Practical cinematography and its applications (1913)

232 PRACTICAL CINEMATOGRAPHY innumerable, suggested a sensational means of eliminating him altogether. The man was speeding across a frozen river to escape the vengeance of the hero when the ice opened up suddenly, let him through, and then closed on him to hide him from sight and memory. Need- less to say, this plot met with scanty considera- tion. In another case the plot turned upon a lady's ring. The lady was standing by a river, and the ring slipped from her finger into the water to be caught and swallowed by a fish. Some days later the hero was fishing in the same stream. He had a bite, hooked his catch, cut it open, and found the ring. It is difficult to say who experienced the most amazement, the hero when he opened his fish, or the producer when he read the story. In the photo-play profession it is novelty of the plot which brings success. The farther the author can get away from conventionality, the bigger will be the reward. This is where the average amateur shows deficiency. He is content to follow the footsteps of others. Again, many photo-play writers, instead of striving to be original, prefer to steal ideas from a novelist or short story writer. This work, needless to say, is sheer waste of time. The producer and his staff follow the periodicals and the publishing seasons very closely, so that it is easy for them