The Moving Picture Weekly (1917-1918)

-THE MOVING PICTURE WEEKLY Photo frame may be used in comblnatlon8. Corner wall ra»e for photos and 3-sheot — may be had in a number of combinations. six-sheet frame — malces a strilting: display and may be used in combinations. Double 1-sheet frame »ery useful. They were heavy and awkward things to place, and they did not fit into any really fine scheme of decoration. On the contrary, the man who invests in the combination frames can get a style that exactly suits his taste, his purse, and the style of his front or lobby as well. This in a measure only explains their popularity. In the first place the exhibitor who is thinking of improving his lobby should remember that his first appeal to the public is through th^ eyes, and the various kinds of displays are all intended with this purpose in mind. The posters, the photographs and the banners and portraits, are all visual appeals depending upon the elTectiveness of their presentation for their success in attracting the public to the box office. We hear a great deal of discussion about artistic productions, and about art for art's sake, but the exhibitor with a big fixed overhead knows that these things pay bills and show profits only when they appeal to the public at the admission price. If your theatre caters to people that like artistic productions all very well, but your first endeavor must be to get them into the theatre. No one yet, not even the wisest and most successful showman, has ever succeeded in getting them in unless his entertainment has been properly presented to them. It is almost funny to contemplate how many exhibitors overlook this important fact. They spend a lot of money in putting up a fine house. Hundreds of square feet of valuable floor space is given over to a lobby, and then they sit back and expect that high rental space to lie idle while the interior loafs with half its seats empty, and the exhibitor wonders why he can't make his house pay. If he would give one-half the attention to his lobby that he does to his entertainment, the people would know what he has to offer and patronize him to a really profitable extent. Every artist knows the value of a fine frame for show• ing hip work. Many of the 'best artists will not accept stock frames. They design frames for each picture re gardless of expense, knowing that the frame will so enhance the value of any masterpiece that the costly frame is profitable in the end. But these are matters that should need no discussion. They have been proven over and over by the most successful exhibitors in the world. These men know that the lobby is a big asset and that its use or misuse means success or failure respectively. Proprietors of going houses are very careful of what they out in their lobbies, and look only to the practical side of such displays as are presented to them. They consider the artistic features only as they will fit into their general scheme, and when a man has his lobby fitted with combination frames he is ready for anything that comes. These become fixtures, part of the permanent scheme. They do not need constant changing, cleaning, repairing, or any other attention that involves constant upkeep and expense. The thing to do is make up your mind that a goodlooking lobby pays. Then you can have permanent frame combinations fitted to your wall spaces so as to make the very best use of them whether these spaces are large or small, and have the combinations made up of such units as not only fit your lobby display spaces, but will also accommodate the particular kind of pictorial matter you get from your exchange for your style of entertainment. By this we mean you can get regularly, as you perhaps now do, a certain number of ones, threes, sixes, photos or photo-gelatine enlargements, and you can have your units arranged or combined to take care of this stock material. As you know this varies with the type of show. A one-reel comedy will have several one-sheets, but rarely any large paper. A feature will have about every style of paper and photos there is, including star portraits, "etc. So you can decide not only what combinations best fit your wall space, but also what will be most useful in displaying your regular display material. In next week's MOVING PICTURE WKFKLY we shfiU show TTipre sample arrangements that will help you solve your own problems.