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A VISIT TO A THEATER 11 CHAPTER II. A VISIT TO A THEATER Technical terms — the value of a title — the reel—stage terms— leader — inserts — visions— dissolves —cut-backs — matches —masks— night scenes. Before we apply ourselves closely to the study of technique, let us first visit some photoplay theater and watch a subject run. It will help us to familiarize ourselves with some of the terms and give us an idea of the films. The photoplay theater is the real schoolroom of the man or woman who would write picture plays if only the visit is made with seeing eyes and not solely for the purpose of amusement. There is no more valuable in- struction to be had, for here we can see the successes and failures and can study out the causes of those triumphs or defeats. Before we go inside let's look at the lobby for a moment and study the posters. We have come with the fixed intention of entering. The poster display can neither attract us nor send us on our way, but the theater is on a busy thoroughfare and hun- dreds pass with a glance at the pictures. Some are attracted bv the title or the picture and stop to look, some of these pass on, others enter the theater. Some of the titles do not attract us. There is one that is seven words long. If we were hurrying past, the quick glance could never take in that title, and no matter how attractively it may be worded, we would not be induced to enter. Nor is it merely long and cumbersome. It takes up more than a third of the space that in other posters is given to the picture of some catchy scene from the play. There's another on the other side of the ticket box. The letters are twice the size of the other and yet they take up only about a sixth of the poster space. Just two words— Bessie Did—but the picture is that of a rather attractive looking girl, and we are glad that we are going inside that we may learn what it was she did. We've learned one thing already and we've not even bought a ticket. We have found that a title should be short, so as to be quickly read, and attractive so as to pique the curiosity and make the person reading the title want to see the picture. If we saw what it was that Bessie did from the picture on the poster, we