NYC Hobbit Moot 2009, Part 3

[lavendertook]

So it was Friday night in Radio City Music Hall before the the FotR symphony began, and these were excited hobbits. They may not look it, but I can assure you, they were. The hobbit wranglers, belleferret, frodosweetstuff, and I all got our tickets separately but still wound up in the same row a few seats apart from each other, and we managed to rearrange and sit together without any fuss (would YOU want to sit between a couple of hobbit wranglers?), so, luckily, the Frodo's and Bingo didn't have to do a reenactment of Heartbreakingly-Crushed-in-Dimril-Dale to persuade anyone to move.




As you can see, the excitement is clearly mounting. We're about 3/4 of the hall back in the back orchestra seats--the balcony was just beginning above us. The view was excellent.




And look! belleferret's Frodo and Sam are even more excited than my Bingo and Sam!




All's well and good, but Bingo and Sam are hoping beyond hope that nobody too tall sits in front of them, as the choir files in.




I think the hobbits were now getting as excited as we were, their little plastic heads all aquiver.




And now everyone is very excited because if you look at the two heads forming Mickey Mouse ears on that guy's cap in the center of this picture, you will find that the ear on the left is Billy Boyd's head and the ear on the right is Elijah Wood's head, and to the right of the woman I don't know filing in is Howard Shore, all sitting down together about 15 rows in front of us to watch the film and listen to the symphony with us. Isn't that cute?




And it's begun! Here is the conductor Ludwig Wicki using his computer score. The symbols used on the screen to help him conduct are the same ones devised for the film scores of silent movies the first part of last century. You can see a circle burst indicating an entrance on the screen here.




Because of the enclosed environment, and it being one such as Radio City Music Hall to boot, the sound was really far superior to what I heard at Wolftrap, and gave that enveloping feeling I had been looking for and not quite getting there. You could feel the vibrations of the percussion here. What I heard at Wolftrap was a perfectly timed soundtrack in perfect volume to the film, as if I were listening to the film in a superior theater, and it was a cool experience. But here at RCMH, they actually increased the volume a bit part way through, so that at times it was overwhelming the dialog, which was actually what I wanted to establish the sound and feel of a live orchestra with the film--wonderfully enveloping. And with the text on screen, no lines were lost for us reading along. It really was a magnificent performance.




Kaitlyn Lusk's voice was amazingly rich--maybe even better than Enya. Just lovely. I only took a few pics in the beginning as a man behind me said the light of the screen of my camera was bothering him, so I didn't get any pics of her or the boy soloists, the first of which was also really fantastic. Lbilover caught some of Lusk's performance in her great video selections here--go here if you want to better understand what we experienced.




Yay--my very favorite character: Bag End!




They called an intermission at the perfect break in the council after Elrond names the movie. There was much happy squeeage among us during this intermission as aliensouldream, honeyandvinegar, and verangel had close encounters of the Lij kind and were walking on air, as they happily recount here and here and here. It just added to the giddiness of the whole experience. I thought Howard and Billy were supposed to do some kind of introduction or presentation at some point, but at the end, Howard, Billy, and Lij went up on stage and just waved. That was all right. We were plenty happy campers already with the perfect performance. Hobbits and hobbit wranglers alike went to sleep exhausted and satisfied.

And that was our Friday night. Saturday and Sunday report to follow.

Comments

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

When I was living in Scotland, the Fellowship of the Ring was in theaters at the time, and the only theater in the town I was in was this old fashioned theater and for some reason, they had the need to do an intermission in it. But was it at a logical place like you mention above? Oh heck no. They stopped it JUST before the Ringwraiths approach the hill! I mean wtf! Your tension is going up, you're in major suspense and then BANG they make an intermission.

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

That is kind of bizarre. The choice to do that must have been tied to the size of the projector supervisor's small bladder, because there can be no other reason.

[belleferret.livejournal.com]

I found it fascinating that the technique for keeping the music and movie synched is the same as in the 1930s and 40s, although the technology for implementation has changed!

That's great that you got the mickey mouse ears pic of Billy and Elijah!

It's also great that we got to sit together; it was very nice of the patrons to allow us hobbit wranglers to stay together. :-)

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Me too--pretty cool.

(-:

It was great. The people whose seat I moved into came in late after it started, so they didn't even notice. But I'm sure they would have wanted us to sit together if they did. No one wants to have keeping hobbit dolls separated on their consciences. (-;

[shirebound]

Squeeeee! How thrilling.

LOL, you all need t-shirts that say "Hobbit Wranglers".

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

It really was! :-D

We do, with pictures of our special 'bit traps baited with plates of fresh mushrooms and mugs of ale.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Oh, gasp! I can't get over how huge that screen is! I've seen films in RCMH a couple of times in the past, back when the Rockettes were the pre-film show. I think we must have been sitting so far back I didn't grasp how big the screen is. Oh, SWOOOOOOON for really big screens on which to see trilogy films!!!!!!!!!!!

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

It was such a swoon-worthy grand screen with perfect picture quality. (-: You have to make a choice how much you let yourself lose yourself in the film or pull out to watch or keep awareness of the singers and musicians. The audience clapping kept reminding me to pull out and take in the orchestral experience, when I'd get immersed in the film narrative. It's a very busy experience.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

It sounds sensational. Did you feel it was worth while to go both to the movie-with-live-music events at both Wolf Trap and Radio City? From your introductory comment, it sounds as though the music at the Filene Center stayed subordinate to the film, functioning as the score did in the film, but the Radio City experience seemed like two performances in one: a film and a concert. In which case, the two experiences were unique, not greater or lesser versions of the same thing.

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Yes, they are different. Some might prefer the seamless balance of orchestra with soundtrack at Wolftrap. For how I personally process sensory input, if it were about the orchestral with film experience alone, RCMH is definitely the better venue with the enclosed acoustics and huger screen. But as an outing and social event, the outdoor venue with the onsite open air restaurant next to it, with a fine menu and a view of parkland, has as much to recommend as well. Both are opportunities to share the experience with my hobbit lovin' friends, which makes them both great.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the thoughtful response, Lavender. I guess the best would be to go to both! :)

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome. (-: Always the bestest solution!

[terminalmalaise.livejournal.com]

Seems like you had a pretty awesome time over the weekend. The pictures and write-up have been great!

Next time you find yourself in NYC, we should try to grab lunch! :-)

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

I did. Glad you're enjoying it!(-:

That would be great! You should come to see TTT next year.

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

I can imagine the feeling of being there to see that in that magnificent venue.

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

It would have been even better if you were there with us. *hugs*

[leaflet.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I love your photos!

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Aww, you're welcome--I'm glad you enjoyed. (-:

Lovely 2 tree icon!

[frodosweetstuff.livejournal.com]

Yay!!!! Thank you for this report!! I love to see the photos of the film and the orchestra. And of course Billy and Elijah as Mickey Mouse ears... :DDD

*squishes*

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Well, after all the pointy hobbit ears, they wanted to try something different . . . and finally realized nothing could be cuter than pointy hobbit ears. (-;

*hugses*