The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1901-07-20
MOVING PICTURES.
HOW THE SKETCHES ARE REPRO
DUcED UPON THE FILMS.

The Amount OF Movement Tkat MAJ
BE Crowded Into Fifty Seconds
The Greatest Successes Are Otter
Brought About by, Accident.
"a queer thing about moving pic
tures, said an expert operator in that
line to New Orleans Times Democrat
reporter, "is the illusion they generally
produce as to the time they occupy
while on the screen. What is known
ms the standard exhibition flm' is 90
feet long. 1t is used almost entirely
for comic scenes, trick pictures and
other effects that are got up in the
studios Of the experts who make them
a speciality. Every theater goer has
seen them, and will venture the as
sertion that the average man will de-
clare they take at least three or four
minutes in passing before the eye. AS
a matter Of fact the picture Is on the
screen less than one minute. You can
easily figure it out for yourself. The
ordinary 80 foot film Of the kind to
which l refer Is put through the repro
ducing machine at the rate Of 10 pic
lures to the second. Each picture is
three-fourths Of an inch broad, which
makes the 16 measure exactly one
foot, edge to edge; I'm other words, the
film travels foot a second-5O feet, 90
seconds. What gives It the effect of
taking up so much more time is the
immense lot Of action that is usually
crowded into the brief period It Is In
view. Until the moving picture was
invented | don't think anybody had
the least idea how much could be done
I'm 80 seconds. 1t seemed hardly time
enough to turn around In, yet when
the experts began to study its possi-
bilities they found II was ample for
hundreds OF little pictorial comedies
that have since delighted audiences all
over the world.
"It is entirely n matter Of rehearsal.
A subject is selected, generally calling
for from three TO four people, and ev-
cry detail of the business or action is
carefully worked out in advance. Sup
pose. for illustration, that n comic bur-
glary is the topic. The business, in !
skeleton, might run something like |
this: Old gentleman doing in parlor;
enter burglar; old gentleman awakes;
burglar hides; enter policeman, search
es the room, collars old gent; they |
fight and roll on the floor while bur-
glar suddenly energies and leaps out
of the window. That doesn't sound
side splitting, but I'm the
hands Of intelligent comedians It can
be made really very funny. The all es-
sential thing Is TO crowd II into 90 sec
onds and to that end each bit OF ac-
ton Is carefully timed and made to
At into each other bit like so many /
well geared cogwheels. The old gem
tleman's startled yawn. the burglars
step, movement and gesture from be-
ginning 10 end Is calculated with the
utmost nlcety. and at last after dozens
OF rehearsals the act Is attempted be- |
fore the recording machine. II every |
body Is lucky, II goes through on sched- |
ule time, but the slightest hitch Is ia |
tai and II one occurs the film is spoil
ed. and they must try all over again. |
No wonder IL seems impossible 20 fu-
;ure spectators that so much could
In 90 seconds
But some Of the most telling effects
10 composition pictures" continued the
operator. 'have been the result OF acci-
lent and were entirely unpremeditat-
d. That was the case with a film that
had hand In preparing and that
fterward made a tremendous hit and
'roved TO be one Of the best sellers
yer put on the market In getting
- the picture our principal purpose
Fas to introduce a large and very In
elligent bulldog | owned at the time,
nd we sketched out a simple little
Gene In which a tramp steals a pie
rom a kitchen window, Is pursued by
ha dog and IL last seen trying to scale