Motography (Apr-Dec 1911)

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NICKELODEON Vol. VI. Chicago, July, 1911 No. 1 THE WONDERS OF A PICTURE FACTORY. EVEN the exhibitor who makes his living by and devotes the best part of his life to the showing of motion pictures to the public has usually a very vague conception of the way in which the pictures are made. Of course he knows in a general way that the actors must be trained in their work, that money must be spent for costumes, scenery and properties, that each scene must be rehearsed a number of times before it is taken by the camera. He may even, if he is sophisticated, be able to trace the whole course of the photoplay, from the brain of the scenario writer to the screen, without missing a detail. But he cannot know, until he has seen, the vastness of the modern picture plant — the wonders of its accumlation of properties and its provision for every possible requirement. Our leading story this month is a description of the Selig factory in Chicago. We have selected Selig as the victim because his plant is in many respects unique, while at the same time it is typical of the bigness of the business. It is a fine example of the lengths to which those broad, big men who have made the business what it is will carry their faith and enthusiasm. People talk, sometimes, of the ephemeral nature of the photoplay. Is there anything ephemeral about a million dollar plant, built to last forever? Who is a better judge of the stability of a business than the man who has grown up with it, and for whom it has made a fortune from nothing? Mr. Selig's faith in motion pictures might betoken either good judgment or an overcharge of optimism. But it takes more than optimism to make a fortune out of any business. Men of the trade who have attained wealth or position are generally regarded as lucky because fate threw them into the irresistible rising tide of a phenomenal business. The Selig history shows none of the influence of "luck," however. Selig and his plant have prospered, and prospered amazingly, in spite of early hardships and possible blunders. But it was foresight, and judgment, and nerve, and enthusiasm, and above all hard work that did it. The Selig personality is ample proof of that. Those who depend on luck grow arrogant as they prosper. Those who achieve grow even kindlier and more appreciative of their employes and associates as success comes. And W. N. Selig is a veritable idol of his associates. Not one of them but believes the Selig plant the greatest, the "'Diamond S" pictures the finest, and W. N. himself the best, in the world. With such assistance, or call it, rather, co-operation, with such a spirit, the Diamond S will be capable of even greater things than it have yet accomplished. Its greatest handicap, paradoxically, has been rapid growth and the constant demand for more space and faster work. There is plenty of room now that the new studio is finished. Private offices and a library are at the disposal of the producers. The property stores yield means to materialize any idea whatsoever, no matter how bizarre or even grotesque it may be. The people of the stock are provided with every comfort and convenience. In a word, conditions are ideal for the production of perfect pictures. Familiarity breeds contempt, and the things that are most commonplace to the Selig forces would seem strangest to the layman. Camels grazing in vacant lots, red Indians pursuing bears across a little lake, or wolves swimming after deer in the same pool of water — these are almost of everyday occurrence and indicate merely the rehearsing of some of those magnificent animal or jungle pictures for which the Diamond S has become famous. Splendid specimens of strange beasts are as common at the Selig plant as they are in any big circus. With due regard for the immensity of the Selig property, the greatest moral to be drawn from its inspection lies in the realization that it is only one of many. Selig's product, voluminous as it is, supplies probably less than one-sixteenth of the country's demand. How vast a field are we occupied in, and how great are its future possibilities !' The producer who today is amusing the pleasure-seeking public with light drama tomorrow will make the pictorial text-books of a nation's schools ; while the entertainment feature, developed as literature is now developed, will have its own Rudyard Kiplings and Mark Twains. Credit and publicity for the scenario writer and the producer will inevitably improve the quality of plots and attract better talent into the field. Observant ones will notice that Selig, for one, is giving that kind of publicity in his bulletins. It is only another step to put the names on the film. Our story of one big motion picture plant, inadequate as the description is, should serve to awaken in the exhibitor a sense of stability and permanency of his business, and in the layman a greater respect for the evening's entertainment he views so lightly. THE SCENARIO WRITER. FAME, in one shape or another, is the dream of almost every dabbler in literature. We say almost, because the rule has its exception like every other rule. Occasionally we find a writer, sometimes a successful writer, who is perfectly content to have his say and take his material reward without any of the publicity which would follow the publication of his right name. Yet in this class of exceptions we can scarcely include those more or less noted writers whose work has appeared under nom de plume. Mark Twain and O. Henry doubtless obtained as much fame — and enjoyed it as much, if there is any pleasure in fame — as if they had written as Samuel Clemens and Sidney Porter. To be sure, fame, if one analyses the desire for it, is nothing more than personal publicity. But since it is