Category: Silent Film Shows

  • Live Music at Silent Film Courses

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    Ben Model
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    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 accompaniment in a film class is still important. I play at a silent film class…

  • Silents for Seniors

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    Ben Model
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    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 resume-building, but something a senior said to me at one of these is what keeps…

  • Ben Model’s Podcast

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    Ben Model
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    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 to doing just that. But it wasn’t always…and that’s why I started doing a podcast,…

  • New Sounds For Silents

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    Ben Model
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    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 years, hearing bands and music artists from Scandinavia do live scores for silents, helped me…

  • Helping an Audience Enter the Pool at a Silent Film Show

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    Ben Model
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    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 practice is long gone, it has a practical application today, especially with a silent film…

  • The Other Mirror Routine

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    Ben Model
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    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 have become an even bigger fan. So, what else lies between When Knighthood Was in…

  • Shedding Some Light on Classic 35mm Film Projection

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    Ben Model
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    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 past weekend that went one step further than just running 35mm prints. The Capitol Theatre…

  • Silent Movie Time Machine

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    Ben Model
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    “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, less so. Inhabiting the spaces where silent films were shown or made conjure up an…

  • Skyping With An External Mic

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    Ben Model
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    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 screen,and how it comes across. I like to think it makes a difference. Even when…

  • A Keaton Short and the 19th Amendment

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    Ben Model
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    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 that I never got and which usually doesn’t a get a laugh. There is a…