Episode 62 Show Notes: “Round-up of January 2024 shows, and more” Theme & Introductions Introduction Silent Movies are thriving! Increased restorations in homevideo; increased awareness of the importance of physical media Undercrank Productions is likely to have at least as many new releases in 2024 as it did in 2023 Live Performances of Improvised Scores Sky High (1922) starring Tom Mix at the Library of Congress Packard Campus Ben adapted his piano themes from the Blu ray to the theater organ at Packard Walker Digital Theater Organ With Buster Keaton in Cops (not Ben playing) The I ..read more

Episode 61 Show Notes: “Improvising Themes for Re-Use and Development” Theme & Introductions Ben and Kerr discuss the dearth of holiday movies from the Silent Era “There Ain’t No Santa Claus” (1926) starring Charley Chase (from ep. 97 of The Silent Comedy Watch Party) Ben talks about recording the new Podcast Theme on a grand piano at MOMA. The saga of the Chrome-Legged Steinway… Why being an itinerant pianist or theater organist is like playing baseball Playing for THE BIG PARADE at the Elmont Memorial Library, introduced by Philip Harwood Trying to find a steady tempo for the marc ..read more

In this episode: Ben shares his experiences accompanying the silent era blockbuster “The Big Parade”, the rare Italian film “A’ Santanotte”, Laurel & Hardy shorts, and others; he and Kerr discuss the practices of creating leitmotifs on the fly during a show, and then repeating them later in the film’s score; there’s some deep info and history on the different pianos at MoMA, and how the feel of playing these pianos – and the many others Ben encounters in his work – affect his playing and live-scoring; Ben’s New Year’s resolution for his silent film accompaniments (with a nod to Akira Kuros ..read more

In this episode: accompanying several films at MoMA in August of new restorations and a series of early color process silents; audience response difference between San Francisco Silent Film Festival and MoMA screening, and how this affected Ben’s score in NYC; Ben talks about pivoting when presented before a show with a change of running time or of musical instrument; audience laughs during the climax of Harold Lloyd’s “Safety Last”; accompanying a film where only way to preview was by reading trade reviews; live recording excerpts from “Loves of Casanova” at MoMA, “Safety Last” in Schroon Lak ..read more

I’ve heard Kickstarting a home-video project referred to as, essentially, pre-ordering the Blu-ray or DVD. It is, and it isn’t. For the fan or consumer, in the sense of the definition of “pre-ordering”, backing a Kickstarted Blu/DVD project certainly looks like that’s what you’re doing. You’re sending in money for the product in advance of its actual street date or release. Way way way in advance. For the person producing the project, though, the math is a little different. When you pre-order a Blu-ray, what I receive is a per-unit royalty. Without divulging the specific amount, I can tell you ..read more

Episode 59 Show Notes: “The Dog Days are here (July), but maybe not in San Francisco” Undercrank Productions’ 10th Anniversary 10th Anniversary of Undercrank Productions Enthusiastic press/internet response Accompanying Edward Everett Horton shorts at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival Ben attends the 26th Annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival for the first time; many fans think he’s been there before, and here’s why. Performing for three Edward Everett Horton films; reviews the main theme for each film, e.g., for Horse Shy, a theme based on the bugle call to post. Why three two-r ..read more

In this episode: Ben talks about preparing for his performance at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, his first time at the fest; his Undercrank Productions home video label celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2023; Ben talks about the two newly restored Tom Mix silent films that were released by Undercrank on Blu-ray in July; he shares some tips and insights on having music light on the piano at different venues, some thoughts about scoring a few different scenes from Harold Lloyd’s “Safety Last”; and…don’t click away during the wrap-up, or you’ll miss a nice surprise at the end of the epi ..read more

The Williams Center in Rutherford NJ is in the building that was originally built in 1922. It was originally known as the Rivoli and boasted a seating capacity of 2,200. The Rivoli presented movies as well as vaudeville. A fire in 1977 destroyed most of the cinema’s original lobby. It was renamed in 2021 for William Carlos Williams. Beginning in February 2023, the Williams Center began a screening series called Art House Tuesdays, programmed by Michael Olivo, the Williams Center’s artistic director. This series includes the presentation of one silent film every month. I’ve played for most of t ..read more

I am flattered when I read comments in social media or in people’s blog posts mentioning me as a film preservationist. It’s an honorable and lofty title, and there’s something beyond modesty that makes me think “Aww, no, no…you’re too kind”. Because, after all, what I’m doing is producing and releasing films for the home video market. I am preserving something, and it is something related to film. I am working with archives and with classic film, and with the intent of providing these films to the fans who want to see more of what they like. The term “film preservation” is an easy phrase to gr ..read more

The month-long sale on Undercrank Productions Blu-rays and DVDs is over now, and I am grateful to everyone who bought any of our releases. The celebration of Undercrank’s 10th anniversary was a two-fold opportunity to thank and to serve silent film fans. From the beginning my idea was to find a way to get films fans wanted to see out to them, in a quality package, even films they didn’t know about. Having the sale which ran June 1-30 was a way to make it a little more affordable for folks who already had some of our releases to pick up some of the others. So that they could discover and enjoy ..read more