Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

10 MOVING PICTURE AGE April, 1922 kinds of educational material to which it is particularly adapted. Since we are near the beginning of the movement, any light that can be thrown upon these matters at the present time may have a large influence upon its course of development. For this reason experimentation is particularly desirable, and school administrators appreciate this fact by exhibiting a very keen interest in any scientific evidence that can be brought to light on the whole question. It would be not an undesirable thing to have the development of this new method at a somewhat cautious pace, in order that we might avoid the necessity of scrapping a large amount of material if it should be found to be unsuitable, and also to avoid a possible reaction against the whole movement because certain developments of it were found not to represent a gain over our present procedure. For these reasons scientific experimentation, both for the purpose of weighing and evaluating materials that are being developed and of seeking new materials, is highly desirable. VITALIZED SERMONS Rev. Guy Livingstone Brown Pastor, First Baptist Church, Jamestown, New York OUR church has had about one year's experience in showing motion pictures in connection with the Sunday-evening sermon. The result has been that the opposition that developed in the beginning against this departure from the ordinary Sunday-evening preaching service has been overcome, and we now have the hearty support of the entire church in our effort to visualize the greath truths of the gospel. The general result has been very satisfactory. Our large auditorium is crowded every Sunday evening, and on special occasions we are forced to turn hundreds of people away who cannot even find standing room in the church. Early Errors We were pioneers in Jamestown in the use of motion pictures on Sunday evening, with the result that we made many mistakes in the beginning, some of which were costly. First, we made the mistake that, I suppose, is quite common with beginners, of installing cheap equipment, believing that it would meet our requirements and satisfy the people who would be drawn in from the outside, attracted only by the picture. We soon discovered our mistake, however. We now have an equipment costing nearly two thousand dollars, and second to none in the city. We employ an experienced operator, and use only the best religious pictures procurable. In the early days of our innovation we discovered that our pictures were being unfavorably compared to those shown in the theatres by some who attended our services from the outside, largely from the ranks of non-church-goers. It was this class we were most anxious to reach, and accordingly we discarded the cheaper equipment for the best, which we are finding is in the long run the cheapest. Another of our early mistakes was to suppose that we could only show what are known as strictly Bible pictures on Sunday evening ; that is, only films that portray some Bible story. We very soon discovered that this class of picture is far below the so-called feature film in every way, because of small demand at present for the Bible film and because of the high cost of production. There are only a very few good Bible pictures in existence. In many of the films we have used of this character, we have found the acting poor, the photography far below standard, and not infrequently the interpretation of the story entirely incorrect, and in some instances positively ludicrous. The Drama Carrying a Lesson Is Best Our experience has led us to the feature moral and religious drama, filmed by experts in cinematography, as decidedly the best for presentation on Sunday evening in connection with the service of worship. Our greatest success has been with "The Stream of Life" and "The Turn of the Road." The former has been shown on three Sunday evenings, and the latter twice. Many pictures of this character are now available for use in the churches at moderate rental prices. A commercial film with a splendid lesson, and yet with one or more objectionable features, may be easily cut by an expert operator to meet the requirements of a Sunday-evening showing. Two questions are always raised when a church considers the use of motion pictures in connection with its regular work of preach ing the gospel. First, the cost : will the collections be increased sufficiently to take care of the added expense accompanying the installation and operation of standard motion-picture equipment in the church? I can only answer this question by giving our own experience of almost one year. We have more than met all of the running expenses associated with showing high-grade motion pictures every Sunday evening. We are slowly but surely paying for the cost of our equipment, although not the slightest pressure has been exerted to increase the offerings. What Significance Have Films in the Church? The second question is : Will the presentation :>f the motion picture on Sunday night add to the spiritual life of 'he church, and will it meet the universal evangelistic demand of the Sunday-evening service? My experience leads me to answer this last question without hesitation, in the affirmative. If the motion picture is introduced into the chjrch as an entertainment feature, merely to draw a crowd and to take the place of the spoken word, it will be a failure as a spiritual and evangelizing force. If, however, the right kind of film story is used to illustrate a vital truth presented in a fifteen-minute sermon from a living servant of the loving Christ, followed with an intelligent and timely appeal for the immediate surrender of the life to Christ, there can be but one result and that the quickening of the spiritual life of believers, and the reaching of those outside the fold who might never be reached by the ordinary methods. It is an unusual experience for us to close our service without decisions being made for the Christian life. In one instance more than twenty-five thus decided. In the judgment of the writer the motion picture is one of the greatest possibilities of the age for gospel propaganda. Churches with vision are rapidly improving this opportunity that is rapping at their doors. Within the next decade, in all probability, a majority of the larger churches in all denominations will include in their equipment a standard motion-picture projector to be used in visualizing the gospel truths. New Government Films TRANSFORMATION of clay into a durable, hard-surfaced, vitrified-brick pavement, through modern methods of manufacture and road-building, is visualized in a new U. S. Department of Agriculture one-reel film entitled "Bricks — from Clay to Pavement." Included in the scenes are the digging of shaic from its native bed; mixing, forming, burning, and other processes in the manufacture of brick ; preparation of the road base ; and laying, rolling, and filling. Sand-cushion, monolithic, and semi-monolithic types of brickroad construction are pictured. The film was produced under the direction of skilled highway engineers of the Bureau of Public Roads, and is designed for instruction in approved road-building practices. A one-reel production called "Bees — How They Live and Work" has also been brought out by the Department of Agriculture. Scenes trace the life history of the insect, from the laying of the eggs by the queen and the hatching of the young bees, through the swarming period, and show the adult members of the bee family busily engaged at their tasks. The method of removing honey from the comb, and apiary and bottling methods, are also shown. This picture is intended for popular distribution as well as for exhibition before beekeepers. Concerning Comedies rPHE MARCH issue of Film Progress, published by the National * Committee for Better Films, contains a discussion on "The Changing Comedy" that is both able and timely. Among the more important thoughts are : The older film comedian said, "I will make them laugh every minute" — and he did, at fearful expense to himself. The reason, apparently, for the growing disgust of theatregoers for such efforts is that a series of comical situations strung together on the most tenuous thread of plot is too obvious and unrelieved. There is no type of motion picture in which restraint is so necessary as the comedy. Even while the audience is shaking its sides sore with laughter it feels that the comedian has overshot the mark. The day of the "roughhouse" motion-picture slapstick comedy is in the late afternoon, and is kept from slipping over into twilight only by the longing of the people for laughter. It is only now and then that the hard-worked screen comedian can make outstanding broad comedies twice in succession. The humor which leaps with apparent spontaneity out of the development of the drama attracts the finest kinds of responses in laughter, smiles, and glee.