The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-12
MAKING MOVING PICTURES
From the Kansas City Star.

From the Kansas City Star.
~ I'D you ever think how many,
V5)B many feet of film pass through
l. the machine that produces the
moving pictures you see nowadays in
the vaudeville houses? OF course, this de-
ponds entirely on the length of the en-
tertainment, but usually about 1000 feet
of film are used in every performance
in the Orpheum theatre That's 1900 feet
a week-two performances a day-or
about one-half million feet OF film In the
season of thirty-six weeks. That's nearly
100 miles.
This film costs eight or twelve cents a
foot, an item of expense so large that the
many sets of pictures are sent over the
whole circuit of houses just as the actors
and actorines, the dancers, the comedians
and other entertainers areNsent.
There's an interesting story in the way
these pictures are procured, especially
those that depict chase after an escap-
ing convict, the pictures you see while
the orchestra plays the quick, exciting
music and some one back of the stage
Is doing things that make it seem sure
enough, when shots are heard-also back
of the stage-and you see little puffs of
smoke In the picture while the convict
gallops along over hill and valley,
splashes through streams, falls off
bridges, climbs fences and finally drops
exhausted and Is recaptured and led back
to prison, head hung low, his face wear
ing a look of detection. Life would never
seem quite the same If Mike" should
change the chase music; 1t has become
part of the show business that people
have right to demand.
The firms that produce moving pictures
have regularly organized theatrical COM
panies. There are rehearsals, just as in a
theatre; the men and women really speak
the words of the play or scene, and when
the performance is perfect the photograph
ing machine takes the pictures. Where
some one falls off a house or bridge or
down the side of a canyon a dummy fig
ure is used and the section of film that
would betray that fact is cut out. Once
In very great while these trick changes
are awkwardly done, and then the aud
fences laugh. When a chase is to be
photographed the men or women and the
crowd-and the dog-actually go over the
course that you see in the picture.
1t is all arranged beforehand, SO that
the law-abiding inhabitants don't become
nervous and interfere. Sometimes the ar
rangements are imperfect. 1t was so one
day recently. A New York company was
making a series of chase pictures in which
man was dressed in prison stripes and
was trying to escape. A policeman, who
had not been notified, Joined in and made
things interesting with a regulation po-
lice revolver. 1t was due only to the pro-
verbal poor craftsmanship that the PIC
lures were procured without the con-
vict' being killed.
One of the peculiar features about NOV
ing pictures is that blustery' WINDY
day usually is selected for making the
pictures. Trees may be seen swaying'
skirts fiuttering and hats rolling down
the street. It's the action they want, and
the wind produces 1t.
In THE Escape from Sing Sing" which
is one of the popular chases produced py
the moving picture machine, number
of pictures were taken on the roofs In
New York City This is one of the
most exciting chases. The criminal may
be seen leaping from roof to roof while
people lean from windows and shoot at
tho fleeing man. In getting the proper
effects the promoters were compelled to
resort to many schemes. Revolver shots
in the downtown portion OF New York
would have caused no end of trouble. AS
a substitute the men In the windows
who were supposed to do the shooting
threw handsful of flour. This produced
the effect of smoke and the picture was
a success.
French comedy is popular with the
playwrights, who choose the subjects for
those pictures, and old melodramas are
particularly good. Many of the scenes
are selected from current stories. One or
a dozen cameras may be used in a series