Omaha daily bee., 1909-03-28
MAKING A MOVING PICTURE PLAY

Of the drama and this tended to a better
liking for the efforts of the players.
MAKING A MOVING PICTURE PLAY
How the Drama for the C-ameraphOne
IL Prepared.
NEW YORK, March H.-The preparation
of the moving picture play is not under
taken carelessly. The playwrights for the
cameraphone theater know their business
thoroughly. They prepare their manuscripts
with the utmost care. Then these are sub
mitted to the general stage manager, who
has had a large and practical training in
some OF the big metropolitan theaters. He
goes over the manuscripts carefully, cut
ting out rigidly all superfluous parts until
the thing is reduced to it's bare bones.
Then actors are chosen from the staff
maintained by the company. They famil-
iarize themselves with the lines and also
with the business indicated by the author
and the stage manager. Then the rehears-
ais begin.
Sometimes II there are no more than four
persons involved in the sketch and it is
one taking place in an interior the vocal
part of the record is made. with the assist
ance Of only two participants. the stage
manager and p young woman. Such a rec
ord was being taken one afternoon last
week when a Sun reporter was present.
A long horn protruded from a little box
within which the recorder was operated. In
front OF the horn was a little platform. The
lines OF the sketch, typewriter. were hung
on a peg behind the horn but within eye
sight of the stage manager and the young
woman assistant.
There were four characters in this sketch.
The two men were one a German and the
other an 1rlshman. There were also a
young woman and an old woman. On one
side of the room hung a large sign which
said: Silence when the bell rings" This
was for the purpose OF warning any person
who might be in the room that after the
recorder was put in motion 1t would re-
cord any soung heard in the room, whether
1t was intended to be in the sketch or not.
The recorder being started, the stage man
ager and the girl assistant got busy, the
stage manager indicating by signs the lapse
of time that ought to take place between
speeches, This is something like the way It
went:
The stage manager, standing on the plat.
form and speaking into the horn: Oh, gee,
see the purity gurl!
The girl replacing the stage manager on
the platform: On look at those horrid men.
Heel hee! hee!
The stage manager: Why don'd you ask
her to gtf you a kiss?
The girl, speaking like an old woman: oh,
you get out of here. both Of you, or Iii send
for a pliceman.
Tho stage manager: Say, thot's the furst
woman liver / see thot didn't want fer I" be
kissed.
The girl: Humph! r L did want T. be
kissed l guess l could find a better lookin'
guy than what you are to do 1t.
The stage manager: OATS a hot one for
you, Mike, alretty yet
And so 1t went. So much for the audible
part of the show. The pantomime that ac-
companies 1t when It is shown on the
screen is put In later. downstairs in some
one of the several rehearsal rooms.
Every bit OF It is. worked out to the last
degree in rehearsal before the camera Is
called into play. The actors chosen to Inn
%personate the Irishman. the German, the
young girl and the old lady are drilled with
minute exactness. The phonograph record
10 set going so that they may time their
pantomime with the speeches and when the
stage managers think they are letter per.
feet they are made up exactly as for the
performance and taken up to the stage
where the recording camera is ready.
This stage is surrounded with the mos
powerful electric lights known and the ar.
rangement for controlling the lights, height
ening them here and lowering them there
are perfect. You look down at your fee
and you see that the floor is marked GU.
In sections The actors understand by THU
that so long as they remain within thos,
markings they are within the radius OF IN,
camera. while within that radius the,
must not make a single motion tina tn,
stage manager does not desire to reappeai
In the moving picture. What they do wher
standing outside that area does not matte
IN the least, for the camera cannot catcl
them.
Persons who frequently attend IN,
moving picture performances have prob
ably noticed a striking similarity in In.
voices OF a large assortment of picture,
actors and actresses. This is not
faneied similarity. In many cases II 4
something more than similarity. 1t 4
identity.
II has been discovered that certaIl
voices have a quality that is especial,
adapted to reproduction on the taking
machine. Therefore when a moving pic
ture ana gets hold Of a woman o
a man with such a voice he makes us
OF him or her so far as circumstances will
allow.
Some voices. on the other hand, ca
never be successfully reproduced on tn
talking machine N others will not re
produce intelligibly at all. Certain wei
trained and highly paid singers. gran
opera %artistE. some OF them who .ur
famous Internationally, have tried an
tried in vain TO .transmit a record OF thei
voices to the phonograph. For some req
son the photograph does not like ther
aud won't do a thing for them Nobod
1900 ~ vat inst Uhv this a. hnf ifa
fact.
with this combination OF the talkln
pschine and the moving picture machln