How do they do that? Accompanying Silent Film

I recently had the pleasure to speak to some of Toronto’s talented musicians who sit regularly sit down and provide musical accompaniment at silent film screenings. As silent film fans know, the best way to see a silent is in a theatre, with an audience, and live musical accompaniment, and Toronto is lucky to have a fair bit of that going on. As a non-musical person, this gig strikes me as fascinating, a bit mysterious, and – as William O’Meara notes – maybe terrifying. Here’s the little piece I cobbled out on accompanying silent film for the Toronto Film Scene, but there was so very much more to say…

No such thing as a “silent film”: how to compose for films without dialogue

The earliest films are now referred to exclusively as “silent films.” But in the era, there was no such thing as a “silent film” – there were only movies. While the films lacked synchronized dialogue, these movies were never, of course, actually silent. Past the Kinetoscope flickers phase, films were accompanied by music. Usually live music. Smaller theatres might cue up a tinny phonograph, but most had a least a man on a piano, a theatre organist, sometimes even a full orchestra. Scores were sent along with prints, but this was merely a suggestion. Musicians made decisions – based on the film, based on the audience, probably based on their own moods.

Because silent films lack dialogue or other sound, the musical score is critical to the experience of watching the movie. In fact, in the heyday of flashy urban movie palaces, the accompanists were sometimes billed above the film, and audiences opted to see a movie accompanied by one particular musician over another. Try watching a public domain print of a silent movie with an arbitrary and irrelevant piece of music tacked on, and you’ll immediately understand the importance of the score.

Silent film as an art form may be having a bit of a renaissance at the moment. Recent successes like Hugo and The Artist not only demonstrate the interest of filmmakers in the art form of the silent film, they also signal a pique of public interest in silent movies. More interest results in more screening opportunities, and suddenly there’s a demand for musicians who can walk the musical tightrope of expressing their own creativity while still supporting the narrative and emotional structure of a film.

Silent film fans will take ‘em as they come, but any true enthusiast will tell you the best way to see a silent is in a theatre, with live accompaniment. Toronto is very fortunate to not only have a community of film enthusiasts devoted to screening and viewing silent films, but to have a community of very talented musicians to round out the experience with superb musical accompaniment. Here are three of those musicians, each with a very different approach, but joined by the common thread of really understanding the special challenges of accompanying a silent movie.

Robert Bruce: The Composer

Robert Bruce has been composing and performing original music since the late 1970s, and presenting Live Music/Silent Film programmes for about 9 years. For him, the music comes first. Over the years, he has established a catalogue of 10 silent films programs, ranging from the short comedies of Buster Keaton andHarold Lloyd to F.W. Murnau’s German expressionist masterpiece Faust. It’s impossible for Robert to estimate the amount of work put into composing these scores because it has evolved organically over time, but the score is set when he sits down in front of the audience.

“I leave windows open for improvisation, but I’m really more of the composer type,” says Robert. “The film itself is a complete thing and I do a lot of preparation. I want to have something that will work every time and be the best music I can play.”

Indeed, because Robert limits himself to a select number of films, there’s a certain emotional depth to the score as it relates to the film. He admits to being a bit uncompromising about his own music when he began, but learning to be a little more realistic over time. While the exercise is and always will be about the music for Robert, he’s learned the careful interplay between the film and the music.

“When you accompany a silent film, you have this opportunity to create another dimension of the film, where the visual story and the musical story combine to become a kind of 3rd thing,” says Robert. “These are pieces that I’ve written and recorded, but when that happens in front of an audience this huge 3rd thing comes out of nowhere.”

Robert Bruce performs his Live Music/Silent Film Programmes in Toronto, Hamilton, and across Canada and the US. Check his website for details about his upcoming programme of silent comedy shorts this summer in Toronto.

Laura Silberberg: The Improviser

Laura Silberberg is a Doctoral student in music composition at the University of Toronto. She has composed music in a variety of genres, including classical instrumental, chamber, choral and popular music. But besides being a talented composer, Laura has another gift: the ability to sit at a piano, grab a wisp of inspiration, and improvise a musical piece.

“I’ve always improvised. I don’t know… I just sit down and come up with something,” says Laura. “When I was 13, the CBC invited me to perform a composition, but I wanted to improv. I would take 5 or 6 notes from the audience and come up with a melody or a theme.”

While in her 2nd year at the University of Toronto, Laura enrolled in Improvisation for Silent Films and her class headed down to Innis College to provide accompaniment for film studies students working on their silent cinema unit. There her unique gift for improvisation met the unique challenges of accompanying silent films and she discovered a new application for her love of improv.

“I was just really comfortable with it and having the inspiration right there in front of me was helpful,” says Laura.

For Laura, accompanying silent films is something of a respite from composing. Being a busy doctoral student, her preparation time for any particular film is limited. She reviews a plot synopsis, marks the key points, and reviews the final two minutes of the film if possible. Otherwise, Laura notes that she’s thoroughly entertained while she watches the film for the first time while accompanying it.

“For me, it’s a break from composing. There’s not time to think, to rewrite, to second guess and I like that spontaneous element,” says Laura. “As a composer, I usually behind the scenes. It’s great to perform for an audience and get that reaction, that connection, immediately.”

Laura can be found accompanying silent films around Toronto, often at The Revue Cinema’s Silent Sundays series. Keep with Laura’s appearances at her MySpace page.

William O’Meara: The Seasoned Pro

William O’Meara has been providing musical accompaniment to silent films for a little over 25 years. He was invited by the Royal Ontario Museum to provide accompaniment for two Eastern European silent films, but notes that his real education happened in 1999 when he was asked by Cinematheque Ontario to accompany a series focusing on directors.

“The programme was a wide variety of films, so many of them not comedies,” says William. “Comedies have their own challenges – they’re somewhat limited and you kind of have to paint in bright colors. But this series focused on art films, or more serious with developed characters. It was a different kind of challenge and an education.”

For William, it’s difficult to mark exactly where years of experience as a performer stops and preparation for any particular film begin. Instead, he describes his process as a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he views the film, if possible, or it’s a film that he’s seen before. On the other hand, he trusts his years of experience as a kind of general preparation.

“I would say what I do is 90% improv, but I do my homework. The structure of the film is important, the narrative structure is important,” says Bill. “I think of those things, and of the characters, and I try to develop a theme or a motif. Those motifs keep me musically grounded during the performance.”

William notes that accompanying silent films can be very satisfying for a musician precisely because the music is so key to the experience. The limitations of a silent film are pretty clear – the film is the film. But William observes that watching a silent film is a collaborative experience for the viewer, and also a chance for the accompanist to become a collaborator as well.

“I guess it should be terrifying. You sit down with no music in front of you and you’re going to go for 90 minutes,” William says with a laugh. “But I can often feel myself and the audience kind of becoming one, and then it flows really nicely. It’s a kind of trinity relationship, where a 3rd dimension emerges. But it’s best not to overthink it.”

You can catch William accompanying silent films at various events in Toronto, including The Revue Cinema’s Silent Sundays series. Check his website for information about upcoming appearances.

Robert Bruce, Laura Silberberg, and William O’Meara each bring a unique perspective to the job of accompanying a silent film. While their approaches may vary wildly, each of these musicians ultimately respect the film and the job of providing a key component to the experience of watching it. When the opportunity arises to see/hear one of their performances, grab it. You won’t be disappointed.

Stay tuned for TFS’ featured topic this month. We’ll be exploring music in film, celebrating the upcoming North By Northeast Festival and introducing you to some of the people who make films that are truly music to your your ears.

This piece was originally published in Toronto Film Scene. 

 

accompanying silent filmcomposing for silent filmsLaura Silberbergrobert bruceWilliam O'Meara