Motography (Apr-Dec 1911)

July, 1911. MOTOGRAPHY 17 branch, situated at Edendale, Cal., is almost as large as the home plant itself. Beautiful grounds and buildings covering several acres are devoted to the taking, developing and printing of films. Two stock companies and two producers are in active operation here all the time. It is an entirely independent organization under the management of Francis Boggs, who acknowledges no master but Mr. Selig himself. Between the two plants an average of five reels per week is produced. Aside from the land directly owned and occupied by the western organization, there are many localities over which Selig pwns the exclusive right to take pictures. Practically all •the old picturesque Spanish missions in California are so leased by Selig. One will look in vain for. them in other films. The fire department of Los Angeles has granted Selig a similar exclusive concession. Part of the western Istock company is generally traveling, seeking out picturesque backgrounds for drama. Mr. Bosworth's recent 'excursion to Yosemite valley with a company of players under his command has been productive of several films 'of exceptional pictorial merit. Edendale, where the Selig California plant is located is a very beautiful suburb of Los Angeles. It is the motion picture center of the Pacific Coast, for there ;are several other studios there besides Selig's. With .clear air and sunshine three hundred days out of the year, conditions are ideal for perfect picture making. The scenic advantages of the location, too, are unique. From "Selig Heights" — an extensive piece of property .leased by the year for the Diamond S — can be seen the Pacific Ocean, twenty-two miles to the west, and the broad panorama of Southern California, with its fruit and stock ranches, its snowcapped mountains and its ■tropical vegetation, to the east, north and south. Within a short distance of Edendale may be found every known variety of national scenery, seemingly arranged by a master producer expressly for the motion picture camera: ■Within the limits of Selig Heights itself are all the woods, valleys, lakes, rivers, and ruined edifices that ;Could be used in an ordinary picture. In this enchanted land Director Boggs spends his time devising and producing those startling and spectacular Selig westerns which have excited so much comment. Just now, for example, he has taken his company /to the Santa Cruz Islands, where they will camp and "rough it" for a time. ' They are equipped with a remarkable fleet of boats of all kinds, from a little motor boat to a two masted schooner, and we may look for some interesting marine pictures in the course of time. This kind of work may be called Mr. Bogg's specialty. Of an artistic rather than a commercial temperament, he devotes most of. his time to the production end, although he enjoys the title of general manager of the Western plant. The business details fall upon the capable shoulders of James. L. McGee, assistant business manager. The studio of the Edendale plant is not so large as the Chicago studio, because of the opportunities for outdoor work. The plant has, however, very complete business offices, property rooms, dressing rooms, etc., as well as a negative developing plant. The negatives, after local inspection and perfection, are sent to Chicago' for printing. In the big property rooms may be found every possible requirement, from a toothpick to "Old Hickory," the U. S. mail coach, for which Mr. Selig paid some $2,000, bidding against. Buffalo Bill and some of his own competitors. For all excursions 'automobiles are vised, and the plant has a completely equipped large garage. To this veritable western fairyland W. N. Selig goes in person two or three times a year; and his coming is always regarded as a gala day, for he is a good friend to all his employes from the meanest to the highest. Frequently on such occasions, all work is stopped for the nonce, while "the governor" and his staff pass the balance of the day in the festivities of some dining hall or baseball park. • The rise of the Selig Polyscope Company is one of the marvels of modern business. The wonder of it may be indicated by the expansion of its quarters. From a single room in a small building on an obscure Chicago General Offices of the Selig Polyscope Company in Downtown, Chicago. side street, the business has branched out until now, fifteen years later, it occupies two large manufactories with extensive branch offices in New York and London. The original investment of a few hundred dollars now measures in the hundred thousands, and probably a million dollars or more would not be an excessive estimate to put on the value of the Selig properties. The little establishment at 43 Peck court, Chicago, started in 1896, was in very truth a humble beginning. It was the factory and salesroom of the Selig Multoscope Company, also the home of W. N. Selig. Those were the days of great hope, arduous endeavor, and stricteconomy. •Over the trials and hardships of those early days memory has kindly drawn -a curtain ; suffice it to say, that Mr.