If you have occasion to use a will, mortgage, or other legal document,
in telling your story, you will realize that the property man in every
studio has the blank forms on hand for anything that you may
introduce. It is therefore only necessary to show, say, the back of
the mortgage on the screen, with the names of the principals written
upon it. Then, later in the scene, or in some other scene, you can
show the body of the mortgage. But if you show the body of such a
document in Scene 10, after having shown the outside in Scene 4, it
would be well to flash the outside, or cover, again in 10, before
displaying the contents--for the purpose of identifying it, as in the
case of the letter.

In passing we may mention the letter or other document which is
actually written by the actor who is _supposed_ to write it. Such a
piece of writing, of course, must be, and is, not an "insert," but
rather a part of a close-up scene. It might appear in the scenario
thus:

27--Close-up of upper part of Allison's body, right hand writing in
pencil on one of Enderby's letterheads. He writes:

It took eleven years to get you, Enderby, as I swore I
would, some day. Now that I've kept my oath, I'm ready to
pay the price, and you will

It is comparatively seldom, however, that this kind of close-up is
made use of--usually because the actor or actress does not write a
sufficiently clear hand for satisfactory "screening." More often the
player will be seen starting to write the note, and then the close-up
of another hand, _supposedly_ that of the player, will be shown,
writing the words designed to be read by the spectator. In either
case, they are close-ups, but the wording must be given in full, just
as if you were writing an ordinary letter or other insert to be shown
on the screen _after_ it has been written. But do not confuse what we
have just said with the fact that, nowadays, nearly every letter that
is screened is shown in what is literally a _bust_ picture, the letter
or document being held in the hands of the player as he or she reads
it. This is merely an additional realistic touch added in the studio;
the writer supplies his insert in the regular way.

The proper use of leaders and other inserts is a part of the technique
of photoplay writing that is best learned by practise. Be sure to keep
a carbon copy of your script. Then, if your story is accepted and
produced, when you are watching it on the screen no