What Live To Projection concerts have you seen and not seen?

[crocodile 8,000]

12 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Me too! Enjoy.

I am catching a matinee performance of The Lion King as well today on West End. Took me 25 years. But got cheap tickets so might as well. 😀

 

Karol

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

13 minutes ago, crocodile said:

I am catching a matinee performance of The Lion King as well today on West End. Took me 25 years. But got cheap tickets so might as well. 😀

 

Karol

Excellent. It’s a really amazing show. Enjoy that too!

[crocodile 8,000]

😀😀😀

 

 

Karol

[crocodile 8,000]

Had a brilliant night. As mentioned before, I missed many performances of this over the years. The Two Towers was my first ever live to projection experience and it started it all. Last night was exactly my 30th time in a concert like this. Some of these were terrific, some bit of a letdown. For this type of a performance you need a score of real presence and colour, that is why stuff like E.T. and the original Star Wars film are so magical. You need a film where the music breathes and penetrates the soundtrack and there are few films as spectacular in concert as The Lord of the Rings. The sheer size of the score and the ensemble are worth the price of a ticket. Because the film recording is very wet, in concert you get to have fun spotting a lot of detail in orchestrations that you don't get to hear in film recording. And there are all the additions here and there. It's so much fun. I had a grin on my face all the way through and got chills in many places ad well. Whether one enjoys the work or not, there's no denying this is now a classic.

 

No performance is ever perfect and I felt the children chorus had a few wobbly moments but I suppose it was way past their bedtime (the concert ended around 11pm). 😉 To be honest, it might have been mics/mixing. And boy soloist had quite a difficult job. I've heard these things go terribly wrong before and this was definitely much much better. Not sure who the soprano lady was but she was great.

 

@Omen II I have a question. Is Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra the same as Royal Philharmonic Orchestra?

 

Karol

[Bespin 8,480]

Still none for me... I sleep during a movie or a concert!

 

But, it may have been said before, for me the "ancestor" of those "live to projections" concerts, was released on the 2002 E.T. DVD... and it was GREAT (I mean it's still great!)

 

I would buy all the SW again on BR if it would be possible to watch them with a new live orchestra audio track (even if there is applause).

[Jay 37,348]

I'm so glad you enjoyed FOTR, Karol! 

 

FOTR was the first LTP concert I ever saw, and couldn't believe how much I utterly enjoyed the whole experience in every way from top to bottom. In some ways its still my favorite LTP concert. 

 

I just came across this audience video of the finale 

 

 

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

23 hours ago, crocodile said:

😀😀😀

 

 

Karol

Had a really good. Don’t have much to add to what Karol said. Glad I’d not seen the film in a while as I could enjoy it again as well as the music. Had a slightly higher seat as have preferred being more aligned to the screen but as long as you’re fairly central at the Royal Albert Hall you get a good view and can enjoy the music too.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

13 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

as long as you’re fairly central at the Royal Albert Hall you get a good view

 

But how many holes does it take to fill it?

[Omen II 1,235]

6 hours ago, crocodile said:

 

@Omen II I have a question. Is Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra the same as Royal Philharmonic Orchestra?

 

Karol

 

I have always understood the RPCO to be the Royal Philharmonic's 'B Team' orchestra, under the same umbrella as the RPO but generally focusing on more populist fare.  That is not to say that the RPCO is not as good as the RPO by any means, but I guess this arrangement gives the RPO the flexibility to earn revenue from lucrative gigs such as the live in concert films without interrupting the main RPO concert season.  You will often see that the RPO and the RPCO have concerts on the same day and at the same time in different venues.

 

https://www.rpo.co.uk/about/rpco

 

I suppose it's a bit like the BBC Symphony Orchestra doing the more 'serious' concerts while the BBC Concert Orchestra is the jack-of-all-trades ensemble, which is no comment on the ability of the musicians in the respective ensembles.

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I've always thought of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester as the most "premiere" of the BBC radio orchestras, but I'm not really sure why I think that.  Maybe just because they seem to record more for Chandos than the Symphony?

[crocodile 8,000]

5 minutes ago, Omen II said:

 

I have always understood the RPCO to be the Royal Philharmonic's 'B Team' orchestra, under the same umbrella as the RPO but generally focusing on more populist fare.  That is not to say that the RPCO is not as good as the RPO by any means, but I guess this arrangement gives the RPO the flexibility to earn revenue from lucrative gigs such as the live in concert films without interrupting the main RPO concert season.  You will often see that the RPO and the RPCO have concerts on the same day and at the same time in different venues.

 

https://www.rpo.co.uk/about/rpco

 

I suppose it's a bit like the BBC Symphony Orchestra doing the more 'serious' concerts while the BBC Concert Orchestra is the jack-of-all-trades ensemble, which is no comment on the ability of the musicians in the respective ensembles.

Well, they are doing some amazing work with these. Can't wait for their performance of Superman next month.

 

31 minutes ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Had a really good. Don’t have much to add to what Karol said. Glad I’d not seen the film in a while as I could enjoy it again as well as the music. Had a slightly higher seat as have preferred being more aligned to the screen but as long as you’re fairly central at the Royal Albert Hall you get a good view and can enjoy the music too.

I actually like the circle seats. Actually prefer them to box ones below as the chairs in those are very uncomfortable. I prefer circle or stalls.

 

Karol

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

3 minutes ago, crocodile said:

Well, they are doing some amazing work with these. Can't wait for their performance of Superman next month.

 

I actually like the circle seats. Actually prefer them to box ones below as the chairs in those are very uncomfortable. I prefer circle or stalls.

 

Karol

I would usually watch a concert from the circle but for the films they rausing circle works quite well although the legroom is somewhat ungenerous!

[Omen II 1,235]

5 minutes ago, Stu said:

I've always thought of the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester as the most "premiere" of the BBC radio orchestras, but I'm not really sure why I think that.  Maybe just because they seem to record more for Chandos than the Symphony?

 

The BBC Philharmonic is the BBC's 'orchestra based in the north of England' and does indeed seem to get many of the recording gigs.  They are very good, but in my (completely subjective) opinion the BBC Symphony Orchestra is a slightly better orchestra.  Of course that could be my London bias speaking!  The BBCSO traditionally performs the first and last nights of the BBC proms season and is generally considered to be one of the big five orchestras in London.

 

I have been lucky enough to see and hear all of the BBC orchestra many times at the Proms over the years and I would probably rank them as follows:

1. BBC Symphony Orchestra
2. BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
3. BBC Philharmonic
4. BBC National Orchestra of Wales
5. BBC Concert Orchestra

If I did that again tomorrow I would probably put them in a different order.

[JNHFan2000 2,957]

 

[Jay 37,348]

What does that have to do with Live to Projection concerts?

[JNHFan2000 2,957]

I somehow clicked on the wrong thread. Sorry

[leeallen01 2,136]

On 29/05/2022 at 6:11 PM, Tom Guernsey said:

Had a really good. Don’t have much to add to what Karol said. Glad I’d not seen the film in a while as I could enjoy it again as well as the music. Had a slightly higher seat as have preferred being more aligned to the screen but as long as you’re fairly central at the Royal Albert Hall you get a good view and can enjoy the music too.

 

 

This was my view. I was probably sat very near to you. Sorry about the excessive smiling and overall giddy man-child energy I would've been giving off

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

23 minutes ago, leeallen01 said:

 

 

This was my view. I was probably sat very near to you. Sorry about the excessive smiling and overall giddy man-child energy I would've been giving off

Oh yeah you were really close!

 

Now looking forward to Return of the Jedi on 24 September…

[eitam 364]

I've seen the 3 Lord of the Rings movies, 3 Star Wars movies, first 3 Potters, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Gladiator, Titanic, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Superman. 

 

Overall I'm always slightly disappointed by those concerts, I'm going primarily for the music but I find that the dialogs and sound effects are dialed too loud for my taste. 

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

1 hour ago, eitam said:

I've seen the 3 Lord of the Rings movies, 3 Star Wars movies, first 3 Potters, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Gladiator, Titanic, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, and Superman. 

 

Overall I'm always slightly disappointed by those concerts, I'm going primarily for the music but I find that the dialogs and sound effects are dialed too loud for my taste. 

That’s a fine tally! I’d have to check but Jedi will complete the original trilogy. I enjoyed things like Close Encounters and Jaws more as the music was easier to hear. I guess it’s a balancing act as the casual concert goer will want to hear the dialogue but I suspect we’d all be happy if it largely played like a silent movie/isolated score, especially where the score is basically wall to wall (Empire is one I’d love to see like that) but I doubt they’d be as popular. I enjoy them but would probably enjoy concerts of suites more. Someone kindly sent me “at seat” recordings of some Goldsmith concerts I had also been to in the early 2000s and those suites and themes are more how I’d like to experience film music live. Shame those concerts weren’t recorded professionally, the LSO were outstanding.

[crocodile 8,000]

Booked E.T. performance in Manchester in October. Going with two of my friends. Both love the movie but neither of them has ever been to a concert like this before. Can't think of a better way to introduce them to the concept. I've seen this twice already and there aren't many films that work as well as this one with live orchestra. Plus couldn't think of a better way to celebrate film's 40th anniversary. 😀

 

I hope The Halle orchestra is up to the task. Heard them a couple of times live playing classical concerts and they were rather good.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,348]

It's a great one to see live

[crocodile 8,000]

I actually watched the film last night on UHD. It's a miracle, this one. Everything went brilliantly and that doesn't happen very often. It's perfectly balanced and executed summer film. There's no fat, it looks fantastic 40 years later. The Blu-ray was really good and 4K one looks even better. The music is perfectly spotted and presented. It's beautifully recorded and every single soundtrack release (including 1996 and 2002 ones) was great. And, yes, watching it with live score is just a perfect experience. 

 

Karol

[Tom Guernsey 2,283]

It’s a trap!

[Edmilson 7,434]

I MADE IT! I'M GOING TO WATCH FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING LIVE IN CONCERT! 

 

Just bought my ticket for a LTP that will happen in my hometown on the next Nov 19. It's the first time the score is performed live here. Can't wait!

[Jay 37,348]

Awesome, it's such a good show!

[Edmilson 7,434]

It'll be my first LTP concert ever. I've already seen videos on YouTube, but live is so much more exciting.

 

Also, which version of the movie they actually show? Theatrical or extended?

[Jay 37,348]

Theatrical of course

[crocodile 8,000]

One of the best things to see for a film score nerd, for sure. You will love it.

 

Karol

[pete 907]

I'm seeing The Prisoner of Azkaban in Seoul on Saturday night. It's my first LTP concert. . I'm curious how the flute solo in "Rainy Nights, Dementors & Birds" will be played as only parts of it appear in the film. Fingers crossed for the whole thing. Very eclectic score and diverse score. ...If I had a choice of LTP concerts to attend, I don't think Azkaban would be that high on that list - Superman, Jurassic Park, a few of the Star Wars scores, Raiders, Close Encounters, ET, and the first two HP films would all be higher, but beggars can't be choosers, and I am looking forward to quite a few of the pieces such as the flute solo I mentioned, "Buckbeat's Flight", "The Snowball Fight", "The Whomping Willow", the Quidditch music, every appearance of the "Double Trouble" and "A Window to the Past" themes, and the end credits. And I may just cover my ears during parts of the "The Knight Bus"! 

[Jay 37,348]

1 minute ago, pete said:

I'm curious how the flute solo in "Rainy Nights, Dementors & Birds" will be played as only parts of it appear in the film. Fingers crossed for the whole thing.

 

The Live To Projection concert performance exactly matches what you hear in the final cut of the film, other than the end credits

1 minute ago, pete said:

And I may just cover my ears during parts of the "The Knight Bus"!

 

Don't, it's orchestrated a little differently to not require the more unusual instruments of the original recording.

[pete 907]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

The Live To Projection concert performance exactly matches what you hear in the final cut of the film, other than the end credits

 

Thanks.. Do you know if the end credits is the "Firebolt and End Credits" piece on the boxset release? Oh God, I hope it is!

[Jay 37,348]

No, they just stop after the sung Double Trouble, I think it is.

[pete 907]

On 07/10/2022 at 7:39 AM, Jay said:

No, they just stop after the sung Double Trouble, I think it is.

 

The credits was Mischief Managad from the original soundtack release, just without the last 20 seconds of Hedwig's Theme playing quietly. So the concert ended with Aunt Marge's Waltz. I've also loved the beginning of that suite and the extended treatment of Double Trouble, and no complaints about hearing Buckbeat's Flight and the Window to the Past again at the end.

 

And in a concert setting, Aunt Marge's Waltz has a strong finish. I just really would have prefered they'd skipped The Knight Bus and ended the credits suite with the credits on the expanded release wth the Nimbus 2000 music leading to the glorious ending of Hedwig's Theme concert version. Just a wish, I realize it's probably a pesky contractual thing. Still, an encore would have been nice. But I have to say I enjoyed the repeated music in concert much more than on the original CD which always bothered me.

 

The conductor said five more LTP concerts are coming over the next coupl of years. It wasn't clear if he meant more Harry Potter concerts or other films. The same company (assuming those future concerts are done through the same company) - CineConcerts - has no other Williams on its roster except for the three Potter films.

 

Of the current roster, I'd go see Star Trek: The Ultmate Voyage, Rudy, and Gladiator. And of course the first two Potter films. I'd see Azkaban again too.

 

And I know Star Wars A New Hope was performed in Seoul several years ago. Alas, I wasn't aware, so ... well, there's new hope.

 

And over the summer, an outdoor ET performance outside of Seoul was stopped mid-concert due to rains from a nearby typhoon. I couldn't go, but I think if I had had tickets, I probably would have cancelled in the days before due to that typhoon. Well, tickets were refunded, so if I had attended I would have seen half of ET for free. Couldn't complain about that! And I've been rained on before at concerts - I saw Dire Straits in torrential rain.

 

 

[crocodile 8,000]

I'm at the E.T. concert in Manchester. It is very enjoyable and the performace is really strong. However, a friend whom I invited, and paid ticket for, is visibly unimpressed and bored. He described the experience as "soulless". 😐

 

Karol

[Omen II 1,235]

52 minutes ago, crocodile said:

However, a friend whom I invited, and paid ticket for, is visibly unimpressed and bored. He described the experience as "soulless". 😐

 

 

Kill him.

[crocodile 8,000]

On a more positive note, The Halle orchestra definitely did a good job. I was expecting to be slightly underwhelmed, being used to London musicians and their top notch craft, but it was a really strong and spirited performance. Had a chance to see E.T. three times now and it worked brilliantly every time.

 

Karol

[Edmilson 7,434]

Oh boy, I just got home from my first LTP concert ever: Fellowship of the Ring! And it was...

 

 

Now, as someone who never went to a concert like this, I noted a few things. The first is that smaller cues, that usually are dialed very low on the movie's mix, stood out a lot more in LTP concerts. So, while in one hand it is a bit distracting to have loud music in scenes that it is supposed to be very low and hidden behind dialogue and sound effects, in the other as a fan of Shore's LOTR scores I was able to notice some new cool details that I haven't noticed when I was watching the movie "normally".

 

The score was performed by the Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra (one of the orchestras from the state of the Federation where I live), and they did a good job capturing the Howard Shore/LPO sound (although in a few moments I think the brass wasn't as "epic" as in the original recording).

 

Either way, it was a wonderful experience. My favorite movie of all time and one of my favorite scores performed live, it was great! Now I want to go to more LTP concerts, including the other two LOTR movies, plus Star Wars, Potter, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park... Heck, you can give me even LTP concerts of scores I do not like (like the Hooper's HP 5 and 6) and I will go gladly!

[crocodile 8,000]

The Two Towers at Royal Albert Hall on 22-23 of September 2023. Tickets available from Tuesday (or Monday if you're a member).

 

This was the first film I've ever seen with live orchestra back in 2009. Looking forward to revisiting it. I love this score.

 

Karol

[Jay 37,348]

Oooooh!  @Jim Ware, surely you will attend!

[Jim Ware 526]

On 16/12/2022 at 1:37 PM, Jay said:

Oooooh!  @Jim Ware, surely you will attend!

That is a definite possibility!

[crocodile 8,000]

Well, my ticket is now booked for Saturday night. Hoping to see you there, @Jim Ware!

 

Karol

[crocodile 8,000]

Black Panther at Royal Albert hall - 27th of May 2023.

 

Quote

Experience the European Premiere of Black Panther in Concert as part of the Royal Albert Hall’s Films in Concert series. With the Chineke! Orchestra and special guest Massamba Diop, talking drum soloist, who performed on the original score.

 

In 2018, Marvel Studios’ ‘Black Panther’ quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what Super Hero films could be. Relive the excitement of T’Challa becoming king and battling Killmonger all while a live orchestra performs Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar® and Grammy®-winning score live to picture.

 

The Chineke! Foundation was founded in 2015 by the double bass player, Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE, to provide career opportunities for young black and ethnically diverse classical musicians in the UK and Europe. Chineke!’s mission is, “championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music”.

 

I'm definitely going. Hopefully, there's live chorus as well.

 

So The Batrman in March, Black Panther in May and The Two Towers in September. Hopefully, The Force Awakens will be announced soon as well.

 

Karol

[bollemanneke 3,342]

I just skipped the opportunity to see Beauty and the Beast 2017 in favour of Bach's Brandenburg Cocnertos in a hall that does have decent sound. Is that acceptable?

[LSH 968]

Symphony Hall, Birmingham started doing these a couple of years ago so now that I've moved back, I'm going to keep my eye out for them. Next up is Jurassic World on 7th March, which doesn't excite me as I'm really not much of a Giacchino fan. Still, I've not been to one of these live-to-picture events yet so I might consider it for the experience.

[Omen II 1,235]

I had the pleasure of attending a live to picture performance of Things to Come (1936) with the London Symphony Orchestra playing Arthur Bliss's amazing score at the Barbican yesterday.  Both the film and score are two of my absolute favourites and I never dreamed that I would one day be able to witness the whole score played live to picture.

 

The film opens with the London Films logo and it was great to hear one of the percussionists play the logo music - essentially the chimes of Big Ben - on the tubular bells!  For those of you familiar with the score, the LSO also played the Christmas carols heard near the beginning of the film (with the choir heard on the film soundtrack) and gave us the whole of the famous march to lead into the interval.  Better still, at the end of the film the orchestra played the entire Epilogue music, one of my favourite pieces of film music ever.  Frank Strobel conducted.

 

Interestingly, the film itself had subtitles only for the sequences in which dialogue is underscored, while the scenes without music played without subtitles.  The film is scarily prophetic, predicting war in Europe, helicopters, a global pandemic, the European Union, the moon landing and even smart watches and tablets.

 

[crocodile 8,000]

The Return of the King at Royal Albert Hall in March 2024. Tickets on sale on Wednesday next week.

 

Karol

[Bayesian 1,363]

On July 30, I attended Raiders LTP performed by the San Francisco Symphony. It was my first LTP and I loved it! Some random thoughts:

 

- There was a pianist in the orchestra. I didn’t realize JW used piano for color in that score.

- Six percussionists were on stage, by my count. Most impressive!

- They had an intermission, which they introduced by segueing into the Raiders march. When they started up again, they played the Mutt adventures.

- The performance was sharp! No flubs, as far as I could tell

- Even though I was there to watch the orchestra/conductor, it was surprisingly hard for me not to just watch the screen instead.

 

Overall, lots of fun and I’m very much looking forward to more JW LTPs! Home Alone this Christmas, to start.

 

[SyncMan 314]

  

15 hours ago, Bayesian said:

On July 30, I attended Raiders LTP performed by the San Francisco Symphony. It was my first LTP and I loved it! 

 

 

 

@BayesianI'm glad that you enjoyed your first LTP concert.  

 

Yeah, the San Fran Symphony does more of these LTP concerts per season than any orchestra in the USA.  I was over there last July for 'The Matrix' LTP concert (surprisingly enough, no USA orchestras are giving that). Each season, they up the number of these concerts from the previous season--in the 2023/24 season alone, they have 11 LTP concerts, covering September through June.  My standouts from their upcoming schedule would be 'Casino Royale', 'LOTR:TFOTR', and 'Gladiator' (another LTP that no USA orchestra has done, much).  They are also doing SW:TESB.  Lots to choose from in their schedule.

 

BTW: The hall where the San Fran Symphony performs regularly--Davies Symphony Hall--does a Harry Potter LTP concert every August, but they don't involve the said orchestra as they are on break.

[Bayesian 1,363]

I have a question I figured could be posted here to avoid the need for a new thread: What all actually goes into arranging a film score for an LTP presentation?

 

I expect there's a lot of work involved, but I'm curious about the details. Since film scores are of course never recorded in a straight 2-hr shot, one must presumably begin by getting all the cues in the right order (and maybe selecting which version of a cue is the best fit). Then someone has to bridge all the cues together into a single linear sequence -- which presumably means editing the closing bars of one cue and the opening bars of the next cue to flow seamlessly. (Who does that work? The original composer?). I also imagine that someone is also re-orchestrating every cue to accommodate the composition of a typical symphony orchestra -- if a score was originally written and recorded using unusual instruments, or several more units of a common instrument than found in a typical orchestra, are the parts rewritten accordingly?

 

Am I right about these steps? Are there other things that happen to make a score LTP-ready?