The former shows are continuous like the latter, so that the one intermission is not intended to clear the house to make room for another audience. In reality, it is to give the orchestra a rest and allow time for other things, not the least important of which is the projecting of a batch of slides. Some of these relate to forthcoming attractions of the theater, and the remainder comprise advertisements for live local traders.
Audiences appreciate these slides when they do not number too many, as they are the means of affording them something to turn their attention to instead of having nothing to do but idly gaze around the hall.
Motion pictures appeal to the eyes, consequently spectators pay much more attention to slides which contain clever illustrations, preferably humorous, backed up with apt sentences.
On the market are stock slides from thirty-five cents and up. Space is left for your name and address, and most of the needs of your trade are taken care of. New designs are constantly being put out, which make it possible to change slides as often as once weekly. We all grow tired of seeing the same thing over too many times, so if you fail to introduce fresh pictorial announcements you are liable to lose the respect of spectators. Once a week is an ideal interval, but in no case should it exceed a month.
There are really no standard rates for slide advertising. Each exhibitor has his own ideas in regard to the value of the location and size of his theater.
The one great pull the photoplay theater has over other publicity mediums is that you obtain one hundred per cent. of attention, for folks, in the darkened hall, must concentrate upon the screen.
XXXV.
SELECTING THE THEATER FOR YOUR AD. SLIDE
The other half of the battle of slide advertising is selecting the most suitable theater. If you are situated in a residential section, and you decide upon a downtown theater for your announcement, you are paying for scattered circulation.
The exhibitor also rates the advertising value of his house at a much higher figure, and, as you draw the bulk of your trade from the surrounding blocks, it is advisable to pick out a local photoplay theater.
Motion-picture theaters may be grouped into two divisions. One is the nickeldrome which has been converted from an empty store, and seldom accompanies more than five hundred. It usually shows the oldest films and caters for a cheap patronage. This class of show is on the decline.