Abstract
AbstractI have always been a fan of silent films. In California I would visit the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto to see many classic films. Mary Pickford, Roscoe Arbuckle, Charlie Caplin, and Buster Keaton are a few of the stars from that era. Unfortunately, some of these stars' careers did not survive the transition from silent film to the talkies. Others were embroiled in controversy to the point that their careers were ruined. There are also actors who performed their own stunts. Buster Keaton (The Little Iron Man,) was the first of these actors who performed his own stunts. Keaton’s My Wife’s Relations (1922) shows Keaton hanging from awnings moving from window to window outside of a building.
Another actor who performed his own stunts was Harold Lloyd. One classic scene from Safety Last (1923,) shows Harold climbing a building in order to evade a policeman. The climax of this scene shows Harold hanging onto the hands of a large clock while his friend tries to pull him to safety with a rope. Harold makes it to the roof safely and is reunited with his girlfriend. Never Weaken (1922,) is another film where Lloyd performs his one stunts. In the “On the Building” section, Lloyd is suspended out of a high rise building on a beam and works hard to make his way back down from a building under construction. In the end Lloyd makes it to the ground and again is reunited with his love.
I chose this film to score over others because of certain stereotypes which were common in movies from that period. It was a common practice to use blackface in films, also depicting native americans in a negative light was also common. The sad part of this though is that the actors portraying these characters were white actors in makeup.
This project was a learning experience in many ways. Besides composing and scoring this piece, which was started in the spring of 2023, I learned alot about Finale Music Software, and scoring music that was a fit to specific scenes. The logistics involved with this came to a head during spring semester 2024. Recruiting musicians, obtaining rehearsal space, working with the tech crew was all part of the learning experience that I went through with this project.