Motography (Jul - Dec 1915)

414 MOTOGRAPHY Vol. XIV, No. 9. boudoir ; turn a business systematizer loose in a picture studio. There you make dynamic the ever latent antipathy and antagonism between art and business. The studio's improvement in commercial efficiency will come, if at all, through a slowing down rather than a speeding up process. It will come through greater care and forethought, a more thorough advance analysis of the work to be done, a more accurate canvass of the necessary properties and scenes and business. It will not come through the revolutionary experiments of the accredited efficiency engineer. A good part of the present studio waste is imaginary. The effort is not really wasted at all. All the discarded negative and rejected rehearsals merely signify that the producer is making the best film he can. He might easily cut fifty per cent, perhaps, from the cost of this repetitive process. But in doing so he would cut at least twenty-five per cent from the quality of the film. In any other business no doubt the efficiency expert is a good thing. In this business put the problem up to the director and let him work it out his own way without interference or argument. use a MOTION PICTURES AND EYE STRAIN THAT old, old complaint about motion pictures causing eyestrain cropped up again last week and was once more laid to rest. A young man wrote to Dr. W. A. Evans, health editor of the Chicago Tribune, saying that after attending a picture show he noticed a dull pain in the back of his head and seemed to feel an eye strain. He asks if there is something the matter with him or if the trouble is with the pictures. In part Dr. Evans writes : When motion pictures first began to grip the people the eye specialists were certain that they would ruin the people's eyes. The flicker, the rapid jerking, and the bright shine did present an ominous combination. Then there was the use of one sense, the sight, as a line of approach to the brain, instead of sight and hearing, as in the ordinary theatrical production. Finally, the presentation of a picture play with an involved plot causes the persons in the audience to concentrate their minds closely, to watch closely, and to see quickly. The old slapstick plays were easy. The plays at present in vogue are trying on the concentration. Everybody goes to the pictures. Everybody has the habit and has had it for years. The boys who get a headache from it are the exceptions. What is the reason ? A man with good eyes or with properly fitted glasses does not get a headache when he looks out of a car window. Objects appear to move rapidly, to jerk and jump. The lights change rapidly and violently. A man watching a moving crowd does not get a headache if his eyes are good or his glasses fit. Objects are moving in and out of focus constantly. The eye does not try to change its focus for every jiggle on the screen any more than it tries to focus on every object out of a car window or on every man in a street crowd. Never under any ordinary circumstances of ordinary vision is the image on the eye mirror limited to the one sharply focused object on which attention is centered. In addition to the one well-focused image there are always out of focus images of other objects. Having been accustomed to this, the eyes refuse to overstrain themselves1 on moving pictures. However, if the eyes are not right, or if the glasses do not fit, the pictures do cause eye strain. Conversely, if the pictures cause eye strain, then the eyes should be tested. One of this week's press sheets informs us that individual stenographers have been engaged for each of the Keystone scenario writing staff. That helps, in a measure, to explain where the comedy originates, we suspect. Perhaps, though, some of those stenos are not as comical as ours. Still, it is doubtful if there's a single steno alive who doesn't at some time or another, hand her boss a good laugh. Over on the sixth floor of the Mailers building, in Chicago, a gang of workmen began this week tearing out a partition and arranging two new rooms for what is alleged to be the new film storage quarters and shipping room of the Pathe Exchange. The same day a little bird whispered in our ear that Vic Hoddup, the Pathe manager, had a raise. Putting two and two together it's easy to figure out that the new quarters aren't a film storage and shipping room at all, but a place for Vic to store his money. If this lad keeps on rustling business and getting raises we suspect they'll have to change the name of the Mailers building to Hoddup's Hangout. HOME RUN MARY! In that galaxy of stars published in the last issue of Motography in which the various photoplayers were shown specially posed for the various sports and games in which they are to participate on the day of the big Field Meet at Brighton Beach, we carefully omitted the one of Mary Fuller shown at the left. And there was a mighty good reason. Just lamp the way Mary holds her racket, and then tell us whether she's trying to hammer out a home run, drive a nail or swat a fly. We've seen a lot of tennis stars at play, but never one who held his racket as Mary does. Perhaps, though, it's a new system, positively guaranteed to secure hits off the pitching of even a Walter Johnson, so we'd better keep still and let Mary retain her secret. Anyhow we wish her the best of luck and shall root for a homer every time she comes to bat. " 'Ata girl, Mary ! Pickle it ! Right on the trade mark ! Whee !" Pete Schmid, the boy press agent of the Bosworth camp, has started on a vacation, we understand. We were just engaged in heaving a sigh of relief when in blew a Bosworth press sheet, supplied by Julian M. Solomon, Jr. Gosh, ain't there any rest for the weary? OUR BURG. Paul Kuhn what went away to Noo Yawk some wks. ago is back to visit the old folks for a day or two. Glad to see you, Paul. Chauffeur Law, he as drives the mettlesome steed of Joe Finn, called up Ye Ed yest. to protest against what was printed about him last wk., he claiming that we was trying to kid him. Nothing of the sort. We meant every word of it and have the highest respect for anybody with nerve enough to drive such a contraption as Joe's new car. Also we want it distinctly understood that we can't stand for no threats over the telephone. Roie Seery, the pop. mgr. of the Mutual Film Exchange, resigned his job last wk. and is now Mgr. of the Triangle exchange, located in the same bldg. Good luck, Roie. Ralph Bradford, who was until last wk. Chicago mgr. of the Mutual branch, is now mgr. of the Mpls. office of the Triangle Film Corp. Bon voyage Ralph and take along some extra heavy flannels cause the nights is cold in Mpls. B. N. Juddel, Mpls. mgr. of the Mutual film exchange, arrived in Our Burg last wk. to become mgr. of the local Mutual offis. Welcome to our city B. N. We hope you'll like it. Judging by the hubbub he's making already in the new job, this Harry Reichenbach is going to make just as much of a noise as ever. More power to you, Harry. N. G. C.