Writing the Photoplay Part 7

ON SCREEN, LETTER-

DEAR TOM:

Remember your promise. We shall be counting upon seeing you at Christmas. Don't for- get--etc.

BACK TO SCENE.]

The fact that every studio has writers on its staff to make over scenarios which are good but not in quite the correct form for the director, into what are known as "working scripts," should make no difference to you when writing your script. Let what you offer to the editor be as perfect as you can make it, regardless of what becomes of it after you have sold it. Make it, in _every_ sense, a desirable script.

With regard to the proper s.p.a.cing for a photoplay ma.n.u.script, some editors prefer single and others double s.p.a.cing. Again, sometimes an editor may have a fondness for double s.p.a.cing, while the director leans to scripts that are single-s.p.a.ced. Our experience has shown, however, that the majority of editors and directors like single s.p.a.cing for the actual subject-matter of the scene--the paragraphs of action--but double s.p.a.cing _between all other matter_. Therefore use double s.p.a.ce between a leader and the description of the scene which follows, and between the description of the scene and the action proper. This method of s.p.a.cing, when combined with the rule of placing all directions in the extreme left-hand margin, results in a script that is almost sure to be satisfactory, and is certainly attractive, mechanically.

In conclusion, do not forget that a _good_ typewriter is a tool of the writer's trade, and perhaps the most important tool of all. As for the question of which is the _best_ typewriter, it is entirely a matter of opinion. If you live in a small town, where there is no typewriter agent or agency, see if, among your business acquaintances, there are not represented all the standard makes. Ask permission to examine as many different makes as you can find; try what each will do; make up your mind whether you prefer the single or the double keyboard. If you choose a machine with the single keyboard, you must get used to the s.h.i.+ft-key system of printing capitals, yet many writers prefer the single keyboard. If you are _buying_ a machine the makers will gladly subst.i.tute for one of the needless characters already on the keyboard--such as @--an odd character for which a writer of photoplays or of fiction would have particular use, such as the exclamation mark.

Having a typewriter, take care of it. Clean the type regularly with a stiff brush; keep it cleaned and oiled; protect the platen from spots of oil or grease of any kind; and give the machine the general attention which it deserves.

From all this, it may seem that undue stress is laid upon the neat appearance of the script, and the way it is planned from a mechanical viewpoint. But we re-affirm what has been said at the opening of the present chapter, and, in addition, we a.s.sert that not only are neatness and correctness in the preparation of the script of importance now, but, in the good times to come, to which all photoplay writers are looking forward, the names that will be featured on the posters and in the advertising matter of the companies will be the names of the writers to whom the big checks are paid, and for whose work there will be a steady demand, and they will be the names of the writers who consider it worth while to TAKE PAINS.

CHAPTER VII

THE t.i.tLE

For a few moments, it will be well to pause in order to survey the road we have patiently travelled in our efforts toward writing the photoplay, and also to look briefly at the course that lies ahead.

In the preceding six chapters we have determined the precise meaning of the word "photoplay;" touched upon the qualifications necessary to success in photoplay writing; familiarized ourselves with the vocabulary of the craft; looked briefly at the parts of the photoplay script; examined a complete specimen; and found what are the proper methods for its typing.

After all this foundation work, containing the general information and instructions necessary to enable the photoplaywright to take up intelligently the actual planning, building, and writing of the story, we enter upon a second group of discussions, chapters VII to XII, which are essentially lessons in _how_ to write the photoplay.

The third section, from Chapter XIII to the end, takes up the details of instruction and information in such a way as to supplement the main points before discussed--minor yet really important points which are sure to be of value to the photoplaywright in his work of turning out a script that will need little or no changing on the part of the director or the staff-writer.

_1. Importance of the t.i.tle_

Nearly everything that has been written on the subject of t.i.tles for novels and short-stories applies quite as much to t.i.tles for "regular"

plays and the photodrama. No photoplaywright who is earnest in his desire to turn out only the best and most original work should neglect to read thoroughly the chapter on "The t.i.tle" in each available book in the list of works on the writing of the short-story in Appendix A, at the end of this work. Do not be satisfied with what has been written specially for writers of the photoplay; go deeper; study what has been written for fiction writers and dramatists, and so equip yourself thoroughly. We should like to write at the beginning and end of every chapter of this book this reminder: Only those who are thoroughly equipped will be able to remain in the ranks of photoplaywrights when once the various manufacturers have drawn out enough competent writers to keep them supplied with scripts. There will always be room for the competent writer, but a competent writer he must be. And as one element in competency this matter of the t.i.tle is important, vitally important, when it comes to selling your script.

_2. General Functions of the t.i.tle_

"The t.i.tle has for its main function the advertising of the story to the public."[8] Is not this, even if there were no other, a sufficient reason for making your t.i.tle as attractive, interesting and appropriate as you possibly can? True, there are thousands of picture-play patrons who go to their favorite theatre night after night, prepared to see anything that may be shown for their entertainment. But there are also thousands who are _not_ regular attendants. Many go only when attracted by the t.i.tle of a picture based on some well-known book, poem, or play. A great many more are guided in their selection of moving-picture entertainment by the attractiveness of the t.i.tles displayed on the posters and banners announcing the regular daily programs. As a means of attracting all such, the advertising value of the t.i.tle is important.

[Footnote 8: Evelyn May Albright, _The Short Story_.]

"A good t.i.tle," Barrett has said[9] "is apt [appropriate, fitting], specific [concerning itself with, and narrowed down to, something individual enough to grip the attention], attractive [interesting and calculated to inspire attention], new [fresh and unhackneyed], and short." The bracketed comments, of course, are ours.

[Footnote 9: Charles Raymond Barrett, _Short Story Writing_.]

_3. t.i.tles to Avoid_

Judging from the t.i.tles of many dozens of scripts that the writers have seen slipped into the "stamped addressed envelope enclosed" and sent back to amateur photoplaywrights, one of the greatest mistakes that the young writer makes in his choice of t.i.tles is in making them commonplace and uninteresting. When an editor takes out a script and reads the t.i.tle, "The Sad Story of Ethel Hardy," would he be altogether to blame if he _did_ put the script back into the return envelope utterly unread, as so many editors are accused of doing yet really do not do? To anyone with a sense of humor, there is more cause for merriment in the t.i.tles that adorn the different stories that a photoplay editor reads in the course of a day than is to be found in a humorous magazine. Yet it is as easy for some writers to select a good, attractive t.i.tle for their stories as it is difficult for others.

Do not choose a t.i.tle that will "give away" your plot. The t.i.tle should aid in sustaining interest, not dull the spectator's attention by telling "how it all ends." To quote Mr. Harry Cowell, writing in _The Magazine Maker_: "A t.i.tle is a means to an end. The end of a story should justify the t.i.tle. If the t.i.tle gives the story away, the writer may have to give it away, too, or sell it for a song, which is bad business." Let the t.i.tle suggest the theme of the story, by all means; but keep your climax, your "big" scene, safely under cover until the moment comes to "spring it" upon the spectators and leave them gasping, as it were, at the very unexpectedness of it. Avoid t.i.tles beginning with "How" or "Why," for they are p.r.o.ne to lead in this direction. A good exception is the well-known play, "Why Smith Left Home."

If you use a quotation or a motto for a t.i.tle, be sure it is not overworked. Variations of "The Way of the Transgressor," "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them," "Thou Shalt Not Kill," and "Honesty Is the Best Policy" are moss-covered.

Avoid baldly alliterative t.i.tles, such as "The Deepening of Desolation," "Elizabeth's Elopement," and "Tom Truxton's Trust." Had not the three elements mentioned in the t.i.tle, "Sun, Sand and Solitude," practically made the story possible, it would never have been used; even so, it is really too alliterative. Usually, the over-use of alliteration is artificial and suggests a strained effort to be original.

For more than one reason, names, as t.i.tles for photoplays, are not very desirable, especially for original stories. To ent.i.tle a photoplay "Andrew Jackson," or "Jane Sh.o.r.e," if the plot is chiefly concerned with either of those two personages, is, of course, the proper thing; but the cla.s.s of historical stories indicated by these or similar t.i.tles is usually turned out by the film company's own staff of writers. Once in a while, however, it happens that an original story of modern life is written around one character who so completely dominates the action that the name const.i.tutes the very best t.i.tle that could be given to it. Two good examples of stories having names as t.i.tles are "Mickey," in which Mabel Normand played the t.i.tle role, and "Innocent" (the name of the heroine), produced by Pathe and featuring Fannie Ward.

One-word t.i.tles are good only when they are especially apt. Such t.i.tles as "Jealousy," "Retribution," "Chains," "Rivals" and "Memories" have been worn threadbare.

"Eschew t.i.tles that are gloomy, as 'The Sorrow of an Old Convict,'

Loti; or old style, 'Christian Gellert's Last Christmas,' Auerbach; or trite, 'The Convict's Return,' Harben; or newspapery, 'Rescued by a Child;' or highly fantastic, 'The Egyptian Fire Eater,' Baumbach; or anecdotal, 'A Fis.h.i.+ng Trip;' or sentimental, 'Hope,' Bremer; or repellent, 'A Memorable Murder,' Thaxter."[10]

[Footnote 10: J. Berg Esenwein, _Writing the Short-Story_.]

"The American editor, like the heiress, is willing, anxious, to pay big money for a genuine t.i.tle; only she is on the lookout for an old one, he for a new," says Mr. Harry Cowell, in _The Magazine Maker_.

And though he speaks of t.i.tles for fiction stories, what he says exactly fits when applied to photoplay writing. Again, Mr. Cowell says that "the best of t.i.tles, once used, is bad"--for re-use, of course.

Mr. Epes Winthrop Sargent remarks: "There are dozens of instances of t.i.tle-duplication to be noted in the past year, some of the t.i.tles being used more than twice. A matter of greater moment is to avoid duplication of plot." It is of still greater moment to avoid both.

Because he discovered that the Essanay Company was about to release a picture called "Her Adopted Father," a certain writer changed the t.i.tle of one of his stories from "His Adopted Mother" to "The Bliss of Ignorance." This avoided, not a duplication, but a too great similarity in t.i.tles; at the same time the change was an improvement, when one considers the theme of the story.

As a photoplay author, you should subscribe for one of the trade-papers, if for no other reason than to keep posted on the t.i.tles of the various subjects released by the different manufacturers. In this way you will have a much better chance of avoiding the repet.i.tion of t.i.tles. It goes without saying that originality in a t.i.tle is only less desirable than originality in a plot; yet every now and then some manufacturer will release a picture with a t.i.tle similar to, or even quite the same as, one already produced by some other company. For example, on July 15th, some years ago, Lubin released a picture called "Honor Thy Father." Four days later, on the 19th, Vitagraph put out a picture with the same t.i.tle. Yet this was the merest coincidence. On August 17th of the same year Reliance released "A Man Among Men,"

while Selig's "A Man Among Men" was released November 18th. The plots were totally different, and the Selig story was written and produced in the plant before any announcement of the Reliance picture was made.

Again, on January 8, of the next year, Selig released "The Man Who Might Have Been." Twelve days later, Edison put on the market "The Man _He_ Might Have Been," by James Oppenheim.

The exhibitor is the one who suffers as a result of these similarities in t.i.tles; many people see the poster and imagine they have seen the picture before, not noticing the difference in the make of film, and so go elsewhere to see some show that is entirely fresh to them.

Therefore keep posted, as fully as possible, as to what the manufacturers are putting out.

Of course this matter of t.i.tle-duplication has a bearing, though a remote one, on t.i.tles that are similar yet not identical, as when Artcraft releases "Wolves of the Rail" (with William S. Hart) and Triangle puts out "Wolves of the Border" (with Roy Stewart). Perhaps there is no valid objection to such similarity, which can be called imitation only when the themes are more or less alike, but it actually seems to have been the policy of many companies to follow the line of least resistance when selecting t.i.tles for their pictures, using a t.i.tle, provided it is good in itself, and appropriate to the picture under consideration, regardless of whether or not it is already familiar to the public as the t.i.tle of another photoplay, fiction story, or legitimate drama. Needless to say, this has led to a great deal of confusion--and, in one or two cases, to law suits.

Bear in mind that the t.i.tles of already published fiction and already produced stage plays are not the lawful prey of the photoplaywright merely because he is working in a different literary field. More than one librarian has told us of the confusion caused by reason of Anna Katharine Green's t.i.tle, "The Woman in the Alcove," having been used later by another popular woman novelist. Again, such a unique and thoroughly distinctive t.i.tle as Gouverneur Morris's "It" has been used for a very different type of short-story by another writer.

Occasionally, we will admit, this happens by the merest chance--although not when a certain motion picture concern puts out a picture showing life in an American factory town and bearing Kipling's well-known t.i.tle "The Light That Failed." Your literary conscience must dictate what you should do--willing as we are to admit that there is, very frequently, a great temptation to use the t.i.tle already employed by another writer because of its extreme appropriateness to your own story.

It may be said that most photoplay producing companies are led to use unoriginal t.i.tles because of the poor and inappropriate t.i.tles given the stories sent in to them by the authors themselves. Your duty, then, is to help to keep the producing company from "going wrong" in this respect by supplying them with the very best and most original t.i.tle you can devise for every story of yours which you are fortunate enough to sell.

_4. Where to Look for t.i.tles_

Good t.i.tles are everywhere--if you know how to find them. The Bible, Shakespeare, all the poets, books and plays that you read, newspapers, even advertis.e.m.e.nts on billboards and in street cars, all contain either suggestions for t.i.tles or complete t.i.tles, waiting only to be picked out and used. But be sure that someone else has not forestalled you!

Sayings, proverbs, and well-known quotations are a fruitful source of t.i.tles, as we have already intimated. But sometimes the real significance and value of such a t.i.tle are not apparent to a great many of the spectators until they have witnessed the climax of the picture. This arises from their ignorance of literature and is, of course, their loss. Many good and extremely appropriate t.i.tles of this character are taken from the Psalms, from Shakespeare, and other poets. Frequently these quotations, used as t.i.tles, are so well known, and their meanings so apparent, that almost every one of the spectators will at once understand them, and catch at least the theme or general drift of the story from the t.i.tle. Sometimes, again, the real significance of a t.i.tle is best brought out by repeating it, or even the complete quotation from which it is taken, in the form of a leader at the point in the action where its significance cannot fail to be impressed upon the spectators. For example, a certain Selig release was ent.i.tled "Through Another Man's Eyes." Before the next to the last scene, which showed the ne'er-do-well lover peering in at the window, while his former friend bends over to kiss his wife--who might have been the wife of the wayward young man, had he been made of different stuff--the leader was introduced:

"How bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes!"