Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-03-23
JACKSONVILLE AS MOVIE CENTER
n FREDERIC !. IAskIN.

jAtKSDNNlLLE. FLA March %
! Preparations are going forward I'm this
city for great African expedition.
Mn,'h WI! rIvai' d" /" spectacular way,
mat staged by the late Nh STANLEY,
and VIII have tn" added feature of a
touching love story In whiCI, the hero
nights whole tribe OF natives ana the
/ villain Is swallowed 10y an alligator.
VIII the expedition really 70 TO
! Africa' /, viii not II viii onlv 20
AS far az the mouth OF the ST Johns
RIVER. 81, Mayport. fifteen miles avay.
/ Whcr" ther" IS enough tropical Jungle
! 20 sun "a" most eNactinI explorer, and
wh"r" tire" larg" African native Will
ihHcS are now under construction. Ns
you may have guessed. tho uroroi.r;
OF TINS expedition arc ono OF tho biz
moving picture concerns. II number az
, which have recently opened studios in
I Jack souvillc
The p'opcr'y-roon Of this particular
! COMPANY presents e hizarr" and busy
appearance right nov An order for
! bamb"" war spears is being rushed
| through. aud three ,otiuu women ar"
| busy AZ their sewing machines making
primitiv" gcc.strincS out OF hur!ap fo-
( tin" savage iribcSucu who wlll bc n
/ number Of jactspnvillcs negro waitcrs
I and cab drivers ia very slim disguise.
/ Those fellows in fact. viii u" nearly
In" whole show. "a tn" scenario calls
for only thr"" whit" parts. and there
a." about seventy blacks in it Tho
dirlSi"s arc enthusiastic Aside from
tn" - = hav aud lunch which each az
/ them viii get. they arc one aud all
| convinced that they were born 10 ac,.
! ON" ~ IA" directors chief difficulties.
/ IN fact, Is 10 iuduc" th.m 10 be natural
rather than hisiriuuic.
How ,IIivntors Come In.
You are wondering about that al'i-
- no a
| VIII" has 81 unique industry in tho shape
| 81 combined ALLIGATOR and ostrich
| farm which - Of tn" greatest assist
auco IN rendering NSiattc and African
| to furnish an alligator which viii swim
out into IN" river ana upset tho boat
/ IN which the villain is trying 20 os-
! '5rc. leaving q reasonable assumption
! That ID" has swallowed that unfortunate
| "nuiidcr without actually dong 20.
| That is a pretty large contract for tho
/ alligator TO mention the villain
bur tn. owner uf tn. alligator farm
| seems TO hay" perfect confidence IN his
! PET reptile
Na,uraly. the vicinity Of Jackson
| viii" Is particularly rich in all sorts
| OF tropical settings and accessories. but
! that is not all, by good deal Tn"
| variety OF scenes thar may he found
within few miles OF here Is simply
incredible. You wouldn't ulCls ihta a.
y
would yoU" We'll Storm ioyd did H.
/ He discovered that tho cleaning whit"
/ sand OF the Florida beaches made hot
ter snow. FOR movie purposes. Than tho
clouds themselves could prodtcc. ~.
fenced ia q section Of tho st Johus
ItiN"r. bought five tons Of ice, aud TIA.
setting for EiiHas dramatic getaway
| from the blood hounds was complete.
! Ih"s" chunks Of ic" wore somewhat
! smaller before IN" iiIu was conuiotc.
/ and ;l, i.;,Ilrts, l.tiE .
water was somewhat colder, but tho
production was rarti"nldrlv realistic.
/ The scenic possibilities Of tho Flor
! ida landscape arc on" Of IN" things
! that mHkcS .lacksonVill" popular with
! the NOW" companies. ON the St.
! Joh'ta River you can got almost amy
! sort of = river scene Imaginable. in
I Guiding any kind Of a boat from Z.
! large steamer TO native dugout canoe.
! Then there are the nearby beaches
| which wiil furnish any ocean scene that
| does not require rocks. There are no
| rocks III Florida. 50 the companies
! which need them make their powders
! out Of CANVASS.
! Grcnt Advantage in Buildings.
J In the way Of buildings this viCinHy
! has the advantage over almost any
/ other you could select in the United
| states. The great tourist hotels of
! Florida are vcri;ablc palaces, and the
| Sky line OF old st. Aueustinc twenty
! towers aud ninarcts. is said TO surpasS
! that of many European towns. Tins
! little city. said TO bc tho oldest in the
! United states. has been repeated iv
used by IN. movie makers as AN old
world setting. Indian Iiindoo temples
, Roman gardens, with swans and pools,
, Fiji Island scenes, aud ship wrecks are
some other setting for which jackson
| Vile surroundings have been found
! particularly well suited
i.yb m this; a ry
is much better and more reliable than
! II * farther north. You don't have
to wait on the weather., il tho way
the directors express II. They enjoy
several hours more of outdoor work
every day. and are able to use the
outdoor studio, with the help of light
diffusers. for a great many scenes that
would have to be made indoors in New
York. Naturally, all Of this is IL great
| saving in electric current and. in fact
| nearly all operating expenses are q
good deal lower in Jack Sonville than
anywhere else the game has hecI
tried.
ono director has cvcn devised q
method Of using the soft southern
sunlight for outdoor scenes in which,
ceiling is required to nc shown
Rafters arc used, and Il white cloth
that will diffusc the light is strctche ed
between them. BY getting exactly the
right perspective only the rafters will
show in the picture.
Benefit Has Hecn Mutual.
SO the moving picture men have
found Jacksonville good for them
and the benefit has been intensely mn.
| tual The film people began TO arrive
in numbers just about the time, that
Jacksonville was getting up in "a daz.
cd sort Of way after having been
knocked gallcy-west by the European
] war, which robbed the city OF a large