atter where the thought might be obscure
without its help; a story told in one or more reels, each reel
containing from twenty-five to fifty scenes.

The spectator at a photoplay entertainment must be able promptly and
easily to discover who your characters are, what kind of people they
are, what they plan to do, how they succeed or fail, and, in fact,
must "get" the whole story entirely from what he sees the actors in
the picture _do_, with the slight assistance of a few explanatory
leaders, or sub-titles, and, perhaps, such inserts as a letter, a
newspaper cutting, a telegram, or some such device, flashed for a
moment on the screen. The more perfect the photoplay, the less the
need for all such explanatory material, as is the case in perfect
pantomime. This, of course, is not to insist upon the utter absence of
all written and printed material thrown on the screen--a question
which will be discussed in a later chapter. It is enough now to
emphasize this important point: Dialogue and description are for the
fiction writer; the photoplaywright depends upon his ability to
_think_ and _write_ in action, for the postures, grouping, gestures,
movements and facial expressions of the characters must be shown in
action, and not described as in prose fiction.

_Action_ is the most important word in the vocabulary of the
photoplaywright. To be able to see in fancy his thoughts transformed
into action is to have gained one goal for which every photoplay
writer strives.

CHAPTER II

WHO CAN WRITE PHOTOPLAYS?

In almost everything that has been written up to the present time
concerning the technique of photoplay writing, considerable stress has
been laid on the statement that, notwithstanding preceding success in
their regular field, many authors of popular fiction have either
failed altogether in the production of acceptable photoplays or have
had almost as many rejections as, if not more than, the average novice
in short-story writing. That there is much truth in this cannot be
denied; but that a trained and inventive fiction writer--particularly
a writer of plot- or action-stories--after having once learned the
_mechanics_ of photoplay construction, should fail of success in
photoplay writing is, obviously, not at all necessary. A discussion of
this point should help to impress on the student just what sort of
preparation will be of the greatest assistance to him in the work he
is taking up.

_1. Experience in