By slowing down the speed of acting, though without reducing the sustained interest, Sir Hubert von Herkomer contends that the public will be put in a position to grasp the whole subject, and will be able to follow it more rationally and comprehensibly. At the same time the players will have time and scope to perform their parts properly. There is not the least reason why this should not be achieved without allowing the action to flag or the interest to drop.
The lighting of the subject is another important feature to which Sir Hubert von Herkomer is giving attention. The illumination must be arranged to suit the situation, and as cinematography offers the utmost latitude in this respect, it is unnecessary to rush to violent extremes. In many productions the studio stage is suffused with such an intense glare that all facial expression and shadows are sacrificed. Sir Hubert has realised how great is the scope for improvement in this direction, and is altering the whole principle of stage lighting. Similarly, in outdoor work he is supplementing sunshine with arc lights, so as to secure the steady illumination necessary for good effects. The combination of brilliant daylight and artificial illumination is a novelty in photo-play production, but when the action is taking place under trees, where the shadows are heavy and in sharp contrast with scattered patches of brilliant sunlight, the players are apt to present a phantom appearance. Sometimes they are scarcely distinguishable. The introduction of auxiliary light relieves the shadowy places and softens the general effect. Needless to say the manipulation of powerful arc lights under such conditions demands skilful handling, but in the Herkomer films the improved results certainly show that the labour is not wasted.
Whether the combination of artist and producer will prove successful time alone can show. There will be a certain amount of commercial opposition, lacking in artistic feeling, and hostile to innovation. But the appearance of the artist and his resolution to work out his schemes logically should surely be encouraged by the public. The same reforms that changed and improved the theatre, enabling it to hold its own against the all-conquering picture palace, have a mission to the latter also. They can lift it to the higher level that is its obvious destiny.
CHAPTER XX
WHY NOT NATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPH LABORATORIES?
Considering the position which the motion-picture has attained in our social and industrial life, the establishment of national cinematograph laboratories appears not only to be opportune, but necessary. At the present moment, if one conceives an idea for the solving of some abstruse problem by means of animated photography, one is handicapped by the lack of opportunity and facilities for carrying out the work. Either the apparatus required must be made specially, or purchased, in which case heavy expenditure may be incurred, or, one must go to Paris and make use of the Marey Institute, either by becoming a member of it or by serving as the representative of a contributory society. There, one is able to pursue the line of study quietly, easily, and economically, and, even if the ultimate results are disappointing, or the cherished theories prove to be untenable, certain benefits are sure to accrue from the experiments. The time is not wasted.
The Marey Institute is unique and wonderful. Its operations are world-wide. Its founder, Dr. E. J. Marey, was a prodigious worker who pursued his scientific investigations without any idea of personal gain. When first he entered the arena of science he began his experiments in a large room upon the fifth floor of a house in the Rue de l'ancienne Comédie, Paris, which formerly belonged to the Comédie Française. Here he fitted up as good a laboratory as he could afford, dividing the spacious apartment, by wooden partitions, into working and living rooms. His studies soon aroused widespread attention, and their results were subsequently embodied in his classical work, "The Graphic Method." But some ten years before this volume appeared his investigations had received recognition. In 1867 the Minister of Public Instruction offered him the use of a laboratory at the College of France, so as to be able to carry out his researches to better advantage.