# Saw my first hybrid concert/movie tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 8, 2024, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339 "2024-12-08T07:03:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/1 "2024-12-08T07:03:23Z")
At the very last minute I scored a couple of tickets to see “Love Actually” at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall here in Portland. While the movie played on a big screen, all the music was played by a live orchestra right below the screen, and it sounded terrific! What are your experiences with this kind of set-up? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/2 "2024-12-08T10:56:20Z")
Last month I saw **E.T.: The Extraterrestrial** accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv. Needless to say, it was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/3 "2024-12-08T12:10:31Z")
Moved to Cafe society. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/4 "2024-12-08T16:04:17Z")
The Phoenix Symphony does this. I’ve seen them do Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s lots of fun - everyone clapped when they perfectly synced Jack tapping the ornaments. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/5 "2024-12-08T16:59:03Z")
The only one I can think of is seeing Metropolis with a live organ accompaniment. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/6 "2024-12-08T17:24:52Z")
About a decade ago, I saw _The Fellowship of the Ring_ done this way, at Ravinia (an outdoor music venue park in suburban Chicago), where most of the seating is on the lawn. They showed the film on a bunch of large screens throughout the park, while the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played the score. We were there with some friends, and we’d brought a picnic dinner and drinks. It was an awesome experience, and the audience cheered for all of the heroic moments. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/7 "2024-12-08T17:31:40Z")
Got dragged to a “Sound of Music” sing-along that did this. As a side-note, a 98 year old woman can really pack a punch. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/8 "2024-12-08T17:51:38Z")
Both of the major orchestras in this area ([NSO](https://www.kennedy-center.org/nso/home/) and [BSO](https://www.bsomusic.org/)) do this once or twice a year. So far, I’ve only gone to one: in 2019 I took my then-18-year-old nephew to the NSO’s _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ in concert, because (a) we both love those movies and (b) how could that score not sound amazing when played live? It was great! Nothing since then has come up that I’m interested enough in, but I’d definitely do it again with the right movie/score combo. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Got dragged to a “Sound of Music” sing-along that did this. I don’t think movie sing-alongs – which also pop up around here from time to time – are the same thing at all. I wouldn’t want to go to one of those. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/9 "2024-12-08T19:24:33Z")
Huh. That’s really neat! We live a few hours away from Portland. Do you think it’s worth driving over to see a performance sometime? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/10 "2024-12-08T21:42:58Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I don’t think movie sing-alongs – which also pop up around here from time to time – are the same thing at all. It’s a movie with an orchestra so why not? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/11 "2024-12-08T21:50:31Z")
Because at the event I went to the orchestra played and the audience was quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/12 "2024-12-08T21:56:25Z")
So is the movie shown completely silently? Or is the dialog but not the music heard from it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/13 "2024-12-08T21:59:49Z")
They got a special cut of the movie where all the musical (not vocal, though) accompaniment was cut out, then performed instead while the movie was shown with a live orchestra. Not a silent movie, and not a sing-along. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/14 "2024-12-08T22:00:21Z")
Ok, thanks. Though watching that cut would be interesting, to understand the impact of the score on the mood and emotion of the film. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/15 "2024-12-08T22:01:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > So is the movie shown completely silently? Or is the dialog but not the music heard from it? > [@Czarcasm](#): > > They got a special cut of the movie where all the musical (not vocal, though) accompaniment was cut out, then performed instead while the movie was shown with a live orchestra. That was my experience, as well, with the LotR movie. The original dialog and sound effects were all intact, but the soundtrack music had apparently been removed from the film, and replaced with the live orchestra performance. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/16 "2024-12-08T22:22:34Z")
I was able to see the conductor, and he uses a very interesting display to help him synchronize the orchestra. A graphic metronome on his monitor that must give him timing information. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/17 "2024-12-08T22:30:32Z")
The Cleveland Orchestra does a few of these every summer at Blossom Music Center, the local outdoor concert venue. I’ve seen The Empire Strikes Back and the first Harry Potter that way. Both were a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/18 "2024-12-08T22:41:03Z")
Same with the event I went to last night. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/19 "2024-12-09T01:17:18Z")
I saw the Reno Phil do this with Back to the Future. Nothing particularly memorable about the score, but it was a very enjoyable experience. On the other hand I’d give my eye teeth to experience this with any of the Lord of the Rings. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339/20 "2024-12-09T02:57:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > , and the audience cheered for all of the heroic moments. “And Rohan will answer!” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saw-my-first-hybrid-concert-movie-tonight/1011339.md?page=2)