te the leaders
carefully, comparing them with the ones you originally wrote, and
profit by what you see. If the producer has seen fit to make changes
of any kind, there is a reason, and it is generally safe to assume
that it is a good one.

CHAPTER XIII

THE PHOTOPLAY STAGE AND ITS PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS

By "the photoplay stage" we mean all that sweep of view which is taken
in by the range of the camera, whether in the studios or out of doors.
At first this may appear to be of very wide area, but the scene-plot
diagram (see Chapter XI) will give a good idea of space-limitations in
staging the picture.

_1. Scope of the Stage_

To begin with, the actors must be constantly on the alert to avoid
"getting out of the picture" while the scene is being taken. Suppose
an actor is seated in a reclining chair that has been "set" where the
line _A_ cuts it in half, so to speak. If he is leaning forward, he
will be completely in the picture. But if he forgets himself and leans
back it is likely that the upper part of his body will not appear when
the film is developed. To avoid this, the V-shaped lines shown on the
scene-plot are actually marked on the floor, in some studios. A piece
of strong cord, or sometimes wire, is stretched tightly from _B_ to
_C_ and thence to _D_. Within this V-shaped space the complete set
must be made, and within these limits the entire scene is played. In
the case of a set requiring more than the ordinary amount of depth, a
larger stage is obtained by setting the back part of the scene (or
set), as shown by the dotted line _E_, and laying down a special pair
of V lines to cross the permanent ones on the studio floor. When the
camera is placed at the apex of this larger V, the picture is,
naturally, made many feet deeper, with a corresponding width of
background as the lines diverge.

_2. Number of Stages Used_

As a rule, there are at least four of these V-shaped stages side by
side on the floor of the studio in any of the big producing plants.
Thus four entirely different sets may adjoin each other; and, as was
pointed out in a previous chapter, a director may finish Scene 8 in
Set I and move directly to Set II, where the scene "done" may be 9, or
any later scene, depending very often upon whether the players will
have to make a change of costume or make-up. A careful director will
always try to avoid waits by having his scenes set up in the order
that will allow him to proceed wit