184 



THE WORLD'S ADVANCE 



appearance. The smaller buildings, 

 which are used for picture producing 

 purposes only, are simple front exteriors 

 which are erected in a day and are torn 

 down just as soon as they have served 



their purpose. Expensive street scenes 

 are built for a single picture and then 

 torn down. In many instances the cost 

 of preparing elaborate settings aggre- 

 gates thousands of dollars. 



THE "MOVIE" WEATHER MAN 



The name, "The Movie Weather 

 Man," has been given to the head camera 

 man of the Universal Film Manufactur- 

 ing Company in Southern California. 

 The reason for this is that he is the cre- 

 ator of the "Don't Shoot" flag, which 

 in this instance regulates the operations 

 of twenty or more camera men employed 

 by this concern. 



Throughout the past winter the weather 

 and lighting conditions in that southern 

 section have been anything but favorable 

 to the motion picture business ; that is, 

 when compared to the same months in 

 other years. The days have been cloudy 



and hazy and a great number of the pic- 

 tures that were made under these un- 

 favorable weather conditions proved un- 

 satisfactory for distribution. A poor 

 strip of film means quite a loss to the 

 picture company, for it does not simply 

 mean the loss of the film and of the 

 camera man's time, but of the loss of the 

 entire company which made the picture 

 and of the scenery men, for the scenes 

 have to be rearranged and the picture 

 retaken. 



GRIFFITH BEGINS WORK ON AN- 

 OTHER GIGANTIC FEATURE 



Much speculation is rife in filmland as 

 to what will be the subject of the next 

 feature photoplay to be produced by 

 David Wark Griffith, who recently re- 

 turned to the Reliance-Majestic (Mu- 

 tual) studios in Hollywood, CaL, after 

 a long sojourn in the East, where his 

 masterpiece, "The Birth of a Nation/ 1 is 

 being presented. 



It is said that he has under considera- 

 tion plans for the production of "The 

 Quest of the Holy Grail," suggested by 

 the famous frescoes of Edwin Austin 

 Abbey, that adorn the walls of the Pub- 

 lic Library in Boston. 



Reproduction of these frescoes is con- 

 trolled by Mrs. Abbey, widow of the 

 noted artist, and negotiations are being 

 made with her and her brother-in-law, 

 Charles Scribner, the New York pub- 

 lisher, who manages her affairs, for the 

 rights to photograph the frescoes. 



If you enjoy THE WORLD'S ADVANCE, 



The "Don't Shoot- Flag Has Much Significance P leaSC tell Others J if not, Write US your 



reason. Have you any suggestions to 



ignm 



to the Camera Men of Universal City. It is Dis- 

 played When the Weather is Not Suitable for 

 the Taking of Motion Pictures. 



make ? 



