Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
1 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 Cité Gaumont 1905–1912 In 1905, Ben's close friend, Henri Ménessier, became Gaumont's first Art Director and lead Scenic Artist. Amable Studio and Cité Gaumont were in the same district of Paris, so Ben and Henri would often share a proper lunch together. On one such occasion, Ben expressed his frustrations with his patron, Monsieur Amable, and the small salary he was finally being paid. Henri's answer was to introduce Ben to Alice Guy at Gaumont Studios where Ben was hired at twice his current earnings on the spot. Ben's mother disapproved of Ben's decision and motion pictures, believing them to be a fad that would soon pass. At first, Ben found the new motion picture work strange and chaotic, "You never knew what they would ask you to do!" He had no scripts to work from as they were making things up on the fly. Ben would say, "At Gaumont, we'd be given an assignment to build a set. The set would be built, and the director would come in to direct without knowing anything beforehand about the set." Ben designed and painted all of his sets. He also was responsible for any special effects that were required. He had to master the intricacies of theatre mechanics such as counterbalances, trapdoors, revolves and all the necessary A. CONSTRUCTION SHOP, CITÉ GAUMONT, PARIS, CIRCA 1907. B. PARISIAN APARTMENT SET ON STAGE, THE CLEANING MAN, ALICE GUY, DIRECTOR, HENRI MÉNESSIER, ART DIRECTOR, CITÉ GAUMONT, PARIS 1907. C. ROOFTOP SET ON STAGE, CI-CONTRE, EN BAS, ECLAIR STUDIO, PARIS 1920. B A C