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
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