Moving Picture World (Mar 1917)

1602 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD March 10, 1911 rear of the Rostock Arena and Jungle, the park in which the Bostock animals are quartered. There is an arena 144 by 144 feet surrounded by walls twenty feet high, built to take only animal pictures. This arena is constructed like a great hexagon, the camera being mounted in the middle at the apex of six triangles, which spread away to the circumference, like so many enormous fans. The director and the cameraman are stationed on a concrete platform in the center of this arena, from which place one camera can cover all parts of the arena from one setting. The housing for the camera is made of reinforced concrete. Christie Studios. It is surrounded by a moat, six feet wide and four feet deep, filled with water and crossed by the dividing fences. By plunging into the water and coming to the surface on the other side of the fence the players who work face to face with the animals without intervening bars can easily escape in case of attack. Each of the sections is planted with typical trees and shrubs, vines and grasses that give the character of the location to pictures — that is, bears, panthers and pumas have Rocky Mountain and general North American scenes, while lions, tigers leopards, kangaroos and like animals are shown in their native wilds, away into a purple distance; huge, misshapen ledges of rock with a broken sandy foreground complete the picture of desolation. By a clever device, this last arena is so managed that in a few moments the background can be changed to a marine view and other effects. Lying immediately west of the arena are the property rooms of the stage proper, in connection with half of the scene dock. The property room is on the east end of the stage, which is 70x140 feet, and spanned by sixteen structural steel trusses which carry the diffusers and canvas roof. This roofing and the diffusers are operated by means of geared shafting. The floor is constructed of the best material, laid on concrete foundations so as to do away with all vibration. Adjoining the steel work on the west end of the stage is the other half of the scene dock, public dressing rooms, lavatories, etc. These rooms are equipped with all modern facilities, including lockers, dressers, electric lights, etc., and are ventilated from above by skylights as well as by openings at either end of the room. The stage and arena offer accommodation for six companies in addition to the facilities it provides for making animal pictures. The Horsley studios are at the present time operating two companies. One is under the direction of Milton H. Fahrney, featuring George Ovey in one-reel comedies, the other under the direction of Crane Wilbur, who also plays the lead in five-reel productions. Universal Grows Fast in Two Years. The Universal, as before stated, took over the Nestor studio on May 20, 1912. On July 12 following the company acquired the great plot of ground across the street, now the home of the L-KO Company. The next month William H. Swanson, then treasurer of the company, leased 1,299 acres at the end of San Fernando Valley, adjoining Griffith Park, and nqw known as the old ranch. In August, 1914, the company gave up this property, destroying the structures for picture purposes, and moved to the present site, ground for building on which had been broken the previous day. Early in 1915 the Universal again acquired the old ranch and still holds it. Carl Laemmle in the spring of 1912 made pictures for his Portion of Studio of American Film Co. (Inc.), Santa Barbara. Imp brand at a studio on Brooklyn Heights, but abandoned the plant on the organization of the Universal. Universal City was formally opened in March, 1915. Carl Laemmle, president of the Universal, turned the golden key in the lock of the gate to the entrance to Universal City on March 15, 1915. There were then sixteen producing companies engaged in the manufacture of films, ranging from one to three reels and occasionally a four or five-reel feature. Panoramic View of Ince