MODERN TIMES in live performance

I thought you would be interested in a note from Timothy Brock referring to a
recent post in a.m.c. which went as follows:

"So, I just got back from the showing. Nice print,
and, as you said, the
effects and voices (and Chaplin's song with the
original music) were
retained...although, most of the effects were not the
originals, and were
re-recorded (most noticeably during the feeding
machine sequence); a couple
notable exceptions to this were the tummy-gurgling
sounds and the dog barks.
Also, Brock and Co. were either way off in one scene,
or they tinkered with
the score. In the skating scene, instead of playing
the music normally
associated with that scene, they were playing the
music from the next scene,
where the girl is posing, etc. They must have gotten
ahead of themselves
somehow. Starting with the thugs showing up at the
store, the music was
back on track again, thankfully. Apart from that, a
quite admirable stab at
re-creating Charlie's (IMO) best score, and the
audience loved it, giving
Brock (and Charlie too I hope) a standing ovation. To
be fair, I've seen
this film about a hundred and fifty times, literally,
so I'm probably a
little more sensitive to ridiculously minor
alterations than the average
MODERN TIMES viewer. Anyone else with any thoughts on
the live MODERN TIMES
screening? How many cities has it played in the U.S.
so far?"

From TB:

The Modern Times skating sequence as he heard it in
Olympia (or any other city over the past 4 years) is
how CC originally wrote it. On the manuscript it was
quite clear as to where he intended it to start and
finish, but for one technical reason or another, it
ended up like it is: 3 cues running over each other
with no seeming musical logic, UNLIKE the rest of the
film which musically fits like a glove.

The dance number he wrote for the Department store he
intended to end with the fade out of them eating at
the diner counter. The spritely string number begins
at the moment they discover the toy Department, his
skating waltz begins when he begins to skate
(obviously), and I found a small transitional number
in the archives that was intended as a prelude to the
burglar number, which for some reason had not survived
the 1935 recording session.

Without going into specifics, on paper CC had
meticulously prepared the sequences just as the
Olympian (assuming he is from Oly) saw it live, and
the decision to put it back as CC had intended, was
made with the blessing of the Chaplins.

As to the other point, I have to be within 5 or 6 fps
accurate at all times with MT. For the synchronization
of this score is not like any other. The audience
member had seen in Olympia my nearly 100th performance
of MT, and I think it unlikely that I would be nearly
one minute off in my timing.

So, in other words, his second guess was the correct
one, we "tinkered" with the score.

Lastly, nearly ALL of the sound effects on the live
print are from the original sources. The feeding
machine sequence is the only real exception, for the
music was heavily married to the effects. Otherwise he
is mistaken thinking they were mostly re-created.

(P. S. There are also some re-created effects in the sequence with Chester
Conklin and the hydraulic press. I vass dere working at der recordink session
.... Gee, I think that pocket watch half a meter across and a millimeter thick
has to be the funniest prop gag in film comedy.)

David Shepard

"DShepFilm" <dshepfilm DeleteThis @aol.com> wrote in message
news:20031120215112.02032.00000491@mb-m27.aol.com...
> I thought you would be interested in a note from Timothy Brock referring
to a
> recent post in a.m.c. which went as follows:
>
> "So, I just got back from the showing. Nice print,
> and, as you said, the
> effects and voices (and Chaplin's song with the
> original music) were
> retained...although, most of the effects were not the
> originals, and were
> re-recorded (most noticeably during the feeding
> machine sequence); a couple
> notable exceptions to this were the tummy-gurgling
> sounds and the dog barks.
> Also, Brock and Co. were either way off in one scene,
> or they tinkered with
> the score. In the skating scene, instead of playing
> the music normally
> associated with that scene, they were playing the
> music from the next scene,
> where the girl is posing, etc. They must have gotten
> ahead of themselves
> somehow. Starting with the thugs showing up at the
> store, the music was
> back on track again, thankfully. Apart from that, a
> quite admirable stab at
> re-creating Charlie's (IMO) best score, and the
> audience loved it, giving
> Brock (and Charlie too I hope) a standing ovation. To
> be fair, I've seen
> this film about a hundred and fifty times, literally,
> so I'm probably a
> little more sensitive to ridiculously minor
> alterations than the average
> MODERN TIMES viewer. Anyone else with any thoughts on
> the live MODERN TIMES
> screening? How many cities has it played in the U.S.
> so far?"
>
> From TB:
>
> The Modern Times skating sequence as he heard it in
> Olympia (or any other city over the past 4 years) is
> how CC originally wrote it. On the manuscript it was
> quite clear as to where he intended it to start and
> finish, but for one technical reason or another, it
> ended up like it is: 3 cues running over each other
> with no seeming musical logic, UNLIKE the rest of the
> film which musically fits like a glove.


Crazy...obviously I had no idea about that. However, I think the music as
it is in the film accompanies the action perfectly. Of course, it could
just be that I'm used to it that way...having seen it a few bazillion times.
:)


> The dance number he wrote for the Department store he
> intended to end with the fade out of them eating at
> the diner counter. The spritely string number begins
> at the moment they discover the toy Department, his
> skating waltz begins when he begins to skate
> (obviously), and I found a small transitional number
> in the archives that was intended as a prelude to the
> burglar number, which for some reason had not survived
> the 1935 recording session.
>
> Without going into specifics, on paper CC had
> meticulously prepared the sequences just as the
> Olympian (assuming he is from Oly) saw it live, and
> the decision to put it back as CC had intended, was
> made with the blessing of the Chaplins.


Yep, ya got me, I'm from Oly.

Hmmm...if CC had intended the score to be a certain way upon its release,
wouldn't it have ended up being that way? The man was the consummate
obsessive perfectionist, wasn't he? If it really wasn't the way he
intended, I wonder why it ended up the way it did?

> As to the other point, I have to be within 5 or 6 fps
> accurate at all times with MT. For the synchronization
> of this score is not like any other. The audience
> member had seen in Olympia my nearly 100th performance
> of MT, and I think it unlikely that I would be nearly
> one minute off in my timing.


No offense intended, Mr. Brock...I was just thrown for a loop, as anyone
obsessed with the film would have been if they hadn't known about the score
changes in advance. Again, as with the dreaded issue of the original-take
First Nationals, this is hardly public knowledge, even among hard-core
Chaplinites.


> So, in other words, his second guess was the correct
> one, we "tinkered" with the score.

Well, at least one of my guesses was correct. :)

> Lastly, nearly ALL of the sound effects on the live
> print are from the original sources. The feeding
> machine sequence is the only real exception, for the
> music was heavily married to the effects. Otherwise he
> is mistaken thinking they were mostly re-created.
>
> (P. S. There are also some re-created effects in the sequence with
Chester
> Conklin and the hydraulic press. I vass dere working at der recordink
session
> ... Gee, I think that pocket watch half a meter across and a millimeter
thick
> has to be the funniest prop gag in film comedy.)



> David Shepard

OK, perhaps I exaggerated a bit on the effects front...although the Feeding
Machine and Hydraulic Press sequences are pretty effects-reliant, so they
really stood out to me, I guess...

David, is that your P.S., or Timothy Brock's? By the way, thanks for
posting Mr. Brock's response to my post. All is clear now...except, of
course, the reason why the music in Modern Times is not the way Chaplin
intended it. Theories, anyone?