Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, August 2, 1923, Page 5

~ ‘ OTION picture directors do not always go outside the studios for their exterior settings. . Many of the most adaptable ex- terior sites about the film capitals, especially those such as gardens, verandas and vistas on the property of beautiful estates, have already served as backgrounds for motion picture scenes. Then again, the mechanics of the story are often such as to require the construction of some of the exterior settings, so that they may be perfectly adaptable in construction and design, for the making of the particular scenes in- volved. Far Away Spot. - Other exteriors built within the studios represent various parts of the world of such a distance away that {t would involve an immense ex- penditure to take the company and cast to the real location to make a » Tew scenes of the picture. In such cases, the exteriors ai- often built in the studio, as nearly as possible the replicas of the originals and con- structed under the supervision of skilled technical artists who have made extensive research of the loca- tion and structure in question. Examples of this are the Versailles garden spotin the Paramount pic- ture, “Beyond the Rocks,” starring Gloria Swanson, which was prepared by skilled landscape artists and dec- orators; the exteriors of St. Mary's chureh, London, for another picture, and for still another, the exterior of Shepherd’s Hotel in Cairo, Egypt. In “To Have and to Hold,” the histor- ical stockade at Jamestown in 1620, was reproduced. Other exteriors within the studio have included a street in Shanghai, China, a street in the vicinity of Sixty-seventh strect and Seventh avenue in New York, etc, Great Sill Required. ‘ William DeMille almost consist- ently builds his exteriors within the studio. His pictures have included several beautiful garden and veranda settings which have greatly en- hanced their artistic and pictorial value and in which much of the ac- tion has. occurred. For instance, in “The Prince Chap,” there was a very pretty Italfan hotel exterior, in “The i ~~ arenes, AN BXIBRIOR RLIZDELV SETTI 2 AVES P Tee DOLLILD’ VITALLY PEL LO. VOTE TB CLASS ROOF ABOVE Lest Romance,” a California patio garden in a mountain home and in “Clarence,” the veranda and garden of the Wheeler home. These com- bine the finest skill and art in ex- terior landscape decoration. Com- plete lawns are lald by transporting the green turf in sections; trees and shrubbery aré put in end flowers tn profusion, in the whole set off by walks, fountains and other garden effects. It Takes an Hour ‘to Make a Minute! 'T takes an hour, or two hours, or mayhap a day—or two or three— to put upon the screen that poignant minute of drama, heart in- prcest, comedy—whatever it was that / “Caught your fancy when you last vis- / {ted s motion picture theater. The time clement is a factor in motion picture production seldom realized by the casual photoplay at- tendant. So quickly, so smoothly do the co-ordinated scenes flash over the screen that they create an illu- sion of ease, of lack of effort, of play in the making as well as the Projection. It’s surprising how many of the uninitiated public have the tmpres- sion that to make a scene in the studio requires but little more time than that required to place it on the silver sheet. Disappointed Visitors. “I had no idea it took that much work!” is a common saying of stu- dio visitors. And hundreds admitted to the big picture plants have gone @way disappointed because not a camera turned while they were there, ‘When one enters a studio the first {l- lusion to be shattered is that of the erage outsider who believes that picture stages are flanked by bat- 4 (AOQUELINE LOGAN terles of cameras which click un- ceasingly all day long while the aoc- tors and actresses pass in review be- fore them. The time of photography is small. The time “before and after” is infinite. Let’s take a typical scene for ex- ample. Let’s take a very famous one to make our {illustration carry real authority, In “Ebb Tide,” the Robert Louis Stevenson-Lloyd Osbourne classic of the South Seas there is a dinner in the home of Attwater, pearl conces- sionaire; a dinner heralded by crit- ics as being one of the greatest pieces of character delineation in all Mterary history; a dinner where the emotions of anticipated theft, hon- esty cunning and vengeance pass across the faces of four remarkable characters like squalls on a Summer lake. It will take but a few minutes for you to read ft in the book; to see it on the screen, It took days for Di- rector George Melford to record it on cellulofd as an integral part of his new picture. Dim, Religious Light, First the rehearsal, They’re spooky, ghost-like things ON ORR TIRE © SLO PNB ee IR AE ae these rehearsals. Especially for night scenes where the set is cov- ered over with black cloth to ex- clude light. In but dim illumination therefore, James Kirkwood, Raymond Hatton, George Fawcett and Noah Beery sit down to practice the bus!- ness of the difficult scene. Sitting and rising, passing plates of bread or salt or pepper—all of these things have to be carefully fg- ured out in advance. For these mat- ters are minor undertones and must not interfere—but it takes time and PUVCETT~ SACIES KIRKWECOD GETS LE FYOTIIOND HATTON: VD. NOAA) DLE Y thought and practice to assure this. And in equal measure the dramatio part must be built up to a crashing climax, a climax so vivid that when James Kirkwood, in horror, rises from the table and crashes out to the surrounding garden the sympa- thy and thrills of the audiences will be sure to go with him. Half-hour, an hour, two hours for rehearsal. Then lights. When you've exclaimed over some particularly beautiful photo- graphio effect, did you ever stop to think what brought this about? When an artist makes a light effect on a pleco of canvas it {s comparatively easy. He takes a little blue paint, a ttle white point, a little pink paint —daubs them here and there—and presto a beautiful painting with only the exertion of a hand nd wrist to get it! Getting Effect. But to “paint” such an effect in Nghts means hard, grinding, physical labor, not only by the cinematogra. pher, but by a corps of electricians which may vary from three or four to fifteen or twenty individuals. Under the orders of the cinematog- rapher, in this case Bert Glennon, they wheel back and forth heavy Kileg lights weighing 200 pounds each, they jockey into position a “Sun Are,” a huge apparatus weighing half a ton which throws a concen- trated flood of light on a certain place, And then two or three of their number emulate the monkey and climb to the top of the set where they sit precariously on narrow pleces of boards and operate spot- lights which play down on the heads of the players and give that attractive “glowing” effect which adds so much to the excellence of the photography. It means art, correct lighting, but {t takes time and a liberal applica- tion of good old human “elbow grease.” And then comes rehearsal with the lights to test them to see if every- thing 1s working well. It develops that one of the lights has an asth- matic flicker that needs correction— and the lights are turned off while an electrician slips in a new carbon and twists nuts and bolts here and there to make the thing behave again. Ready to Start. Finally everything 1s set so that Director Melford can call “Camera.” The scene unfolds. Raymond Hat- ton as the slimy “Huish” di, ravenously into the food; George Faweett as “Captain Davis" pours wine into his glass with a shaking hand; Noah Beery as Attwater tells the story of his domination on the pearl island while “Herrick” the Oxford-bred failure smokes a cig- arette and listens to the recital, “Cut,” calls the director. Seem- ingly the scene is ready for incor- poration into the finished photoplay. But {t {sn’t. “I think a little sterner expression at the start Noah,” says Mr. Melford. “And ‘Hulsh’—that side expression of a < ae Pes so Parte ea ne ee irs LMOCINTIALIS LLOME Building the Outside Inside LOQKING OUT THE PRONT BIVIRENCE ~ Cpa Pie SETTING TO Til N. 2AI7EGRTOR GLRDEIN DPYOVD-— (24 WERE BUILT OV THB THOR ZV, STOQIO STAGE -— IVOTL2 BS PEERED TEE FOOLV TA A. WALES AN OTHBR LANDSCILE DPERIS yours was great—do it again cnly a little broader next time.” Then he returns to his canvas chair by the camera, But does he call “Camera?” Not at all, there's a lot to be done before “shot” a second time, A new helping of food hag to be placed on all the plates. The bottle of wine used by Fawcett has to be refilled just to the exact original level. The property man hands to Mr. Kirkwood a new cigarette which he must puff rap!dly for about 30 seconds to bring to the same length as at the start of the scene. And the players can't move except by per- mission of the photographer for he has them in exact foctis and to re-do this work would cause the loss of much yaluable time, If it is really necessary for them to get up, and it was in the case of Raymond Hatton who had a big putty “wart” on his nose which required careful re-vamp. Ing every minutes, the property man comes forward with a piece of chalk and carefully marks the play- er’s feet and tho fect of the chair in which ho was sitting so that both can be replaced quickly when the scene starts again. the scene can be Photographing a Song. “Camera” is called for the second time and the scene {s repeated. And a third and a fourth and maybe more times—for there must be at least two perfect “negativyes"—and the direc It is with narrow-souled people as with narrow-necked bottles— the less they have in them the more noise they make\in pouring tor can not run the risk of imperfec- tions in any single roll of film. And each time a repetition of the same round of real physical and mental labor and use of time. Just a few minutes on the screen. but {t meant several days’ hard work for twenty or thirty people. And there are instances where a whole day has been spent just to fit a “flash” on the screen that doesn't last more than two or three seconds. In “Forbidden Fruit” Cecil B. De Mille wanted a “shot” of a canary bird singing to emphasize later scenes where Clarence Burton throws cage and canary out of the tenement window, killing the bird, his wife's one pet. For an entire day a motion picture photographer stood vigilantly by: watching to see the first premonition - close-ups are al of song. But milady canary waa temperamental—and for hours hours she sat huddled on her perch, half asleep with no apparent interest in the proceedings whatsoever. And then suddenly, late in the afternoon when the camera operator had almost given up hope, she satup suddenly as if galvanized by elec- tricity and opened her throat to give forth glorious spasms of melody, the physical part of which was immedi- ately recorded in celluloid. Take stunts where something has to be thrown and a light In just a certain way. They take time. Take “Blood and Sand” where Rodolph Valentino tosses his toreador’s hat towards the bandit “Pluminas” sit- ting in the grandstand. Time and la- bor—yes, indeed bo! No Second Chance, And great uprooting storms like that in “The Old Homestead” may means days and days of careful prep: aration before a camera is even turned. In cases like this, where de- struction {s involved, the time fs all beforehand, for there is no duplica- tion of takes. A big battery of eight or ten cameras all crank at once and close-ups and medium ured at the same long shots, time. In such an instance the actual time of taking is small—but to make up for this there e hours and hours of careful foretho Truly, in motion pictures “It takes an hour to ke a minute!”—By Barrett C. Kiesling. Elght-Cent Meals Successfal. Prisoners in the Washtenaw coun- ty jail, in Arbor, Mich., gained weight du the la: year on meals that co! veral cases were cited by the She where long term prisoners had gained as much as 30 pounds. Color Process Used in New Film Color photography of a new kind is tried In Cecil B. DeMille's produc tion, “Adam's Rib.” The system used {s what {s known as a perfect ed “spotted” process The system has been perfected by Loren Taylor, who has been work ing on {it for 1@ time. The color is shown through the regular blacks and grays of the ordinary celluloid film, “All Over” color photography rried to the tints of the skin fs ad. out. — Pope. mitt ing to Pa ily far from perfection, accord: cutives. hich the spotted co! ight ball up of danc with main r fn com in large Japar lights of the out and the and been tints.