CHAPTER XII
THE PHOTO DRAMA
Mr. DeVere was an excellent actor. In his time he had played manyparts, so the necessary action, or "business," as it is called, wasnot hard for him. He had learned readily what was expected of him,and though it seemed rather odd to make his gestures, his exits andentrances before nothing more than the eye of a camera, he soon hadbecome accustomed to it after the days of rehearsal. And the greatpoint was that he did not have to use his voice. Or, at the most,when some vital part of the little play called for speaking, he hadonly to whisper to give the "cue" to the others.
The plot was not a very complicated one, telling the story of awealthy young fellow (played by Paul Ardite) the son of a wealthybanker, (Mr. DeVere) getting into bad company, and how he was savedby the influence of a good girl.
The "card" in question, was a visiting card, which seemed tocompromise the young man, but the "turn" of it cleared him.
To save time, different scenes had already been set up in variousparts of the big studio, and to these scenes--mere sections of roomsor offices--the actors moved.
With them moved Russ Dalwood, who was "filming" this particular play.He placed his little box-machine, on its tripod, before each scene,and used as many feet of film to get the succeeding pictures as Mr.Pertell thought was necessary.
I presume all my readers have seen moving pictures many times, andperhaps many of you know how they are made. But at the risk ofrepeating what is already known I will give just a little descriptionof how the work is done.
In the first place there has to be a play to be "filmed," or taken.It may be a parlor drama an outdoor scene--anything from a burningbuilding to a flood. With the play decided on, the actors andactresses for the different parts are selected and carefullyrehearsed. This is necessary as the camera is instantaneous and onefalse move or gestures may spoil the film.
Next comes the selection of the location for the various scenes.Indoor ones are comparatively easy, for the scenic artist can buildalmost anything. But to get the proper outdoor setting is not soeasy, and often moving picture companies go many miles to get justthe proper scenery for a background.
So careful are some managers that they will send to California, or tothe Holy Land, in order that their actors may have the properhistorical surroundings. This costs many thousands of dollars, so itcan be seen how important it is to get the film right at first.
There are two main parts to the moving picture business--the takingof the pictures and later the projection, or showing, of them on awhite screen in some theatre.
For this two different machines are needed. The first is a camera,similar in the main principle to the same camera with which you mayhave taken snapshots. But there is a difference. Where you take onepicture in a second, the moving picture camera takes sixteen. That isthe uniform rate maintained, though there may be exceptions. And inyour camera you take a picture on a short strip of celluloid film, oron a glass plate, but in the moving picture machine the pictures aretaken on a narrow strip of celluloid film perhaps a thousand feetlong.
The camera consists of a narrow box. On one side is a handle, andthere is a lens that can be adjusted or focused. Inside is variedmachinery, but I will not tire you with a description of it.Sufficient to say that there are two wheels, or reels. On one--theupper--is wound the unexposed film. One end of this film is fastenedto the empty, or lower, reel. The film is passed back of lens, whichis fitted with a shutter that opens and closes at the rate of sixteentimes a second.
Turning a handle on the outside of the camera operates it. So thatwhen the scene is ready to be photographed the actors, whether men oranimals, begin to move. The handle turns, and the unexposed film iswound from one reel to the other, inside the camera, passing behindthe lens, so that the picture falls on it in a flash, just as youtake one snapshot. But, as I have said, the moving picture cameratakes snapshot after snapshot--sixteen a second--until many thousandsare taken, so that when the pictures are shown afterward they givethe effect of continuous motion.
The film is moved forward by means of toothed sprocket wheels insidethe camera, the shutter opening and closing automatically.
When the reel of film has all been exposed, it is taken to the darkroom, and there developed, just as a small roll from your camerawould be. This film is called the negative. From it any number ofpositives can be made, all depending on the popularity of thesubject.
To make positives, the negative film is laid on another strip ofsensitive celluloid of the same size. The two films are placed in asuitable machine, and then set in front of a bright light. The twofilms are then moved along so as to print each of the thousands ofpictures previously taken.
The positive film is then developed, "fixed" to prevent it fromfading, and it is then ready for the projecting machine. This latteris like the old-fashioned stereopticon, and by means of suitablelenses, and a brilliant light, the small pictures, hardly more thanan inch square, are so magnified that they appear life-size on thescreen.
That, in brief, is how moving pictures are made and shown, but ittells nothing of the hard work involved, on the part of operators,and actors and actresses. Often the performers risk their lives tomake a "snappy" film, and many accidents have occurred where daringmen and women took parts with wild beasts in the cast, or daredserious injury by long jumps.
Ruth and Alice watched their father enact his role. He did it well,and the girls were gratified to hear Mr. Pertell say from time totime:
"Good! That's the way to do it! Oh, that's great!"
The play was not a long one, but if it had taken three times thehalf-hour it consumed Ruth and Alice would not have been weary.
The last scene had been "filmed" by Russ, who was getting ready totake his camera to the dark room for development, when there came acrash from where Mr. Switzer was going through a love scene with MissDixon.
"Look out!" someone called.
There was a sound as of rending, splintering wood.
"Oh!" screamed Miss Dixon.
"Py gracious goodness!" ejaculated Mr. Switzer. "I am caught fast!"
"Oh, what has happened?" gasped Ruth, clinging to Alice.
"It sounded like an explosion!" the latter answered.
"Don't be alarmed," Russ assured them. "It's nothing. Only Switzerleaned too hard on that fence and it went down with him."
And that was what had happened. Amid the wreckage of the propertyfence, which had collapsed with the weight of the German actor, sathe and Miss Dixon, while the manager, with a gesture of despairexclaimed:
"That's another scene to be done over."
"I knew that would happen!" observed Pepper Sneed, gloomily.