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

Record Details:

Title:
Talking pictures : how they are made, how to appreciate them
Date:
c. 1937
Publisher:
Richmond : Johnson Publishing Company
Volume:
Talking pictures : how they are made, how to appreciate them
Leaf #:
000289
Language:
English
Subjects:
Motion Pictures, Motion pictures--Technology
Collection:
Books
Format:
Books
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
Date Added:
March 28, 2024
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THE SHORT SUBJECT The short subject, a picture presentation in one or two reels, is a branch of film production too often overlooked by the public. Yet, in the United States about one thousand short subjects are produced each year. This is nearly double the number of feature pictures made during the same period. Moreover, short subjects, because of their wide range of topics, are much closer to the educational function of films than eight or ten reel feature pictures. These are almost without exception, "story films." They tell a fiction story and are designed primarily for entertainment. When they concern a historical character like Disraeli, or faithfully reproduce great literary classics like Romeo and Juliet or David Copperfield, they attain direct educational significance. But the educational value of modern stories is largely indirect and by example. Since the short subject rarely depends upon plot for its strength factors, the fictional method is seldom used in its structure. The short subject keeps very close to the borderline between sheer entertainment and direct education. An example is the "narration short." In this the subject is photographed without spoken sound. A narrator, speaking on a studio stage to a [245]