Moving Picture World (Jul 1916)

July 1, 1916 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 91 THE PHOTOPLAYWRIGHT Conducted by EPES WINTHROP SARGENT ~— INQUIRIES. Questions concerning photoplay writing addressed to *hi« department will be replied to by mail if a fully addressed and stamped envelope accompanies the letter, which should be addressed to this department. Questions should be stated clearly and should be typewritten or written with pen and ink. Under no circumstances will manuscripts or synopses be criticised, whether or not a fee is sent therefor. A list of companies will be sent if the request is made to the paper direct and not to this department, and a return stamped envelope is inclosed. Warning. EVIDENTLY the school graft and the revision bureau scheme are getting stale, for the present fashion of taking money from the boob seems to be through the always effective appeal of copyright, and in the last few months all sorts of copyright schemes have sprung up. The most common of these seems to be the publication of a large number of synopses in the form of an alleged magazine, which is protected by a blanket copyright on the contents of the whole. As recently pointed out, this blanket copyright necessitates the transfer to the individual authors of their separate rights, which must be recorded in the Copyright office, a second record of transfer being made when the right is passed along to the ultimate purchaser. This makes a triple record in the copyright office of all stories that are produced, and a multiplicity of recorus is never to be desired. But there is another and perhaps more important angle to this matter. Material must be copyrighted by the owner of the rights. This means that under the blanket copyright, the right to the script must be transferred to the publisher of the fictitious magazine, in full legal form, or any record made under the blanket registration will be attainted. If the author reserves his right and a legal transfer does not pass, it is most probable that the courts would hold that legal entry had not been made and that therefore the matter was not legally copyrighted. This process of transfer is not necessarily expensive, but the script cannot be offered the manufacturer by the author until the rights have been again transferred to his possession. It would require a judicial proceeding to establish a precedent, but high authorities on Copyright law have expressed the opinion that unless every minute legality is strictly followed the safety of the rights are imperilled. A second scheme is the. individual copyright of synopses or scenarios and a concern now offers to supply authors with thirty printed copies of each story and copyright the same for ten dollars plus. Here the entry will be made in the name of the author and the rights will lie directly with him, but here it will probably be found that "copies for sale" within the meaning of the Act means copies offered publicly for sale. This, too, may cause trouble. It does not, in any event, avoid the second transfer to the producing purchaser. This concern, as part of the bait, announces that the copyright wili be looked after by a registered patent attorney of thirty years' experience. This is poppycock. No department of the Government suffers less from red tape than the Copyright office since it has been in the hands of the present Register, Thorvald Solberg. No attorney is required, nor is any special experience necessary. You send to the Copyright office for a registration card. This you fill out and return with the article to be entered and the fee therefor. Presently you will receive the registration notice card and the ent.y is complete. Later on you may be sent the file copy, properly marked for identification, as the present law permits the return of matter not required by the Librarian of Congress. This is preserved as evidence. Nothing could be more simple than the system devised by Mr. Solberg, and nothing more than average common sense is required on the part of the entrant. If you insist upon copyrighting your efforts as books, let the work be done by the local printer and copyright yourself, but it will be better to wait and let the purchaser make the single copyright entrance that is really required. Finding Out. "How can 1 know if I am right if you will not help me by criticisinz my plays?" wails a writer. We give it up, but Jess Willard became champion by getting licked a few times and learning to do better. Do It Now. Write your Mexican war play and put it in the drawer with your story of the European war, the Titanic disaster, the Salem fire and the rest. Then you can give your mind to more profitable things. Serves Them Right. Lately a story was sold on synopsis. The reconstructor tore it all apart and rebuilt it (perhaps unconsciously) along the lines of a book he had read. Now the publishers of the book are after the makers of the story. The author had written an original story and one that would not have been in conflict. Great is the synopsis only. A Sold Synopsis. So many readers have asked to see a real synopsis that, although we do not believe that this is going to be helpful, we asked John William Kellette to let us have one. Mr. Kellette is assistant to John Adolfi, of the Fox Film Corporation, and through the courtesy of that director we present the synopsis of , tne synopsis of which was written by the Rev. Clarence J. Harris. This is a copy of the synopsis which Mr. Harris sold the company. Mr. Kellette suggests that authors make their own continuity of this and compare it with the Adolfi version. As a hint or two he gives parts of two bits of action, in connection with which he writes : In sending this synopsis of the Harris story I want to say that if you desire to see how Mr. Adolfi and I picturized it I'll send you the complete script later. I'd advise, unless you think it adding too much to your already heavy burden, that you suggest to your readers that they take the synopsis, as published, and build themselves a five-reel story for your perusal and their own advancement, merely for practice for they will find, upon completing' it, that they have love, struggle, success, triumph, temptation, resistance— every single element one would like to find in a well portrayed drama. Have them find opportunity for the "bright spots," the little comedy touches that prevents a scene going stale, and incorporate it into their construction. For instance : 50 — 1 — Table set — Dave and Maria seated, talking — Caprice starts to get something from stove, but Maria, with cunning, stops her and makes her sit, thus to show Dave she likes Caprice — Maria gets chicken from oven and Dave starts to cut it — Maria glares at Caprice, who becomes uneasy — Dave working at chicken leg. 51 — Closeup of Maria, expectant. 52 — Closeup of Caprice, joy. 53 — Closeup of Dave — Knife slips from chicken leg into gravy — He spatters the grease. 54 — Closeup of Maria — The grease hits her on the side of the face. 55 — Closeup of Caprice — Surprise — Sudden laughter. 56 — Closeup of Maria, wiping grease and glaring. 57 — Closeup of Caprice — She suddenly sobers and starts to eat. 58 — Full Set — Dave, with severed chicken leg, holds it up — Caprice and Maria both extend plates — It looks as if Maria will get it, but Dave is only showing it to her — He puts it on Caprice's plate — Maria sore. All of that can be put into a fifty-foot scene and hold the interest and is warranted to get at least two laughs. The student will find places without number where the story can be advanced and comedy introduced without switching away from the story. Continuing the action : Dave finds that his cider jug is empty. Caprice wants to go to get some, but Dave prevents her. He'll go himself. GO — 1 — Table set — Dave takes jug and exits — Caprice about to cut into the chicken leg. 61 — 2 — (Outside Dave's shack) — Airdale terrier lying on stoop — Dave enters with jug and exits. 63 — 1 — Maria glares at Caprice, who looks up — Maria jawing her. 61 — 2 — Airdale hears noise and looks into house. 65 — 1 — Maria arises and accuses Caprice of laughing at her when the grease hit her — Caprice denies it and starts to run to safety — Maria takes the chicken leg and puts it on her own plate — Looks off. 66 — Through window — Dave seen in distance, swings jug walking away from camera — Caprice yelling to get his attention. 67 — 1 — Maria hears Caprice yelling and goes to stop her. 68 — 2 — Airdale looking into house — Exits into house. 69 — 1 — 66 — Maria and Caprice at window — Maria shaking her. 70 — 1 — Airdale at table — Mounts chair and takes chicken leg from Maria's plate — Exits. 71 — i — 66 — Maria pushes Caprice toward table and follows. 72 — 2 — Airdale enters from house with chicken leg and exits. 73 — 1 — Maria discovers the chicken leg is gone. 74— Closeup of Airdale on lawn eating the chicken leg. But the script writer must not write in the impossible things for animals to do. In this case the Airdale made a good actor. He loved chicken, and he knew that the only way to get it was to mount that chair and take it from Maria's plate. To get that point over, we bought four chickens, as the studio scenes required two and the exterior scenes required two, just because our work was mapped out that prevented the taking of the interior and the exterior on the same day — the interior scenes being photographed in Jersey and the exterior in the Catskills. (Continued next week ) ORDER NOW The THIRD Edition of Technique of the Photoplay will be published early in July. Place your order now. This is virtually a new book under the old title. More than double the text and with an arrangement especially adapting it for the student. The most complete book ever written on this subject. By Mail, Postpaid Three Dollars Address all orders direct to THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 17 Madison Avenue, New York City