Moving Picture World (Sep 1916)

2106 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD September 30, 1916 The Photoplaywright Conducted by EPES WINTHROP SARGENT INQUIRIES. Questions concerning photoplay writing addressed to this 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. Breaking the Tension. SA. VAN PETTEN, who has taken to the west to write without . interruption, contributes an apt example of the broken tension in a recent story. He is writing of that part of the new Technique of the Photoplay, which likens suspense to a rubber band, which, drawn too tautly, breaks of its own tension. Examples are given in the book and Mr. Van Petten adds this example. If you have the third edition paste it in at page 41, or paste in the cover and make a note at paragraph ten on that page. He says : I always try to find my own illustrations of the various principles set forth, and a few days ago I met a striking illustration of your remark on Suspense. In the Essanay feature "That Sort," Warda Howard, the protagonist, procures a revolver and goes to a room to kill herself. Seating herself on a bed, she raises the revolver. But she cannot force herself to pull the trigger. Determined, she walks to the mirror and, watching her reflection in the glass, she again raises the pistol. Again her courage fails. Back she walks to the bed and sits down. Again she places the revolver to ■her head and again her nerve fails. She drops the pistol, and from the audience, composed largely of children, came a roar of laughter. Mind you, there was no criticism of Miss Howard's excellent acting. It was a case of stretching the suspense until it broke, as you have so clearly pointed out. An instant later Miss Howard again raises the weapon and pulls the trigger, but it is too late, for the house is in an uproar. The suspense has been lost through over-developmet. This is something that is generally a matter of direction rather than writing, but often it is written into the script, and still more often a succession of scenes, rather than the prolongation of the action in one scene, kills the suspense by dragging too long. Examples are given in the book, but these serve merely to suggest the lines along which further study on the screen will be made. And we are proud enough of Mr. Van Petten's letter to ask pardon for making two extracts. He writes : I have practically every book ever published on scenario and short story writing, and I take about all the magazines dealing with writing. So, to be frank, I felt it hardly possible that you would incorporate much in the third edition that would be new. I was most pleasantly surprised — especially by the chapters in Part II, on Plotting, and Part IV, on Writing in Form. Each one of those chapters is alone well worth the price of the entire book. * * * I have already learned things worth hundreds of dollars to me financially, to say nothing of having the satisfaction of knowing that I am doing better work. The Kalem Way. Here Is a bit of original press matter from the Kalem company. It runs : Robert Welles Ritchie, author of the new Kalem series, "The Girl from Frisco," delivered the last of the fifteen episodes last week and received his check. "I've had my first dealing with a picture company," said Mr. Ritchie. "It has been a delightful connection. Kalem set a liberal figure for my work and I accepted it. I received a substantial advance payment and was paid for each episode as delivered, the check invariably arriving within two days after I had mailed the manuscript. Perhaps there is a bigger laugh than that afforded by the author who says he must have a union to protect himself against the picture producers, but I have yet to hear It." Mr. Ritchie Is a prominent fiction writer and an authority on the West. A glance at his biography shows how he is equipped to supply Just what Kalem required. He did not dash off a lot of "literary" stuff, but studied photoplay requirements, the Kalem stars and others to be cast, the locations, etc., and had many conferences with Kalem. Being above all a husiness man, ho undoubtedly first assured himself that the Kalem Company is responsible and honest. Then he went ahead with his work, boosted his hank account and made a warm friendship with Kalem, which he reciprocated by turning out what is Bald to tw> a particularly lino lot of stories. In some quarters it is fashionable to sneer at the Kalem company because it makes no features, but somehow the policy of sticking to one and two reel stories seems to work with exhibitors, and Helen is the only "series" pictures that has run for more than a year. They have not offered a lot of fancy prices they do not pay, nor do they undertake to educate writers. They have gathered about them a group of men who turn out about what they want, and they did it by treating their writers nicely and being quick to perceive merit even if it had no name attached. Frank Marion was a crack script writer in his time and Phil Lang is one of the best friends the script writer of the proper sort has. When he finds a "comer" he helps him along the road with suggestion instead of "instruction," and he has turned out some first class men. This really is not the proper page for the press notice, but it is so tyipcal of the Kalem way that we are running it, though it will probably suggest nothing to the other editors who need most the suggestion it conveys. Mr. Merwin Amends. Writing of the third edition of "Technique of the Photoplay," which has just come to his hands, Bannister Merwin seeks to amend part of what he wrote and was quoted there. He says : The book is very well done indeed. It ought to be in the hands of every writer who is taking up pictures. What I specially like about it is your catholicity ; you have not limited yourself to one narrow technical line, but have made it plain to all that, apart from certain specific technical problems, this work — like all other artistic work^depends mainly upon the human factor. If I had known you were going to quote me in what I wrote in my letter to you, I should have oeeu a bit more explicit. I thought you would understand what I meant when I argued that the plot was the least important part of a photoplay. Evidently when I say "plot" I do not mean what you understand by that word. Anyone with imagination can conceive plots — and a good many people with no imagination can steal them. The thing Is that, given the bare bones, you build up something which is alive. It Is trite to say that there are only very few plots In the world, hut, as you know, if three different writers take the same plot, one may develop it into a masterpiece; another into a play of moderate worth and the third into a commonplace fizzle. If there had been less emphasis on bald plots, as shown in synopses, and more emphasis on the development of those plots through characterization and incident, we should have had a great many better photoplays than have yet appeared. All of which is in entire harmony with our own ideas if it is understood that by plot we mean the developed plot and not the bare plot suggestion, which Mr. Merwin seems to indicate by that term. In either case it means that the author should write a play and not merely a synopsis, which some other person is to elaborate according to his skill and his understanding of the author's aims. The author should and eventually must be permitted to do this work. It will have to be done if we are to have quality plays. It cannot be done by some dramatic scout or the brother of a famous man. It must be done b7 the author and passed upon by a man of intelligence. Reads for F. P. Too. In response to a number of inquiries it may be said that the combination of the Lasky and Famous Players has not yet, at least, resulted in the merger of the two script departments, but Mr. Turnbull is the head of the dual department and will put into practice his well-advertised method of telling the rest of the literary world how to write. This will probably put a nick in the results obtained from the "hundred plays at a thousand each" that the Famous Players advertised. The Answer "What's the matter with the comedy writers?" demands a producer in a dramatic paper. Then he goes on to say that he seldom, if ever, finds a good idea in the submission. He did not asu. us, but if he wants information, we don't mind telling him what the matter is. They are grown wise — that's all. There was a time when he got the pick of the market, but he bought nothing. Then he hired as editor a man who has not the confidence of the authors, and put in a staff of writers. Naturally no one with sense enough to write good ideas was going to stack up against such a combination, and so the grade of the product submitted fell. We would suppose that anyone could figure out a simple little proposition like that. The THIRD Edition of Technique of the Photoplay IS NOW READY 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 the subject of scenario or photoplay construction. By Mail, Postpaid Three Dollars Address all orders direct to nearest office. THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 17 Madison Ave., New York City 8ohlllar Building, Chicago. III. Hui Building, Lot Angclci. Cal.