Talking pictures : how they are made, how to appreciate them (c. 1937)

The Scenario Writer Similar talcs can be told of authors who wonder why the motion picture producers never buy their stories. After making such a complaint, one confessed that he had seen only one motion picture in ten years. The screen of the future will offer many rewards, but these will only be for those whose devotion is steadfast. And the scenario writer will share strongly in any future advance of the medium, for, more than any other technician, he is definitely of the screen and unique to it. From the criticisms of associate producer, star, and director the scenario goes to the stenographic department. About fifty copies are made. These are sent to the heads and subheads of twenty-six different departments: research, art direction, interior decoration, camera, laboratory, sound recording, music, carpenter construction, location, make-up, "trick" effects, dance direction, hairdressing, transportation, casting, properties, and many others. Each department translates the scenario into its own terms. Picture making is divided into three distinct periods: preparation, production, and completion. During the time of preparation, the average for which is three sixths or one half of the total time, the story is purchased and adapted, and we have seen these processes. We shall now examine the building of sets, the making of costumes, the hiring of players. Careful preparation can save a great deal of money during the expensive period of photography. The period of actual photography requires only one sixth of the total. The period of assembling, editing the individual photographed strips of films into a cohesive, [79]