Category: Podcast
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ep. 37: Mostly Lost, Keaton’s The Cameraman and The General, an electric organ and Laurel & Hardy
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 for “Spite Marriage”, the challenge of introducing and presenting “The General” at a college show;…
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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 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 over missing footage; playing the theatre organ like it’s an orchestra and sparingly using its…
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ep. 35: Pottery at the Met, Behind the Door in Nebraska, Eisenstein in Bklyn, Clair on Long Island, plus FAQ
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 an audience with live-translated intertitles. Plus: using leitmotifs, finding a lost reel of a Baby…
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ep. 34: the Silent Comedy Watch Party, scoring Hitchcock, “Intrigue” and Nell Shipman, 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 Alfred Hitchcock’s Champagne for the Hitchcock British International Pictures Collection for Kino Lorber; talks about…
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ep. 33: two takes on The Rink, organ as orchestra for a horse, melodies underscore Marion Davies
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, bring silent comedies to the Adirondacks, score two Marion Davies films in a recording session…
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ep. 32: meeting audience expectations, tips on choosing a comedy short, and a trip to Nebraska
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, Arthur Kleiner accompanies a Harold Lloyd short with an iPhone, 700 kids in Boise laugh…
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ep. 31: Scoring Dracula, Playing for Pat & Patachon, Reaching Younger Fans
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 a suburban library is just as important as playing a big film festival. Performance recordings…
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ep. 30: How To Play the Piano or Organ for a Halloween Silent Movie
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 shows and DVD projects. Be sure you’re on Ben’s email list!
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ep. 29: playing for scene breaks & film breaks, Lee Erwin’s Tootsie Oodles, how’d you get that gig? and more
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 that gig?” story, shares some info on Lee Erwin’s synthesizer-based theatre organ and his novelty…
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ep. 28: scoring Laurel & Hardy, Mostly Lost 7, Lois Weber on organ and more
In this episode I discuss scoring a Laurel & Hardy silent comedy utilizing a tune many fans of theirs know, recording a new score for Lois Weber’s Hypocrites for the new Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers box set for KinoLorber currently screening in select cities, accompanying The Golem at the Morgan Library and Museum, and other insights into the…