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"Writing the Photoplay"


It is very important to keep this point constantly in mind. Seldom is
it today that the cast appears on the screen exactly as prepared by
the author. Almost all the big companies at the present time are given
to long sub-titles, and to lengthy statements in connection with the
introduction of the principal characters. Many readers will see the
similarity between the second of the foregoing descriptions of the old
miser and the printed statement, in connection with a similar
character, shown in the Triangle and Paramount pictures written by C.
Gardner Sullivan, as well as in many others. The statement on the film
which introduces a principal character, today, is much more in the
nature of an actual leader than it is a mere announcement of the names
of the character and the player. Thus, in Universal's feature
production of "The Kaiser," the heroic blacksmith of Louvain was
introduced in this way:
Marcas, the blacksmith of Louvain, was a mighty man. This
man, Marcas, lived in faith and love and friendship, and, by
the sweat of his brow, had won peace and happiness.
MARCAS......................ELMO LINCOLN
In writing out your cast, give your most important characters first.
Try, also, to simplify it and eliminate unnecessary words, first
writing the name of a principal character and then giving the others
in the order of their relationship, as:
Charles Waldron, a wealthy rancher.


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