When I started accompanying films it was still common practice to show silent films, well…silent. They were only available in 16mm prints that had no music tracks. That’s changed thanks to DVDs and Blu-rays and video projection, but having live… Read More »Live Music at Silent Film Courses
I don’t remember how or when I came up with the idea of doing silent film shows at senior living facilities. On the surface, this may not sound all that exciting in terms of the sheen of Show Business or… Read More »Silents for Seniors
Every once in a while, after one of my shows, someone will come up to me and ask me if I’m writing a book about silent film accompaniment. My answer is that I’m not, although this blog is pretty close… Read More »Ben Model’s Podcast
It took me at least a few years to find a way to re-tune my thoughts about what you might call non-traditional scoring for silent films. Attending and performing at the “Silent Film Days” festival in Tromsø, Norway for many… Read More »New Sounds For Silents
In the mid-’teens of last century, the short subject grew legs and walked on dry land, becoming the feature length attraction. Shorts continued to be a standard part of the movie program, either in live-action or animated form. While the… Read More »Helping an Audience Enter the Pool at a Silent Film Show
Over the last few years, I’ve gotten myself educated in Marion Davies’ silent films. The two usual suspects, Show People and The Patsy are great and well-loved, mainly because they’re on DVD. I’ve released three of Davies’ 1922 silents, and… Read More »The Other Mirror Routine
Sometimes I see motion picture film exhibition referred to as “reel-to-reel”. I get why the term is used, as it conjures up the correct booth image better than “non-digital” does. I got to experience “classic” film projection at Capitolfest this… Read More »Shedding Some Light on Classic 35mm Film Projection
“Tidsmaskin” is one of the Norwegian words I’ve managed to retain. Pronounced TEEDS-mah-sheen, it means “time machine”. I’ve found over the years that I have an affinity for being in the places where silent film happened. Props, pieces of costuming,… Read More »Silent Movie Time Machine
I don’t know if it’s because I think like a filmmaker that makes me add some light production values to using Skype. I’m aware of how what I’m shooting will look to the person or audience viewing it on a… Read More »Skyping With An External Mic
I’ve been seeing items posted online over the last few months commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passing by Congress of the 19th Amendment. This reminded me of a joke in a Buster Keaton film. It’s a topical joke, one… Read More »A Keaton Short and the 19th Amendment