Vol 8, No 4 (2016)

CHRONICLE IN DETAIL | CURRENT EVENTS

Student Creativity Festival

Editorial -.

Abstract

The 36th international student festival, held in the Year of Russian cinema, was successfully completed, confirming its uniqueness and cinematic and theatrical art of young people, their readiness to enter into a professional activity. Traditionally, the festival includes 3 competitive programs-Competition of film works of students of VGIK, College of cinema and television of VGIK, Higher -" courses of VGIK. International competition kit, the jury of which was headed this year by the famous Director, screenwriter, producer Krzysztof Zanussi (Poland); XII international theater competition, where participation this time, in addition to Russia, took theater groups from China, Serbia, Bulgaria.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):6-6
pages 6-6 views

THEORY AND HISTORY OF CINEMA | AUDIOVISUAL ARTS

Newsreel: Is Its Revival Possible?

Malkova L.Y.

Abstract

The “Concept of development of documentary cinema and the film chronicle of Russia”, put forward by the Filmmakers Union of the Russian Federation, contains a disputable proposal to revive newsreels, which is analyzed in the article in social, historical and media contexts. Filmed press was in demand at the time when the cinema was the only audiovisual channel in mass media. It has been an instrument of propaganda but still it constitutes the bulk of filmed chronicles or the visual history of this country. On the other hand, film documents, initially not meant to be shown, later served as material for propaganda. The contradistinction of film chronicle and propaganda proves to be naïve in TV practice. Broadcasting news of the day if not of the hour, television gives a transitory and momentary image, and normally tends to cover the absence of life shots by verbal information. For history, on the contrary, the authentic documentary image is of paramount value - the image of an object that appears today or is bound to disappear tomorrow, of those present events that will shape the future of the country. It demands a quite different space-time assessment of actuality and consequently a different style of film shooting which presumes a secondary, nominative, verbal explanation. The historical value of the in-coming documentary as well as the reliability and profitability of its storage in the present digital form are doubtful from the viewpoint of the RGAKFD, which supports the idea of the revival of newsreels. The documents of everlasting importance should rather be shot on film in the format of their archive storage while their regular representation may form the mission of an audiovisual journal for digital distribution starting with the cinema.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):8-18
pages 8-18 views

The Key Art Strategies of “Soyuzmultfilm” in 1944-1946 Years

Sputnitskaya N.Y.

Abstract

A comment to the history of Soyuzmultfilm. The short period in the history of the domestic animation from the late wartime up to the period known as “fight against a disneevshchina” and a “malokartinye” has not been sufficiently analyzed yet and has not gained fundamental historical and theoretical assessment. Basing upon archival documents, the author fills up this gap. The author dwells on the key events and important art strategies and administrative actions for resuscitation of the main center of the important branch of cinema in the post-war years. The author traces history of restoration of Soyuzmultfilm studio since the summer of 1944 when the Committee on of the cinema affairs of SNK USSR appointed the enthusiast of the Soviet doll animation Alexander Ptushko as the artistic director and the director of Soyuzmultfilm. Basing upon archival stuff, the author describes the process of establishing regular release of the movies, formations of crews of highly skilled masters as well as features of development of new technology of color cinema and a thematic plan. Just during this period the innovative crew of animators sprang into being, such films were created as films Konek-gorbunok by I. Vano, Spring melodies by D. Babichenko and A joy song by M. Pashchenko - the first picture of the studio, winning the international prize (8th Venice MFF, 1947). The author pinpoints the key art strategies and advances historical and theoretical assessment of the important period in the history of Russian animation.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):19-27
pages 19-27 views

Education Genres Animated Poster in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Krivulya N.G.

Abstract

After WWII the genre of the animated poster was predominantly presented as advertisment films. The movie posters imagery in the 1950s tended to have an illustrative and spatial-pictorial artistic propensity. Grotesque and satire gave way to the dominance of realistic images, and the artistic design had gained coloration and splendor, creating the image of a cheerful world, affluence and prosperity. Films with propaganda and ideological orientations appeared along with the advertisement films, as the political and social poster developed. A special role in the poster genre development was played by the emergence of television as a major customer and distributor of this product. Unlike Western animation, the production of advertisement and social film-posters in the USSR was a state tool of the planned economy. Animated posters played an important role in the formation of new social strategies, behavior patterns and consumption. As a result, in the animated posters of the Soviet period, especially during the 1950s and 1960s, a didactic tone and an optimistic pathos in the presentation of the material dominated. The stylistics of film-posters changed in the 1960s. Their artistic image was characterized by conciseness and expressiveness, inclination towards iconic symbolism, and the metaphoric and graphic quality of the imagery. The poster aesthetics influenced the entire animation development in this period. The development of advertisement and social posters continued in the 1970s-1980s. The clipping principles of the material presentation began to develop in the advertisement poster, however, in the social and political poster there was a tendency towards narration. Computer technology usage in animation and the emergence of the Internet as a new communicative environment contributed to a new stage in the development of the animated poster genre. Means of expression experienced a qualitative upgrade under the influence of digital technologies in animated posters. While creating an animated poster’s artistic appearance the attraction and collage tendencies intensify due to the compilation of computer graphics and photographic images, furthermore, simulacrum-images are actively utilized as well. Since the 2000s, digital technologies are actively used for the development of social, instructional and educational posters. The advent of new technologies has led to modifications of the animated poster genre, changed the way it functions and converted its form. Along with cinematic and television forms - new types of animated posters have appeared which are used in outdoor advertising (billboards) as well as dynamic interactive banners and animated posters on web sites.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):28-42
pages 28-42 views

FILM LANGUAGE AND TIME | IMAGE GENESIS

Historical Potential of Newsreel and Its Interpretation

Belyakov V.K.

Abstract

What is a newsreel and how it relates to historical events? When watching the newsreel film footage, it is important to understand it and evaluate. It is necessary to have a specific pre-knowledge and pre-understanding of the subject. We have the right mind to correlate on-screen images with historical events. But newsreels never plays them fully, since they do not give a comprehensive picture of what have happened. Actually, newsreels are largely symbolic, and they also facilitate formation of historical memory. At the same time, to fully understand the historical newsreels one has to use the knowledge about the same events from other sources. When viewing pictures of the past, it’s vital to take into consideration the author's initial message predestinated for the according audience. This raises the question of the interpretation of the seen today, affected by certain mental filters of the actual audience. It especially tells on secondary use of historical newsreels today in a new documentary. Symbolism in newsreel arises through the symbolism of the ritual demonstrated on the screen. Does the ritualistic imagery bear any esthetical quality? There is a kind of duality: either we see a certain beauty of the ritual, or we look at what is happening only in the informational way. The novelty of the article is determined by its theoretical approach to understanding of the artistic and historical qualities of the newsreel, helpful for researchers and practitioners working in film archives.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):44-53
pages 44-53 views

Patterns of Behavior in the Great Patriotic War’s Soviet Cinema

Rostotskaya M.A.

Abstract

The author explores the moral stances of films produced during the Great Patriotic War. The author considers these films as a part of the state cultural policy suggesting that their plots and characters were subject to the political situation and focused on the morale building activities both in the military and in the rearward. The frame of holy war dictated patterns of behavior on the screen as well as in real life. The Great Patriotic War and necessity of the nation’s unity promoted Soviet people’s collectivist identity. The theme of revenge became the keynote of films produced during this period. On the one hand, Soviet people showed on the screen righteous anger, intransigence and even cruelty against the enemy; on the other hand - altruism, willingness to sacrifice one’s life for the sake of motherland and compatriots. The concept of “us” and “them” which had been formed during the class struggle received further development. The Soviet cinema tended to embody patterns of behavior for all social groups. Man’s and woman’s images became mostly archetypal. The author shows that a man’s positive image was a hero and a man of wisdom, whereas a woman’s positive image was to be a female warrior, beloved and mother. Moral rigorism, certainty and univocity of films shot during the war played a great role for the victory. Ethics of duty in Soviet films, introducing the model of “life as heroic act”, seemed invincible in the war years since it was based on distinct ideas of the purpose of the society. The destruction of the Soviet institutions and ideology would have contested the moral component of films made in the period of the Great Patriotic War. The article contributes to the development of historical memory and ability to perceive a film within the framework of public life and cultural policy.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):54-65
pages 54-65 views

Destiny of Indian Cinema in Russia

Nefedova D.N.

Abstract

The relationship of domestic moviegoers to the works of Indian cinema has a complex and heterogeneous development history. The Soviet audience watched the first Indian movie back in the 1950s, which gave a powerful impetus to the formation of multifaceted contacts between Indian and Soviet film industry. As a result such films were shot as Journey Beyond Three Seas, Black Prince Adjouba, The Adventures of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the famous My name is clown by Raj Kapoor, and others. However, a sympathy to the Indian cinema of the 1970-80s led to the formation of the stereotypes (frivolous story, improbable fights, numerous songs and dances, etc.), which have been preserved by this day, in spite of the changes that occurred in the Indian film industry. In the 1990s, there was a revision of values on the part of the domestic audience and interest for Indian cinema began to wane. Development of various types of video media has allowed fans to buy movies for personal viewing. At the turn of the century a number of television companies obtained broadcasting rights for the classic Indian films. Broadcasting of the channels India TV and Zee-TV, completely dedicated to the Indian culture, marked a new stage in distribution of Indian cinema in this country. In addition, the Internet technology gave way for development of various kinds of specialized resources. These facts, as well as resumed festivals of Indian cinema in the last decade in this country, speak in favor of the revival of the audience’ interest to it. Despite the virtual absence of the joint Russian-Indian films in the last decades and a small amount of Indian films, audience’ sympathy gives rise to the assumption of the prospects for this kind of cooperation, as well as accentuation of resuming heavy study of Indian cinema by Russian researchers.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):66-74
pages 66-74 views

PERFORMANCE | ART OF PRESENTATION

Traits of Mystery (miracle play), Tragedy and Commedia Dell'Arte in a Fairy-Opera-Film

Kropova D.S.

Abstract

This article deals with a fairy-opera-film and its specifics. The author reveals traits of mystery (miracle play) in a fairy-opera-film, basing upon a notion of mystery of Carl Orff’s theory, in the way as Orff meant it. Syncretism in different kinds of art, specifics of word as an art facility (meaning of a word and a word as sound) are specified. As examples the following films are taken: Bluebeard's Castle (composer Bela Bartok, filmmaker W. Golovin,1968), Iolanta (composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, filmmaker W. Gorriker,1963) and animated musical The Snow Maiden (composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, filmmaker I. Ivanow-Vano,1952). Special attention is drawn to the opera film The Queen of Spades (composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, filmmaker R. Tihomirov,1960). The author discloses in fairy-opera-film elements of commedia dell'arte, that is improvisation and masks. For example in films The Love for three Oranges (composer Sergei Prokofiev, filmmakers W. Titov and J. Bogatyrenko,1970) and The Magic Flute (composer Wolfgang A. Mozart, filmmaker I. Bergman,1975). The author comes to the conclusion concerning the targets and tasks of a fairy-opera-film. Through watching fairy-opera-films children should live cultural and psychological history of humanity step by step in its development through music, dance culture and drama (theater). The main task of fairy-opera-film is to save an entity of a human being, to prevent a child’s mutation into either a superman (or “Übermensch” in F. Nietzsche’s term) or degeneration.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):76-83
pages 76-83 views

“Provincial” Cinema on Global Orbits

Kirillova N.B.

Abstract

The author explores important aspects in the development of Russian post-Soviet film art, basing on the Ural school of cinema, which sprang into being in 1943 with the start of Sverdlovsk Film Studios. The "golden age" of Ural cinema unfolded in the 1960s-1980s - the span when the Ural cinema traditions were shaped; when this flourishing manifested itself in all cinema genres and trends: fiction, documentary and educational cinema, as well as in animation. Both film professionals and viewers were very much familiar with the names of such directors as: Ya. Lapshin, O. Nikolayevsky, V. Khotinenko; documentary directors A. Litvinov, B. Galanter, L. Rymarenko and V. Volyanskaya, A. Baluyev, S. Miroshnichenko, I. Persidsky and others. Ural school of animation achieved global relevance with the works of such artists as A. Karayev, V. Petkevich, A. Petrov, O. Cherkasova, etc. After facing economic and creative crisis on the cusp of the 20th and 21st centuries, and even passing a stage of "clinical death", Ural cinema had not only survived, but achieved a new avant-garde position within the cinema world and expanded internationally. During this period Sverdlovsk Film Studios lost its monopoly within Ural cinema production with the new studios appearing on the regional cinema map: A-Film, Ural-Film, February 29, Snega, Kinokhronika OOO, Ethnographicheskoye Byuro and others. Post-Soviet cinema arena of Ural ushered in the new names of film professionals, who were the part and parcel of contemporary cinema avant-garde: Alexey Fedorchenko (director and producer), Vasily Sigarev (playwright, film director and producer), animators Sergey Aynutdinov, Nina Bisyarina, Oksana Cherkasova and others.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):84-96
pages 84-96 views

SCREEN CULTURE | CULTURAL STUDIES. PHILOSOPHY

The Problem of Artistic Form and the Objectives of Fine Arts Pedagogy

Sveshnikov A.V.

Abstract

The widespread tendencies in art to focus on the expression of subjective attitude to an event rather than on accurate depiction of an object have led to an increasingly strong opinion that basic academic literacy has lost its former practicality. Art pedagogic theory often treats the classical and modern education methods as opposites. Traditional education is claimed to be incompatible with the resolution of modern creative questions, and the instruction methods of the past are considered as outdated and unnecessary. Such contradistinction of “the old and the new” fails to consider the existence of a common pillar, of the main illustrative and interpretative objective, which is instrumental in providing the artistic meaningfulness equally to object-based or object-less art forms. The need to establish a necessary common ground, to resolve that universal fundamental problem at the very beginning of any educational journey, becomes therefore overlooked. This author’s argument in favour of the importance of treating such a common objective as a pedagogic cornerstone is based on selected conceptual themes from the works by A. Hildebrand and G. Wölfflin, two classics of art criticism. It is hereby attempted to demonstrate the existence of certain fundamental principles, indispensable for any of the pedagogic schools. In particular, A. Hildebrand pinpointed the importance of the “distance seeing”, which reveals the necessary general identifying impression given by an event or an object, leading to considering them as a whole, uniting all the separate parts of their image. In relation to this global ability classical academic and contemporary schools differ only in their means of expression, and the argument between them appears to have no ground. Such conclusions are in agreement with the stand of G. Wölfflin, a distinguished art historian and critic. In his studies of the historic development of art form from objective clarity to subjective relative clarity of the objective sphere, he showed that we are dealing here with methodological variations rather than with different views on the core pedagogical values. Different schools of art, and both contemporary and traditional approaches to art education have therefore a common ground: forming of a holistic vision of the student. It is important to keep in mind that, depending on their type of artistic thinking, some students would be able to better reach this goal within the framework of the academic school, and others, on the contrary, while mastering modern forms of art.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):98-107
pages 98-107 views

READING-ROOM | BOOK SHELF

BIBLIOTEKA VGIK

- -.
Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):108-108
pages 108-108 views

WORLD CINEMA | ANALYSIS

Travesty of the Sacred in Postmodernist Westerns

Tsyrkun N.A.

Abstract

The author analyzes the reasons, process and peculiarities of travesty of the sacred motives in the postmodernist western as the American national movie genre. As the country's national epic western bases upon the Puritan ethos as one of the fundamental moulding factors of American culture rooted in the mass daily consciousness, social psychology and mythology. For the revisionist western arisen after WW2 (that is Post-modern epoch) a certain reaccentuation of all its structural integrants is characteristic. Revision of the traditional western touches upon semantic, topical and mythological components as well as imagery which is becoming more and more sophisticated and polysemic. Basing on such pictures as Unforgiven (1992) by Clint Eastwood, True Grit (2010) by Ethan and Joel Cohen, The Hateful Eight (2015) by Quentin Tarantino, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) by Andrew Dominik, the author states the process of deconstruction of the harmonious disposition in the elemental balance proper for the classical western. The deconstruction takes place on all the layers of the movies: semantic, stylistic and axiological due to collision of different textual worlds in one and the same intertextual space. Anyhow, the author concludes, that the inevitable travesty of the sacred as the basic component does not reduce axiological value of the western. Axiological diversity of the filmic construction of the contemporary western provides the viewer with freedom for forming one’s own attitude towards the film and motivates continual questioning of history.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):110-124
pages 110-124 views

Two Peoples, Two Worlds

Zvegintseva I.A.

Abstract

By the time of the arrival of Europeans in the continent during the second half of the 18th century, the aboriginal tribes that inhabited Australia were under the primeval communal system. Their settlements became an easy conquering for the first aliens. Aborigines of Australia met the invaders quite friendly, providing virtually no resistance and the letters benefited immediately. There appeared a clash of two cultures, two worldviews. On the one hand, the absolute merging with nature, harmonious existence, which for centuries hadn’t undergone any changes, and hence a complete tolerance to everything that didn’t disturb the established order of the world; on the other hand - consumerist attitude to the land, the desire to get rich, tough competition. Naturally, such polar positions to combine turned out to be impossible, and without a desire to understand the natives who were moved out of their lands, the invaders hastened to announce the aborigines the second-class citizens. Of course, the national cinema couldn’t avoid the most urgent problem of the Australian society. But if the first works of filmmakers of the past were focused more on the exotics, mystical rites, dances, daily life of aborigines, in recent years increasingly serious movies are on, and the authors call for a change in attitude to the natives, respect their culture, recognize their equal rights. Analysis of the best movies devoted to these problems, such as Jeddah, Manganese, Fence from rabbits, Charlie’s land and some others has become the focus of the article. Mainly under the influence of these movies the situation in the country has begun to change for better. Today in the film industry the aborigines have been working, and the movie Samson and Delilah, directed by aborigine Warwick Thornton/ has been a sensation at the Cannes film festival of 2009.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):125-134
pages 125-134 views

FILM BUSINESS | MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND TACTICS

«Pulsating Organizations» in Culture

Gordin V.E., Elkanova E.M.

Abstract

The authors examine managerial practices of pulsating cultural institutions arranging film festivals and awards’ procedures. The machinery of any repeatable film festival implies cycling pattern, that is passing through certain sequential stages with the purpose of their own. Event operational activity is characterized by peaks before and during the event and falls after the festival execution. «Pulsating organizations» concept is used to highlight film festivals specific nature with the scope of activities that expands and shrinks. Despite the fact that organizational and economic mechanism of the event activities is characterized by unique features associated with the discrete service delivery (including cash flows intermittency, the need in new sources of funding, demand in staff during concrete stages of the festival cycle), there are no special publications analyzing a festival as an organization or within the management framework. tte pulsating effect which emphasizes primarily changes in the number of employees, has an impact on the inner organizational processes, as well as on its external environment, e.g. customer relationship management. Analysis of pulsating effect overcoming models will help to identify the algorithm of more efficient policies for film festival structures’ management.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):136-144
pages 136-144 views

TELEVISION | DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT

TV Moves into Virtual Reality as a Projection of Development

Urazova S.L.

Abstract

The rapid development of digital technologies has a significant impact on the media market and media systems as a whole. Despite the fact that traditional TV has become the first to have mastered the digital platform and still retains leadership among audiences of different countries, it is also experiencing the pressure of evolutionary technologies. One of these areas is the competitive dynamic development of technological tools to create a virtual reality that completely captures the attention of consumers, especially the younger generation, and plunges them into the space of the surreal world. But is TV actually not familiar with virtual reality or is it just a stereotype, established as a result of the existence of analog TV for several decades in the last century? This author considers the terminological backing of “virtual reality” and the emergence of this definition as exemplified by cinema and TV, as well as analyzes the signing of the cooperation agreement between the Russian TV channel “Digital TV” (part of the holding VGTRK) and the largest technology company “KROK” for the purpose of creating a consortium for the development of virtual reality in the Russian market. The author also addresses the issue of possible consumer awareness manipulation, especially among the younger generation, with the abuses of games and other applications of virtual reality, and reveals dissonance in consumer awareness of the virtual and objective realities in the future. Besides, the trend of development in Russian TV broadcasting is considered, identified in the framework of the International Congress of the National Association of Broadcasters. The author rationalizes the involvement of the younger generation in the world of virtual reality, assuming that it will not only improve the profitability and capitalization of TV as the leading media system, but may also attract target audiences to domestic television viewing.

Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):146-151
pages 146-151 views

RECOMMENDATIONS AUTHORS

RECOMMENDATIONS AUTHORS

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Vestnik VGIK I Journal of Film Arts and Film Studies. 2016;8(4):158-160
pages 158-160 views

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