In every studio,
of course, each scene is rehearsed before being "done." Sometimes
running over the scene once or twice is sufficient, while other big
scenes may be rehearsed fifteen or twenty times. Not only to obtain
the best effects in action and grouping is a scene rehearsed many
times, but repeated goings over are often necessary in order to change
the action slightly, or to cut it down so that it will run only a
certain number of seconds, each sixty seconds representing,
approximately, as many feet of film.
_5. Respect for Stage Limitations_
At all times you must keep in mind the limitations of the photoplay
stage. If you have the picture eye, as described in Chapter X, you
will be able to see just what you can, and can not, write into a
picture so that it will register. If it does not register, it might
better not have been written. As Mr. Sargent once said, "Pretty nearly
everything is possible to the camera, but not all things are
practicable." In the same article, he gave a practical illustration of
camera limitation that should guide photoplay authors in determining
what not to write:
"Suppose you've written a chase scene. A band of horsemen dash through
the picture. The hero is wounded and falls from his horse, rolling to
the side of the road.
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