The Florida Orchestra is turning classic movies into live‑music experiences for St. Pete families this Halloween weekend. At the historic Capitol Theatre on Saturday, the orchestra will perform Elmer Bernstein’s score while the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters plays on a high‑definition screen above the musicians.
Friday night, the Mahaffey Theater will host Sonic Live in Concert, a 35‑year celebration of the beloved video‑game franchise. A hybrid ensemble of rock musicians, electronic artists and vocalists will accompany the on‑screen action, highlighting the work of composers Jun Senoue and Tomoya Ohtani.
How the live‑score shows work
Each production uses a specially edited version of the film that removes the original music, leaving only dialogue and sound effects. A full orchestra, chamber group or smaller combo then plays every musical cue in perfect time with the picture.
The conductor sits at a music stand that holds a video monitor showing the film with visual cues—colored lines, flashes and other markers—that indicate precisely when each musical phrase should begin. A printed score is also available, and many productions provide a click track that the conductor (and sometimes the musicians) can hear to stay locked to the film’s tempo.
In addition to the cue‑filled monitor, a second silent copy of the film is displayed on a monitor to the conductor’s right. This helps the conductor keep the orchestra aligned with the image, especially during complex sound‑effects moments that may be triggered by on‑stage synthesizers.
Technical preparation
Behind the scenes, an audio engineer balances the live orchestra with the film’s existing dialogue and effects, planning adjustments for moments where music might compete with spoken lines. Two high‑resolution projectors overlay the same image to achieve the brightness of a movie‑theater setting and provide redundancy in case one projector fails. Precise alignment of the two images is essential to avoid a blurry picture.
According to Eric Shinn, the Florida Orchestra’s Vice President of Orchestra Operations & Artistic Planning, film selection is driven by iconic scores, nostalgic appeal, intergenerational interest, agency demand and feedback from orchestras. Recent titles have ranged from the suspenseful Jaws to the family‑friendly How to Train Your Dragon.
Upcoming shows
Following the Halloween events, the orchestra will present The Nightmare Before Christmas on December 5‑6 at the Mahaffey Theater, continuing the season’s blend of classic cinema and live orchestral performance.
These concerts offer a unique way for St. Pete residents to experience beloved movies with the immediacy of live music, reinforcing the city’s vibrant cultural scene and providing family‑friendly entertainment that honors both film and orchestral traditions.
Original reporting: St. Pete Catalyst — read the source article.
