111’an 14, 1922. ‘ : n. 3"».- -, v. - ... a e. .PLJS‘ZEB QQIV is a far cry from sta‘...es of huge rnagcs—Siamese dogs-40 just plain bricks, but in the ornamental plas- fir shops of a modern motion picture Mo they are all in a day‘ 5 work. ., Tie plaster shop is one of the de- enta of motion picture making Int cinema devotees know little about a it is one of the most: fascinating “arts of the business. Let a director fish for anything from a statue of the onna to a simple wall plaque for Ii: picture and the plaster shop can amply it. .1 Replica; of Interiors. Not long ago the plaster shop at the Paramount coast studio was mailed upon to supply replicas of the in- terior decorations of a large New York Intel for use in a picture. These doc- dlrations were copies from pictures and suede in plaster of Paris. in tun days. The following day the workmen were killed upon to mould two nagos, seven fleet high, for itse in Cecil B. De hlille's west THE P5452251? 555010 ”11525 WWW All the brick used in building sets fc Paramount pictures are made in the company's plaster shop. They are made in sheets of 35 each of a mix- ture of plaster and fiber. The bricks are only a quarter of an inch thick,’ but they are so tough and unbreakable that they can be nailed to a wall. \Vhen they are painted with red paint or but} color, as the case may be, the clever- est brick fancier can not tell the dif- ference. I It takes a lot of brick to build a four—story tenement building and there are alot of brick structures used in the movies these days. One man cm make 1,050 of t‘1ese imita- tion brick in a day. Every Man an Artist. Every one of the six men working under J. L. Thompson in the Para- mount pla’stcr shop is an artist. They can moc’el in clay, make glue molds and manufacture imitation marble but every one turns a hard to making brick when not engaged on some art- 12W: ‘1“ 833 861113. f RORWALK’ mime gamma. a 35355551255655 .1}... @5555 ac THOWV- (287.5? 5252;4me mop which are seen in pictures come from the plaster shop. First a clay model of the design is made and then a glue mold into which the plaster is poured. Th! process is simple and quick for the men who do it. The artists in the plaster shop are continually making samples of all man- ner of plaster work and these are num- bered and put on sl. elves for selection. All a director or scenarist ha. to do is visit the shop and make a choice. Many times unusual pieces are re- quired and then special models are made. Papier—mache models are often made. One of the interesting statues of this kind, which stands in the shop at the Lasky studio, is a replica of the fa- mous Joan of Arc equestrian statue. 1111111113; Marble. The process for making imitation marble is most interesting; Keene ce— ment is used and before it sets silk thread dyed in various colors is drawn isti; marble coloring. V\'hen a piece of this imitaton marble is broken the colors can be seen through the entiri - : thickness. Romeo Caccialanla1 thq marble expert, who lcarned his art‘in Italy, also has discovered a way to make imitation alabaster. He makes a 3, hot mixture of marble dust and alurn' .’ ~ which he pours into a special gin. Z .- mold. The finished product looks SCI . much like pure alabaster that even ex: _ ‘ pcrts are tooled and it is many times '3 cheaper than the real thing, Caccialan- za says that his process is no secret , for it is all in knowing how. The pro— cess for making shoes is commonly, known but everybody can not be a maker, he says. , Tons and tons of gypsum and bale! and bales of fiber are used every month in the Paramount plaster shop to prdw vidc pictures with the best in plasteg ornamentation. Statuary that would cost hundreds of dollars if it were‘ bought by the piece ir molded ever‘ imduction, “Fool's Paradise." istic piece. The odd pieces of decoration, the un- usual bits of statuary, queer ornament- al decorations, f:escos and mouldings through it. This leaVes the character- day in this shop of wonders. l~ f a-.- mefimaamae £25125 Pfififlmmefgém EEEESLMES a l comedia— are made there is a i " gap" man. He's the fellow who Ifm1ishes the funny situations that “kc the audience chuckle. That 2sounds a lot easier than it really is. The "gag" man is a builder laughs. He constructs his stunts .ost like an engineer would erect a illilding. Given a certain situation in m story he sets to find all the funny 'angles possible. These angles are blown in theatrical and movie par— lance as “gags" and that’s how the .name originated. - There are 'various kinds of ”gag" men—the man who stands behind the mera during the filming of a two heel Comedy and whispers funny stuff " to the director's ear; the man who works with the continuity writer and 1N any motion picture studio where of al— glu’ector of the longer and less slap-~ Working out special and the man who that brighten up slick comedies Raugh- -getting .;tt1nts;" furnishes the “gags" the dramas and furnish comedy relief ' It’s a Serious Business. Now. getting a laugh in the movies is TSCFlOUS business. It takes much thought and labor by a pcrso‘n‘with an imag- miativc mind and a creative brain. :N\’hen the continuity for a five- reel uomedy is Written the scenario writer puts in all the laugh situations he can nhink of and then the‘ ‘gag’ man comes .along and .adds more. .many as eight different stunts are sug- :gested for a certain scene before the right one is found Often a simple lit- .tlc 'gag" that flclt‘cl’s There are three general methods of getting laughs in motion pictures. One ’ nhrough a funny situation, one “by the ruse of mechanical devices and “"props ~triek umbrellas and the like—, and Ike third with clever titles that fit the action. All a! there have numerous Sometimes as _ is méant only for a :gigglc develops into a hearty laugh! deviations and angles Always Gets a Laugh. _ Walter Reed, the “ga"g man at the Paramount west coast studio, gives the following seven sure ways to get a laugh: 1. Have a chase. 2. By use of water; a broken water main or a flood in a reception room. 3 A panic caused by water, fire, or steam. 4. A scare with wild animals; a man bczng brave with a lion behind him. 5. Mistaken identity. 6. Overbearing wife. This matrimo- 'EEW MEN: ’9.“ _,_ nial "gag" has hundreds of variations. . 2. Showing a practiml joker getting caught in his own trap. ‘ Just like plots there is nothing new under the sun in the way of laugh get- ting. There are only variations of old stunts that have been used time and again by theatrical people during the last. 50 years. An ancient “gag" dressed up in new clothes and varied in treatment is always a certain laugh producer. Based on 0111 Shows. "Most of our present day ‘g‘ags’ come' from the old variety shows of 35 years ~rn‘v ‘- y - 1”) is; .play ha ago,” explained Reed, the Paramount “gagster," who has been in the the- atrical profession as actor, stage man- ager, director, and producer since 1891. “You’d. be surprised if I told you that ‘Muldoon's Picnic,’ the old Irish stand- by which Barry and Faye appeared in 38 years ago, has furnished the basis for more than 50 plays and as many comedy ctures. But it is a fact. This more fundamental Hgags than a hundred recent plays and every time -a gag man gets stuck he think of Mul- doon's Picnic, which always furnishes the basis for a new idea. ' “The play told the story of the neat Irishman and his friend, a little ignorant Irishman, who was always getting into trouble. You can see the possibilities in such a situation. It has been poured into more molds by com— edy producers both on the stage and screen in recent years than you can imagine. _ The “Spirit” Picture. "The gag man's problems are rather difficult sometimes. When we were making the comedy “One Glorious Day,” James Cruse, the director and I figured for a week on a way to show a spirit form on the screen which would be funny, but would not be too material. Finally Cruze hit upon the idea of a small boy but no matter how we dressed him we couldn’t get away from the idea that he was a boy. One day I went over in the corner of one of the big stages and figured. Like a flash _the thing came to me. I got something and put it in my eyes. \‘Vhen Cruze saw me he said it was just the thing. We rigged up the boy’s eyes and- that little touch took away the earthly appearance that we wanted to lose What we put in the meMh-ywrcrbefitfimokmmw ammo-I." salamtrfiuhahw “with about M unmmfimmhm ‘is just one comedy situation after .111 , hard to tell a funny story in the pun boy’s eyes can not be told now, and whether we got our effect depends‘ on whether or not you laugh when ya! see the picture on the screen.” 1 .4 ’ The Funny Oyster. "1 One wouldn’t think there was com edy 1n an oyster but give a good "gag‘ man an oyster and watch the result Reed tells of a "gag" which showedthl comedian as a poor restaurant pro< prietor, whose business had dwmdled’ away to nothing. One day two peopld come into the place and both ordel oy~ter stews and there is only on!“ oyster. The waiter brings out this Ions oyster and shows it to both diners, ex‘ plaining how nice and fresh it is. The. the stews are brought on and after one man gets a glimpse of the oystel 1 swimming around in the soup the waits er dips it out and slips it into the other stew, thereby getting a big laugh from the audience. _' ‘ To show how laughs are obtained b, V the use of clever titles that fit the no tion Reed pointed out a well known' example. Suppose there are two iron workers, Pat and Mike, Pat is riding a girder on the twelfth story and Mike ,.3 is working on the seventh. Pat slips: ” of? the girder and falls. As he passes Mike calls out: “Are you hurt, Pat?" , And Pat answers, “I don't yet.” The life of a gag man in a motion picture studio is no bed of roses. It know other and if anyone believes it is as; tothmkupstuntsthatwfllmakeptae ple laugh Just let him try it. It I lor, but that isn't anything W mthputnngonafunny“gag”ourhe _ screen. _ . .———n—‘—%—O hhuatnenmmm men will have nonse- 10:10th “HW- '
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