Motion Picture News (Dec 1920-Feb 1921)

1514 Motion Picture News charming American soprano appeared in a costume of a French lady of the Louis XIV period. Beautiful in appearance, she sang exquisitely arias and songs. In this she was accompanied by Louise Knapp. In the Theatres As had been announced, special shows were arranged at the Rialto, Capitol and Brooklyn Strand — each of them being analyzed by the managing directors. This feature, said the visiting exhibitors, was worth a fortune. " If I were asked to pay a thousand dollars for what I learned at these theatres under the frank analysis I could not pay for what it was worth to me," said one exhibitor, and he was seconded by many others in the same idea. Thus on Monday the performance was shown at the Capitol theatre, where the entire conference were the guests of Samuel Rothafel and the board of directors. The delegates assembled at the beginning of the program and left shortly after the beginning of the feature picture had appeared on the screen. Returning to the Astor hotel, they listened to an analysis of the music as given by Samuel Rothafel and Erno Rappee. How Rothafel Did It IN beginning his analysis Mr. Rothafel said that the feature, being a light comedy, required light and humorous score and therefore the rest of the program had to be built around it, and the result was not of the best that the Capitol has provided. " Most people disagree wtih the fact that I place the orchestra on the stage. There are a few reasons for doing this. The first is that the audience can see as well as hear the music, and the second is the orchestra on the stage is put on its mettle. Everything has its result. The dress of the men, their attitude, they are not considered merely mechanics but we can treat them with sincere consideration. Now, again, the atmosphere of a theatre is created almost entirely by its music. It has its result on the audience, has its result on the patrons entering, and has its result upon every soul confined wherever it can be heard. " The overture is always played before the program — creates atmosphere — oifers the background. " Harmony of sight as well as sound. The orchestra is not dressed in evening clothes, but in the velvet loose-fitting coat and the careless tie. To add to this the color scheme. All this accentuates and helps to make up the atmosphere. If you have noticed, at certain points the bringing up of the Ughts also accentuates the atmosphere, and while it may not be good form and may be sneered at by our narrow friends who laughed when we mentioned motion pictures, it seems to be just what the public understands and appreciates. Do you know, there was a time when I actually went around begging men to take the job of handling an orchestra of about 25 men. I think there is more bunk in symphonic concerts that we have been hearing than there is in anything I know of that is supposed to be artistic and beautiful. There the orchestra on the stage, in evening clothes, no two suits the same, room improperly lighted, and white socks as the finishing touch to the evening suit. Still, someone asks, how do you know what the people want, how are you always up to the standard? Well, I find out what is the best seller. I visit the phonograph places, and find out which songs are the best sellers. Some time during the musical program I work it in, the audience hears It, recognizes it, and the first thing you know they say to each other, ' Why, we have that home ! ' and they appreciate it and that is the psychological side of it. " You remember the striking of that one bell. Well, there was a reason for it. After that bell was sounded you were anxious to see what followed, and you were then ready to hear the few strains of ' Auld Lang Syne.' It appealed directly to you, it warms your heart. There is a reason for everything. " Why, once I had a short West Point reel — what did I do? I went up to West Point, took out the commandant to lunch, and wheedled out of him all the songs and melodies that were used right at the U. S. Academy. When it was played this short 200-foot reel got more applause than you would get at the end of an overture. , ^, " Now the accompaniment to the Edgar comedy. The entrance to the Edgar comedy places him in a little suburb of New York. The best way to get the audience to travel to the suburb is to let them hear the old reUable, 'On the 5:15.' " The motion picture field ofiFers a wider scope and is unlimited while the grand opera has a limited scope. You have every facility to interpret pictures. Some pictures are easier than others, some hard and very difficult, but as soon as you get a picture you can tell whether it is good or bad, and if good you can arrange the music for it. Arrange themes for the characters or the scenes and then develop them. " You always have a theme and from that river a little tributary — that is the way motion pictures are going to be scored, properly cued and properly directed. With this you will have a psychological satisfaction. " When we had ' The Mark of Zorro ' playing, every time the picture or the mark of the ' z ' appeared there had to be some recognition of it. We took a climbing of chromatics and repeated it just three times for every appearance of the mark of the ' z.' " Then again light popular music is a great factor. Most of the best things can be done with the light popular music. " I do not pander, and I never will pander. I will as an interpretative quality or accompaniment to a thing or not. I sit in the projection room and view the showing, and if there is anything in it that has any feeling, and if it satisfies me, then will I throw it out to the public. I will not accept the fact that the audience do not understand and know less, but if they know more I am very happy. I am the medium through which I submit everything to my patrons. If it appeals to me then I submit it to my audience. " Should any of the present ladies or gentlemen wish to visit a rehearsal of the orchestra, if you will come to the Sunday morning rehearsals you will see how simple it is to handle a mass of men, how they are all with you to the end. The mere fact that a man is a musician does not mean that he is able to take charge of a presentation. There must be something else besides the musician, the musician is the fundamental and must be necessary, but the real thing nine times out of ten, the musician must have dramatic instinct, dramatic education and must know his subject. Make him proficient in his study of music but do not make him too academic. Then it will depend on his ability and further it will depend on his imagination. Any musician cannot take a stick in his hand and conduct any number of individuals. It takes more than an ordinary musician to be able to switch from a Beethoven symphony to an Irving Berlin melody, and still retain a certain amount of his dignity. Imagination and good taste send many pictures along. I will never use an aria from an opera that is well known as an interpretative quality or accompaniment to a motion picture. This creates a conflict immediately, if you have any imagination at all. When you hear the well known aria and you are viewing a picture, there immediately come up before you two pictures instead of one. This is one cf the things to remember — neutral music. " My first venture in photoplays lasted just four days. We had a dance hall and a bar in the back, and we borrowed 250 chairs from the undertaker. Every time there was a funeral we couldn't have a show. I never saw so many people die as in that time. I learned to master the art cf operating a picture machine. With the course of time I got so proficient that I could run a film of 500 feet fairly well. Well, I mastered the art and soon had the best picture show in that part of the country. I wanted to do something more than that. So one day a tramp came into the barroom and drew a picture of a landscape on the window. I became interested and struck a bargain with him. He stayed with me three months and during that time he painted six or seven pictures on those walls, and then I began the use of indirect lightipg. I made my own posters and got up at four o'clock in the morning to put them up on the main street. As things stand now I am satisfied, and I hope some day to have a motion picture theatre that will be right on a level and on a par with any of the arts as it is related to the theatre." Mr. Rapee. conductor of the Capitol Orchestra: " "There is not much more to add to the musical propram than what Mr. Rothafel told of the little showman tricks. The orchestra is handled in the same way as a symphony orchestra is handled, with just a few little side tricks. The size of the orchestra is not an important factor. Sometimes volume must be eliminated. " Playing to the news items, playing to pictures is merely interpreting music to action on the screen. You will gnd there are about eighty pictures out of 100 which cannot be interpreted. These pictures are so that you will see a love scene and then switch to a robbery and then back again to the love scene. This breaks up the continuity of the plajnng. In this particular case, suppose you take a love melody — the conductor will shape it and make it possible to use in connection with music. There are very few pictures which vou can play with any kind of continuity. Light musical comedy music for action and atmosphere. An orchestra of from twentv-five to thirty men should always rehearse the complete program before the showing and besides allow vour conductor an hour or two bv himself with his orchestra. This is as a plea to all motion picture directors and is being now carried out by Mr. Riesenfeld of the Rialto and all the largest theatres on Broadway. How Riesenfeld Does It ON Tuesday the meeting adjourned to the Rialto theatre, and after the beginning of the feature, " Brewster's Millions," the conference sat around Hugo Riesenfeld's private projection room. Mr. Riesenfeld showed the delegates his library of 10,000 numbers and explained in detail just how he has it sub-indexed by title, composer, and emotion. In the latter respect he showed how oftentimes a composition might be listed fifty times or more in the emotional catalogue. Mr. Wagner and others joined Mr. Riesenfeld in discussing how it is done. Then going into a discussion of the program Dr. Riesenfeld said in part: " We opened with the overture from ' La Giaconda,' using as you see the chorus of twenty voices. I had to put the people on one side of the stage instead of balancing them. This brings out the idea that every place must be considered separately. I do different things at the Rialto than I do at the Criterion and Rivoli. " There is a difference between music that accompanies and that which describes. Oftentimes I feel that neutral music is best. I never leave music up in the air. I mean that I would rather in the news reel go over a second or two than not finish a phrase. I don't synchronize exactly for each subject." Dr. Riesenfeld then analyzed with the pro and con for each number the score of his feature. The score is as follows : 1 — In An Old-Fashioned Town (First Part). 2 — D. Segue (After Baby's Feet) Serenade. Cesek. Make Repeat. 3 — D. Segue (Dining Room) Danse Fantastique. 4 — D. He Shoots Dice with Sugar Cubes. Flute Solo. (Manuscript). 5 — T. And Thus the Grandpops. Danse Fantastique. (Again). 6 — D. Insert of Military Academy Advertisement Seen, Trumpet Signal. Improvisation. 7 — Grandfathers Argue. Faust Ballet No. 7. Make Repeat and D. S. (To Action). 8 — T. And So the Grandpops. Spring Flowers. 9 — T. The Blue Star Line. Organ. (Orchestra Intermission). 10 — D. String Quartette Seen Playing in Barber Scene. Stars and Stripes (Strings cnly) Tio one strain. (Not too fast). 11 — D. Segue (Musicians stop) La Petite Duchesse Sign. 12 — D. Grandfather Reads Newspaper. Pulcinello. 13 — D. Burglar Seen. 487. Slowly. 14 — D. He Dances With Joy. I Want to be the Leader, etc. (Chorus). 15 — D. Captured Burglar is Brought In. Pause. 15% — T. At the End of Eleven Months. Burlesque. Make Repeat. 16 — T. On the Eve. Roaming. 17 — D. He Plays Hose on Guests. 116. 18 — D. Hose is Turned Off. Florida Moon. 19 — D. He is Locked In. 116 Again. 20 — T. Sailing Tide Next Morning. Florida Moon. (Again). 21 — T. Running Into Rough Weather. Sailing. (Twice). 22 — D. Segue (Water Pours In.) 484. 23 — D. Segue (He Tampers with Engines) 90. 24 — T. So Through Saving. Laughing Beauties. Make Repeat. 25 — D. Segue (Grandfather Enters and Argues). Devotion. Make Repeat (To Action). 26 — D. He Looks at Little Idol. It's All Over Now. One Chorus. Dr. Riesenfeld explained that he lives one week ahead always. He forgets what is happening this week, because now he is thinking about the week following and making the score. Dr. Riesenfeld told of rehearsals. "I spend the first rehearsal giving the men their markings— so that they can fix their own music and understand the cues." Aid a at the Brooklyn Strand N Wednesday afternoon the delegates visited the BrookKn Strand especially to see the interpretative overture of "Aida," which was described in detail in the last issue. Mr. McLaughlin, assistant manager of the theatre, received the delegates and was very gracious to them, making them comfortable and happy. (See last week's News for text and score of the Aida overture. A luncheon was tendered to the visiting delegates at the Cafe Boulevard by H>Tnan Kraft of the New York Concert League. Informal speeches and a good time brought the first real social note into the meetings. A resolution of thanks was voted Mr. Kraft and the Concert League. (Continued on page 1516)