On this episode Ben talks about: the annual Mostly Lost film identification workshop at the Library of Congress, currently postponed until 2021; underscoring a key scene in Keaton’s “The Cameraman” and noticing a parallel with “Singin’ In The Rain”, playing… Read More »ep. 37: Mostly Lost, Keaton’s The Cameraman and The General, an electric organ and Laurel & Hardy
On this episode Ben talks about: using music an audience may or may not expect to hear during a film in preparing scores for shows of Fairbanks’ “Robin Hood” and Raoul Walsh’s “Loves of Carmen”; using underscore to help smooth… Read More »ep. 36: scoring Robin Hood and a 1927 Carmen, using the orchestral and cartoony sounds of a theatre organ, more live-streaming
On this episode, Ben Model talks with co-host Kerr Lockhart talk about a cancelled gig at the Metropolitan Museum of Art turning into an online one, Gage County Nebraska and Hollywood, accompanying Russian silent films, scoring a French film for… Read More »ep. 35: Pottery at the Met, Behind the Door in Nebraska, Eisenstein in Bklyn, Clair on Long Island, plus FAQ
On this episode of the podcast, Ben Model discusses the creation of the Silent Comedy Watch Party and the response so far; talks about teaching his silent film course at Wesleyan using Zoom; shares an excerpt from his score for… Read More »ep. 34: the Silent Comedy Watch Party, scoring Hitchcock, “Intrigue” and Nell Shipman, plus FAQ
On this episode of the podcast — I use a song-title-pun during Mostly Lost, play for the same Chaplin shorts three days in a row to work on an orchestral score, play a Möller in Rome like it’s an orchestra,… Read More »ep. 33: two takes on The Rink, organ as orchestra for a horse, melodies underscore Marion Davies
On this episode of the podcast, I discuss meeting an audience’s expectations while staying true to the film’s original culture, choosing a comedy short to show newbies, and playing for a show where someone else’s music credit is onscreen; also,… Read More »ep. 32: meeting audience expectations, tips on choosing a comedy short, and a trip to Nebraska
On this episode, Ben Model talks about creating and performing a live score on theatre organ for the 1931 “Dracula” with Bela Lugosi, shares some insights about programming the “Silent Comedy International” series at MoMA, and discusses why playing at… Read More »ep. 31: Scoring Dracula, Playing for Pat & Patachon, Reaching Younger Fans
On this mini-episode, Ben Model gives you some tips and some do’s & don’t’s on how to accompany a silent movie if you’re doing one this Halloween…or any time of the year. Plus, there’s news about Ben’s upcoming silent film… Read More »ep. 30: How To Play the Piano or Organ for a Halloween Silent Movie
On this episode, Ben Model recaps his summer silent film shows, discusses musically wrapping up a scene to match the film, talks about what to do musically when the film breaks, traces a 14-year trajectory in a “how’d you get… Read More »ep. 29: playing for scene breaks & film breaks, Lee Erwin’s Tootsie Oodles, how’d you get that gig? and more
I’ve recorded and posted a new episode of The Silent Film Music Podcast with Ben Model. It’s the podcast that takes you inside the mind of someone as they prepare for, perform and reflect on performances of live musical accompaniments… Read More »ep. 28: scoring Laurel & Hardy, Mostly Lost 7, Lois Weber on organ and more