Motion Picture News (May-June 1921)

day 14, J p ^ I (Equipment Service) 3099 Music Article (Continued from page 3032) o\v, there are a lot of hard-boiled, disgruntled, satisfied " mechanics " (not musicians) who e nothing about music but their pay envelopes, t believe me, they are in the little minority, al musicians love their work, they delight in ying well, winning applause from audiences d in pleasing their colleagues. Make them 1 their importance — give them the freest hand J can in doing their work, so that they are on ir honor, so that their best instincts are given opportunity to soar, and then tell them when y do well And all will be as peace and ie\ in .'\rcadia. some little points in conclusion, points that I't amount to much in themselves, but do mt in holding the good will and loyalty of musicians : iive the conductor an opportunity to make entrance with lights upon him — so that the lience has a chance to applaud him. At the 1 of a number, give the orchestra a chance take its applause before the lights go out. ce in a while, even allow the orchestra to e an encore. n the advertising, run the name of the con:tor. Get it on the billboards, into the publi stories. Seek to create an atmosphere about musician. Vllow the fellows of the orchestra to play a 0 once in a while — if only once a season — ,kc everybody feel he has a chance to make eputation. If you have room in your printed •grams once in a while run the names of all musicians. It will surely please them. )nce a year arrange a concert, say of a Sun• morning, for the orchestra — let them make enefit for themselves. It will bring prestige the house, money to the musicians and good 1 all around, avc a good word for all the men — even the immer and the last second fiddler. Be one the boys. Be the first to applaud and the last leave off ! THE NEW MUSIC FORUM (Under this heading the ncvf ideas, queries, suggestions are gathered. This s wrhere the motion-picture fraternity jets together on music.) frequently we find a picture opening with a lengthy !ne or Section without displaying any particular king dramatic or pathetic incident. At the same e it contains all the necessary introductory and ding themes, development and a considerable amount intensity for which it is somewhat difficult to place table music. I notice, if the intensity is not too imatic in its te.xture, many play a pood class waltz, lers try a few miscellaneous numbers of a neutral iractir and again others try a standard overture ich is probably the best selection so far. Operatic ecti<'ns are too spasmodic and lack continuity in jping with the connected matter of the picture. 1 uld like to suggest a field as yet not much touched on. the symphony and the sonata. Possibly the lata might prove the most acceptable of the two. ink what a vast field is open here — Haydn, Mozart, ethovcn. Schubert, Schumann, Greig, and many lers. The first movement of a symphony or a sonata composed of leading themes, development and genilly a certain amount of intensity which is the same .terial we find in the opening of most pictures of ; better class. The piano organ and piano and violin sonatas will up a wonderful field of research for ■ the pub lisher of orchestral music, the orchestral director, the organist and the pianist. 1 would like some opinion of this subject. Yours truly, LESLIE GROSSMITH, Glencoe Lodge, Vancouver, B. C. Music Editor : 1 have seen my lengthy letter in your columns and am grateful to you for printing it. VVe have more and more organists registering with us for theatre positions; it is our intention to have organists ready for any position in any part of the country. 1 understand Mr. Brandt thinks it would be foolish to expect a theatre to take an unknown man on our recommendation. We don't recommend any, we only learn fully o( their educational preparation and practical experience (including salaries already earned) and base our opinions on that ; and then we merely give the theatre a list of men who are thus qualified to apply for the post. That's all anybody can do. While the theatre takes a slight risk m every new oiganist, the organist has to pull up stakes, abandon his home, his pupils, all his opportunities, and go into a new city, to run the chance of being discharged by a manager in a week without any cause whatever. So the chance is more against the organist than the theatre. However, it is all a matter of cooperation, we shall do our best to line up the organists and make them realize that they must first be fit for a position before they can expect to get it. Remember that we are specialists on organists and organs, and when you have anything you can turn over to us we shall give it best attention. T. SCOTT BUHRMAN, The American Organist. Dear Mr. Isaacson: I have read your excellent article in the News ot Nov. 20th last, also Mr. Winkler's address at the Music Conference dealing with this question from the cue-sheet writers' point of view. There is, however, no indication in the report of the Music Conference that the opinions of those who use cue sheets were heard, hence my desire to say a few things, and also offer a suggestion for putting this most important service on a practical basis from the point of view of those who need it. To those musicians who must rely upon cue sheets to lay out an appropriate setting for their pictures (and they far outnumber those who have no need for them) it is evident that all the producers are not doing what they should to provide this necessary service. Some producers do not provide cue sheets at all, while cue sheets provided by other Producers vary in value from good, poor, to almost useless. Who Uses Cue-Sheets? The De Luxe houses, with week runs, do not necessarily rely on cue sheets, as they employ a competent musical staflf who preview the pictures and arratige their own settings. The smaller houses, however, which change programmes almost every day, depend entirelj on some help from the Producers to enable them to lay out an appropriate musical setting. It is a fair estimate to assume that two-thirds of the theatres in the country badly need this service. Seeing that music is 40 per cent of the show, are the producers not sufficiently alive to their own interests to provide REAL SERVICE in this respect? Specimen Cue-Sheets. One reputable film corporation hands out a poorly typewritten cue sheet, and by way of suggesting; what music to play, it gives the following crude description, i e , No. 1 — THEME (what kind of theme is left to imagination) ; No. 2— MODERATO (all moderato tempo comDnsition,<; do not have the same appeal) ; No. 3 — ROMANCE (what kind of romance?) No. 4 — MISTERIOSO (what kind of misterioso. light, heavy, gruesome, or what?) No. 5— ANDANTE (is this neutral, pathetic, plaintive, or what?) One of the best men preparing cue-sheets always gives a good variety of publications, and has got away from the hackneyed compositions almost invariably suggested by some other dispensers of cue sheets. He would make his cue-sheets even more helpful, however, if he would be more explicit as to the character of the composition, particularly noting light or heavy pathetic and misterioso numbers. Not all musicians are acquainted with the numbers he quotes, and they should be better described, so that proper numbers mav be substituted. He would also create more heart interest by using or suggesting some beautiful love ballads as themes sometimes, where they are justified. It is also very helpful to have the various effects, even minor ones, such as bird whistles, etc., marked in where they belong. These little effects are very important. In many other cue-sheets, dramatic climaxes, auto and other accidents, often occurring without warning, are not noted at all, with the consequent risk of their escaping the notice of the leader or organist on the first show. All live practical men preparing cue-sheets would naturally note the importance of such incidents, and mark them in. The idea of some music publishers advertising through the medium of cue sheets is an old story. ■Their monotony bores me, their machine-like uniformity exasperates me sometimes, too. A system is undoubtedly required classifving numbers which are not out of print, but it should be a system thoroughly comprehensive, and based on fine dramatic instinct and heart interest. Preparation of Cue-Sheets. I assume a cue-sheet writer sees a picture only once, and equipped with a stop watch in one hand and a stenographer at the other, dictates whatever he thinks fits a scene as it appears on the screen. He may not, of course, be able to do more than this, for the remuneration he receives. I maintain, however, that it is impossible to get the best results in this way. I believe the picture should be first viewed as a whole, to get a true perspective of the whole story. The picture would thus have to be run twice, and after viewing it the first time, and getting the atmosphere, sizing up the heart interest and general appeal of the picture, then with library index, elaborately classified, in hand, view the picture the second time. This, of course, only applies to men who devote all their time to writing cue-sheets. Those cue-sheet writers who are actively engaged in directing an orchestra playing for pictures can adjust their programmes after the first show, if necessary, and their cue-sheets are usually the best, as in the interests of self-preservation they dare not become stale. Synopsis of Story Useful. In some cases where I have been able to find a synopsis of the story, it has been a greater help than some cue sheets, especially when the synopsis has been fairly full. Some of the trade papers give good synopses of some pictures, and some film companies print a synopsis with their exploitation and press matter, although I wish some of them would sometimes publish a little more synoi)sis and less publicity jtmk. However, I have found my best results are obtained when I have a synopsis of the story and a good cuesheet, and this brings me to my suggestion for solving this question of MUSIC SERVICE WITH THE PICTURE. Plea for Combined Literary and Musical Synopsis. When we get right down to it, any real musician, with dramatic instinct, whether leader or organist, wishes to interpret a picture in accordance with his own ideas of appropriateness, within the limits, of course, of certain well defined rules, as only by using his own judgment can he experience the thrill of work well done. His own psychic self is injected into the picture story by his response musically to the various emotions portrayed on the screen, and it is this indefinable something which points one musician out from the ' crowd,' in the interpretation of motion pictures. A synchronized musical score mav be a help to many musicians, but, after all, it is the product of other men's brains, and the real leader or organist will always desire to interpret pictures his own way. How, then, can these musicians be supplied with the help they sorely need? My suggestion is the preparation of a combined literary and musical synopsis for every picture produced. "This should present no difficulty to the right musicians with literary ability. A consecutive account of the story should be printed inone column, and musical suggestions, cues for effects, etc., in the adjoining column. Such a synopsis would enable the leader or lone organist to " sense " the musical requirements of a picture, and if he did not use the number suggested, he would be reasonably sure that his own selection would be appropriate. He would not be likely to become confused, as he is apt to be when dividing his attention between cue sheet, music and screen. Having got the story in the back of his mind, or subconsciousness, the task of musically following it as it is being unfolded on the screen would be much simplified. He would not be wondering what the next development would be. HE WOULD KNOW. I believe that if such a literary and musical synopsis were available for every picture shown, it would be a great improvement over the present haphazard way of providing this most necessary service. What do other leaders and organists think? T, J. A. MAPP. Organist, 5220 Lndiana Ave., Chicago. To Handle Music Score Service in Michigan Strand Features, Inc., of Detroit, Mich., announces that it has closed negotiations with the Synchronized Scenario Music Company of Chicago, for the exclusive distribution of their musical score service in the State of Michigan. Advance Information of Film Releases Will Appear in Next Issue Gottfried Orchestral Organ The Music with Power and Charm for Moving Picture Theatres Correspondence Solicited THE A. GOTTFRIED COMPANY :: :: Erie, Penna.