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Brief introduction of the authors and the content of the articles of the issue

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FILM THEORY AND FILM HISTORY | AUDIOVISUAL ARTS

Vladimir Mayakovsky as a Film Actor: a “Star” or an Amateur?

UDC 654.197

Summary: The article investigates Vladimir Mayakovsky’s activity as an actor. The author defines the characteristic features of the poet’s acting and assesses his artistic capabilities based on the analysis of the film ‘‘The Lady and the Hooligan’’ and accounts of his contemporaries.

Key words: Mayakovsky, actor, silent film, film, gesture.

Author: Alexander A. Pronin, Doctor in Philology, Ass. Professor of TV Journalism, St. Petersburg State University, author of over 60 scholarly papers and a number of manuals. Sphere of expertise: film publications of the 1920s, documentary screenwriting, film and TV narrative.

Sound as a Sign and Artistic Symbol in Film

UDC 791.43/45

Summary: The article searches into the significant and symbolic aspects of sound in creating the film’s audiovisual image. A system of sound meanings and the ways of their embodiment in film direction in view of the historic and esthetical stages of mastering sound in cinema is presented. The author argues that the necessity to turn to sound symbolism arises not so much from the story as from the director’s inner desire and is based on his esthetics, cultural experience and worldview.

Key words: sound in cinema, film image, artistic symbol, sound symbol in cinema, sound filmic design.

Author: Elena A. Rusinova, PhD (Arts), Associate Professor, Vice Rector for research, VGIK.

The Way of Genre in Cinema Documentary

UDC 791.43.01

Summary: The article attempts to survey the genres of documentary cinema, its vocabulary, the factors forming the key genre trends, their historic flexibility and modern issues as well as to analyze the basic problems of the screen document’s artistic structure, the dialectics of requirements for authenticity and expressiveness, the specific character of documentary imagery resulting in the polymorphy of its genre system. 

Key words: system of genres in art, cinema documentary, documentary image, reliability and expressiveness of screen document, specific genre structure of documentaries.

Author: Galina S. Prozhiko, Doctor in Arts, Professor, VGIK.

FILM LANGUAGE AND TIME | IMAGE GENESIS

The Influence of Far Eastern Culture on the Creative Work of S.M.Eisenstein

UDC 778,5с(092)1«Eisenstein»

Summary: The article investigates the influence of Japanese and Chinese traditional culture on Sergey Eisenstein’s theory of artistic thinking, his activity as a film director. The author explores the origin of Eisenstein’s interest for the Far East in the historical context of the late 19th — early 20th century. Special attention is paid to his reflection on the nature of Japanese and Chinese drama, painting and poetry as well as its results manifested in his montage theory.

Key words: S.M.Eisenstein, V.E.Meyerhold, montage, Japonism, Japanese culture, dialectics.

Author: Song Joon Il, Post-Graduate student, VGIK.

Mythologeme of Asceticism in the National Cinema the 1930s

UDC 778.5.01

Summary: The article is devoted to the myphologeme of self-sacrifice prevalent in the Russian cinema of the 1930s and closely connected with Soviet mythmaking largely based on Christian morality. The ‘Grand Style’ cinema acting as the ‘propaganda machine’ created a new mythology with a devotee as the cultural hero bringing order to the chaos and ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of common good.

Key words: ascetic, self-sacrifice, ideology, mythmaking, mythological “triad”.

Author: Yuliya V. Zubkina, Competitor of Ph-degree, Screenwriter.

PERFORMANCE | THE ART OF PRESENTATION

Characteristics of Traditional Aesthetics in the Film Music of the Far East Countries

UDC 791.43

Summary: Revealing the role of esthetic space where the film director works and its significance for creating the audiovisual synthesis of the film, the article studies the inextricable connection of music with the traditional esthetics in the cinema of the Far East countries.

Key words: film music, cinematography of the Far East countries, film audio-visual solution, Far Eastern traditional aesthetics.

Author: Tatiana S. Sergeeva, Doctor of Arts, Associate Professor of Digital Media, Higher School of Journalism and Media, Kazan Federal University.

Stunt Trickery as an Effective Spectacle Means of Artistic Expressiveness

UDC 778.534.7

Summary: The article looks into the notions of film stunt and stunt technical skills as the most expressive and memorable means of an audiovisual production. On the whole, the stunt as a concept has undergone a considerable evolution adjusting itself to the screen narrative and forming its inventory of stunt performance. The term served as the basis for the emergence of the so called ‘stunt cinema’ which gained popularity and consumer demand. In modern film industry, stunt films are considered highly profitable.

Key words: stunt technical skills, film stunt, stunt performance, film vocabulary, film phrase.

Author: Dzhan I. Danilov, Senior Researcher, VGIK.

The Doppelgänger Motif in the “New Sincerity” Cinema

UDC 778.5.01:041с/р+778.5.01(014)+778.5.04.71.1

Summary: The article substantiates the doppelgänger motif of in the ‘new sincerity’ cinema and searches into the conceptual diversification of this motif in a number of films as well as the ways of representation on the conceptual and narrative levels of using artistic expressive means.

Key words: “new sincerity”, the doppelgänger motif, a doppelgänger, a protagonist, the protagonist’s unconscious, Jungian psychology, Shadow Archetype, Trickster Archetype.

Author: Mariya О. Kuznetsova, Post-Graduate student, VGIK.

WORLD CINEMA | ANALYSIS

The Image of Femme Fatale in German Films of the 1920s as Evidence of the Society Renewal

UDC 791.43/.45

Summary: The article deals with representation of female characters in the German cinema of the 1920s focusing on the femme fatale as the exponent of the spirit of the age and its numerous inner problems. Then and there, the femme fatale appears as a revolutionary image 156 challenging the traditional life style. The author analyses the most exemplary films with such a heroine: ‘Genuine, die Tragödie eines seltsamen Hauses’, ‘Dirnentragödie’ and ‘Asphalt’.

Key words: film history, German cinema in the 1920s, the new woman, Femme fatale.

Author: Svetlana A. Smagina, PhD (Arts), Senior researcher, Institute of film Art, VGIK; Senior Teacher of Cinema Studies, VGIK.

Choreographic Art on the Cinema Screen: Film-Ballet or Ballet-Film?

UDC 7.094

Summary: The article investigates a stage production organically combining choreography and screen art based on Chopin’s ‘Die Kameliendame’ choreographed by John Neumeier whose oeuvre has become a hallmark in modern ballet. The author compares the stage version of ‘Die Kameliendame’ with its screen adaptation.

Key words: ballet in cinema, TV ballet, broadcast of a Ballet performance, “The Lady of the camellias”, John Neumeier, filmed ballet.

Author: Daria E. Khokhlova, PhD (Arts), ballet dancer, Bolshoi Theatre.

TELEVISION | DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

Small Screen and Great Ambitions: Australian Television Series in the Cultural Context of the Country

UDC 778.5И (Australia)

Summary: The article investigates the success of Australian TV series in many countries including Russia. Today, these are professionally made audiovisual works with well-constructed stories, talented casts and magnificent direction. They show the life of Australian society, revealing social problems and the reasons of the Green Continent’s prosperity, make one want to take a closer look at this country.

Key words: Australia, TV series, television, coproduction, success.

Author: Irina А. Zvegintseva, Doctor of Arts, Chair of Cinema Studies, VGIK.

Film Viewing of the Russians on TV Channels: Sociological Analysis

UDC 654.197.01:316

Summary: In the context of increasing digitalization of media-space, the analysis of broadcasting films on Russian leading TV channels is of intense interest. The article examines the specific character of movie broadcasting in general and the films preferred by Russian TV audience. The analysis is based on the viewing grids of 22 Russian channels in the July of 2018 taking into account the main data of film repertoire on TV and the preferences of the audience in accordance with the age categories.

Key words: television, motion picture, television audience.

Author: Alexander V. Sharikov, PhD (Pedagogy), Professor of the National Research University, Higher School of Economics.

Multivariation of Reality in Digital Paradigm

UDC 654.197.001.33

Summary: The article validates the terms based on the notion of ‘reality’ that have started to be used in the media due to the implementation of digital technologies. Emphasis is laid on Virtual Reality (VR) and its types: Augmented Reality (AG) and Mixed Reality (MR). Their application updates the approaches to the creation of film and TV productions, alters the immanent bond with the audience. The terms are correlated with the concepts of ‘media reality’ and ‘screen reality,’ introduced into scientific use. As a result, there emerges a multireality which affects the individual’s perception.

Key words: objective and subjective reality, media reality, screen reality, Virtual Reality, Augmented & Mixed Reality.

Author: Svetlana L. Urazova, Doctor (Philology), Associate Professor, head of the Research Section, Academy of Media Industry, editor-in-chief of the “Vestnik VGIK” Journal.

* For further discussions please contact the authors on: editor@vestnik-vgik.com  

© Translated by The Laboratory of the Foreign Cinema, VGIK.