layers making up the stock company, provided he
does not prevent them from playing the parts in another picture then
in course of production, for which they have been previously cast. So
that, so far as salary is concerned, unless certain "types," either
men or women, are specially engaged for a production, the film
manufacturer does not need to worry about how many "principals" are
needed to take part in a picture. He has, of course, to consider the
salaries of the "extra people," or supernumeraries, when a picture
calls for their employment. But the principal reason for keeping the
photoplay cast as small as possible is that the fewer the principal
characters the more easily understood is the story. In this respect,
better twenty extras and five principals than twenty principals and
two extras.

Remember, then, to use as few principal characters as possible in
developing your plot. This does not mean that you may be prodigal in
your use of extras; quite the contrary. But, since extras who are
posing as cowboys, soldiers, guests at a ball, bystanders in a street
scene, or saloon loungers, are easily distinguished from the
principals, it is a matter of small importance how many are used so
long as the scene is full enough to harmonize with the idea. It would
be silly, of course, actually to specify the number of "travellers and
bystanders" used in a scene at a railroad station at train time. The
director will employ as many as he thinks necessary.

_4. How the Director Assigns the Cast_

It frequently happens that members of the regular stock company are
used to fill in in certain scenes, although they may not be cast in
the picture at all. When, for example, the scene is laid in a
ballroom, or when boxes and orchestra chairs in a theatre are shown,
the director uses as many of the regular company as are
available--knowing that they may be relied upon to sustain the
necessary action, and feeling sure that they will "dress" the scene
suitably. Extras are then drawn upon for as many more people as he
may require.

A distinction must be made between extras who merely fill in or dress
a scene and those who play a small part, or "bit," in one or more
scenes. In every studio there are men and women who are known as
"regular" extras--people who are on hand every morning and who remain
until they are either told that they can work in a certain picture or
that they will not be required that day. Practically all of these