You are a
clever writer, undoubtedly, if you can produce a "leaderless" script.
But it is no indication of cleverness merely to _leave out_ a
leader--only to find, when your story is produced, that the director
has found it necessary to add what you have simply cut out or never
put in. He is a foolish and short-sighted writer indeed who gives any
director such an opportunity to doubt his knowledge of photoplay
technique.
In this connection, let us quote Mr. Frank E. Woods, who, besides
being well known as a critic, photoplaywright, director and supervisor
of productions under Mr. David W. Griffith, is an acknowledged expert
in editing motion pictures.
"Many a picture," says Mr. Woods, "has been ruined by inadequate
sub-titles. The makers of the picture have assumed that because _they_
understood the meaning of every action, the spectators should also
understand, forgetting that the spectators will view the picture for
the first time. The moment a spectator becomes confused and loses the
sense of what he is seeing on the screen, his interest is gone. While
he is wondering 'What are they talking about now?' or 'Who is the chap
in the long coat?' or 'How did he get from the house in the woods?'
the film is being reeled off merrily and the spectator has lost the
thread of the story.
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