The Size of Each Picture on the Film.
So you can see from this that it needs very careful rehearsal and nice
calculation to bring a well-acted and convincing play within so short
a time, to tell the whole story intelligently. Having done all this,
the director is ready to have the “camera-man” do his part of the
work. He draws his lines within the range of the camera, which do not
exceed eight or ten feet in the foreground. This is another point to be
considered on the part of the director, because all the action has to
be carried out within the eight feet of space, which is really confined
to that much stage width. Here again is where the camera-man has to
watch very carefully, not only the workings of his camera, but the
players; always alert that they are in the picture, and assisting the
director by his observations. The size of each picture as taken on the
film is ³⁄₄ by 1 inch. It is magnified ten thousand times its actual
size when we see it on the screen in a place of exhibition. A full reel
of 1000 feet shows 16,000 photographs on the screen during the twenty
minutes it consumes in its showing. The future of moving pictures is
no longer a matter of speculation. The business is an established
one, and its further developments are only matters of time. The
possibilities and uses of the animated art are unlimited. Already it
is felt in educational, religious, scientific, and industrial affairs.
Their influence in matters of sanitation and all civic improvements,
construction and mechanics, is invaluable. As a medium of wholesome
entertainment and solid instruction it is unsurpassed.
These are merely suggestions of a few phases of its utility and it is
only a natural conclusion that it will be so far-reaching in its uplift
that it will surpass the expectations of the most sanguine.
[Illustration: THE DEVELOPING ROOM.]
To develop, tint and clear the films, large tanks of wood or soapstone
are used. The films, which are wound upon the wooden frames, or racks,
are dipped into these vats, filled with the necessary chemicals and
liquids. The films being wound on frames enables the developers to
examine them without handling them. The tinting is done by similar
methods to give the necessary tint, coloring in red, sepia, blue, green
or yellow, imparting to them the effect of night, sunlight or evening,
whichever the case may be. The films are finally cleared, to wash them
clear of any extraneous chemicals or matter which might streak or
scratch the films, and avoid any objectionable matter that might mar
their appearance when shown on the screen or in the process of handling.
~EACH PICTURE IS FIRST EXHIBITED AT THE STUDIO~
As soon as convenient after a film is finished it is taken to the
exhibition rooms, at the studio, where it is thrown onto the screen. It
is reviewed first by the heads of the departments and the directors,
and later by players and all those interested in it. The projectoscopes
or moving-picture machines are run by motor, presided over by licensed
operators, who are kept on the job continually.
These exhibition rooms are called, in the parlance of the studios,
“knocklodeums,” for here is where everything is criticised. Players’
acting and fitness are judged by their appearance and conduct on the
screen and decision given as to their qualifications. The quality of
the photography, developing and the picture as a finished production is
here determined by the heads of the concern.
[Illustration: DRYING ROOM.]
~THE BOARD OF CENSORS PASSES ON EVERY PICTURE~
Every picture before it is released for exhibition must be passed upon
by the Board of Censors. It is run upon the screen and thoroughly
inspected, criticised, and every point involved thoroughly weighed
as to its effect upon the mind of the general public. If, in their
estimation, it is found objectionable in any particular, the
objectionable parts are eliminated, and if considered entirely harmful,
in its sentiments or influence, the picture is condemned. The majority
rules in the board’s judgment, although it is by no means infallible in
its decision. This board is composed of about sixty persons, who are
appointed by the government for their general qualifications, their
interest in the general welfare of the public, keenness as to morals
and uplift of the people at large. They do not receive salaries; their
services are _pro bono publico_.
[Illustration: TAKING A MILITARY SCENE OUTDOORS.]