The Project Gutenberg eBook, Writing the Photoplay, by J. Berg Esenwein
and Arthur Leeds

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Writing the Photoplay

Author: J. Berg Esenwein and Arthur Leeds

Release Date: March 3, 2006 [eBook #17903]

Language: en

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WRITING THE PHOTOPLAY***

E-text prepared by Audrey Longhurst, Linda Cantoni, and the Project
Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/)

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 17903-h.htm or 17903-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/7/9/0/17903/17903-h/17903-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/7/9/0/17903/17903-h.zip)

WRITING THE PHOTOPLAY

by

J. BERG ESENWEIN
Editor of "The Writer's Monthly"

and

ARTHUR LEEDS
Late Editor of Scripts, Edison Studio

The Writer's Library
Edited by J. Berg Esenwein

Revised Edition

The Home Correspondence School
Springfield, Mass.
Publishers
Copyright 1913
Copyright 1919
The Home Correspondence School
All Rights Reserved

[Illustration: The Lasky Studio of the Famous Players-Lasky
Corporation, Hollywood, California]

Table of Contents

Page

CHAPTER I--WHAT IS A PHOTOPLAY? 1

CHAPTER II--WHO CAN WRITE PHOTOPLAYS? 5

CHAPTER III--PHOTOPLAY TERMS 17

CHAPTER IV--THE PHOTOPLAY SCRIPT: ITS
COMPONENT PARTS 29

CHAPTER V--A SAMPLE PHOTOPLAY FORM 34

CHAPTER VI--THE MECHANICAL PREPARATION
OF THE SCRIPT 55

CHAPTER VII--THE TITLE 72

CHAPTER VIII--THE SYNOPSIS OF THE PLOT 87

CHAPTER IX--THE CAST OF CHARACTERS 111

CHAPTER X--THE SCENARIO OR CONTINUITY 131

CHAPTER XI--THE SCENE-PLOT AND ITS PURPOSE 204

CHAPTER XII--THE USE AND ABUSE OF LEADERS,
LETTERS AND OTHER INSERT