An orphan film is any sort of moving image that might have been neglected or whose owner is no longer around, according to Dan Streible, art history and film studies professor and symposium coordinator.

The central focus of Orphans III is the element of sound. Topics may include audio restoration, theories of sound, music in film, obsolescent recording technologies, film narration practices, copyright and recording rights, mp3, film scoring, production techniques, motion picture recordings of vocal and music performance, early sound films, "silent" era accompaniment, benshi, and home recording. Selected speakers will lead presentations, screenings, and discussions.

The symposium will begin with a kickoff event Sept. 25. "An Evening With Film Composer David Raksin" will be held at 8 p.m. at the School of Music Recital Hall.

Raksin is a composer, historian, preservationist and film music scholar who has nearly 70 years of experience. A student of Arnold Schoenberg and collaborator with the likes of Stravinsky, Stokowski, and Gershwin, Raksin began his career in movie music when Charlie Chaplin hired him to work on the music for Modern Times (1936). He has gone on to score more than 100 features, ranging from the famous film noir Force of Evil (1948), to Vincent Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), to Nicholas Ray’s melodrama Bigger than Life (1956). His score for Otto Preminger’s classic film Laura (1944) produced a haunting theme song that has become a jazz and pop standard recorded more than 400 times. Raksin has been a professor of scoring for motion pictures and television at the University of Southern California since 1956.

The kickoff event—which is free and open to the public—is made possible by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Academy Foundation Visiting Artist Program. Tickets can be reserved by calling 7-3214.

Additional information about the symposium, including cost information and a registration form, can be found at www.sc.edu/filmsymposium/.

09/02