perial German Government whose
nefarious acts made so much trouble for the American detectives and
Secret Service agents headed by ex-Chief Flynn, under whose
supervision the serial was made.

The future holds out immense possibilities for producers and writers
of thoroughly good photoplay serials. Whereas in the past many serials
were to be seen only in the second-rate houses, on account of the fact
that their impossibly thrilling situations and weird plots appealed
only to the juvenile and less intelligent spectators, now with the
improvement in the _stories_ of serial pictures has come an increase
in the spectators who follow them up, and a consequent introduction of
serials into theatres where at one time nothing of the kind would have
been tolerated.

In conclusion, it may be said that for purposes of plot-study the
photoplay serial can hardly be surpassed. Good, bad or indifferent,
every photoplay serial reveals a sheer ingenuity of plotting that is a
genuine inspiration to the writer of often better material. And a
careful following-up and study of a _good_ serial is a liberal
photoplay-writing education in itself.

_18. Final Points_

More and more, in those--all too few--studios where full scripts are
desired, the directors of ability and intelligence are welcoming the
help extended by the author--if the author himself is known to be a
finished workman. Elsewhere we have quoted Mr. Bannister Merwin, who,
long before he became one himself, held that the director was
rightfully an interpreter--a reader of and builder from the blue
print--of the author. Mr. Merwin was also one of the first
photoplaywrights to submit what might be called a fully elaborated
script--one in which every scene was so carefully worked out that the
_motive_ behind every action of every character was made absolutely
plain. Notwithstanding the greater length of such a scenario, or
continuity, its advantages are emphatic, and directors are, as has
been said, approving it more and more as they learn that the author's
intention is to assist--to insure a proper interpretation of his
thought--and not merely to try to teach the director his business. The
script that opens up a way into the very heart of the character so
that the actors and the director may be guided in interpreting it, is
certainly vastly superior, in that regard at least, to the scenario
which concerns itself chiefly with external action. Motives and the
whole inner life