the whole story clearly, coherently, and with strong dramatic force, and making every phase of the plot clear, the only outside assistance she received being the momentary appearance of two other hands than her own—­a man’s and a woman’s—­through the curtains covering the doorway.  This, of course, was pure pantomime, and most artistically performed; the woman’s every thought, so to say, was portrayed, and understood by the spectator as if the play were accompanied by a printed synopsis of the story.

But it would seem to be impossible to produce a photoplay having changes of scene, plot complications, from six to a dozen or more characters, and lapses of action-time between the different scenes, without employing any inserts.  Even in a small group of scenes it is often extremely difficult to make a certain important point in the action “register”—­that is, show the spectator what is in the minds of the characters as the scene is worked out.  In such a case, even though the scenario as planned by the author does not contain an insert at that point, the director may deem it advisable to introduce one to make the situation clear.  The use of inserts, then, is necessary.

2.  The Over-Use of Inserts

The over-use of them, on the contrary, is not only entirely unnecessary but a positive drawback to the director, and frequently one of the reasons why an unavailable manuscript is returned to the writer.  A good rule is to employ inserts only when it is impossible to progress and still make every point of your plot clear and effective without their aid.  This need for an insert of some sort at a given point may be inherent in the material and therefore desirable as well as needful, but do not admit such a necessity without serious thought.  Ingenuity accomplishes wonders.  Remember, the use of a leader is in most cases a frank confession that you are incapable of “putting over” a point in the development of your plot solely by the action in the scenes—­you must call in outside assistance, as it were.  A scenario written by a novice often contains many leaders which he considers necessary to tell his story, yet the same plot in the hands of a trained writer could be made into a photoplay with many less sub-titles.  Like fire, the leader is a good servant but a bad master.  Once you discover that you are getting into the habit of introducing an explanatory insert before almost every scene, it is time to remodel your idea of what constitutes proper technique.

But when a leader can be used to advantage, do not hesitate to insert it—­it has a distinct value and that value must not be despised.  True, any leader halts the action because it destroys the illusion to some extent, and diverts the attention from the picture to the explanatory words.  But it is also true that it puts the mind of the spectator in a mood to accept and appreciate the action which is to follow.  Therefore, use the leader, or any other insert—­discreetly.