It is very important to keep this point constantly in mind.  Seldom is it today that the cast appears on the screen exactly as prepared by the author.  Almost all the big companies at the present time are given to long sub-titles, and to lengthy statements in connection with the introduction of the principal characters.  Many readers will see the similarity between the second of the foregoing descriptions of the old miser and the printed statement, in connection with a similar character, shown in the Triangle and Paramount pictures written by C. Gardner Sullivan, as well as in many others.  The statement on the film which introduces a principal character, today, is much more in the nature of an actual leader than it is a mere announcement of the names of the character and the player.  Thus, in Universal’s feature production of “The Kaiser,” the heroic blacksmith of Louvain was introduced in this way: 

     Marcas, the blacksmith of Louvain, was a mighty man.  This
     man, Marcas, lived in faith and love and friendship, and, by
     the sweat of his brow, had won peace and happiness.

MARCAS......................ELMO LINCOLN

In writing out your cast, give your most important characters first.  Try, also, to simplify it and eliminate unnecessary words, first writing the name of a principal character and then giving the others in the order of their relationship, as: 

     Charles Waldron, a wealthy rancher. 
     Mrs. Waldron, his wife. 
     Bessie, his eldest daughter. 
     Jean, his youngest daughter. 
     Dick, his son. 
     Graydon, Waldron’s foreman.

This will save words and show at a glance just how the other five characters are related to or connected with Charles Waldron.

Make it a rule to write your cast on the last sheet of your synopsis if you have plenty of room left after finishing the synopsis.  Otherwise, use a separate sheet.  Don’t crowd the two divisions as if you were trying to economize paper.  In the cast proper, give the names or occupations of every character whose work in the action really helps to advance the action of the play.  Also name the scenes in which appear the various characters—­other than the principals, who are likely to dominate nearly every scene.

The first two sample casts which follow do not give the characteristics of the different people concerned in the plot.  They are simply reproduced as examples of photoplay casts which have been printed in the manufacturers’ bulletins and other advertising matter, after the photoplay itself had been produced and was ready for release.  The third and full cast is altered, so as not to be recognizable, from a photoplay which has not yet been produced.  This last of the three forms is the one we recommend you to follow.

PIERRE OF THE NORTH

by

Elmer N. Wells