The Film Renter and Moving Picture News (Jul-Aug 1922)

July 29, 1922. THE FILM RENTER & MOVING PICTURE NEWS (Technical Supplement). xi. MUSIC AND THE KINEMA. Different ways in which Music may be Adapted to the Film. (By EUGENE GOOSSENS, The Well-known Composer and Orchestral Leader). HE importance of music in relation to the kinema is a subject which has often been discussed, but "hitherto (with the exception of a few individual experiments) no real organised attempt has been made by those responsible for music in the picture houses towards a really serious solution of the problem. — It must be patent to the average observer that in order to fully accentuate and strengthen the dramatic points and general atmosphere of a picture, music in the responsible hands of an expert plays a role second only to that of the film itself. Days ol the Stop-gap Numbered. Consequently, it is in the interests both of the producer and of all concerned with him in the production of the film to sce that no pains are spared to equip the picture in question with a setting which will not only enhance its characteristic features, but serve to give point to the action of the players and the environment in which the play is cast. The days of the lady seated at the piano, thumping out aimless banalities, are numbered. Even the public is beginning to realixe that she has played the role of stop-gap for a sufficiently long period of time, for the simple reason that only in the hands of an experienced and imaginative executant, and one with an endless fund of improvisation, is the piano a possible medium of accompaniment. Fitting Music to the Film. Let us consider the different wavs in which musie may he adapted to a film. There are three methods. Firstly, there is the old one of providing a running accompaniment (often of a particularly inane character) on the piano, without reference to any particular incident in the picture. This, of course, is hopelessly antiquated. Secondly, we have the method most in vogue at present, consisting of the performance of a choice of music—from the existing classical ani modern orchestral repertoire— to fit the moods and action of the picture, the orchestra in this case varying from three to thirty players, according to the financial conditions and the enterprise current at that particular kinema. The third method, and the one I hope to see universally adopted in the future, is that of a special score being written by a composer of repute in close collaboration with the producer, such score being part and parcel of the film, and arranged so that it may be performed by either a small or large body of instrumentalists. This is the method to which T shall have occasion to refer later. The Main Stumbling Block. Synchronisation between the music and the film has constituted hitherto one of the main stumbling-blocks, owing to the fact that in many films the action is of such a varying nature and the episodes in themselves are of such short duration that very sudden changes of mood are required in the music in order to keep touch with what is taking place on the screen. It is this alternation from grave to gay, from sombre to picturesque, from drama to comedy, which requires long and patient experi Google ment, and very often much more time than is ‘usually allotted to the conductor for the purpose of producing his musical score. Jt is true that, given an adequate orchestra, he has a large field of music upon which to draw, whether the film be dramatic, historic, scenic, comic, or topical. : Would the Public ‘‘ Stomach "’ it? The difficulty i is not so much to find musie as to fit that particular music to the different episodes of his picture. In a new film entitled Dr. Caligari, which I recently witnessed in Paris, and which deals with the point of view of a futurist lunatic in a futurist setting, the screen action gives still further scope for the employment of extremely advanced music, though whether the audiences of our own cities would stomach the setting which I should personally recommend is another point, and one which serves to illustrate the necessity for the public keeping in touch with the newest and most progressive ideas. Size of Orchestra Immaterial. There is no hard and fast rule as to the size of the orchestra. required to accompany a film. As I have before stated, it all depends on the enterprise and pocket of the local manager. There are many large picture houses in London and the provinces where the music (from the point of view of the film) might certainly be more adequate. Not only are the possibilities of a large orchestra infinitely great, but the employment of musicians in the picture house is a very important item. Nowadays, many orchestral musicians of the first rank depend on the kinema for a living, and, consequently, the greater the demand becomes for their services, the greater will be the supply, thus creating employment for many first-class players whose living is often a precarious one. Great Medium for Cultivating Public Taste. Again, the picture theatre is a tremendous medium for the dissemination and encouragement of so-called ‘‘ high-class ’’ music. Many of the public who cannot afford to patronise concert halls find in the musical fare provided for them at their local picture theatre a source of very great enjoyment, and the value of the kinema orchestra thus becomes two-fold, satisfying not only the musical aspirations of its audience, but whetting their appetite for still further good things. I do not agree, however, to turning the picture house into a conccrt. hall for the performance of music apart from the screen. Do Not Despise the Gramophone. In theatres where the expenses are high and the receipts low, even the gramophone is not to he despised as a means of accompaniment, provided the records are good ones. Certain producers, I believe, are turning their attention to a matter which I have long advocated, namely, the setting of the picturesque masterpieces of music to films, in other words, providing us with a film illustration of the big symphonic poems of Wagner, (Continued on next page).