Writing the Photoplay by J. Berg (Joseph Berg) Esenwein;Arthur Leeds
page 29 of 427 (06%)
page 29 of 427 (06%)
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SCENE: A scene is so much of the action of a photoplay as is taken in
one place at one time without stopping the camera. The instant that there is need to stop the camera, to change grouping, break the progress of the action, introduce or take away characters, or change costumes, that scene is terminated, and with the new start a new scene is begun. SCENE-PLOT: That part of the photoplay script which lists the scenes and shows the producer at a glance exactly what different sets are required to stage the picture, and how many different scenes may be done in each separate set. SCRIPT: The typewritten copy of the completed photoplay. A complete script is composed of three parts: Synopsis, Cast of Characters, and Scenario, or Continuity--and sometimes a fourth part, called the Scene-Plot. SERIAL: A photoplay serial, as the name implies, is a film totaling, say, 30,000 feet in length, and divided into fifteen "episodes," each episode being made up of two reels, or parts--2,000 feet of film. The production covers one long, continued story, each episode planned to end with a thrilling climax, with a "To be continued in our next," so to speak, tail-piece. The climax comes only at the end of each episode (as the two parts released each week, taken in conjunction, are termed). Incidentally, it should be borne in mind that, in all up-to-date picture theatres, two projecting machines are employed, so that no "break" occurs in the showing of any picture. For this reason, "feature" subjects do not necessarily have any special climax at the end of each reel, and, to repeat, serial photoplays have the grand, forward-looking climax only at the end of each episode. |
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