Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-05-10
MOVING PICTURES.
HOW THE SKETCHES ARE REPRO
OUCEO UPON THE FILMS.

a queer thing about moving pic
lures" said an expert operator in that
line to New Orleans Times Democrat
reporter, lis the illusion they generally
produce as to the time they occupy
while on the screen. What is known
as the standard exhibition film is so
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 l 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 30 foot film OF the kind to
which l refer is put through the repro
ducing machine at the rate OF IL 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; in other words, the
film travels a foot n second-J0 feet, 30
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 l don't think anybody had
the least idea how much could be done
in 90 seconds. 1t seemed hardly time
enough to turn around in, yet when
the experts began to study its posi-
bilities they found it was ample for
hundreds of little pictorial comedies
that have since delighted audiences all
over the world.
1T is entirely a 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-
slar suddenly energies and leaps out
of the window. That doesn't sound
particularly side splitting, but in 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
fit into each other bit like so many
well geared cogwheels. The old gen.
tleman's startled yawn. the burglars
glance around the room and every
step, movement and gesture from be-
ginning to end is calculated with the
utmost nicely, and at last after dozens
OF rehearsals the act is attempted be-
fore the recording machine. If every
body Is lucky, il goes through on sched-
ule time, but the slightest hitch is IA
tai, and If one occurs the film Is spoil
ed. and they must try all over again.
No wonder it seems impossible to fu-
ture spectators that so much could
transpire in 90 seconds.
But some of the most telling effects
in composition pictures" continued the
operator, have been the result OF acct
dent and were entirely unpremeditat-
ed. That was the case with film that
had a hand in preparing and that
afterward made a tremendous hit and
proved to be one OF the best sellers
ever put on the market. In getting
up the picture our principal purpose
was TO introduce n large and very in
telligent bulldog l owned at the time,
and we sketched out n simple little
scene in which n tramp steals pie |
from a kitchen window, Is pursued by |
the dog and is last seen trying TO scale |
the back fence with the animal hang
ing to his coattails.
The training of the dog was the |
main trouble, but / finally taught him |
to lay hold of anything red. and we |
sowed n big piece OF flannel as mark |
TO the back of our tramp's coat Red
photographs black, so IL couldn't be |
seen in the pictures, and after a good /
many rehearsals the dog learned to |
dash out at exactly the right moment |
and nail the marauder, whose cue was /
then TO rush for the fence and consume /
the remaining time in making an APP |
parently desperate effort TO scramble /
over the top At last we got every /
thing all ready, gave the word and /
started the record machine to take the
picture.
Immediately the little comedy be- /
gan. The tramp appeared, looked |
around stealthily, saw the pie. hooked |
it and was having n feast when out |
sprang the bulldog and seized him by |
the coattails. He thereupon sprinted /
to the fence and was about to carry out /
the rest of the programme when, TO our |
CONSERVATION, the boards gave way, |
and he came down bang on top of the /
dog. The film had about ten seconds to /
run, and it was occupied in recording /
one of the liveliest scraps that ever |
happened There was no hippodrome |
about it. Both parties were out for
blood. When the fence fell. the bull |
dog had promptly transferred himself |
from the tramp's coattail to the tramp's |
calf. while that unfortunate person |
snatched up n broomstick and tried TO |
pry him loose They rolled over and
put about 30 times as much action and |
animation In the last ten seconds s