But how often would a producer be able to obtain
such an effect? It seems obvious that the scene was in stock and the
play built around it, but the truth is that the scene was specially
made. The snake was caught, and its poison extracted, and then the
scenes were taken. In the close-up scene the snake was inside an
enclosure stretched on the ground. The first close-up showed the
snake, coiled. In the second, the girl was in the enclosure with the
snake. But the close-up did not show the enclosure, of course. And
rattlesnakes are not readily obtainable "props"!
[Footnote 25: The synopsis of this photoplay is given in Chapter
VIII.]
_4. Animal Actors_
Another mistake frequently made by the beginner is in writing stories
that require the assistance of trick animals. We know one
motion-picture actor who, at the time when he was on the extra list of
a well-known Chicago company, wrote to a New York producer that he
would furnish the working scenarios for two or three plays in which
his trick dog could work provided that he himself were allowed to
direct the scenes in which the animal took part. He was told to go
on, and carried out his part of the contract as offered. The result
was several very exceptional pictures in which his dog's clever work
was featured.
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