PART I.--THE PRINCIPLES OF THE PHOTODRAMA.

I.--A NEW MEDIUM OF ARTISTIC EXPRESSION 27

The Premise of All Art; the Battle of New Standards; the Drama of the Eye; Not “Moving Pictures”; All the World’s the Stage; a Field Without Limitations.

II.--DIFFERENTIATION 32

How Photodrama Differs from Stage Drama in Construction, Technique and Expression; Also from Fiction Construction and Narration in General and the Short Story and Novel in Particular.

III.--PARTS OF THE PHOTOPLAY AND THEIR PURPOSES 39

Title; Synopsis; Cast of Characters; Author’s Remarks; Scenario; the Scene; the Setting.

IV.--VARIOUS DEVICES--THEIR USE AND MISUSE 48

The Caption; the Insert; the Close-View; the Vision; Dialog; Breaking Up Long Scenes; Preserving the Illusion.

V.--VISUALIZATION 65

Its Relation to Action; Importance of Vocabulary; Literature; to Register; Interpretation; in Terms of Emotion; the Part of Imagination.

VI.--CHARACTERIZATION 75

Identity and Personality; Characteristics and Idiosyncrasies; Description and Delineation; Establishing Relationship; Motives; Expression; Contrasts.

VII.--THEME, TREATMENT AND THE CENSOR 87

Morals and Ethics; Crime; National Board of Censorship; Taste; Inspiration and Influence.

VIII.--RULES OF THE GAME 97

Duration and Number of Scenes; Perpetual Motion; the “Now” Element; Effective Form; Natural Laws; Scene Principle.

IX.--BROMIDES WORTH REPEATING 107

The Virtue of Economy; Producing Policies; Period and Costumes; Animals; Copyright and Carbon Copies; Relation of Author’s Work to His Audience; to the Manufacturer; to His Manuscript.