The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1907-02-08
MOVING PICTURES.
Amusing Experiences of the Men Who
Produce Them.

Produce Them.
Did you ever think how many, many
feet of film pass through the machine
that produces the moving pictures used
nowadays in the vaudeville housesf
Of course this depends entirely on the
length of the entertainment, but usu-
ally about 1000 feet of film are used
in every performance.
This film costs 8 to II cents 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 actresses, the dancers, the
comedians and other entertainers are
sent.
There's an interesting story in the
way these pictures are procured, espe-
cially those that depict chase after
an escaping 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 1t
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
stream, falls off bridges, climbs fences
and finally drops exhausted and is re-
captured and led back to prison, head
hung low, his face wearing a look of
detection. Life, would never seem
quite the same if Mike should change
the chase music. 1t has become part
Of hn oh h,1ci hot ho va
right to demand.
The firms that produce moving pic
lures have. regularly organized theat-
rical companies. There are rehearSals,
just as in theater. The men and wom-
en- really speak the words of the play
or scene, and when the performance is
perfect the photographlng machine
takes the pictures. Where some one
falls off house or bridge or down the
side of canyon a dummy figure is
used, and the section of film that would
betray that fact is cut out. Once in a
very great while these trick changes
are awkwardly done, and then the au-
diences 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 be-
come nervous and interfere. Some
times the arrangements are imperfect
1t was SO one day recently. A New
York company was making a series of
chase pictures in which a man was
dressed in prison stripes and was try
ing 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
proverbial poor craftsmanship that the
pictures were procured without the
Convict being killed.
One of the peculiar features about
moving pictures is that a blustery,
windy day usually is selected for max
ing the pictures. Trees may be seen
swaying, skirts futtering and hats roll
ing 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 pro-
duced by the moving picture machine,
a number of the 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 win
dows and shoot at the fleeing man. In
getting the proper effects the promot-
ers were compelled to resort to many
schemes. Revolver shots in the down.
town portion of New York would have
caused no end of trouble. AS a substi-
tute the men in the windows who were
supposed to do the shooting threw
handfuls of flour. This produced the
effect of smoke, and the picture was a
success.-Kansas City Star.