Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-06-16
WHY THE AMATEUR
SCENARIO WRITER
USUALLY FAILS
Rr ELMER HARRIS

V,,e il oye Of the most hcipfW ar
f;cIes tce hare pet ScCH on the tcrr'"P
OF phofoplays. ~ differs trom most
articles ;vsf in the fact that y tdke'
the rietrpoint of the Hmdieur. discusses
b;s probicns and tells how the 'crifr'
,rbep he himself irdS az amateur, aus
covered his errors and corrected mem
We nre printing the article ~ fro
poris. The concluding inStdiimfM "W
be published tomorrow.
TIME first continuity | wrote Tor
i Famous Players l.nsky contained
15o scenes. When the director hNen II
nm II had COO scenes This was ne
Jotiery Man" in which Wallnc" keid
starred for Paramount. James Cruze
was the director.
Why was my continuity deficient De-
canse IL lacked italics. ,,..
Close ups are to pictures Mhal ita'cs
are 10 prose-they provide the emphash'
YoB cannot put over an eNpressiCn' an
important prop" or an intimate piece
of business without a close. up; anu
every close. up means an added scene
7 lacked the necessary cNperienCc. !
did not APPRECIATE the limitations u ine
screen. nor. for that matter. grasp us
possibilities. This deficiency mas IN n
measure. been overcome by bcIng con
etantly at the studio with IN" director;
STUDYING lighting, camera ang,"s ava
technique. watching results Ill the pro .
iecting room: im6ibng the esSel'' "t
the art--thc new art OF the phot"piaN
wright. There appears t. be no "'"e'
way TO learn.
had written a numter Of successful
tN4a
stace plays before taking up plc'ures
Ind been an actor--a very Oau one. u :
truc--and understood stage dirc'uoH'
discovered. as every other person mus, e
that tho technique OF the screen j.
wholly different from thar OF the stage
The same underlying principles ar"
reouired and utilized "A in tic p'aN-
etmosrhcrc. characterization. suspense
surprisc. unity Of emotion AMI OF story .
nnd climax-but the method OF employ
ing them is different. inaSmrch as tho
rlay is nut over chiefly with dinlogN"
and the picture chiefly with pantomim",
This is what the amateur or lne&peri
scenarist finds hardest 10 realize. ana
not until he sees n pictur" shot does
he appreciate its real Signihcance.
THE successful writer Of short
Il stories, SPnPTdhN NI'hN'"S
votes n great deal of time to dos"riptlN'
matter. He may devote hundrc"
words 10 the angle OF man'a hat : thl'
suggests a paragraph about the two
gallon gray plug Of few decades ago
he follows with some witty rcnalH T.
about the uncomfortable tiroless cooker
of the ancient days Of chivalry; al
good for so much word.
There are long descriptions Of seen
ery. Of the dew sparkling on the gra
and the swanlikc clouds swimming Il
the skv. dissertations on life. while tn
action or actual plo. can be summed III
In n few words.
So far as the motion picture goes. III
rlot is all. l.imDortant. and wnen tb'
same story is handed to tie continuity
writer for translation into picture terms
he finds material for one-ha'f OF rec
and has TO invent the other three and
half or four reals hin self. together witt
thr necessary story. plot and character
ixation.
In the short story or novel, character,
nnd events may he and uSually are de-
ytIoped by description: III the picture
they must 90 dcveloT ed by action. an,
actor means nantomime Pant,miu'
Is tho secret Of the rhot0pav. since II j.
province Of the screen writer