The research poster on: Russian/soviet era animation

For the poster I was excited and already had in mind which countries I would be more interested in working on. My choice was based on which country I was more inclined to share my knowledge. I chose Russian, soviet era animation with the goal of showing a more vibrant and joyful side of it. After sharing the animations I knew from my childhood, with my team members, we decided to talk about the joy these animations brought to children and adults.

I explored the golden age and decided to focus on the studio Soyuzmultfilm and look at their golden collection which was all their well-known animations that were a success with the public to this day. I research three of those showing the evolution the studio went through with the messages and ideas behind there creations, and through that show how exactly they managed to bring this joy and now nostalgia to people.

I started off with research on Soyuzmultfilm. I was familiar with a lot of animations created by them as I’ve watched them many times in my life, but never got curious to search about the studio’s history, so it was still a learning experience. Although this was not the main focus of my part of the presentation it would still be beneficial to understand the inspiration of the directors, and the reasoning behind creations. Thus, leading me to understand that they were founded in 1936 by the government at the time as well as funded by them, which is why they fell apart in 1990s given the government was falling apart itself. It was founded to make animations directed towards children while sharing the ideal of socialist realism, as well as animations directed towards their soldiers, but after Stalin’s reign around the 50s to the 80s that’s when they started creating the most memorable animations leading to the creation of a golden collection. They started off being educational and gradually we started having a variety, educational and animations with morals still existed but we also had animations that were simply for entertainment and animations questioning social philosophies such as Gamburg Y. (1976) Blue puppy.

I found it difficult to put into words why adults would enjoy it as much as children after some research and asking the adults in my life on their point of view they all seemed to insist how beautiful they found the art style used by Soyuzmultfilm, they enjoyed the vibrant yet soothing colours and almost realistic artwork which was created after the aesthetic change from being inspired by Disney to their own style.

The first animation I looked into was “bad grade again” made in 1957 by Boris Stepantev and Evgeny Raykovsky, it’s about a boy from a painting who learns and understands why he got such a low mark. It’s a good example of how animations could be used as a different medium to encourage children in the academic world to be interested in doing better. In this case, in a way that is more enjoyable and fun, thanks to the use of satire, for example the boy being bad in geography thinks that the sunny beach and ice cream are in the north and instead get transported to an ice beach with ice cream. It is equally entertaining for children as it is to adults because of its relatable situation, as a parent to a child who is failing and being unable to understand how to help, as well as the child being in the same situation as the boy. Furthermore, the satire in this case being simple enough even for children to understand, and fun enough for adults brings both audiences together.

This second one is a short although I did not find much information on it, I felt it was easy to understand the concept. It was directed by Degtyarev Vladimir from 1967, it was made during the period where animations seemed to challenge social philosophical questions, in this case it was the opposite of what was wanted by socialist realism. The protagonist, a little train is late to work, takes his time and enjoys the beauty of nature around him, of the birds singing and the flowers blooming, encouraging the young passenger enjoy it with him. In parallel I felt one of the passengers which could very well represent the hard-working citizens at the time, being a punctual man dressed in a dark coloured suit worries about being late and wasting time. We can understand how this story is sweet and pretty for a child, but the message would go over their head. Adults on the other hand would probably understand this more and maybe even be touched by the message behind it which was most likely directed towards them.

Finally, “Nu pogodi!” “Just you wait!” is a series, directed by Gennady Sokolsky, Vyacheslav Kotyonochkin, Vladimir Tarasov, Aleksey Kotyonochkin and Andrey Zhidkov, about a wolf running after a rabbit, like Tom and Jerry. It is very loved by the people who grew up with it. The whole concept of this series, created by Aleksandr Kurlyandskyis, Arkady Khait and Felix Kandel, is very simple: it’s just amusing. What I have noticed although it is simply humorous, with the simplicity of not talking often and mostly having the catch phrase “Nu zayetz, nu pogodi!” said every time the rabbit gets away, there’s a lot of elements of daily life and culture included into it, which now became nostalgic. Such as popular music from the period like: “Grass by the home” by Zemlyane and “millions of scarlet roses lyrics” by alla pugacheva in episode 14, as well as a snack called boublik and a samovar which is a big container you boil water in, which you can see throughout the series. It’s very understandable how it was able to reach a wider audience, the simple humour and elements seen and heard in any individual at the times daily life.

2-Notes:

Posted on May 2, 2024 by helou-s

This is a summary of my ideas and a more in depth look at what my part of the poster was about:

1-Notes:

Posted on May 2, 2024May 2, 2024 by helou-s

Research done on the history of the directors and the studio, to understand exactly what I wanted to focus on:

The start of my thought process:

Final reference sheet:

Posted on March 10, 2024 by helou-s

ubrick, S. (1980) The Shining.

Selick, H. (2009) Coraline.

Ostberg, R. (2022). witching hour. Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Salaky, K. Allen, S. (2023) Why are Victorian homes the default for haunted houses? Forbes Home.

My reflection on: capturing the development and research towards the presentation

Posted on March 10, 2024May 2, 2024 by helou-s

Film analysis was very new to me like many other, so I felt the need to take as many notes as I possibly could on how we analysed each animation during the lectures. For my part of the project, the Mise-en-scène, I thought it would be interesting to focus my attention on elements if taken out of the short would not make fearnando what it is. I wrote small paragraphs about each element, be it an object, scene or the character himself based on keywords I wrote down asking myself why it was used, what could be the goal to make me as an audience feel and how is it related to the main story.

I picked out two contrasting stages and three objects, I felt were essential to the story, as well as the character himself but I did not include this in my presentation, keeping in consideration that I needed to give enough time for my other group members to speak.

To develop my ideas for the first stage, which is the hallway, the references that came to my mind was the hallway of the hotel in the shinning and Coraline’s house when they first moved in.

I first noticed that the set is not dense with props, but not to the point of it being empty either. It is right in the middle, so it is easy on the eye. However, it feels cold, it is very put together and not “lived in”, like a gallery. Unlike the boy’s bedroom, it created an uneasy feeling. I would not perceive this as a welcoming home, although wood usually brings warmth to the place, but not in this case. It led me to wonder and research why an old home would make us feel troubled, which would lead us to understand the choice they made in its use in this short film. The use of wood for everything from the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the furniture, one could only imagine how much noise that would make when someone is walking at night or when there is a storm outside. The creaking and squeaking sounds they emit as well as the loud ticking of the grandfather clock, interrupts the silence and creates this tense atmosphere, that helps create suspense, keeping us the viewer on edge.

On the other hand, the second stage, his bedroom, felt like walking in a safe space. Asking myself the necessary questions of, why do I feel this way. It felt like looking at a bedroom full of childhood nostalgia, and newfound memories of teenage interests. The clutter is the first thing I noticed, in comparison to the hallway; it is lived in, messy, cluttered with toys, books, posters, figurines, it feels like a teenager’s bedroom. The light next to him which looked like a nightlight, reminded me of a child’s fear of the dark and how much this light helps ease their worries, a nostalgic feeling. It creates a contrast between two different kinds of history; the old hallway, which is unnerving and vulnerable and the childhood bedroom, which is nostalgic and safe.

But the safety of the room is only for short amount of time, until the power goes off. It somehow summarised the beginning of fearnando’s story of a supposedly secure environment that turned out to be welcoming a monster. I felt the following keyword’s best described the feeling the short film is trying to convey to us the audience: vulnerability, suspense and feeling uneasy.

The three objects I focused on which I believe were essential to communicate those feelings to the audience are: the pictures of the mother and son, the lighter and finally the grandfather clock.

Starting off with the pictures, the clash between the number of pictures we see of the two together and her absence during the entire short, I think had the intention of supplementing the feeling of vulnerability that the protagonist felt as well as putting us in his shoes, when he called out to his mother, and no one answered. That can be said by thinking about how she is the parental figure, the only one, which for a child and even a teenager would be a protective figure, someone they would turn to when they are afraid. And reminds me of the concept of what truly makes a house a home, is family. So, the lack of one help build suspense with the idea of the lack of safety in one’s home, which then makes them feel vulnerable.

The lighter, the only source of light he has, a guiding light through his dark home. My first thought was that the source of light is ridiculously small, they could have given him a flashlight. Therefore, there’s a reason behind this choice. The lighter as well as the glom it’s producing is minuscule compared to the space that it’s in, it barely even helps us see a thing. It created a belittling feeling in this dark space. Similarly to the character being the prey and the monster is the predator, making him feel vulnerable in his own home.

Finally, the grandfather clock, the object I believe broke this tension built up of suspense. And announced the count down before the jump scare. Something that caught my attention was the exact hour it chimed at, as well as the tone of the ringing. At 3 am it rang, I associated it with the witching hour and with a little research I discovered its folkloric origin as well as its other name, which I found more fitting for this part of the short animation, the “devil’s hour”. As for the ringing it reminded me of a funeral toll. Overall, it seems to be foreshadowing the arrival of the monster who will soon pounce on its prey, as if announcing what is about to happen next.