PHOTOPLAY, the technical name given to a moving-picture which presents a complete drama. The conditions under which a moving picture is made and exhibited place the photo play in a distinct class by itself. It cannot, like the novel, short story, or the regular theatrical play depend upon language to explain situations or to express thoughts and emotions. Its sole medium of expression is self-explanatory ac tion. The photoplay differs from other mov ing-pictures in that it has a definite plot, which is worked out by a series of dramatic scenes. There is no limit to the number of these sepa rate scenes; they may run up to 40 or 50, if necessary to round out the story. Nor are there any bounds within which the plot action shall move forward. The ability to join into one picture films made at the opposite ends of the earth, if desired, give the widest latitude to the inventive faculties of the author. In these pe culiarities the photoplay leans more toward the plan of the novel than to the theatre play pre sented in three or four acts, and within the con fines of the stage. The scenes in which the photoplay is presented are not required to progress consecutively as to time of happening: it is entirely permissible for the action to "cut back" as in the novel, to take up a parallel sequence of events needed to bring the action to a climax.
The elimination of the spoken language normal to the stage play and such a large auxil iary in the development of the story in the novel, necessarily shortens the time required to present a photoplay covering the same re cital. Thus a play which would consume per haps three hours on the stage, stripped to its physical action only may be shown as a photo play in the course of 20 minutes. One of the results of this condensation is to give the photoplay a peculiar hurried effect. There is entire absence of repose, so indispensable in a stage play or novel as a foil to even the minor action. The consequence of these limitations is to place the photoplay on so high a plane of intensity that all action is exaggerated far beyond the normal. This apparent haste in the action is enhanced by the characteristic focal expression of the photographic lens, with its distorted perspective—distorted as compared with the elastic vision of the human eye. The difficulties for both author and audience are mutually recognized, and certain auxiliary de vices for helping the presentation along are ac cepted as conventional. The use of some lan guage is permissible in the line of subtitles, leaders or captions, as they are variously called. When skilfully composed they not only intro duce the scene about to come on the screen, but link it with the action of the scene just halted. "Inserts" are bits of language of a different sort, arranged as a part of the plot action —as, for instance, the display on the screen of a letter, telegram, or scrap of news paper, that the spectators may read, each for himself. These adjuncts however, are to be avoided, and wherever possible substituted by action which will suggest, if not actually depict, the progress of the plot.
The conventional measure of length of a photoplay is the "reel." This is a strip of film 1,000 feet long, and requiring about 20 minutes for its display on the screen. A photoplay may be a one-reel play, or two-reel play, or longer; or it may be less than one reel, in which case it is termed a "split-reel." Photoplay writers
usually endeavor to adapt their productions to these conventional limits without unduly ex panding, or "padding" the manuscript of the play, or, on the other hand, skimping the scenes, leaders, inserts, etc., so that the plot is not clearly worked out. In the one-reel photoplay there should be about 20 scenes, averaging one minute each upon the screen; and five or six leaders and inserts combined for this length of film is regarded as very good work.
The production of a photoplay requires the perfect collaboration of several highly skilled specialists. The author devises hisplot and to a large degree the scenes which shall express it. His manuscript is submitted to the photoplay editor, who passes on the availability of the story for photoplay presentation. He may re ject it altogether, return it to the writer with suggestions for amendment or, if the subject appeals to him as worthy, may make the emen dations himself. In the larger establishments the editor has a corps of readers to assist him in winnowing the great mass of manuscripts submitted by would-be photoplaywrights. For every manuscript accepted more than 700 are rejected as unsuitable. The accepted photo play goes to the director of the establishment. His is perhaps the most vital part of all, as it is his task to make real what the author and editor have imagined. He decides upon the make-up of the scenes, what scenery is to be used, or perhaps made especially, what setting, the actors who are to take part, the clothes they are to wear, their appearances and posi tions on the stage, the conduct of rehearsals, and the ultimate direction of the actual production of the play before the camera. The camera man's work is largely mechanical, but calls for extreme accuracy. The exposure being made, the film goes to the developing room where the negative made in the camera is developed, and a positive such as is used for projection upon the screen is printed from it. Then comes the "try-out," when the complete film is exhibited on a screen for the judgment of an exceedingly critical jury, made up of the editor, the direc tor, the actors, the camera men, and every one else who has had a responsible part in the pro duction. Some of the scenes may prove to be inadequate, and may have to be done over again — or possibly omitted altogether. Perhaps the whole play will be rejected as not up to the standard of the firm which must stand sponsor for it in the film market. The editor and di rector then decide as to the inserts actually needed to give the utmost finish to the play, and these are made by the photographic staff, put into their proper places in the negative, and the whole cemented into one continuous strip. When this is finally satisfactory, many copies are made and distributed by the business de partment of the producing company to the ex hibiting houses all over the country, and in foreign lands as well. So that no one locality may have an advantage over another in point of time on any given picture-play, it is custom ary for the manufacturer to place a °release date° on the film, before which time it may not be shown.