TO
ALL LITERARY WORKERS
WHO STRIVE TO ELEVATE AND DIGNIFY
THE PHOTODRAMA
I DEDICATE
THIS LITTLE VOLUME
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| INTRODUCTION | [ix] | |
| FOREWORD | [xv] | |
| PART I.—THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PHOTODRAMA. | ||
| [I.] | —A NEW MEDIUM OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION The Premise of All Art; the Battle of NewStandards; the Drama of the Eye; Not “MovingPictures”; All the World’s the Stage; aField Without Limitations. | 27 |
| [II.] | —DIFFERENTIATION How Photodrama Differs from Stage Dramain Construction, Technique and Expression;Also from Fiction Construction and Narrationin General and the Short Story and Novelin Particular. | 32 |
| [III.] | —PARTS OF THE PHOTOPLAY AND THEIR PURPOSES Title; Synopsis; Cast of Characters; Author’sRemarks; Scenario; the Scene; the Setting. | 39 |
| [IV.] | —VARIOUS DEVICES—THEIR USE AND MISUSE The Caption; the Insert; the Close-View; theVision; Dialog; Breaking Up Long Scenes;Preserving the Illusion. | 48 |
| [V.] | —VISUALIZATION Its Relation to Action; Importance of Vocabulary;Literature; to Register; Interpretation;in Terms of Emotion; the Part of Imagination. | 65 |
| [VI.] | —CHARACTERIZATION Identity and Personality; Characteristics andIdiosyncrasies; Description and Delineation;Establishing Relationship; Motives; Expression;Contrasts. | 75 |
| [VII.] | —THEME, TREATMENT AND THE CENSOR Morals and Ethics; Crime; National Board ofCensorship; Taste; Inspiration and Influence. | 87 |
| [VIII.] | —RULES OF THE GAME Duration and Number of Scenes; PerpetualMotion; the “Now” Element; Effective Form;Natural Laws; Scene Principle. | 97 |
| [IX.] | —BROMIDES WORTH REPEATING The Virtue of Economy; Producing Policies;Period and Costumes; Animals; Copyright andCarbon Copies; Relation of Author’s Work toHis Audience; to the Manufacturer; to HisManuscript. | 107 |
| PART II.—THE PLOT OF THE PHOTODRAMA. | ||
| [I.] | —WHAT PLOT MATERIAL IS The Plot Germ; the Premise Advanced; AncientTheme and Original Treatment. | 119 |
| [II.] | —WHERE TO GET PLOT GERMS Observation; Reading; Employment of Facts;the Daily Newspaper; Dangers; Propriety;Originality; the “True Story”; Importance ofNotes; Titles; Plot Classification. | 124 |
| [III.] | —BEGINNING WITH THE END Seeking the Climax; When to Begin the Photoplay;Ever-Forward Movement; the Live Beginning. | 132 |
| [IV.] | —DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUITY Each Scene Contributes to the Climax; Elementof Time and Chronological Sequence; Problemsof Continuity; the Central Theme; the Return;Instantaneous Sequence; Time Indicatives. | 138 |
| [V.] | —THE CLIMAX AND COMPLETED PLOT Sequence and Consequence; Logical Cause andComplete Solution; Sustained Climax; AllExpectations Fulfilled. | 146 |
| PART III.—DRAMATIC CONSTRUCTION OF THE PHOTOPLAY. | ||
| [I.] | —DRAMA AND PHOTODRAMA Definition; Principles; Structure is Everything;the Dramatic Idea; Emotion is the Secret;Desire the Motive Power; Drama and Melodrama. | 150 |
| [II.] | —DRAMATIC EXPRESSION The Laws of Movement and Action; Characterand Motive; Relation to Audience and Character;Dramatic versus Dynamic; Realism;Romanticism and Idealism. | 155 |
| [III.] | —SEQUENCE AND SUSPENSE Cause and Effect; Effects Due to Arrangement;the Raw Coincidence; Suspense Motors; Battleof Opposing Motives; Motive as Well as Idea. | 161 |
| [IV.] | —THE POTENTIAL SITUATION Contrast; Situation’s Relation to Audience;Harvesting Situations; Peril and Death; Climaxand Punch. | 166 |
| [V.] | —UNITY PLUS HARMONY EQUALS EFFECT Questions in the Mind of the Audience;Reason; Truth; Struggle; Solution; the Title;Harmony Values. | 175 |
| PART IV.-FORMS AND TYPES OF THE PHOTOPLAY. | ||
| [I.] | — Drama and Melodrama; Tragedy; Comedy;Other Forms; “Split Reel”; Short Play; LongPlay; Spectacle; Adaptations; Play Divisions. | 185 |
| [II.] | —A SPECIMEN PHOTOPLAY The Effectiveness of Typography; “The Salt ofVengeance,”—a Short Play Drama. | 192 |
| GLOSSARY The Most Used Terms Defined, with ManySuggestions for Revision and Alternative Terms. | [212] | |
INTRODUCTION
AS one of the pioneers in the most wonderful art-science of the age—the motion picture industry—the writer feels doubly qualified perhaps to throw some light upon a subject equally interesting to author and producer.
A few years ago to the uninitiated “moving pictures” spelt little more than pantomime, buffoonery or sensational catch-penny device. To-day, there are few who maintain this view, and they are the unenlightened; for to the vast majority of those familiar with the art and interested in its progress, the word has become symbolic of things important and far-reaching.
Literature is literally the basic foundation upon which the already gigantic edifice of picturedom has risen.
Ten or twelve years ago picture manuscripts were unknown—office boys, clerks, camera operators, any one with an “idea” furnished the material from which motion pictures were produced. Plot was unknown, technique did not exist, and literary and constructive quality was conspicuous by its absence. The art, however, developed rapidly. It was found possible to do more than portray outdoor scenes of moving trains and other objects, or simple pantomimes with exaggerated gesture à la Française. Methods were discovered and evolved whereby powerfully dramatic scenes could be reproduced, subtilty of expression in either serious or humorous vein could be communicated to numberless people—their emotions played upon, laughter or tears evoked at will—in other words, the Silent Drama was born.
Classic and standard literature was then reproduced in photodrama. Shakespeare, Dickens, Thackeray, Scott and Hugo became known to millions of people whose previous acquaintance with their famous works was either very slight or non-existent. It was at this stage, when literature was combined with other arts allied in picture production, that the real impetus was given and the triumphant onward march of the world’s greatest educator and entertainer commenced.
To-day, millions are invested in great industrial plants for the creation and manufacture of the wordless drama; thousands of people rely upon it as their sole maintenance and profession. Millions upon millions of men, women and children all over the world look upon this form of entertainment as their principal recreation and, incidentally, are being unconsciously educated to understand and appreciate the higher forms of art.