Commissioner Thomas McKie succeeded Herbert Booth in The Salvation Army’s leadership and enthusiastically supported the initiatives of the Limelight Department.

The Biorama Companies, as an evangelical and commercial endeavour, were a solid and successful entity. The money raised was vital to The Salvation Army as it waged its ‘war’ on many fronts.

Using Salvation Army halls, the company established a chain of regular Saturday night picture shows in Melbourne. The Biorama Band was formed to provide live music to accompany the silent movies and they made regular tours throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The Biorama Companies also introduced pictures by electric light in many areas where electricity was, at that time, unavailable or unknown. A three cylinder portable engine with a belt drive to a huge dynamo would provide current not only for the pictures but also for the hall. This equipment was transported from town to town by the Company.

Touring was generally undertaken by train with a special carriage and luggage van. Upon arrival at each destination, these carriages would be shunted up to a siding where it would be unloaded.

In 1909, in order to cope with the demand for suitable materials for use by the Biorama Company, a new studio was built in Kooyong Road, North Caulfield. This was regarded by many as the first full motion picture studio in the Southern Hemisphere.

Using better equipment and techniques, Perry successfully remade Soldiers of the Cross. It included a musical score, arranged by Robert McAnally, and was titled "Heroes of the Cross". It was played by an orchestra. That score is now in possession of the ScreenSound archives in Canberra.

In all, The Salvation Army made about 300 films between 1898 and 1909, of various length and complexity.