Who MaKes a Movie Scene Possible? The Assistant Director, With Aid of the Prop- RO6ERS as an . M.„ jc, JS&u&iSl ARE >ou one of the hundreds of. thousands who spend a night weekly in the moving-pic ture theater and enjoy the show so much that you feel like you wanted to shake hands with the author who pro duced the play and tell the man who directed it that "It's a bully good play and that he's a topnotcher in the art of producing moving pictures?" Haven't you often times wished that you were acquainted with the actors who so cleverly interpreted their parts and performed almost unbelievable feats and faced dangers galore for your benefit and entertainment? * However, you have overlooked one of the most Important requisites necessary to any well-conducted and up-to-date studio. Three invisible per sons are far behind the scenes. Their expertness contributes in a large de gree to the success or failure of any production, these men are the assist ant director, the property man and the stage carpenter. ' Property Man For merly the Xolse Maker, The property man has for ages been ' a familiar figure with actors and actresses of the old 6tage. He often made his appearance on the stage be tween scenes, but usually appeared in the dark, had nothing to say and dis appeared without applause. The audi ence gave him the most thought when he produced the storm, lightning and thunder scene, when he successfully manipulated the rain-making machine, produced the moon and star* and clouds at the opportune time, or In some almost magical manner banged together a couple of cocoanut shells In exact Imitation of galloping horses. This man Is the property man of the old stage, but not so with the moving picture stage. With the entry of the movies entered the property man of the moving picture ~ "^ 400 Years of Illustrations ILLUSTRATED books and papers are now so widely diffused that we do not fully apprclate the trouble and labor expended upon them. Many years ago the Penny Magazine, with wood-cuts illustrating the text, was considered a wonder, and no pub lication of the kind ever did more good in educating young people and In structing their parents. Most boys and girls probably think very little of the art and care, experi ence and thought which are required, not only to execute the wood-cuts, but to make the engravings fit into the text of type. Many no doubt think that such illustrations are like Topsy and "just grew so." But if they were made to try it for themselves, just once, they would soon find out the difference. But, with all our facilities and im provements of the present day it seems quite wonderful to be told that in the very infancy of printing the now pop ular form of illustration reached sur prising perfection almost at once, and books were profusely illustrated by cuts which look quaint enough now adays, but which were in the highest style of the period which produced Al brecht Durer, who was the foremost artist and engraver of his day, and who was born in Nuremburg over 400 years ago. In regard to these old illustrated publications a good authority, Mr. Fitzgerald, says: "The combining of wood blocks in •tage, an entirely different Individual from his namesake on the stage as ol old, who has been overshadowed anc 'cohipletely''cfclipsed by* tlie wonderfu development of the movies in thei: short life. In the olden days and even in pres ent-day theater stage work the prop erty man when called upon to produce a desert scene, called in the stage car penter, who constructed a sloping frame from 30 to 50 feet long, pasted on some canvas, then brought in the scenic painter who completed thd job by dabbling here and there with a few highly colored paints, making it look like the wastes of the Great Sahara desert. A dab here and there in the background that looked like a mere speck in the distance represented a various assortment of palm trees. A dozen or so hump-backed dots strung out in a long line to represent a cara van, a few buckets of earth and a still ness like a desert and the sec-ne is the same page with type has always been a matter of much nicety and dif ficulty, while copper engraving offers greater difficulty. Yet this seemed child's play to the early printers, who essayed' works of magnitude which even the most speculative of modern publishers would hesitate before at tempting." And it is to be observed that these illustrations, while often rude and sometimes in mere outline, are always spirited, free and bold. One of the oldest illustrated books is an edition of "Aesop's Fables," pub lished about 1471. It has Initial let ters of great interest, and upward of 160 very curious wood-cuts. The copies which have survived the cen turies are bound in thick oak boards, covered with stamped leather. There was a book published in Florence only five years after this Aesop which had three copper plate engravings, and one of the most remarkable features of the early illustrated works, is the grace and excellent fancy of their tail-pieces and type, and the fresh look which the ink has. The "History-of the World," in French, published in 1491, and the "Cologne Chronicle" of 1499, both great volumes, have many fine cuts, some of therfi carefully colored by hand. The "Ship of Fools," published in 1488. is a very well-known work, many of the illustrations having been reproduced in many other books, and is crammed full of illustrations. b complete. v Far from this state of affairs in tho k movies. Here the director calls in his i assistant and says: "Make up a desert e scene with a caravan, two palm trees e aDd a gang of two dozen bandits, aud a have it ready at 9 o'clock tomorrow V morning." Twelve hours remain for ; the task to be completed. The prop - erty man, if he wishes to hold his job, . knows no such name as failure and s goes out and delivers. , Must (let Anything Needed, and In a Hurry. The studio yard is usually full 0 f dozens of men and women, boys and a girls, all especially fitted for the star's - position, but who would, just to get a s start and show the old man what they 1 can do if given a chance, be willing 3 to take on a few hours work as an 1 "extra." i Out rushes the property man. He - selects a couple of dozen of the male "extras' for his bandits and chases 3 them into a corner of the studio, where 1 he informs them that there will be s nothing doing today, but to show early tomorrow morning for a march across ' the desert. All look like they would make good Arabs, and the first part of the desert scene seems easy, f Camels and a caravan might seem a - hard task but not so to the assistant director. He hunts .up an old circus , man who has his circus iu winter 3 quarters and who since the advent of t the movies has made more money out 1 of renting his worn-out outfit and ani -3 ma Is to moving picture concerns that ! he did in his most prosperous years 3 or the circus business while traveling i on the'road. i "Here, Bill, I want six camels with their tanks filled with water, so we i won't have to stop a half a day and i water them. Have them at the i studio tomorrow morning without i , fall." ' "Bill had them there, allright." The 1 caravan formed at 10 o'clock and the , worn-out and scrawny droms with 9. 1 drivers decked out in a various array I of colors started to wend their way across the hot sands of the desert. Here is where the Arabs came in. They come galloping up on charging steeds and the battle is on. The young girl who was about to be carried away to the sultan's harem is rescued. The author writes, the director di rects but without the fine hand of the assistant director all would come to naught. As a result, the assistant di rector, who really makes things pos r sible, is scarcely ever given a thought by the thousands who sit on the out side looking in. His position is one cf ever-changing variety, and he never gets to see his real work carried to an end unless he himself attends a mov ing picture show. While the scene is being filmed he is away on another mission, with orders to "have it ready by Monday." Renting a Battle- . ship Thought Small Matter. An order to "Rent a battleship for Wednesday" has no terrors for the as sistant director. He secures one and within a few minutes Is giving the stage carpenter instructions to make ready for the film's next step. And it is ready at the appointed time with no "ifs and ands" for an excuse. How would you like to be the one who is ordered to prepare an earth quake or a cyclone, or possibly a train wreck, and be ready to be filmed at an appointed hour, and not so many hours off, at that? Such orders as these have no terrors for the assistant director and mean nothing more to him than a request to bring in a dozen mfflans from the street for a mob scene. Or ders for wild and tame animals come by the score and are handled juat the same way as are the "film-crazed girls" who are waiting outside the stu dio door for an opportunity to show what they can do. When a call comes, the assistant /iirector goes out and gets them. That's his business and he makes short work of it. Sometimes be finds It bard to manage the ani mals, but more often finds it an easier |]ob than to handle the girls. Gives Free Circns Per formance to Get Big Crowd. Once an assistant director was given a hurry call aRd told to produce a tyo-ring circus and an audience large enough to fill a tent seating several thousand people. He began burning up the wires trying to locate a circus. The time was short and it looked like he was going to fail in his mission. Finally he located a circus 100 miles away, hired it for a twenty-four-hour period, bundled up the whole lot and shipped it to the studio. Circus at taches arrived at the studio grounds during the night and a short time after daylight had the show set up and ready for business. How to get the audi ence proved a puzzler. Finally the as sistant director, who was the one held responsible for the securing of the au dience, seized on the fact to make the Temperature Causes Many Phenomena ACLOSH observer describes two penomena of nature not easily explained: First, that natural sounds are very different in the colder than In the warmi/ months of the year; and, second, that waters have different tints during the colder and warmer months. A number of examples * occur to prove tpe first phenomenon. Who has not noticed the contrast in the noise of the wind in different seasons when It blows around the corner of the house—in summer what a soft, mellow tone It has and in winter what a harsh, rough whistle? Then, again, let us stroll along the banks of a stream in May, June or July, and we will observe that the wa ter will then make a gentle, babbling sound, while in November or winter it will, with not great volume, make a hoarse, gurgling noise. Still again, if we ramble in the woods during late spring or early summer, we can not but notice what a softness and mildness the wind has when blowing through the top* of the Uees; on the other hand, what a roar ing It makes in cold weather. Perhaps the trees being with or show free. He spread mo word and at the appointed hour, when the scene v as to be shot, the tent was taxed to the limit. The show went on with its per formance and the audience, unmindful of the motion picture operator, had the double sensation of being thrilled with the sights of the circus and later seeing themselves in action at the cir cus while sitting in a moving picture theater in their home town. The cir cus scene was arranged and carried out all within the hpace of twenty four hours. Not long ago the director of a well known film corporation found if. neces sary to use 5,000 head of cattle. Rang ers of the wild and wooly kind, with long horns, was the substance of the i without foliage may cause some differ t ence, but it will be observed in May, : before the leaves are out to any ex i tent, there is even then a marked dif ; ference between that time and Decem i ber. Often we have beard it along tel -1 egraph wires during the summer and winter, and have noted the contrast. Again listen to the water fall on milldams. The water in the warm sea son seems to fall in smooth, murmur ing tones, but in cold weather it seems harsh enough to make chills run down one's spine. Then take the ocean; many of us know, while strolling along the beach or sitting on the sand during the warm season, with what a mellow sound the waves splash upon the sandy beach, while in winter, with no higher tide, what a roaring and hissing they make. As to the various tint 3 of water, let us take the brook again. As we ram .ble along its banks in June or July we see that the water has a silvery white look as it merrily dances on its way, but in cold weather it has more or less of a bluish tint, on some days quite a dark blue. The same is true of lakes aad ponds. What a soft, silvery appearance they order given to the assistant director. A trip to a cattle range and the 6,000 head of cattle were secured by con tract. The assistant looked over the animals, nearly collapsed at the thought of trying to drive them fifty miles to the, studio, when a fresh thought struck him and be ordered the studio driven to the ranch. When a call came from an Austra lian Cockatoo it nearly drove the as sistant director to distraction. Only one was to be had in the whole state of New York and that was owned by an old lady who refused to talk about it or part with it under any circum stances. The cockatoo was finally kidnaped for part of the afternoon aft er the old lady had been persuaded to take an automobile trip into the coun try for a few hours. She locked the cockatoo up when she left and found it in its accustomed place upon her return. She later saw the bird and recognized it as her own while watch ing a movie show in New York. How ever, she has been unable to solve the mystery. • have in early summer—then In Novem ber or December what a dull, leaden color! Still, again, take waterfalls or mill dams—then the water seems to fall in a glistening white sheet during the warm season, but in winter they have more or less of the blue tint again, sometimes real dark; although at Ni agara Falls I never recollect of see ing-any other but the two colors, em erald green and white—the white greatly predominating in the summer, hpt more of the green in late fall. I have never seen the Falls later in the year than November; even they, too, may have the bluish tints during the winter. And lastly, take the ocean. We have noted particularly the difference in aspect there—in summer, pale green and silvery; In winter a much darker shade of green or a dark blue. * a Boot making and brush making have developed greatly in Italy since the war. That country formerly had to rely on the United States for the shoes to supply her first armies, but now they mostly are made at home.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers