Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 April 1915 — Haking of Moving Fictures [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Haking of Moving Fictures

(Many Interesting Scenes at §\ Universal City, CaLjH

The vary first steD in the makine oi a photoplay 1e the writing of the story which is known as a scenario. This scenario is a complete outline of the entire picture consisting of the cast of characters, a brief story and a description of the scenes. The manuscripts are read carefully by the scenario editor, and the available 1 per cent are kept, the others returned at once to the authors. Most of the manufacturers at the present time have a scenugp department and these writers supplPthe majority of the scripts that the companies use. After the manuscript is decided upon, it is then turned over to the producer who puts it in final shape for production. He makes a- list of all the properties needed and arranges for costumes. Mhny companies after purchasing a scripts turn it over to their own scenario writers to put in Shape. Rarely is an outsider’s scenario in proper condition to be produced. The Moving Picture Stage. The stage is the next step to be considered. The modern studio stage for the production of moving pictures far surpasses its counterpart, the legitimate stage, in its equipment for elaborately staged productions. In Universal City some of the largest stages in the world have been built. The interior studio, where pictures are taken in rainy weather, at. night or on cloudy days is equipped with an artificial lighting system. The lights are placed overhead and at all sides, throwing a powerful glare on the scene. When all the lights are going, nearly three hundred in number, the candlepower exceeds ten thousand. In addition to these there are also Aristo arc lights used to produce different effects. This studio alone is 180 feet long and 60 feet wide. The largest moving picture exterior stage in the world, accommodating twenty sets, or scenes, has been built

In Universal City. This means that scenes for twenty pictures can be put on at one time, providing, of -course, the sun is shining. The Scenes. The scene occupies- but a small space on the studio floor, ranging from twelve feet in width to forty or fifty. As a rule, the camera is brought within a few feet of the principals in the scene, in order that their features and expressions may be clearly shown. On either side of the stage lines are laid which run in a V shape coming together at the camera. The actors while playingfor the scene must keep within these lines. Te go beyond them is to vanish from the scene, and the director may. be continually heard above the roar of other sounds, instructing the players to keep inside of the lines. From morning to night, during the rainy season, the interior studio rings with the noise of the busy stage carpenters striking this set or that or erecting new ones. Beautiful rooms spring up as if by magic and are pulled down, giving way to perhaps a squalid set typical of the poverty stricken home.

The carpenter shop !s a room as large as the studio itself. Thirty-two men are regularly employed here who are experts in their line. They are continually building or erecting scenes for file Interior and exterior stages. Photographing the Scenes. . Before the camera is turned' Upon the set, the director of the picture explains to the players the action of the •pans This la gone through la re-

hearsal several times until the players are entirely conversant with the situations and action. The camera is then put into action and the scene is photographed upon a long strip of sensitized film. This film comes in reels of from two hundred to four hundred feet. Before using, the film is perforated by machines that are marvels of accuracy and speed, each one turning out about five thousand feet per day. Developing the Film. After all the scenes of a picture have been made, the film is turned .over to the developing department and there the invisible image takes definite form and the first results are seen. After development the film is thoroughly washed and dried and the sections giv-

en to the producer who made the pio ture. Then comes the tedious work of assembling the different sections. After this is done the negative is turned over to the printing department and then, for the first time, the picture is ready to be thrown upon the screen. Many changes are often made in the picture before it is ready for the public, as it Is the producer’s big ambition to make

.\ ! ■ bis product as near perfect as possible. This but briefly outlines the things that must be done in order to make a picture. These in fact are the big items. There are hundreds of other details, the small things which are indispensable. However, in order to appreciate and thoroughly comprehend just what goes into making a picture it must be actually viewed. Also the vast amount of furniture and property of various kinds that must be kept on hand. Every piece of furniture in every house in the Universal City is the property of the Universal company. They have made an effort to furnish each house differently, so that if a certain piece of furniture a particular pattern would be required it would be on hand. A record Is kept of Just where the different kinds of furnishings are to be found. . . For the thousands of visitors to Universal City there are going to be many revelations, there are going to be many surprises. While they may have taken a keen Interest in pictures in the past, the pictures they will see after their visit will be all the more interesting as they will know just how they are taken. They will also have become acquainted with the people whom they have seen so often on the screen. They will take a greater delight in the acting done by these people as they will then be watching the work of personal acquaintances and not merely acquaintances aa

Remarkable Tanglers Street Scene, Built for the Terence O’Rourke Picture at Universal City.

Building Built for and Used in “The Inn of the Winged God.”

Street Set at Universal City to Represent Lucknow in “The Campbells Are Coming.”