# The Point of Attack, or, How to Start the Photoplay

The Point of Attack
or
How to Start The Photoplay
By Clarence G. Badger DIRECTOR OF GOLDWYN FEATURES
One of a Series of Lectures Especially Prepared for Student-Members of The Palmer Plan
Palmer Photoplay Corporation DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Copyright, 1920, Palmer Photoplay Corporation, Los Angeles, California All Rights Reserved
Clarence G. Badger
MR. BADGER is one of those men of foresight and vision who, realizing the limitless future of moving pictures, identified himself with photoplay production in the earlier years of the art. Over a decade ago Mr. Badger tried his hand at freelance photoplay writing, only to find that he was dealing with a new form of expression and that he faced the necessity of learning the rudiments of screen plot construction right at the start.
After a preparatory period of intensive study he attacked the work of photoplay writing with persistence and precision, progressing as staff writer with the old Lubin Company, then with Universal, Keystone, Sennett-Paramount, and finally with the Goldwyn organization, being chosen from a host of possibilities, and appointed director of feature productions, a position which he nova occupies.
Mr. Badger has not only kept pace with the constantly changing methods of production, but has usually managed to be a step ahead of the field. He directed Mable Normand in "Sis Hopkins" and other features; Madge Kennedy in "Friend Husband", "A Perfect Lady", and "Mother Of Mine", and his production of "Jubilo", starring Will Rogers, was one of the successes of the season of 1919–20. The clear and thoughtful manner in which he has dealt with "The Point Of Attack" is an illustration of the qulaity of mentality that he injects into all of his work.
In the Handbook Mr. Palmer has set forth tersely and truthfully that one of the greatest problems of the photoplaywright lies not in gleaning themes and plots from a scant supply of material, but rather in choosing for development basic story ideas from a worldwide reserve store so inexhaustible as to bewilder those who have not acquired the knack and habit of elimination and selection. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "All the world's a screen," and all the myriad inhabitants are potential characters. When we establish well-motivated conflict between two or more such characters or groups of characters, we have the germ of a story which, as it evolves into a series of increasingly tense dramatic situations, expressed in action, becomes a photoplay.
2. After the first step of picking a theme and a set of characters comes the task of deciding upon a point of attack—a beginning. Aristotle, the father of all dramatic craftsmanship, required that every drama have a beginning, a middle and an end—a period of exposition or explanation, of development and of logical result. It is with the first of these that I shall deal. The novice may attach little or no importance to this initial move in the creation of a photoplay, but study and the experience that comes with practical analysis and the actual work of plot-building will lend emphasis to the statement that no single consideration demands more careful and thoughtful attention. Let us assume that when the ​drop-curtain rises in a motion picture theatre and the shadow action commences, the audience is looking, not at figures projected upon a screen, but through a window into the private lives of fictitious characters around whom the plot is woven. The photoplaywright is the creator of those characters and the absolute ruler of their destinies. Therefore, it is the photoplaywright who must decide at just what period in their lives the window curtain is raised and the audience is allowed its first peep at what is going on.
3. In the exhibition of a five-reel subject about seventy-five minutes are occupied in running the five thousand feet of film through the projecting machine, and the time for the showing of one, two, six or seven reel subjects may be calculated accordingly—an average of about fifteen minutes to each reel. These are the standard lengths of the screen dramas and comedies of the present day. Therefore, it is obvious that a limit must be set to the length of each story that is photographed. So, in starting to visualize a story, the author must of necessity mark a beginning from which the action develops—he must draw a line of demarcation between the events that the spectators are to witness during a set space of time and the events which have preceded and are related, but which have no actual part in the picture itself. In dealing with the drama of the speaking stage these preceding events, which are never seen although frequently suggested, are known as the conditions antecedent, and for lack of a better term I shall hereafter so refer to them.
4. In selecting a point of attack or beginning, the photoplaywright is confronted with the task of skillfully forming a link between the outside occurrences that ​have gone before and those which are witnessed by the audience as integral parts of the photoplay itself. He must decide at just what time and place and under exactly what circumstances the audience may commence snooping into the lives of the characters whose dramatic relations carry them through smiles, tears and suspense for an indefinite period.
5. The novelist, the dramatist of the speaking stage and the photoplaywright must all wrinkle their brows over this same problem of starting a story, yet each in his separate path of craftsmanship must choose a different method. The novelist is the freest of the three from tightly drawn limitations. Frequently a novel is a fictional biography and starts with the birth, or at least the early childhood of its principal character, moving gradually along through the seven ages to the grave. Nor is this the limit, for the novelist may, in order to fully acquaint his readers with the most minute details of the character of his hero or heroine, go further back than birth and deal with the parents or even the grandparents, thus explaining hereditary influences that may have bearing upon the subsequent life of the principal figure of his story.
6. In "Madame Bovary," the hero, if we may call him such, is Charles Bovary. The author, Gustave Flaubert, describes the circumstances surrounding the marriage of Monsieur Charles Bovary, senior, the father of the hero, and acquaints the reader with the disagreeable events that precede the birth of little Charles. Then we learn of the boy's start at school, and through chapter after chapter his life is unfolded before us until he is married, a child is born, his wife passes away and finally, a bearded and broken man, he is found dead. ​This tale deals with the events in the lives of three generations and "Madame Bovary" is by no means an excessively long novel. Had there been photoplays during the life of Flaubert, and had he set about to write a screen drama instead of a novel, basing it upon the material contained in "Madame Bovary," he would have had to choose a quite different point of attack or beginning. It may be assumed that he would have started his story with events closely preceding the marriage of young Charles and would have omitted his early manhood, his childhood and the happenings in the lives of his parents before his birth.
7. It is apparent then that the novelist may relate a long, drawn-out series of happenings extending not only completely through the life of a character, but back into the lives of his ancestors and on into the lives of his children. The dramatist is not permitted such liberal privileges. To the dramatist lengthy biography is forbidden and he must confine himself to a dramatic crisis or a definitely related series of dramatic crises occurring at a certain point or during a definite period in the life of his principal character. A reader may devote days or weeks to the perusal of a novel, but the theatregoer has but a portion of an afternoon or evening in which to witness a drama, except in a Chinese theatre where the exhibition of a play requires several days or even weeks. We are not at present dealing with Chinese drama.
8. The photoplaywright may be said to be a screen dramatist and he is bound by restrictions similar to those governing the author of a stage play. Again there is a difference, however. In beginning a spoken drama the dramatist has recourse to dialogue, and in this manner he is able to establish the conditions antecedent—the ​events that have occurred before the rise of the curtain. How many times, in witnessing a spoken drama, have we seen the butler and the housemaid dusting about and putting to order the furniture and bric-a-brac, while engaged in dialogue which describes in detail to the eavesdropping audience the conditions which prepare for what is to follow. In many cases much of the first act is given over to such preparatory and explanatory dialogue, although the butler-housemaid conversation is avoided or modified in modern usage. But the characters in a photoplay are dumb, except for occasional sub-titles. Hence we see that while the photoplaywright has a wider sweep of possibilities after his story is once under way, he is in the clutch of greater difficulties than either the novelist or the dramatist so far as the matter of getting started is concerned.
9.Proceeding upon the assumption that a photoplay is a screen drama which must be unrolled before an audience within a specified time limit, it is clearly necessary to give concentrated attention to the important matter of beginning the story. We are dealing with a situation—a dramatic crisis or a correlated series of situations or dramatic crises. The start must not be too far in advance of the climax, for in that case there will not be sufficient time or film footage to logically and consecutively arrive at such climax. On the other hand, the audience must be made acquainted with the characters and the events surrounding their lives far enough in advance of the climax to assure a thorough under​standing of the causes that lead to the subsequent effect. Perhaps this may be more clearly explained by example:
10. Let us suppose that we are seated among the spectators at a murder trial. A witness is called to the stand and after he is sworn in the prosecuting attorney says: "We have just ten minutes before court adjourns for the day. I want you to start and tell us all that you know about this killing in just ten minutes." Let us assume that the witness has known all of the persons involved in the crime for many years and that he was an actual witness of the murder and of many connected events that took place before and after. He is facing exactly the same problem that confronts the photoplaywright. Each is compelled to tell a story within a specified time limit. Each may turn back to happenings of years before, which may be more or less interesting, but which must be swept aside to make room for what is vital and necessary. Or each may in his haste plunge incoherently into the midst of the actual scene of the crime and omit information that is important in showing motive and connecting a logical sequence of events leading up to the climax. Each must thoughtfully decide upon a point of attack—a beginning.
11. There are numerous methods of opening the action of a photoplay, no one of which may be set apart as invariably superior to the others. Various forms of photoplays require a variety of beginnings. While essentially the same results are sought in all cases, numerous methods may be employed to obtain such results. Generally the opening must do one or more of the following things:
Look backward and acquaint the audience with important events having direct bearing upon the forth​coming play, but which have occurred before the appearance of the first scene on the screen;
Look forward and more or less vaguely suggest what will or may happen; Secure attention; Arouse interest; Create expectancy; Stimulate curiosity.
12. Just as there are an endless number of stories yet untold and awaiting the treatment of properly trained writers, so are there countless ways and means of starting these stories into action. Probably the oldest method is embodied in the Prologue, frequently used in the past and in some cases at present. This device is employed in spoken drama to convey necessary explanations and prepare the audience for what is to follow, and it may, in some cases, be utilized in a photoplay. It must not be a thing apart, however, but must be as directly, logically and smoothly connected with the body of the story itself as possible.
13. "Gates of Brass," one of the study scenarios accompanying the Palmer Plan, supplies a fine example of the Prologue in a photoplay. The real story commences after the lapse of twelve years. All that goes before is, in effect, a Prologue. It serves to convey to the audience the information that Blake is a "dyed in the wool" money-shark and that the better side of his nature enwraps him in a surpassing love for his daughter. The story that follows is based upon the result of this conflict of character inside the man, yet the Prologue and the story proper are so skillfully and smoothly linked together that the spectators, in viewing the picture, scarcely realize, without careful analysis, that they have ​witnessed a Prologue. This preliminary establishing of necessary information in the minds of the audience prepares them in a natural, informative and interesting manner for the crisis, or rather the series of crises, that follow in the lives of Blake and his daughter.
14. Another way of starting a photoplay is to plunge directly into the crisis, or the first of a series of crises or dramatic situations. This method is employed in "Speed and Suspicion," where we find Clinton and Barrow being pursued by a speed officer. The story deals with a laughable crisis in their lives and it is of no interest to the audience who they are, where they came from, what their lines of business may be nor anything else other than that they are breaking a law and are being pursued therefor.
15. Let us return to the example of the murder trial witness and apply the different formulas. Suppose the witness were to proceed as follows: "Fifteen years ago the murderer and his victim were rival political candidates for office down in Texas. After the election each accused the other of buying votes and as a result they became deadly enemies. Both left town and did not meet again until the day of the murder. Then they came together in a cafe, and friends knowing the circumstances surrounding their lives kept them apart. Later in the day, however, they met on the street, and after a violent quarrel shots were fired and the murder resulted."
This is a brief and sketchy example of the use of the Prologue. The witness, relating the facts of the long passed election and the enmity that resulted, established in the minds of the jurymen information that indicates the motive which led up to the killing. Now ​let us see how he would have proceeded had he plunged directly into the climactic crisis. He would have said: "The murderer came out of a cigar store and saw his victim-to-be coming along the opposite side of the street. Stepping to the middle of the road, he pulled a gun and started firing. The other man also commenced to shoot and as the by-standers sought shelter in doorways and behind trees the victim suddenly staggered and fell, shot through the heart."
It will be seen that in choosing this manner of narrative the witness would have omitted everything bearing on motive and the conditions antecedent. Thus it would have been necessary for him to later go back and relate events leading up to the crime. So it is frequently in the photoplay. After the direct plunge into the crisis or the close approach to the crisis, it is sometimes necessary to cut back to preceding events, although this form of construction is not as desirable as that of starting at a given point and moving forward consecutively to the end.
16. I repeat, these examples are very brief, but purposely so, as they clearly distinguish between going back and laying a foundation of past occurrences or of plunging into the crisis that leads almost immediately to the climax. In a photoplay the explanatory information at the opening must be expressed in action to just as great an extent as possible. Whatever subtitles are used must be compact and directly to the point—every word must count. It is well to tell your entire story in narrative synopsis, although occasional subtitles may be suggested if desired.
17. One of the best and most frequently used story structures is that which starts quietly, familiarizing the ​audience with the characters and the surroundings, and then flows gradually and naturally into the sequence of dramatic situations, after which it passes on to a peaceful and happy ending. Briefly it is a state of calm, then a violent storm, which is in turn followed by the same quality of calm in which the story started.
18. "Red Hot Dollars," in which Charles Ray was featured, may be taken as a good example of this form. It will be remembered by those who witnessed the production that Tod, an orphaned young man of perhaps twenty, saved the life of his employer, the head of a great steel mill, was adopted by him, fell in love with the daughter of an old rival of the mill owner, and after overcoming a series of obstacles, married her, at the same time re-establishing the friendship of the rival fathers. Analyzing the point of attack or beginning of this story, we find Tod among the other mill hands, busy with his day's work. The five o'clock whistle blows and Tod, hurriedly dropping his overalls and washing up, hastens out to meet his "girl." The entire atmosphere is peaceful and quiet. The audience is immediately interested in the simple little love affair and laughs sympathetically at the wholesome young fellow's awkward love making. As one simple though interesting event follows another, the characters are established and the spectators are thoroughly familiarized with the general environment, thus preparing them for the first of the series of crises when Tod courageously throws his employer from beneath a falling crane and nearly loses his life in so doing. It is unnecessary to go deeper into the story itself, other than to state that after all the conflict and obstacles are passed—after the storm is over—we find the two old rivals shaking hands and the lovers busy with the kiss that we know precedes a not distant wedding.
19. It is the point of attack alone with which we are concerned at the present time. The author might have gone back and showed the death of Tod's parents, his search for employment, his securing a job in the steel mill, and then finally have arrived at the point where the story actually begins. But why all that preliminary action? It has no direct bearing on the story itself and was therefore omitted. It makes no difference to the audience who Tod's parents were or how they died. The only matters of importance to the tale are that Tod is an orphan working in a steel mill. This leads through a logical sequence of events to his adoption by the mill owner. So the author began the story with a scene of Tod at work, then had the five o'clock whistle blow and Tod rush out to meet his sweetheart. The little incidents of lovemaking were laughable and interesting and placed the audience in a sympathetic frame of mind, filling them at the same time with expectation and curiosity as to how the little love affair was to end. The beginning and the ending of the story were the calm—the middle was the storm but it must be remembered that the calm must be interesting from the very first scene.
20. A variation of this procedure is the reversal of the order of sequence to that of storm—calm—storm. In other words, the story opens with a direct plunge into a situation or crisis, then slows up and moves along at a quiet tempo, which speeds up toward the finish and the story ends with rapid, sensational action. So far as the opening is concerned, "The Miracle Man" serves to illustrate. The story begins with a scene in the slums in a great city at night. A limousine drives up to the curb and a cripple is seen struggling almost beneath the wheels. A crowd gathers and there is a stir of excitement. From almost the first moment of the story the ​action is intense and clutches the attention of the audience. A little later it is modified to a slower tempo in order to explain the plot and prepare the audience for the tremendous dramatic situations which follow. "The Miracle Man" might have begun in the little country town where the patriarch lived, later picking up the action in the city slums, then returning to the patriarch's home, but it was much more effective and the continuity was much smoother, started and carried through as it was.
21. In analyzing the current productions, week after week, the student may invariably see how any photoplay might have been opened in numerously different ways. As a rule, however, there is an excellent reason for choosing a certain point of attack, and the novice in photoplay writing who is determined to succeed should attempt to go deep enough into the analysis of each photoplay witnessed to find out for himself or herself just why a certain beginning is used. In many cases the student may, after carefully viewing a screen production, hit upon an opening that would have been much preferable to the one which appears. The constant study of the screen from this angle is exceedingly helpful as well as being fascinating to the progressive craftsman.
22. Another value of the detailed study of the point of attack lies in the assistance that it renders in avoiding too complicated subjects. If the author finds that his plot is so complex and intricate that there is great difficulty in getting it started in such a manner that it will be clear and easily comprehended by the audience, he would better either simplify it or sweep it aside and start on an entirely new story. Above all things a photoplay must be understandable to every member of the ​audience. The photoplaywright must never lose sight of the fact that photoplays are written, produced and exhibited for entertainment purposes and that theatre patrons do not pay admission for the sake of witnessing puzzles. Provided that a story is possessed of strong, dramatic qualities, the simpler the construction is the better. "The Miracle Man," which stands as one of the greatest photoplays that has ever been screened, was founded on an exceedingly simple plot and careful investigation will reveal that almost invariably the most intensely dramatic stories possess this same quality of simplicity.
23. In the Handbook, Mr. Palmer has mentioned two methods of building a plot—by gathering together a group of characters and working forward from a beginning, or by hitting upon a big, climatic situation and then working backwards to the start, deciding through analysis just how the characters manage to get into such a situation. In working along either of these lines it is equally necessary to decide upon what appears to be the one best point of attack. In arriving at such a decision, it is well to reason somewhat as follows: Photoplays are built of the conflict of two or more factions and the situations or crises that result from such conflict. Therefore, at just what time and place do the factions involved start to converge—to approach the point of contact that leads to the conflict that forms the story. After such a point of convergence is selected for a beginning, it is next necessary to determine just how much of the conditions antecedent must be explained to the audience, and in just how brief and interesting a manner this may be accomplished. The more the picture is kept within the frame and the more self-explanatory it is, the easier will be the task of getting started. In ​"Speed and Suspicion," the only fact of importance that had to be explained was that Clinton's wife was out of town. This prepared the audience for the laughable situation which later arose from her unexpected return. The remainder of the picture was entirely "in the frame," except the bit of information contained in subtitle number six that Clinton had been arrested for speeding before and was therefore liable to a jail sentence.
24. Of course this was a simple one-reel comedy, but the same thing of keeping the picture just as completely within the frame as possible is largely desirable, although in subjects of greater length it is frequently impossible to do so to this extent. The final authority as to the point of attack is the continuity writer who prepares the sequence of scenes for the director. Nevertheless, the author who submits a direct detailed synopsis as explained in the Handbook, should work out the story just as completely as possible and should give just as much thought to the selection of the best point of attack as though he were writing continuity. The detailed synopsis should begin with the first scene that is to appear on the screen just as a continuity does and then proceed directly through to the end, step by step. The only difference is that in the synopsis the story is told in clear, direct narrative rather than in scene sequence.
25. Summing up the whole matter, we arrive at the following conclusion: In setting about to write a photoplay, we are dealing with persons, places and things of which the audience has no previous knowledge. Therefore, right at the start we must introduce our characters to the spectators, familiarize them with the environment in which the story is set, tell them of such past occurrences as have a direct bearing upon the story that is ​to follow—and interest and entertain them from the very first moment. Just the right time, place and set of circumstances must be chosen for such beginning.
26. The elder Dumas said, "Any one can relate a dramatic situation; the art lies in preparing it, getting it accepted, rendering it possible." By getting it accepted, Dumas meant getting it accepted in the minds of the audience. I find it difficult to agree with Dumas that "any one can relate a dramatic situation," for it has been my experience that unless one is definitely trained in dramatic values, it is exceedingly difficult to do so. I venture to say that Palmer Plan students look back to the period before their study of the Handbook and realize that it was at that time by no means an easy matter to relate a dramatic situation.
27. I firmly believe that the careful and analytical study of the point of attack will be of surprising assistance to the photoplaywright in assisting to avoid scattered action, in arriving at a desirable compactness of unity and in logically and consecutively building strong, tense screen plays.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
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