Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/130

 Using a Phonograph and a Man-Made Hurricane

���Who ever thought that the phonograph would inspire a motion-picture actress? And yet phono- graphs are now used to assist a player to evoke the particular mood called for by the producer

��Inspiring Motion-Picture Actors by Means of the Phonograph

PICTURE the sweet country maid of a motion-picture studio dreaming of her lover in a far-off land. The director shouts at her: "Look wistful, longing, melancholy — what you will." He bellows: "Go!" which is the signal for action. A talking- machine — yes, a real talking-machine — is started, and the strains of "I Hear You Calling Me" are heard.

"You see," says the director, "the impor- tant part that the talking-machine can be made to play in the production of a motion picture. In the course of time directors will realize that the talking-machine can play the part of 'assistant director.' It is certainly an invaluable aid in creating emotions. We in the studio have come to regard it as indispensable. The actor may not know the whole story of the film. It is difficult for him to come in 'cold', and, at a given cue, work himself into the correct emotional state for a realistic and convinc- ing portrayal. Here is where the talking- machine comes to our aid.

"We know how music enhances the effect

��of the motion picture as presented in the theater. The audience does not often realize the importance of the musical accompaniment. But, omit the music, and the difference is felt in a moment. The effect that music has upon the spectator is analogous to its effect upon the actor. He responds readily to the musical stimulus."

��How Motion-Picture Statues Are Made Overnight

ONE of the large motion-picture produc- ing companies need depend no longer on outside assistance for its statues, papier- mache figures and the various artistic accessories which make up a modern thriller. This company has a special art department with twenty-five men engaged in papier-mach6 and composition work. In the process of making models from clay, the first step is to provide the frame for the clay, which is molded into the desired form by hand. From this clay model a glue mold is made and into this is poured plaster of Paris. When it is dry the glue is removed, leaving the cast of the statue, goblin, or what not, finished.

��114

�� �