CAMERA work and sets are two of the most important factors in the making of a film, and Mr. Asquith will discuss the two contrasted theories about them, as exemplified in the work of such first-rate directors as Charlie Chaplin and Paul Leni. Should the camera have a personality of its own, so that the spectator is conscious of the camera-man's work-as he certainly is in, for instance, Wax-works and The Cat and the Canary, two of Leni's notable films; or should it be used as Charlie Chaplin uses it in The Gold Rush—merely a perfect peep-hole through which one views the scene ?
The same clash of theories occurs in the attitude of directors towards the sets, which in some modem German films are almost as significant as the acting. Mr. Asquith will discuss nil these questions and also the final cutting, arranging and piecing together of the films on which its success so often depends.