Evening Star Newspaper, September 13, 1931, Page 85

Behind the Scenes Musicat divector How the taking of a movie requires the services of scores of people the audience never sees. THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SEPTEMBER 13, 1931 This shows the fil ming of a scene in “Twenty-Four Hours” at the Para- mount studio. Kay Francis, Clive Brook and Miriam Hopkins are the only people before the camera, but more than 50 others are busy on the job. AVE you ever had your slumbers dis- turbed by an alarm clock? If not, you're lucky. Few persons are fortunate enough not to have alarm clocks enter their lives at some time. And Hollywood's chil- dren of luxury are just like every one else in this respect. ‘Their clocks may be more ornate in appear- ance than the ordinary alarm clock. But the bells all sound alike at 6 o'clock in the morn- ing. You may wonder how many film celebrities have had to crawl out of their luxurious beds at that hour in the morning. And the answer is—most of them. In fact, it is the usual aris- .ing time for those who are working. Some have to get up even earlier. A half hour's delay in starting the day's shooting might cost a studio several thousand doliars. And though studio executives may be careless about the way they throw money about. they refuse to have it wasted in that manner. Despite the fact that few are conscious of their efforts, Hollywood's gigantic studios em- ploy workers in 125 different trades and professiond. Among those are glassblowers, leather workers, architects, jewelers, sound technicians, sculptors, nurses, telephone oper- ators, projectionists, lawyers, wax workers, doc- tors, ironworkers, gunsmiths, carpenters, art- ists electricians, cabinetmakers, property men, dressmakers, explosive experts, painters, tailors, interior decorators, mechanics and many others, including the usual office forces required in any business. S a rule the property men are first to appear at the studio. They have charge of all ‘accessories necded to give a set an au- thentic atmosphere, and may be called upon to produce anything from knitting needles to an elephant’s tusk. If flowers are used in a scene fresh ones must be supplied several times a day, as the hot lights wilt them very quickly. The same applies to fruit. It must be fresh every morn- ing. Carpenters also have to arrive early in the morning, as there often are changes to be made in a set. The wall of a room might have to be erected, moved or taken down entirely, a window might have to be changed, or dozens of other alterations might be called for. As a general rule, the players are next to arrive. They must be at the studio. early in order to don the right costumes, have their hair fixed and get made up. When a special make-up is required for a characterization, the star often has to arrive at the studio at day- break in order to be on the set at 9 o'clock. For example, the late Lon Chaney often used to spend from three to five hours every morn- ing putting on his make-up. Following closely on the heels of the players, eome the assistant directors, electricians and eameramen. All have many duties to perform before actual shooting commences, -“mixer,” Lxposing the Secrets of a Thousand and One Odd Jobs That Have to Be Carried on Behind the Cameras in Casting a Spell of Romance on Favorite Stars. It is the assistant director’'s job to make sure that evervthing is in readiness by the time the director appeass on the set. Players must be checked to make sure they all are ready. Electricians must arrange their lights so that the set is lighted just right. And cameras must bet set up for the first scene. Naturally, the assistant director doesnt touch the lights or cameras himself. But he is held responsible for their being in readiness. AST on the set is the director. From this, it would seem that he has the easiest job of all. On the contrary, his is the most diffi- cult. As a rule, the director has spent hours the night before going over his script so that he will know exactly what he is going to shoot during the day. Often he has had to confer -with writ>rs on the changing of certain scenes or lines of dialogue. He has no rest during the filming of a picture, since responsibility for the entire company is placed upon his shoul- ders by studio executives. Back in the days of silent pictures the ac- tual shooting was comparatively simple. Once the lights and cameras were set, the camera- men merely turned their cranks while the players enacted a scene under the close di- rection of the director. Now, however, things are different. The di- rector n8 longer can give orders to his players duripg the filming of a scene, so each scene must bz rehearsed beforehand. The sound technicians must line up their microphones so that they will best catch all lines of dialogue. Then the lines must be spoken for the who eontrols all sounds passing through the sound apparatus. And the appa- ratus itself must be tested to make sure that its motors are perfectly synchronized with the mctors which operate all cameras. _ Finally the director says, “Turn ’em over.” The day’s work actually is started. In all probability some thousands of feet of film will be shot each day the company works. Yet only a small percentage of it ever will be seen in the finished picture. The average pic- ture runs from an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. A satisfactory eight-hour working day will contribute from three to six minutes toward the completed product—from 270 to 540 feet of film. HERE are so many things which can go wrong and necessitate the retaking of a scene. An actor may forget his lines or he may not speak them co_rrectly. Any one of the scores of persons required or®a set may cough, sneeze or make some other noise. A piece of film may buckle in a camera. Or the intricate sound apparatus may go “haywire.” Sound devices are what bring the greatest number of gray hairs to a director. There are so many things to go wrong, as a _tracing of the sound chanfels will show. Sound is picked up originally by one or more microphones placed in advantageous positions. First it passes through a mixing board, operated by an expert mixer whose job is to regulate the sound by increasing or decreasing its volume so that a perfect tone will be recorded. The mixer sits in a soundproof booth so that the only sounds he can hear are those picked up by the microphone. Thus he im- mediately catches any outside or undesired noise. He is the man who okays or rejects each “take” from a sound standpoint. After passing through the mixing board, the sound is transmitted to the disc or film upon which it is to be recorded. In the recording room, too, highly trained men are necessary. Control of all motors, operating both cameras and sound apparatus, is in their hands and it is essential that the two be perfectly synchro- nized. ‘There are two methods of recording sound on film. It can be recorded on the side of the picture film or on an entirely separate film. Of the two, the latter is by far the more satis- factory since it permits both the picture and the sound track to be developed to the highest degree of perfection. After the entire picture has been shot and developed it must be cut and assembled. This is done by expert cutters under the supervision of the director. Anywhere from 25,000 to 1,- 000,000 feet of film might be shot on a single production. This must be cut and assembled 80 that the finished produ t will be a coherent, smooth running picture of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet in length. ATURALLY, this is a tremendous job, es- pecially since the sound track, whether on fiim or records, must be cut so that it will exactly coincide with the picture. The sound track must run exactly 16 inches ahead of the picture. If it varies from this even a fraction of an inch, the sound emanating from the theater loudspeakers will not be perfectly synchronised with the action on the screen. An actor’s words will be Heard either before or after he speaks thcem. When the picture finally has been cut and assembled it is ready for a preview. As a rule & film is previewed for the first time while it still is several thousand feet over length. This allows the director and studio executives to determine by audience reaction just which scenes can best be shortened or eliminated. Occasionally a preview shows that entire sequences have to be remade. If an audience laughs at a dramatic scene or doesn't laugh at something which is supposed to be funny, there is something wrong with the picture it must be remedied. . When the telkie craze first hit Hollywood two directors were assigned to almost every produciion. Scores of stage directors were im- ported from New York to supervise all dialogue while the old-time film directors passed final judgment on all action. . However, this custom was found to be very wasteful. A scene which suited the film di- rector probably wouldn't suit the dialogue di- rector, and vite versa. Scenes were shot over and over again in an effort to satisfy both men. Now one dircector is in control of both action and dialogue. X TUDIO executives discovered that it is * cheaper for them to make various articles than to buy them. In fact, practically every- thing but the film itsclf and the cameras is made right in the studio. Furniture, jewelry, ‘drapes, clothing—all are made by trained crafismen employed by the studios. Most settings for a picture are used over and over again. Clothes, too, are ripped up and made over—that is, unless those who hatve worn them want to buy them. Most studios grant players the privilege of buying for a reasonable price the clothes they have worn in a picture. Iron and steel fixtures are melted and cast over again. Furniture is repainted or recovered. In fact, when it comes to such matters, studio executives have proven that they be very economical. Tt is in less tangibie such as paying $25,000 or $50,000 for a that they change frcm beginning to end or gaging a man like }'. G. Wodehouse at & mendous salary and having him do that their lack of asund economic traiming comes to the fore.