Will Motion Pictures Come Direct By Wire From Studio Without Film?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19268, 3 January 1931, Page 22 (Supplement)

Will Motion Pictures Come Direct By Wire From Studio Without Film?

Is the day coming when film will be discarded entirely and the motion picture put on German silver wire direct to the theatre for production on a bakelite screen, and with natural colour and third dimension? James Cruze, director and independent producer, hazarded this Jules Verne theory when commenting on the motion picture of the future. “ To-day we have sound vibrations produced over the wire,” he said, “ and light vibrations will be produced in the same manner. The product will come to the screen with colour and will be third dimensional. The chances of improving films are far-reaching and enormous.” Coming closer to the present day, Cruze declared that intelligent direction will achieve a reduction in the cost of the sound film. Waste of Time. “ There is a great deal of waste, and the greatest waste of time,” said Cruze, who has a reputation as one of the speediest directors. “ Each director has a different method of working, so it is impossible to lay down a standardised code of any kind. I find that itelligent preparation before shooting a picture—two or three weeks of it, depending on the intricacy of the problems faced—will give a director an idea of just what he is to do. After I have, finished preparations, I spend nights planning out a schedule of what I am going to do each day—and I stick to that schedule.” Converted to Sound. Cruze, at one time outspoken in his criticism of the talking product, revealed his conversion to the ranks of its supporters. “ My chief objection was that each m ® m @ null mm a is m si® m m ® m ® n

person in the silent audiences placed in the mouth of the leading characters the words he or she wanted said. With talking pictures, this was impossible. The players read their lines and nothing was left to the imagination. “ This objection has been overcome, as far as I’m concerned. I’m convinced that talking pictures are here to stay. “ I’ve found speech is another tool for the director. He can convey the! thoughts of his characters quicker and more thoroughly with their lines. He also can unravel his plot, and sum up his story at the end with more rapidity. This is good, for the mechanics of plot laying and summing up are tedious for both the director and the audience. “ The intelligent director, with talking pictures, has a greater chance of getting away from the obvious.” Sees Big Help in Wide Film. Cruze revealed himself interested in the adaptation of wide film to the industry as a whole. “ The public likes the outdoors on its screen,” he said. “ There will be much open shooting and a tendency to get away from the limits of the legitimate stage. Wide film will be of inestimable help in this. At the same time, there will be interiors and closeups. The ideal combination would be the use of both types of film, which may be possible in the near future. This would give the motion picture art a scope which it has never before known. “ I’m working to preserve the oldtime silent technique. Silent technique is an art in itself. At the same time, I’m anxious to use dialogue to amplify the audience-interest. But there can be too much dialogue—and there is too much at the present time.” i ® ® s in si in eh ® mm is s in ® u u n m e