free lance. In any case, his aim is to secure someone adept in following
the story through its many drafts, and he will of course choose someone
familiar with screen technique. "New York writers," a term that
embraces all scribes outside of Hollywood, receive weekly wages in the
thousands, but the studios' writing shops contain many "junior writers"
who receive less than $50 a week because they lack "prestige."
THE MOVIES 83
Some producers call in additional writers to work on the story.
One may contribute new situations; another, dialogue; and a third, the
continuity or final form of the screen play. Producers of this stripe
are for the most part unpopular with authors and directors, however,
for the latter believe it is impossible to obtain unity in a story when
each writer has a different conception of it.
When the writer submitted his first draft of the script he, perhaps
unknowingly, launched the studio into a flurry of activity. Copies of
his script were sent to all departments, and the production office, which
supervises the budgets and co-ordinates the activities of all departments,
has assigned a unit manager to supervise the physical problems and
finances. The director has chosen his assistant (except in those cases,
not rare, where the director is not picked until the story is close to final
form). The art department has prepared sketches for the various sets.
The music department has been working on a score, and on special
songs, if they are called for, and casting is well under way.
Although the stars are customarily chosen for a picture by the pro-
ducer and the director, the brunt of the casting job falls to the casting
director, who has his special classifications of the thousands of players
listed in Hollywood, which he consults as soon as he receives his copy of
the script. He makes suggestions for the various parts in the script on
an assignment sheet, which he sends to the producer and director. If
a director is doubtful about a casting director's choices that director
will make his own tests. Otherwise, the casting director himself han-
dles the production tests for the actors tentatively chosen, after which
the budget for salaries is checked by the production office and the
players' contracts drawn up. The average cost of a production test is
$600; consequently the selections of the casting director are made with
care.
Hollywood measures its actors strictly according to rank. There
are stars, feature players, and bit players in the studio's stock company,
and from this roster the casting directpr makes all selections except
extras and atmosphere players. A contract player, or star, is an actor or
actress who has a term contract for six months. This contains options
renewable up to seven years, a guaranteed salary for twenty out of
twenty-six weeks whether or not the player works, and a lay-off period
of six weeks during which he or she must have at least one consecutive
week's lay-off. The contract also provides for a rising salary scale. On
theatre marquees the star's name precedes the name of the picture,
whereas those of feature and bit players, contracted for on a weekly and
daily basis and considered important in bolstering up a picture, follow
the picture title on the theatre marquees.
A star borrowed from another studio is engaged at a fixed sum.
Borrowed feature players continue to draw their regular salaries from
84 LOS ANGELES
their home studios. The borrowing studio pays the home studio not
less than a month's salary for the feature player's services, plus an "ac-
cumulated carrying charge" fixed at three weeks' salary that presumably
reimburses the home studio for having carried the actor during idle
periods. Lesser supporting players are never loaned on less than a
monthly basis.
Selecting supporting players is a simple matter compared to the
task of picking extras and atmosphere players. In the studios' early
days many agencies sprang up to handle the throngs of people hoping
for movie careers. When a studio needed extras a casting director in
one of the agencies would inspect the crowd outside his door and select
the most likely types, and those selected paid the agency a percentage of
their earnings. This unfair and inefficient system in 1926 was sup-
planted by the Central Casting Corporation, an office founded by the
Association of Motion Picture Producers. Receiving over 11,000 calls
for work each day, it is the largest employment agency in the world.
In 1939 an extra is any actor not required to speak lines who re-
ceives $16.50 or less per day and is not under contract to the studio.
All wage distinctions depend on appearance, physical type, and ward-
robe. The lowest wage, $5.50, is paid for nondescript mob and atmos-
pheric types. Extras who portray attendants, porters and the like re-
ceive $8.25, and extras who take the parts of policemen, waiters, busi-
ness men, and people in street clothes are paid $11 a day. Those re-
ceiving the highest wage must provide and maintain their own ward-
robes, including complete sports, afternoon, and evening outfits. Period
costumes and uniforms are, however, provided by the studios.
Babies used in films are well paid. Babies thirty days old or under
receive $75 a day; those thirty to ninety days old receive $50 a day;
those from three to six months of age receive $25. But any child under
six months of age is permitted by law to remain at a studio only two
hours a day and allowed an actual working time not to exceed 20
minutes, with exposure to artificial lights limited to 30 seconds at a
time. Doctors and nurses must be on hand for frequent physical exam-
inations because the studio is by law responsible for the infants they
employ even six months after their performances.
When production begins, the assistant director each day notifies the
casting department what extras are required for the following day.
The studio casting directors in the major studios send their orders via
teletype to Central Casting, where a bell rings, a light shows, and the
order is automatically typed out with the date, the time the extras must
report, the name of the director, the number of the production, the
type of makeup necessary, and other details. Then follow the number
of extras, their ages, costumes, salaries, and other specifications. Known
as call sheets, these orders are placed in the hands of assistant casting
THE MOVIES 85
directors, who sit before call boards containing the names of thousands
of extras not working that day. The name plate of each extra has a
number of colored dots indicating his or her wardrobe. As the calls
for the extras required come in, they are conveyed by a loudspeaker from
the telephone switchboard to the specially constructed desks. Thus an
assistant casting director may have any call turned over to him. He
rejects some, assigns others, and himself phones those he particularly
wants.
The routine in assigning minors for atmosphere or bits is much the
same as for adults, except that the California State Board of Education
keeps a watchful eye over the procedure. Children registered at Cen-
tral must renew a permit from the board every three months. Permis-
sion to keep their names active at Central is predicated on a physical
examination and a satisfactory scholastic record. While on the set the
children must attend school under the instruction of a teacher appointed
by the board (salary paid by the studio), cannot be on the set more
than eight hours, and must be attended by a parent or guardian.
The intricate files of Central Casting classify the 12,000 registered
extras according to sex, age, height, and general appearance; and list
such physical assets as chinlessness, large feet, buck teeth, and cauli-
flower ears. Registrants are also classified as to previous occupation and
proficiency in the various entertainment fields. A machine called the
mechanical casting director may be used to run through the files and
selects extras of desired qualifications by the numbers on their cards, but
it is used infrequently because the employees of Central Casting carry
relatively complete files in their heads. The head casting director
alone knows by heart the names, addresses, wardrobes, and qualification
of several thousand registrants. Unfortunately, only about five per cent
of Hollywood's army of extras get calls. The casting directors them-
selves freely state that to join the ranks of the extras is the quickest way
down. There is almost no hope of advancement, and every chance of
slipping. Outside of the studio, however, producers, directors, and
talent scouts conduct a continuous hunt for new stars. Little thea-
tres, radio stations, night clubs, and road shows are combed by scouts
who work from a central office in New York City.
The art department is one of the first to start work on a motion pic-
ture and one of the last to finish. Shortly after the selection of the
story, and while it is still in its synopsis form, the art director confers
with the producer and gives his general ideas concerning the treatment
of scenes, and at the same time submits a rough estimate of the cost and
required space for the necessary sets. When the actual shooting is over,
the art director is still on the job to receive the final order to demolish
the sets, with parts preserved for possible future use.
The department is headed by a supervising art director, and con-
86 LOS. ANGELES
tains several unit art directors and artists of individual style and talent
actually in charge of specific productions, a staff of designers and drafts-
men. The set dressing department is also under the supervision of the
art department, and the construction department and the drapery de-
partment are closely connected with the practical work of the art
director.
Keeping in mind the mood of the story, the action encompassed by
it, and such problems as lighting and color, the supervising director pre-
pares board plans for the set and turns them over to a unit art director.
The latter prepares a layout which includes sketches of every set in the
picture and elevation drawings drawn to scale. To assist a non-visual
minded director, water-color sketches or small models are sometimes also
prepared. From the sketches the designers, draftsmen, and artists con-
struct the working plans of the sets. To prepare a set plan for final
approval, the unit director, guided by the final script and assisted by the
research department, determines how much of each set must be con-
structed to cover the action of the scenes and how much may be
"faked" with the aid of the special-effects department. For many sets
only the lower part of buildings are constructed, the illusion of great
distance frequently being created by means of construction on a reduced
scale.
From the working plans estimates are made which must closely ap-
proximate the budget allowance. When the new plans and estimates
have been completed and considered in conference by the producer, di-
rector, and others involved, the actual set construction commences,
under the supervision of the unit art director. Following the art de-
partment's plans and sketches, set dressers collect necessary furniture,
rugs, and pictures mostly from studio warehouses. When the super-
vising art director has passed on the finished sets the various other de-
partments with work to do on them are notified, and the sets are then
turned over to the director and production begins. In carrying out the
ideas of the art department the property department and set dressers
'bear in mind that a single off-color or misplaced object becomes "busy"
<ir discordant, and takes attention away from the story and the actors.
From twenty-five to thirty sets are required for the average picture,
:although some require twice as many. Most of them are erected on the
sound stages, although some outdoor scenes may send the company on
"location," which usually means to the studio "ranch," a studio site per-
haps an hour's distance from the lot. Sets are constructed on the mas-
sive sound stages whenever possible. Location trips are expensive and
studio equipment is more accessible and physical conditions more readily
controlled on the lot. The open areas of the studio lot are also used
wherever possible, an entire village frequently springing up almost over
night beside administration buildings and sound stages. To the eye of
THE MOVIES 87
the visitor such sets are extremely life-like, although close inspection
will show the stones in a massive building are papier-mache and hollow
in back, and the palm trees in a native setting consist of a pole or two
ingeniously cloaked in burlap and composition plaster with real fronds
fastened to a small platform at the top. Leaves are lacquered to give
the appearance of freshness, and the water in the river before a cluster
of thatched native huts is from the Los Angeles city water mains. In a
thousand such ingenious ways the artists and construction workers of the
studio obviate the necessity of expensive miles of travel.
Some studios employ special "experts" to work out required opti-
cal illusions, but these are usually referred to the special-effects division
of the property department, or, if the special effect desired is novel and
extremely difficult, it is worked out in collaboration by several depart-
ments. Most of the tricks are standardized. The "breakaway" chairs
and tables shattered on an actor's head are constructed of light and
brittle balsa wood. Breakaway glass, manufactured from confectioners'
sugar, is not only difficult to make but requires special iceboxes and chem-
icals for preservation. But special resin has recently been developed that
can be melted and molded into sheets and stored without difficulty. Fog
is manufactured by shooting compressed air through crystal oil, and
cobwebs are made with rubber cement sprayed from a special airgun.
Blood is usually composed of chocolate syrup and glycerine. Especially
gruesome effects with this concoction have been produced for consump-
tion in some foreign countries where censorship has been slight. In a
recent production containing gory battle scenes the illusion of a spear
passed through a man's body was achieved by means of a leather belt
around his waist with pieces of spear screwed to it fore and aft. A spear
striking a man was in reality hollow and projected along a wire which
ran from a point beyond camera range to a wood pad concealed beneath
the victim's clothing. Decapitation and disemboweling were accom-
plished by means of a dummy head and shoulders attached to an un-
usually short extra player, and a rubber knife swung against an arti-
ficial abdomen fitted with a zipper arrangement spilled the warrior's,
insides when an invisible string was yanked.
Large-scale illusions are more complex and more expensive. The
highly dramatic wind storm in a 1937 production required the use of
thirteen wind machines large propellers attached to airplane motors;
and the cascading waves that washed away an entire village were pro-
duced by simultaneously releasing the water from a series of storage
tanks into a concrete basin in which a miniature village had been con-
structed. Close-up sequences showing crumbling church walls were
produced on a sound stage with the aid of water tanks, papier-mache
bricks, and soluble mortar.
A property man can quickly acquire almost anything by consulting
88 LOS ANGELES
his files. Malayan badgers, boa constrictors, parrots, and African
beetles all may be rented in Hollywood; butterflies may be ordered by
the dozen and ants by the quart.
Costume and make-up departments are both active long before a pic-
ture is actually shot. Aside from the fact that Hollywood designers
must anticipate styles by at least six months, the astute and talented
fashioners of clothing give a great deal of attention to the psychological
effect of clothing on both actors and audience. They must also closely
consider the photographic problems of light and composition. Costumes
are invariably designed for the star and usually for the feminine sup-
porting players. The male members of the cast supply their own
wardrobes unless it is a period production. Before work is actually
begun on costumes, sketches made by the wardrobe artists are okehed
by the producer, the director, and the actors concerned. Besides dress-
ing the stars and feature players, the wardrobe department frequently
is called upon to supply hundreds of costumes for extras and bit players.
These may be rented from several large Hollywood costume companies
that function independently of the studios. Often, however, suitable
costumes cannot be rented but must be made. If such costumes are
needed in great quantities it is sometimes cheaper for the studio to con-
tract for them with outside wholesale tailoring establishments. Never-
theless, the studios' own storage rooms are choked with clothing of all
descriptions from all periods of history. The wardrobe shops of the
large studios are in themselves a garment industry, containing rows of
cutting and ironing boards, sewing machines, and all the other para-
phernalia of the garment trade.
The make-up department is busiest during production, but special
make-up for stars and character actors is prepared far in advance of the
shooting date. Make-up is broadly divided as "corrective" and "charac-
ter." The former is skillfully applied shade and color to create or
enhance attractiveness and charm, and make-up artists work closely with
cameramen to achieve desirable results. Many women with blue eyes,
for instance, are always lit with a small spotlight fitted with a magenta-
colored gelatin screen to increase their eyes' darkness and sparkle, and
one star owes much of her glamor to the consistent use of a strong down-
ward-pointed light on her face, which accentuates her high cheekbones
and makes the lower part of her face appear less square.
Make-up and the ability to wear it are probably 75 per cent of a
successful character portrayal. Character make-up is an artist's job,
involving the transmission of a detailed visualization from paper to
the screen. Sometimes many tests with different actors and different
types of make-up are necessary before a successful characterization is
achieved.
During the period preparatory to shooting the production office has
THE MOVIES 89
been busy. From the picture's early days a unit man from the produc-
tion office and an assistant director have been on the job co-ordinating
activities and watching time schedules and budget allowances. The
production office manager exercises broad supervision over the progress
of the film, alloting stage space so that production will not be held
up on this account. He eliminates, often over the objections of director
and writer, scenes he believes are unnecessary. He is careful to see
that pictures start on time to meet release dates, and he makes allowance
in his schedule for the six to eight weeks required in the cutting and
dubbing rooms. Once the shooting schedule has been set and produc-
tion commenced, he stands by to see that no time is lost, for, as at no
other period in the making of a movie, while production is under way,
time is important. Millions of dollars flow through his office and all
manner of errors and accidents must be eliminated, or tracked down and
adjusted by him.
The production manager's representative, the unit man, however,
exercises a more immediate and close supervision over the individual pic-
ture. With the assistant director, the unit man breaks down the script
after it has been finally okehed. The breakdown reveals the amount
of time to be used for each set and the number of players needed, and
itemizes in minute detail the requirements of every department. This
breakdown tells each department exactly what it will have to furnish
throughout the production, with full descriptions and quantities enumer-
ated. It is the studio Bible, and guaranteed to give the assistant di-
rector and production unit man a headache superseded only by the one
they get from making up the preliminary shooting schedule. The
latter must be changed repeatedly until every department is satisfied.
The preliminary shooting schedule is written up from the breakdown,
and specifies the set time, the time each character actually works, the
number of days he is idle, and the total number of days needed for the
completion of his part.
It is from the preliminary shooting schedule that the various depart-
ments work out their budgets, which they send to the production man-
ager. The head of the electrical department, for instance, after receiv-
ing the shooting schedule, consults the production department and with
the latter works out estimates of the number of electricians, lights, and
the amount of electricity that will be necessary. The same general
procedure is followed by art, property, and other departments.
When all departments have turned in their budgets, the production
manager assembles them and adds the studio overhead expense, which
may run as high as 40 per cent of the total. He then prepares a final
shooting schedule, in consultation with all department heads. The pro-
duction manager includes in his budget allowances for the sound and
music departments, transportation and location expenses, script clerks,
QO LOS ANGELES
the photographers who will make "stills" each day of the shooting,
stand-ins for the stars, and other miscellaneous items.
The last days before shooting begins are hectic ones for the assistant
director. Although assigned by the production office he is in reality
responsible both to production office and director and he frequently has
difficulty pleasing the two. With such paper work as the breakdown
and the shooting schedule out of the way, he has tasks assigned by the
director. He assembles the staff of technicians, selects extras and bit
players for the director to approve, and just before shooting actually
begins conducts a last minute inspection of schedules, scenes, props, and
players. On the morning when the director arrives on the set to conduct
his first rehearsals, it is largely due to the labor of his assistant that chaos
has given way to a semblance of order.
Directors are for the most part typed as to temperament, a condi-
tion no doubt due to the stereotyping of film stories. One director is
known for his skill in handling fast-paced comedies; another is known
for his handling of subtle psychological drama. Most directors are
specialists in particular fields, having been made so by their past ex-
perience.
During pre-shooting preparation the director has met a barrage of
questions from the various studio departments, because his is the final
judgment in determining what interpretation the story is to receive from
the camera. He must pass judgment on questions of art, story construc-
tion, costumes, actors, music, lighting, and camera technique. When
shooting begins, the director would like to concentrate simply on getting
a hundred and fifty harmonious and meaningful photographs on a few
miles of celluloid ribbon, but no such happy lot is his. Throughout
production he must co-ordinate the work of the various technical de-
partments, at the same time attempting to keep technical and mechani-
cal factors subservient to his artistic plan.
He would like extensive rehearsals, for instance, but for most pic-
tures these are economically impossible. As a rule he must be content
with brief rehearsals, trusting his performers to have absorbed some-
thing of the mood and feeling of the story beforehand. Not infrequently
this trust is misplaced. Before shooting, a careful director rehearses
the scene for action. Then it is rehearsed for cameras and lighting, and
again for the sound department, which checks the levels and position of
the actors' voices. When lighting, focus, and sound are satisfactory the
actors take their places. A signal light indicates that sight and sound
are in focus. The director and cinematographer give last-minute in-
structions, and the director calls "action," or "speed." A bell then
rings, a red light flashes a warning at the stage entrance, and the
cameras begin their work. The shot seldom takes more than two
minutes. Then come retakes two or three, or perhaps a dozen if
THE MOVIES QI
imperfections are noted. Afterwards, camera, light, and sound adjust-
ments are made for close-ups, long shots, dissolves, fade-ins, and other
variations which may later be used to add to the picture's interest and
action.