp easily and quickly what they may^ expect to ■ee when they pay down their two bits for a punk 'Cat. He does NOT want the name of the camera ■nan, nor the office boy, nor the copy^ chaser, nor a description of the furniture in the lobby of the producer's office building, nor any of the cheap junk that is thrown in to get the name of the producer's organization before the public as many times as possible. If he is editing a paper that gives reader> on tlubasis of paid advertising, he wants to find in the press sheet a story that will fit any size ad. 1 1 iherc is a three inch ad being run, and the basis of reader to ad is 50-100. he wants to be able to clip a paragraph that sums up completely the high spots of the production. If there is a fifty inch ad, he wants a newsy article in special feature style ihat will not omit clear, condensed statements of I lie main points somew here near the beginning. If there are six daily three-inch ads. he wants six shorts, all different, to fit in. The place for personal stuff is in the movie magazines. Every movie fan that is interested in personalities takes these magazines. There is little room in a newspaper, if the theatre is to secure its liropcr share of publicity, tor long stories about the wonderful scenery that the star encountered when ^he .set sail on a mountain burro for the land of tiic clouds. It doesn't help the exhibitor in ibc slightest. And here we come to the second consideration. The press agent must have the best interests of the exhibitor in mind next to the editor. He has sold his services to the exhibitor every time he gels out a press book, no matter from whom his pay check comes every Saturday. \ press book that is not written for the exhibitor had better be chucked in the waste basket before it gets into type. I have a press sheet in mind, sent out by one of the big corporations that does a fine display advertising in the trade journals as is being done by any concern. This press sheet is made up of a long harangue on how to play the picture— two columns — the synopsis of the plot, at full length — one column ; a series of teaser ads that never vary ; a history of the infancy of the principal star; and two short stories about the scenery in the neighborhood of the location where the picture was filmed. In all the time I have been looking for something to clip from this particular sheet. I have never been able to paste up a paragraph. The best interests of the exhibitor are served by telling the story of the picture in such a way that the people who read will want to see the film. It is not necessary to tickle the vanity of the manager by beginning: "Manager of the Theatre is delighted to announce that he has, by paying thousands of dollars been able to procure for the picture public of ." That don't get anywhere. The average manager is not selling himself, he's interested only in getting the picture over. Individual house advertising must be left to the local exhibitor for inclusion, but the story must not advertise the producer rather than the film. One of the most delightful press sheets I ever handled was that on "Daddy Long Legs." This C. A. C-arroU. motion picture editor of the .4tlaiita Georgian " American " picture had a first, second a^id third run in my city, and each time the circumstances of its presentation wei'c a little different. But on each of the three occasions, I found plenty of the right dope to clip for the right place. Of especial commendation were the advertising layouts. These were in line drawings — as most layouts should be. They were in many sizes and a variety of appeals. When the leading theatre of the city played it first run, one of the layouts was carried bodily into the fine advertising of this exhibitor, who ahva_\ s has his ads specially drawn by an expert artist. On the next occasion, still another layout was available ; and when it got down to the cheap third run house — which, by the way, ran the picture for a week on a daily change program— still another layout was ready to appeal exactly to the patronage of this house. Any city newspaper these days prefers to reproduce a line drawi#fe in zinc to botching up its col'umns with mats or the average plate that is furnished by the service department of the exchanges. And line drawings, after all, are best calculated to hit the public in the eye. Having got this much off my chest, I am going to resume my search for the guy who edits the average press sheet. There are several more crows I want to pick with him — for he certainly is an onery cuss.