Fiodor KHITRUK. «It’s a pity that people get used to wonders». Memoirs.

Profession—animator. About films.—About conceiving the idea of film. «Great thoughts, medium thoughts and thoughts of Pafik, the dog».  —A propos a cock, pearl grains and other things.—Notes on animation.— Reflections at the back door.—About a motion.—About an actor’s play.—About a psychology of creating.

This issue is entirely dedicated to art of animation film. The main reason is to celebrate the 88th anniversary of well-known Russian animator Fiodor Khitruk. In this heading there is a complex of texts written in different years. Actually it is a whole book which describes and reflects his life way, his approach to profession of animation director.

 

A WORKSHOP

Yuri NORSHTEIN: «He brought another comprehension of imagery…»

Film by film Yuri Norshtein analyzes Khitruk’s discourse reflecting on Khitruk’s contribute to aesthetic of animation art and on what is the basis and philosophy of this art. One of Norshtein’s conclusions is that Khitruk’s principle of directing is clownery.

Alexander PETROV, Мikhail TUMELYA: «A science to amaze»

Talking to the interviewer, two famous Khytruk’s disciples recall their first professional experience and exercises during the education on Higher courses of directing and scriptwriting. Besides the way the director approached to his every student they also discusses about his teaching methods and about a pedagogical continuity.

«Your situation is quite promiseful». A verbatim report of lection in Khitruk’s workshop on Higher courses of directing and scriptwriting, 1987.

They say it is intersection of time, space and people suddenly happens when among a lot of students there is a group where everyone becomes a significant person in art. This one was exactly like that. The text is kept in Khitruk’s own archives.

A t t a c h m e n t

An educational program of training animation directors. The lection topics.

Methodic instructions towards educational program on discipline «The technique of animating».

A screenplay of a cartoon. Lectionary prйcis.

There are educational plans composed by Khitruk as a result of his own art experience and based on classic examples from the history of animation.

 

ANIMATION TECHNIQUE

Kit LAYBOURNE. The Animation Book, a complete guide to animated filmmaking—from flip-books to sound cartoons. (Preface and translation by F.Khitruk)

«The Animation book» published in 1979 is still interesting now not only as a wide panorama of technical methods of modern animation. It is first of all a compendium for everybody who decided to become an animator but also it is the brief history of animating art. One of the main Laybourne’s ideas is that the technique of animating used by the artist is strictly determined with the individual way of mind.

A t t a c h m e n t

Fyodor KHITRUK. Tales about animators.

This text is some kind of selected encyclopedic dictionary of the main authors in history of animation composed by the director.

Yuri NORSHTEIN. Few words about Caroline Leaf.

The director reflects on films made by Leaf and compares it to films by Alexander Petrov.

The best animation films and its’ authors.

The lists of films and persons recognized as the best at the referendum in Bucharest in 1971, on the Olympiad of arts in Los Angeles in 1984, and Laputa Film Festival in Tokyo in 2003.

 

The history of non-reader picture. («A tale of silly mouse» by Mikhail Tsekhanovskii in documents.) (Publication and preface by G.Borodin.)

Tsekhanovskii who began his animation in almost vanguard’s manner then made his films in faded technique of йclair. But this his unreleased production witnesses about an ability of compromise between the soviet animation canon and his manner. The documents reveal the item of conflict between Tsekhanovskii and famous writer Samuil Marshak, the author of the tale.

A t t a c h m e n t

A letter from N.Khodotaev to M.Tsekhanovskii .

Eleanor GAILAN. Someday… (Memoirs about Leningrad’s animation)

The pre-war scholarship of animation in Leningrad is interesting and distinctive phenomenon almost unresearched yet. For a long time production of anima films on Leningrad studios (Lenfilm, Belgoskino, Reklamfilm, Soyuzetekhfilm) developed on his own way independent from influences and achievements of animators in Moscow or Kiev. It was much more influenced by bookish graphic.

Eleanor Gailan came to work on Lenfilm studio in 1936, immediately after the group of color animation production was formed. This is the part of her memoirs about the work with Mikhail Tsekhanovskii.

A t t a c h m e n t

A letter by Michail Paschenko to Eleanor Gaiylan (Publication and preface by Peter Bagrov.)

The memoirs are supplied with the letter to Gailan written in 1946 where Paschenko quite clear explain the difference in the work of Lenfilm studio in 1930es and Soyuzmultfilm studio in 1940es. The text is kept in Gailan’s private archives.

 

Mikhail ALDASHIN. Alive and lifeless animation.

During the conversation with pupils of Moscow International Film School Mikhail Aldashin, production designer and animator, the Khytruk disciple, shares to them his thoughts about the anima art.

 

Georgii BORODIN. Fighting for little thoughts. (The inadequate censorship.)

A one chapter from Borodin’s book «Dependent Animation» is the first publication of his vast research. Its object is the role of censorship in the history of soviet animation. The author defines their goal as to collect the facts of different censorial interferences in process of creating cartoons and to compare original film with version after it was censored. The item of the text published is fate of such films as «The end of Black morass», «We’re finding Blot», «Gena the crocodile», «A Glass Accordian», «A man in a frame» and other productions of Polkovnikov, Kachanov, Khrzhanovskii, Khytruk, Ugarov made at «Мulttelefilm» and «Soyuzmultfilm» studious which were differ than canonical cartoon model according censorship. In each case fighting for original idea and tricks used to avoid censorial interference are the part of history of the film and history of Soviet animation.

 

Evgenii MIGUNOV. The work in puppet animation.

Usually Vladimir Degtiariev is considered as one of the founders of puppet union on «Soyuzmultfilm» studio. Nevertheless before his film «Two greedy bears» which was shot on 30th of August, 1954 and considered as the first puppet cartoon shot with frame-by-frame method where was Migunov’s «Karandash and the Blot are merry hunters». The shooting of «Karandash…» was started for a month earlier than «Two greedy bears» but the latter cartoon was faster shot. However the whole production process and shooting equipment for such method were first tested and developed with Migunov and his crew.

This is a continue publication of Migunov’s memoirs «About, a propos and relating to…» (see KZ №№ 62, 68).