Tweet New score for a silent

A musician friend of mine (with whom I'm collaborating on a project at the moment) is keen to write some music to accompany a silent movie. He suggested something short to start with. I thought one of the Keaton or Chaplin shorts.

Does anyone have any suggestions? It would probably be performed at some point in the future (in the UK, North West). I thought it could be good to score something that doesn't have a soundtrack already, and is public domain. It might also go online eventually.

Suggestions welcome!

I wouldn't worry about whether the film "has a score already," since there are no "official" scores for silent films, and it was the practice to make new scores where ever they're shown. In addition, any short film that's had a quality release on video will have a score on the video, which would restrict you to only films that have NOT been released on video, which generally means they either are of limited interest, are inaccessible, or have intractable rights problems, none of which is a good idea for a starting project. I'd pick a film that the composer likes and that would appeal to the venue where the piece is to be performed.

Keaton and Chaplin are always good choices for audiences and venues, though from a composer's perspective, you get better opportunities to write interesting music in films that are less wild slapstick and have longer sequences to be illustrated, with some drama and romance as well as comedy. So think about maybe scoring several shorts, including a comedy but also an early Biograph drama with Pickford and Gish, or a Mr and Mrs Sydney Drew comedy. And you could also look at more avant garde fare, such as Menilmontant, The Fall of the House of Usher, or Le Mystere du Chateau de Des; which, baffling though they may be to the audience, would certainly give the composer a chance to write and develop some interesting music.

Another idea is that a number of the old Edison Kinetoscope movies can be freely downloaded. These can actually be put into Finale (music scoring program) and provide a quick early start to get a feel for this as Finale will actually play back the movie with the score so you can see your results.

The Finale trick should work with any QuickTime movie. But be aware that you'll need a better source than downloaded videos for projecting on the big screen.

Thanks for the feedback guys. We'll probably be looking at this project next year.

In terms of copyright, would it be acceptable / ethical to use an existing DVD of a film in the public domain for projection - even if this has been pressed and released, or is this a big no-no?

[silentfilm]

Ethical, no. Since companies like Milestone, Kino and Flicker Alley do restoration work, the restoration and especially the music track (which you won't be using) are copyrighted.

You should contact the DVD producer and ask about public performance rights. In some cases they will grant you a reduced rights fee if you have a good relationship with them. If your venue is a library or church, they may have already purchased a flat public performance license, that will allow you to show the DVD publicly on their property without an additional fee.

If you are showing Keaton or Chaplin shorts, it is possible that a local collector might be able to project a 16mm film, which would probably already be licensed for non-theatrical performances, and then no other fee is necessary.