Exclusive Interview with Filmmaker & Videographer Mark Spitzer
Filmmaker and Videographer Mark Spitzer has nearly 40 years of filmmaking experience, with 30 years teaching Film Production at SUNY Adirondack, and 20 years teaching digital media and film production at a public high school. People’s Mark Spitzer brings a wide range of film and media expertise
His award-winning films have been recognized by the Peoples’ Pixel Project and the Adirondack Film Festival. With a BFA in film production from Rochester Institute of Technology and a MEd in Art Education from Norwich University, he began his career in NYC working as an editor in the film industry editing trailers for feature films, before deciding to enter education. Newly retired, he is now a full-time filmmaker as well as continuing to teach as an adjunct professor at SUNY Adirondack.
Mark is co-owner of Moving Balance Productions, a collaboration between he and partner Michelle Furlong. Together, Michelle and Mark have produced films for clients such as the GFS, Patriot Flight of the Capital District, Hart Cluett Museum, Night Out for You, and the Hyde Collection.
You can experience Mark in person THIS Wednesday at the Queensbury Senior Center, from 11:30 am-12:30 pm, as he hosts the first GFS film series of 2026!
Mark will share the history of silent films and his part in our upcoming “Silent Movie Valentine” performance on Saturday, February 14, 1 pm at the Strand Theatre, Hudson Falls, NY.
We had the chance to catch up with Mark for some Q&A, where he shares his thoughts on music’s place in Silent Films. Enjoy!
GFS: Please share with us a little about your connection to this great orchestra!
MS: I have been an enthusiastic GF Symphony attendee for many, many years. In 2018, I joined the symphony board. But when the pandemic hit, and the symphony needed to shift to an all online presence, my past expertise in film and media became helpful to the symphony as their video creator.
Something I am still doing to this day. As a video creator for the symphony, I help to make sure the visual portion of the concert looks good and works smoothly.
GFS: How has it been collaborating with Music Director Charles Peltz, on “Silent Movie Valentine”
MS: One of my favorite parts of being in the visual media business is the close collaborations that films have to have. I have been working with Charles on various projects for close to a decade now. It is always an immense pleasure working with him. Charles always has a clear vision of what he would like to achieve from any particular project. My role is to visually make his vision come to fruition. This particular project has required a lot of email chats to narrow the issues and road bumps that always arise with any project, and I have really enjoyed the collaboration.
GFS: Why is this era of film not to be forgotten? And what makes it so special?
MS: Silent films should always be a part of the film and visual cultural canon. It is during this period that cinema was “discovered”. It was when the language of film was created. It is visual storytelling at its purest. The silent era was when all the genres we know and love were defined and developed.
Love this quote: “Silent Cinema isn’t ‘early’ film - it’s fundamental film.”
GFS: Do silent films align with the theme of "Valentine’s Day"?
MS: Of course, romance and romantic entanglements were a theme of many early films, fit quite well with Valentine’s Day. Movies like Sunrise, City Lights, and My Best Girl are just some of the many love story films.
GFS: What does orchestra music, or any form of music, add to a silent film?
MS: So, I need to start by saying that I wish we could get rid of the name “Silent” film. Because they were never really silent. There was almost always a piano player, an organist, a small ensemble, or occasionally a large orchestra playing live music while the movie was projected. Very early on, the filmmakers realized that JUST watching a movie felt incomplete. Having music, just as it is today, helps to set the mood, lets you know what to feel, creates continuity, and helps complete the experience. Silent films clearly demonstrate, music isn’t just an accessory; it is a unique feature in the arts - visuals and sound working together.
GFS: What can you tell us about the films we will be experiencing on Valentine's Day at the Strand Theatre?
MS: In particular, "A Trip to the Moon.” Each of the films that the Symphony will be showing were each selected for specific reasons. One in particular, “A Trip to the Moon,” was selected because it is both an excellent example of a VERY early film and is considered to be the first Science Fiction film made. It shows some of the very clever ways in which those early films solved “special effects”.
GFS: Do different elements of the silent film—cinematography, acting, directing—inspire you during the creative process?
MS: Cinematography - “Don’t say it, show it.” Acting - “The camera sees it all, you need to be fully present.” Straight from the silent era. It is how every filmmaker should work. Designing sound for silent films required out-of-the-box approaches. Filmmakers, including Charlie Chaplin, particularly employed rhythmic cutting as a form of action editing to create a “visual sound” style of performance. This visual sound provided rhythm, enabling greater engagement with the films and replacing the unsatisfactory dialogue.
GFS: Would you say it was here in the height of Silent Film that the conception of sound design started?
MS: Even though the technology didn’t yet exist, silent film creators were already thinking in terms of sound. Some of Charlie Chaplin’s films have been described as being edited ‘musically’, with gags happening in measures, pauses as rests, chase scenes as tempo change. In addition, creators would frequently write music themselves or have music written for their films. The sheet music would then travel around with the films. They would also create a notebook that would describe what mood or atmosphere should be expressed for each scene or describe the sound effects to use in a scene. So yes, the silent era is where sound design as an artistic conception originates—of course, not as recorded audio, but as rhythm, timing, emphasis, and expectation embedded in image and edit.
GFS: What are you looking forward to most about this GFS concert experience?
MS: One of my favorite ways to watch a film, particularly films from the silent era, is to watch them with live music. It was the way these films were originally shown; they were never really “silent”. However, today, most people have never had the pleasure of experiencing films in this way. I’m very excited for the GFS audience to have the opportunity to watch some great movies with Symphony musicians performing great music.
You can experience Mark in person on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, 11:30 am-12:30 pm at the Queensbury Senior Center, as he hosts the first FREE GFS film series of 2026. Mark will share some history on Silent Films and his part in our upcoming “Silent Movie Valentine” performance on Valentine’s Day!
Silent Movie Valentine – Saturday, February 14, 2026, 1 pm at the Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, NY. Tickets: Adults $12 / Children $8 / Family Four Pack $30
Click Here to Purchase Tickets:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/36232/production/1243163
or call the Symphony Box Office 518.793.1348, M-F 10 am-5 pm/
"Silent Movie Valentine" is sponsored by Adirondack Trust Company, Arrow Bank, Dan & Jan Hazewski, DeNatale's Restaurant, and Alexander Orthodontics. Glens Falls Symphony performances are made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
To learn more about Mark Spitzer and Moving Balance Productions, visit their website: https://www.movingbalanceproductions.com/