Talking pictures : how they are made and how to appreciate them (1937)

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Talking Pictures director customarily makes rough sketches of all sets considered. For a picture with twenty sets he might make rough sketches of them four or five different ways. If the picture is particularly colorful and important, like Lloyds of Loudon, he will supplement these pencil drawings by having an artist prepare his better concepts in water colors. To settle basic technical problems, these preliminary designs are then studied with the director, cameraman, and sound engineer. Doors and windows and stairs must be in the right places for the dramatic action required. Adequate recording of sound must be possible. Once again emphasis is placed upon the co-operative relation of the various departments. When approved, a regular architect's blueprint is made from the sketches. But these plans are not yet final. They are put in the hands of a man who, with light veneer wood, makes miniature sets to exact scale size. This part of the picture making process would be a joy to children, for the miniature sets would be ideal for "playing house." No toys ever produced by the best craftsmen of Germany are better made than those prepared for this professional purpose. But these devices are not playthings nor are they juvenile. Directors, cameramen, sound men, electricians, property men, assistant directors, and casting directors pore over them. They regard these "toys" with intense seriousness, for they are the means of saving thousands of dollars each year. With small models like these the average director, sometimes using wooden figurines made to scale, works out the detail of his action and [96]