The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-12

waste your time and energy Wit
ing for the movies! They don't ap-
preciate it"
This is the advice of Professor
Walter B. Pitkin of the School OF
Journalism. at Columbia University
here, who has recently made a
study Of the demands of American
moving picture companies for story
material. He finSs that the one
thing they do not want is the one
thing they have been receiving IN
such enormous volume for the past
five years-namely, the amateur
scenario, written by a novice VINO
has never marketed copy IN any
form The movies are not IN the
field for raw material They pre-
fer the finished, polished product
after it has appeared in print
1t is estimated that the combined
output Of moving picture producers
in this country is limited to ~
new subjects per week, while the
average weekly output of the seen
ario writing multitude IS S,oOo.
One large producing company alone
receives more than 500 unsolicited
scenarios every week The great
majority of these are read by read
ing clerks who are paid anywhere
from SIS to $25 week, and are
promptly returned or thrown into
the wastebasket This is princi-
pally because they are incredibly
bad, but also because the movies,
while careless and extravaganza IN
many ways, are too cautious TO
take chances in producing original
scenarios when they have at their
disposal large numbers of short
stories and novels whose success
has already been demonstrated by
the sales of the publishers.
This is not written with an idea
of discoWaging the amateur seen
ario writer-that would be impos-
stble. But if he really has a knack
for plots and the energy to set them
down, why not try another writing
form? Many disappointed scenario
lists have already found soiace in
poetry, and now Professor Pitkin
has another hopeful suggestion. He
advocates the short story. Thou
sands of earnest men and women
today are wasting precious time
trying to break into pictures by
writing for Them" he says. They
are trying to break through a
locked door. Another door stands
open TO them just around the cor
ner, but they fail to see it
"WritinS synopses or scenarios
directly for the moving pictures is
in the long run waste of time and
for three reasons:
First: To sell your stories to the
movies you must show fully the&-
dramatic or pictorial possibilities.
This cannot be done in a skeleton
lied outline. If you hear any one
denying this. you may be sure that
he knows nothing about story writ
ing. A story idea must be written
out to show its full values.
Second: 1t is so easy to dash
off the incomplete idea Of movie
plot in a few hundred words that
thousands of inexperienced writer's
are always doing it Movie editors
receive thousands of such contri-
buttons every week 1t is thus i'm
possible for these editors to read
all these manuscripts, much less to
judge them carefully. Not more
than one in a hundred ever receives
serious attention. This is not any
body's fault. The whole system is
ridiculous.
Write the Story First.
Third: It is commercially waste
full to submit scenarios to the NOV
les. Any story idea good enough
for the better movies is good
enough for the short story, and, as
a story, can generally be sold to
a magazine for more than a movie
will give. Once sold 10 a magazine,
it stanSS a much better chance of
being sold to the movies. The full
story shows its dramatic values
and sale to the movies means
double pay. Furthermore, story
sent to magazine is almost GER
tain to be read and considered.
The only exception to these re-
marks is the professional scenario
writers employed by the motion
picture companies. The existence
of these highly trained experts
within the studios is a natural re-
suit of the evolution of the movies.
1t is their duty to take stories. nov
els or plays which the companies
have purchased and pick out the
episodes that can be photographed,
write explanatory titles and gem
orally arrange the material for
screen production.
When story writers attempt
these arrangements or continuity
as it is called, they compete with
these specialists. 1t is not worth
doing. And the expert continuity
writer's in general find that it is a
waste of their time to try to invent
plots or write stories. For one
thing, they are too busy, and their
mastery of continuity is no guaran-
tee of their knowing anything at
all about creative writing.
Let the story writer by all
means stick to his craft If his
work possesses motion picture pos
sibilities the movie will find him
out. He can give his idea a real run