HOW TO THROW A CUSTARD PIE

'Pieing' or 'Flanning' as it is sometimes known, can be traced back to the early days of British Music Hall entertainment. The science involved in throwing a custard pie should not be underestimated!

Firstly, the pie has to travel and not fall short of its target. Secondly, it must make contact squarely in the face. And finally, for the full comedic effect, it should drip slowly off the recipient's face.

Having made all the correct culinary calculations with regards to the consistency of the pie, it is then necessary to perfect the timing of the throw together with the situation necessary to facilitate an effective custard pie sequence.

Here are a few of the basic set-ups:

Pie In the Face (PIF) - the pie in this instance is thrown or pushed directly into the recipient's face.

Pas De Deux - in this case, two throwers pie each other at exactly the same time.

The Three Hander - thrower one pies thrower two, thrower two then pies thrower one who ducks in time to miss the pie which lands squarely in the face of a third party.

Self Pieing - where the thrower is pied by the pie he is holding in his own hand.

There are of course numerous variations on these basic themes, this video demonstrates a few of the possibilities  http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-clown-about-with-custard-pies

However, as with all stage craft, one can only learn by watching the true masters of the art. So where, might you ask, can you see the professionals in action?

You need to look no further than the Charlie Chaplin movie 'Behind The Screen'. All of the above techniques are displayed to perfection in this magnificent example of a classic pie throwing battle, in fact the first of it's kind in a movie. And as it happens, I am showing the very same movie in my new show at Brighton's Emporium and at the Leicester Square Theatre in September 2013!



So if you would like to see just how the professionals get pied, book your tickets now for this great event. I can assure you  that you will not be disappointed. Tickets for Leicester Square are now on sale and the Emporium will follow shortly.

Emporium - 8th and 15th September 3.00pm
LST - 18th, 19th, 20th September 7.00pm

See you there!
DW

A WELL TIMED KICK UP THE BUM MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

Apart from the music that music that I thrash out on the keyboard during the show, I am also kept fairly busy with sound effects that might coincide with a ‘hit on the head’ or a ‘kick up the bum’. These sound effects make a vast difference to the movie, and a Foley Artist was nearly always employed to accompany the silent comedies.


So where does the term ‘Foley Artist’ originate?


In 1914 and man called Jack Foley was employed by Universal Studios to create sound effects for the silent movies. He developed a multitude of sounds from all sorts of household objects. And with the addition of some standard orchestral percussion instruments, he built up quite an armoury!




Jack Foley created sounds for films until his death in 1967 and his methods are still employed today. Foley studios employ hundreds of props and digital effects to recreate the ambient sounds for their films. Here are some of the tricks they use:

• Corn starch in a leather pouch makes the sound of snow crunching
• A pair of gloves sounds like bird wings flapping
• A thin stick is used for a whoosh
• An old chair makes a controllable creaking sound
• ¼” audio tape balled up sounds like grass or brush when walked on
• Frozen romaine lettuce for bone or head injury noises
• Coconut shells cut in half and stuffed with padding for horse hoof noises
• Cellophane creates crackling fire effects
• A heavy phone book for body punching sounds 

The prop list for my show mostly consists of percussion instruments, although I do use a few marginally strange items to create my sound effects, including a kitchen waste pipe, an old car horn, and an elephant bell!


If you want to see this lot in action then don’t miss my show at the The Old Courtroom Brighton


Sunday 12th May 3.00pm
Sunday 19th May 3.00pm
Sunday 26th May 3.00pm

Buy Tickets

SILENT MOVIE MUSIC

1920s Movie Theatre Organist Rosa Rio

This is Rosa Rio, doesn't she look amazing! She is playing 'The Mighty Wurlitzer' with built-in sound effects such as galloping horses and rolling thunder, bass drums and cymbals. She would sit at this outrageous keyboard and improvise sound tracks to the very latest silent movies.

Silent movies were of course never silent. They were designed to be accompanied by live music, and it was even used on the film set so the actors could get a feel for the mood of the scene. Some say that the music was necessary to cover up the rattling sound of the projector, but I prefer to think that it was worth a bit more than that, and in the big movie theatres the music for the feature films was played by an orchestra.

An amazing number of great silent movies are still open to musical interpretation which, as long as the music is played live, is a great way to present these films over and over again to new and contemporary audiences. 

www.silentmovieexperience.co.uk

Charlie Chaplin - 'The Cure'

Now here is a movie you don't want to miss!

'The Cure' is one of Chaplin's finest shorts, it was made in 1919 and runs for about 25 minutes.

It is a gem of a movie with guaranteed laughs, even cynics will find the corners of their mouths involuntarily turning up. The gags are clever to say the least and superbly timed, watch the revolving door scene and you'll see exactly what I mean.

Chaplin was known for doing endless takes of one scene, largely because nothing was ever planned. First he would come up with an idea, 'Charlie at the Seaside' for example or something similarly basic. He had a lavish set built at huge expense and then improvised with his cast for days or weeks on end. The cameras were constantly running, and the amount of film used was ridiculous. A story line would emerge and out of the cutting room would come another Chaplin blockbuster.

It's been very exciting to work on such a masterpiece, and I hope that the music I have written does it justice.To get to grips with this movie I did much the same as Chaplin, I improvised for days on end while until something musically workable appeared, but without the lavish set. The movie is well structured, and with plenty of opportunities to screw around with both the music and the effects, I've had a really good time putting it all together.

Anyhow, like I said you don't want to miss this movie, so get off yer arse and come and see me play the bloomin' thing!

Cheers everybody,

DW

PS I'm showing Charlie Chaplin's 'The Cure' at the Komedia Brighton Sat 19 Nov 6.00pm and Sat 10 Dec at 6.00pm

http://komediabrighton.ticketsolve.com/shows/126519810/events

Harold Lloyd - 'Never Weaken'

Harold Lloyd's 'Never Weaken' was released in 1921 and is a silent classic. It contains all the elements you would expect from a great Harold Lloyd short. It has a good boy meets girl plot line with unexpected twists, dangerous and crazy stunts and plenty of laughs.

This was a tough one to put together because typically the scenes are detailed and precise, which is exactly what the music score needed to be and of course timing is of the essence. A lot of the sound effects cues come at musically tricky moments, which means I have to pick up sound effects with the right hand while I hack away at the keys with the left or vice versa.  The instruments are laid out very carefully in advance to avoid missing a cue, but this is all part of the fun!

I have stretched myself a bit on this one, but I think it has been well worth it. The score I have written for this movie is essentially ragtime piano music over a break-beat. It gives the movie a 1920s retro feel and flows nicely with the style of the picture. The themes are fairly simple eight bar phrases and the material lends itself to a multitude of variations, so I can go from musically happy to musically sad etc in a split second. 'Never Weaken' is a lovely piece of movie making, and it's been huge fun to work on.

Anyhow, if I have done my job properly, you shouldn't notice any of that stuff, you'll just enjoy the show!

I'm showing Harold Lloyd's 'Never Weaken' at the Komedia Brighton Sat 19 Nov 6.00pm and Sat 10 Dec at 6.00pm

http://komediabrighton.ticketsolve.com/shows/126519810/events

Be great to see you there!

Cheers,
 DW

The Sound Of Silents

Movie making techniques in the early 1900s were very basic and crudely mechanical. Scenes were shot with just one camera that was cranked by hand that recorded a shaky black and white moving image. No sound track was recorded or synchronised with the film, and so they became known as ‘silent movies’.

The local cinema organist or pianist created the sound track, skilfully weaving current themes and tunes into an improvised score that was designed to enhance the action projected onto the silver screen. As a composer and performer, I have always had a fascination in the way that music can completely transform a moving image. And with silent movies there is additional element of an improvised soundtrack, which can bring uniqueness to every single showing of that movie. No two performances were probably ever the same!

So even today these early silent movies are still without a designated bespoke musical soundtrack. And if they are to be viewed in the way that the moviemakers intended, they still require a live accompaniment.

To carry on this tradition, I have created a new take on an old idea by playing my own score on a honky-tonk piano with break-beat percussion and live sound effects. A kind of one-man band come Foley artist! This is a far cry from my normal scope of musical activity, which could involve anything from recording sessions with the LSO, keyboard playing at The Phantom of the Opera or solo piano playing for a new Bond film press launch!

Just by coincidence, I have written and produced with international singer Kate Dowman, whose mother nursed silent movie star Charlie Chaplin in his final years. She related that he had remained completely silent for many years, shunning distraught family visitors whom he believed were after his amassed wealth. Some believed he refused to speak as some kind of return to his early stardom as a mute clown. However, just before he died he broke the silence and was heard by his nurse to utter under his breath “I wish they’d all just go away!”

Not a great line to finish on for such a great funnyman. But I would like to think that if this immensely talented pioneer of those early movies knew that his legacy was about to be renewed and enjoyed by yet another generation of movie goers, he may have felt differently in his final years.

Look out for my Silent Movie Experience shows, two coming up at the Komedia Brighton. If you love silent movies, I guarantee you are in for a treat!

Thanks for reading,
DW