Page:The Point of Attack, or, How to Start the Photoplay.djvu/12

 witnessed a Prologue. This preliminary establishing of necessary information in the minds of the audience prepares them in a natural, informative and interesting manner for the crisis, or rather the series of crises, that follow in the lives of Blake and his daughter.

14. Another way of starting a photoplay is to plunge directly into the crisis, or the first of a series of crises or dramatic situations. This method is employed in "Speed and Suspicion," where we find Clinton and Barrow being pursued by a speed officer. The story deals with a laughable crisis in their lives and it is of no interest to the audience who they are, where they came from, what their lines of business may be nor anything else other than that they are breaking a law and are being pursued therefor.

15. Let us return to the example of the murder trial witness and apply the different formulas. Suppose the witness were to proceed as follows: "Fifteen years ago the murderer and his victim were rival political candidates for office down in Texas. After the election each accused the other of buying votes and as a result they became deadly enemies. Both left town and did not meet again until the day of the murder. Then they came together in a cafe, and friends knowing the circumstances surrounding their lives kept them apart. Later in the day, however, they met on the street, and after a violent quarrel shots were fired and the murder resulted."

This is a brief and sketchy example of the use of the Prologue. The witness, relating the facts of the long passed election and the enmity that resulted, established in the minds of the jurymen information that indicates the motive which led up to the killing. Now 10