Малки университети

                                         Работилницата "Звук и спомени", Варна'12

            През изминалата седмица във Варна се състоя Осмият световен фестивал на анимационния филм. Предисторията на този фестивал, възроден миналата година след 15 годишно прекъсване благодарение на ентусиазма и усилията на няколко известни и все още начинаещи автори на анимационни филми, е интересна. През 80-те години на миналия век фестивалът успява за кратко време да се превърне в един от най-престижните фестивали на световната анимационна сцена. Все пак славата на фестивала все още живее в паметта на много аниматори от старото и средното поколение. Миналата година, водени от известния наш режисьор и художник, проф. Анри Кулев, една сравнително малка група хора успяха да възстановят фестивала и решиха да го направят ежегоден, за разлика от неговия предшественик.

Извън качеството на подбраните за конкурса и панорамата филми, фестивалът може да се похвали с нещо много ценно – до голяма степен във фокуса и на двете издания са студентските филми. В организацията на фестивала участват студенти и преподаватели от НБУ, а след спонсорите на фестивала е НБУ и НАТФИЗ „Кр. Сарафов”. Миналата година бяха представени студентски програми от НБУ; НАТФИЗ; Les Gobelins, Франция; Университета в Южна Калифорния, факултет „Джон Денч”, където се е учил Стивън Спийлбърг; ФАМУ, Чехия и Единбургския колеж по изкуствата. Тази година програмата също беше изпъстрена със студентски програми, анимационни работилници и майсторски класове. Имаше сборни програми със студентски филми от Института за дизайн и декоративни изкуства ENSAD, Франция; от уникалното висше училище само за анимация във Виборг, Дания – „The Animation Workshop”; известното Студио „Шар”, което е същевременно продуцентска  къща и школа за младите руски аниматори;  Филмовата академия в Баден-Вюртенбург, Германия и отново от Единбургския колеж по изкуствата към Единбургския университет. Заедно с индивидуално състезаващите се студентски филми, срещите и контактите с различни автори, тези прожекции, майсторски класове и работилници се превръщат в малък университет.

Сред споменатите вече работилници особено място заемат две – детската работилница на Жан Люк Слок и Карин Миралес, които бяха гости и активни участници и на миналогодишното издание на фестивала и рабтилницата „Звук и спомени”, водена от преподавателите от Единбургския колеж по изкуствата към Единбургския университет Джаред Тейлър, директор на програмата по анимация в колежа и д-р Джонатан Мъри. В детската работилница е много оживено и малко по-шумно. Децата на Варна са много ентусиазирани и нетърпеливи, но целият този поток от енергия, идеи и желания е ненатрапчиво и много лесно овладяван от опитните Жан Люк Слок и Карин Миралес. Жан Люк е  продуцент на белгийското студио „Camera, etc.”, което се помещава в Лиеж и което има освен авторски филми, вече има произведени много филми с деца и възрастни. Целта на тези филми е да се научат и децата, и възрастните да работят заедно, да решават конфликти помежду си, да довършват започнатото и най-важното – да опитат от  вълшебната сила на творчеството. Анимацията тук служи като средство децата да се научат да мислят, да разказват, да търсят оригинални решения – и всичко това, докато се забавляват. От миналогодишната работилница на Жан Люк и Карин Миралес във Варна и после за студенти и професионалисти в организираната от НБУ „Анимационна работилница” в с.Варвара се родиха не само симпатични детски и после студентски филмчета, но и студенти, които се запалиха по техния начин на работа. Дипломантките от НБУ Ирина Арменкова и Росица Арменкова вече имат два малки филма, направени с деца, които имат здравословни проблеми и се обучават по специален режим в 99-то Основно болнично училище. Опитът на двете студентки заслужава отделно внимание, защото в България, за разлика от много други европейски страни, все още не оказваме достатъчна подкрепа на хората, които тръгват смело по неутъпкани пътеки.     

Работилницата, която проведоха Джаред Тейлър и Джонатан Мъри във Варна, беше всъщност едно малко видоизменено според тукашните технически условия упражнение от тяхната учебна програма. Задачата беше да направят малки екипи и всеки да запише един спомен в рамките на минута. После екипът от трима души решава кой от спомените има шансове да стане интересен анимационен филм и по звука, спазвайки ритъма на разказа, емоционалните паузи и акценти, да се направи бързо филма – в рамките най-много на месец. Прожекцията от студентските филми, направени по този начин в Шотландия, беше изключително интересна – и като професионални постижения на студентите, но също и като един голям разказ за това какво вълнува младите хора, кои теми се преповтарят. Някой каза на фестивала, че младите хора нямат много спомени, но бидейки близо до детството, спомените им са съвсем свежи и ярки.  Нашите студенти не успяха да направят филм поради ограниченото време и поради липсата на достатъчно оборудване, но представиха три обещаващи проекта за филми, които направиха в рамките на един ден.

Тук ви предлагам разговори с водещите работилниците – участниците в малкия университет, в който обещава да се превърне Варненският фестивал на анимационния филм. Университет както за опитни и начинаещи професионалисти, така и за широката публика.

                                            Джаред Тейлър, шеф на анимационната програма
                                            в Единбургския колеж по изкуствата към Единбургския университет

                                         д-р Джонатан Мъри, преподавател

-          Господин Тейлър, разкажете нещо за вашите методи на преподаване?

Джаред Тейлър: Преди да почна работа  в Единбургския колеж по изкуствата, преподавах в колежа „Ривънсбон” в Лондон. Там преподавах дигитални  технологии и всичко беше свързано с компютъра. Използваха се малко традиционни методи, но едно от най-важните неща по отношение на дигиталното обучение беше рисуването от натура. Там все още продължават много да рисуват. И това е изключително важно. Ако поставите пред компютъра някого, който не може да рисува, резултатът ще бъде лоша, но скъпа рисунка. После получих възможност да отида в Единбург, където нещата са съвсем различни. Тук не препоръчваме на студентите специални методи, които да използват, когато правят анимация. Стремим се да им покажем колкото се може повече различни методи за производство на филми. Разбира се, за ограниченото време, с което разполагаме, сме в състояние да им покажем само най-основното в толкова много техники. Във втората част на обучението те трябва да решат кой метод да изследват в дълбочина, или няколко метода и някаква комбинация от тях. Но не дигитални технологии, не и аналогови – а нещо средно между тях.

Много се радваме, че в колежа в Единбург имаме много добро студио и студентите го ползват през цялата година. Има добър обмен между самите студенти – те си помагат в проектите, споделят своя опит и не стоят разделени в класните си стаи. И първокурсници, и абсолвенти работят заедно.

Едно от нещата, които стимулираме в нашите студенти колкото можем, е да се стремят към това да завършват филмите си. Има ужасна тенденция  сред тях да се тревожат дали са намерили съвършената идея, преди да са направили каквото и да било. Моята философия за това защо хората творят и в нашия случай, защо правят анимация, няма нищо общо с това колко добър и траен ще бъде крайният резултат. Това е свързан с преди всичко с това как се чувствате, как виждате начини да подобрите нещата – просто това е един продължителен процес. По всяко време трябва да има баланс между творческия импулс да направите нещо и опасенията дали нещата ще се получат.

Затова се опитваме да накараме студентите да завършват кратки анимационни филми. Такава е и идеята на 10х10  - т. е. за 10 дни студентите да направят 10 филма. Т. е. по един филм на денонощие. Целта ни тук е да ги стимулираме в максимално кратък срок да направят нещо завършено. Понякога творческото мислене се стимулира от преодоляването на препятствия, решаването на конкретен проблем. В случая срокът от 24 часа е единственото препятствие и затова ги насърчаваме да го преодолеят по всякакъв начин.  Резултатът е, че студентите много експериментират, довършват повечето идеи, които им хрумват, просто физически повече се занимават с анимация.

-          Каква е разликата между вашите студенти и българските им колеги?

Джонатан Мъри: Трудно ни е да направим това сравнение за краткото време, през което работихме с българите. Целта ни беше да видим как студенти от други страни реагират на нашите обучителни методи, както и да видим как работят нашите колеги преподаватели от България, Франция и други страни. Студентите бяха много активни, имаха интересни идеи. В момента откриваме повече прилики, отколкото разлики между студентите от нашите две страни.

-          Има тенденция към съкращаване курса на обучение в много университети?

Джаред Тейлър: За щастие в Единбург студентите ни учат 4 години, за разлика от Англия. И съм убеден, че тази година им е необходима, за да пораснат просто, да съзреят  - както те, така и техните идеи. Освен това ние свързваме студентите с различни фирми, те понякога получават малки поръчки. Подобни контакти са много важни. Осигуряваме колкото се може по-различни проекти и възможности за участие, за да могат студентите да имат избор. Тази година имаме десетина души, които не са от нашия колеж със свои проекти, върху които да работят нашите студенти.

-          В почивките между фестивалните прожекции чувах някои хора да се тревожат, че няма достатъчно смешни филми. Смятате ли, че има тенденция към мрачни филми?

Джонатан Мъри:   Не знам дали такава тенденция съществува, но ако я има, това означава, че режисьорите искат да използват анимацията, за да се  занимават с всякакви теми, да изразяват всякакъв вид емоция.

Джаред Тейлър: Нито една тема не бива да бъде табу. Въпросът е авторът да бъде честен. Но пък ако той разкрива например самоубийството в романтична светлина, това една ли е много честно – просто означава, че някой не е знае какво е това загуба.

Миналата година, Единбургският колеж по изкуствата изпрати няколко филма за селекцията на фестивала, но нито един не беше селекциониран. Но авторът на един от филмите  - "Дългата птица", Уил Андерсън, беше на фестивала и казва, че срещата му с Варна му е била като талисман - филмът му печели награди в Анеси, Щутгарт и Варшава.

Тази година в програмата на Единбург пък имахме удоволствието да видим "Том Мууди", който се състезаваше в Отава и спечели Наградата "Уолт Дисни" за най-добър студентски филм.

                                        Кадър от Том Мууди, автор: Ейнсли Хендърсън

                                        Кадър от "Сянка", автор: Роза Брожек

                                       Кадър от  "Как поглъщаш толкова много сън?", автор Ан Гинзбург
 

Жан Люк Слок ( продуцент и режисьор в белгийското студио, чието име, преведено на български език подсказва целите му:„Камера, и прочие”

Студиото работи на три нива – с деца и ученици по време на ваканциите;с  възрастни; продуцираме и собствени филми. Третата част – работим в сътрудничество с други фирми. Студиото ми е отпреди 33 години и през целия си живот съм работил в него. Преди това съм имал за малко и друга работа, но откакто съм го създал.

Работим и в Африка – в Бурунди, Сенегал, Буркина Фасо – има субсидия от правителствата – 3-годишен проект, винаги се опитваме да предотвратим ефекта на one shot – отиваш, правиш кръжок и толкова. Ние подготвяме хора, които да продължат работата и след като сме си тръгнали оттам. Оставяме и апаратура.

Децата са по-нетърпеливи, а анимацията изисква търпение – преди да се анимира, трябва да се подготви установката, камерата, това отнема време. Във Варна раздвижваме фигурки от глина и пластилин, които децата са правили. Имаме два статива, а на всеки могат да работят само по три деца.

При възрастните няма такива проблеми. 

                                         Кадри от детската работилница на Жан Люк Слок и Карин Миралес

Карин Миралес, собственик и режисьор в студио „Лабоданим”

От една година имам самостоятелно студио във Франция, а преди това 11 години работех заедно с други колеги. Организирам кръжоци по анимация за деца и възрастни. За втори път съм на фестивала във Варна, където имам удоволствието да занимавам варненски ученици и да им помогна да направят кратък филм.   Работата ми се състои в това да уча децата как да гледат една картина, как да анимират рисунка, как да предават послание, как да използват анимацията като средство за изразяване.

Интересно е да се работи и с децата, и с възрастни. Много е хубаво да ги гледаш как се радват, когато картинката се раздвижи. Възклицанието често е: „Аз ли направих това?”

Разликата при работата с големи и малки е, че възрастните по-трудно се престрашават да правят нещо, за разлика от децата, които не се боят да допускат грешки и обикновено не мислят за това.

Сред възрастните, които посещават моите занимания, има учители, които искат да подпомаг своята преподавателска работа с анимационни материали. С малките пък правим филми, които се показват на фестивали като този в Дубровник през октомври, където филми за деца са правени от техни връстници. Има още няколко подобни фестивала по света.

Работила съм и по един проект със затворници, с които направих два филма. Ходих там три седмици всеки ден и винаги старателно ме пребъркваха, преди да вляза на урок. Няма да забравя звука при отключване на вратите – чували сме го в толкова много филми, че се  е превърнал вече в някакво клише – но наистина звукът е точно такъв, какъвто го познаваме от екрана. Във Франция не може да се снима на живо в затвора, или по-скоро заснетият материал не може да се изнася от затвора. И чрез средствата на анимацията затворниците могат да разказват за своя живот.

Uncle Parrot's Tales

                                   

                                  

                                   UNCLE PARROT’S TALES 

A PROJECT FOR AN ANIMATED SERIES (10x4)

                                         

Script, translation and adaptation of the rhymes: Tsvetomira Nikolova

The series is based on traditional folk nursing rhymes and tales from all over the world.

Artist: Anna Haralampieva

Header:

A little boy scribbles on a piece of paper letters, numbers and drawings. He is bored. Out of the blue comes an old parrot and tells him stories and rhymes from all over the world. 

Artist and director: Anna Haralampieva

Script and dialogue: Tsvetomira Nikolova

                                                                                                                                            

1. Pilot episode –released in April,2008. Australia . Song: Kookaburrah.Synopsis.

                                                                        Script: Tsvetomira Nikolova

                                                                                               Artist and director: Tsvetomira Nikolova

                                                                                       Music: Rumen Tsonev

                                                                                         Producer:VizAr production

                                                                      With the support of the National Film Centre, Bulgaria

The bird Kookaburra is the Queen of Australia because she is the noisiest of all animals and likes to perch on the tallest branch of the tallest tree.

 Artist: Tsvetomira Nikolova

2. Pilot episode –released in April,2008. Japan. Song: Kites. Synopsis.

                                                                        Script: Tsvetomira Nikolova

                                                                                              Artist and director: Anna Haralampieva

                                                                                      Music: Rumen Tsonev

                                                                                        Producer:VizAr production

                                                              With the support of the National Film Centre, Bulgaria 
 In the sky, the kites have a party. They dance, jump over each other, their strings entangled. Some of them fall in love while others fight with each .They carry their owners high in the sky – right to the sun. However, the sun and the moon happen to be kites as well. Who holds them? 

  Artist: Anna Haralampieva 

             

3. America. Song: Four Little Ducks.Synopsis.

 Mother Duck is a perfect housewife. She often lets her four ducklings play outside so that she could tidy up the house in peace. Her children go for a walk – each of them finds a friend out there and does not come back home. First, only three of them return from the walk, then only two of them…Mother Duck is so engulfed in tidying up the house that she does not pay attention.

When nobody is back, she gets angry and rushes out to loo for her ducklings. She comes back not only with the ducks but with all their friends. She will have much more housework to do now.     

4. Argentine. Song: Manuelita. Synopsis. 

Two turtles are in loveе and have blocked the whole traffic in town.  The she turtle is very shy and wouldn’t look in her lover’s eyes. She believes she is too old and ugly. So she goes all the way to Paris on foot to make herself beautiful.

 She comes aback a new turtle, but as she reaches the ocean, she stops – what about her new boots?

Many years after, she returns to her town –older and disheveled from the tripq her shell covered with seaweeds and moss. Her lover cannot recognize her. The whole town waves at him to stop and look at his sweetheart.  Once again the traffic is blocked – everybody strikes a party while the two slow turtle look at each other.         

5. Bulgaria.  Song: Auntie Froggie.Synopsis.

A frog catches a glimpse of her own reflection in a pool. She is enchanted with herself. She starts thinking how she will go to the village dance and everybody will burst out of envy when they see her beauty.  

So, she goes to the dance and everybody burst out laughing. The frog swells with pride and flies up in the sky like a balloon.    

6. Great Britain. Song: Hush, little baby. Synopsis.

 A mother tries to calm down her crying child buying him all kinds of pets. They make him cry even more, because they would not sing, meow, bark, neigh and jump.

 It’s only when mother kisses him when the child calms down. When it stops crying, all   the animals come to themselves and start meowing, jumping, mooing and barking.                              

           

            7. India. Song:Moon. Synopsis.

            A boy worries about the moon – it looks thin and weak. That is why he invites him to dinner. The Moon gets so stuffed with food that it can hardly walk out the door and all the animals push him up the hill up to the sky.

                                                

8. Kenia. Song: Nicole's child.Synopsis.

A boy is afraid of even the smallest animal.But the small animals are also afraid of him. Once it starts raining and everybodu – the small animals and the child hide under the giraffe. They get acquainted there end become friends. 

                                                         

9. Russia. Song:Pussy, little kitty. Synopsis.

A grandmother and a grandfather cannot make their grandson sleep. So they go to the market, buy a fat cat and hire her to sing lullabies to the boy. The cat – nanny is more interested in tasting meals. The old people hire another cat – a mischievous tomcat, who is more interested in his salary and in playing tricks to everybody.

Finally the boy finds himself a small kitten. They play together till they get very tired and go to sleep cheek by cheek.

10. Jamaica. Song:Chi-Chi bam bam.Synopsis.

A boy finds a nickel, but is disappointed. The nickel is dirty and is only one. The other people’s nickels are shiny and there are lots of them. The child tries to make out of his nickel a hundred nickels. Pushing his luck, he almost loses his coin.

  Artist: Tsvetomira Nikolova

 

E.T.A.Hoffman and Animation

Tsvetomira Nikolova,

Associate Professor at New Bulgarian University

    Abstract:

 Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann is a unique author for several reasons. His influence on Western literature, musicology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, psychology, cognitive sciences, cyber design, theatre, opera, ballet, cinema and particularly on animation is huge and difficult to be traced not only because of its extent. Many of his ideas and/or works have undergone significant modifications before entering the hall of fame. Often it is through other authors that Hoffmann’s legacy has reached the contemporary world.  For almost two centuries now his works has been referred to, quoted, adapted, or even consciously or unconsciously plagiarized.

   Hoffmann’s works is closely related to animation in three ways. Some of his works or adaptations of his works have been filmed, especially The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, because it is widely considered to be his only story, appropriate for children.  The other link to Hoffmann’s literary works is Dr Masahiro Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’ hypothesis from 1970, which has left traces in the development of computer generated animation of android characters. Dr Mori, a pioneer in robotics and cyber design, based his theory on Dr Ernst Jentsch’s essay On the Psychology of the Uncanny (1906), which focused on Hoffmann’s novelette The Sandman.

   Hoffmann’s art has much in common with contemporary art and, in particular, with animation not only because its connection with “the uncanny valley’.  Its typical mixture of genres – fairy tale, documentary prose, dreams, satire, romantic novel, gothic novel, grotesque, caricature – has become one of the features of modern art and in particular, animation.

E. T. A. Hoffmann and Animation

   Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (1776 - 1832) is a unique author for several reasons. His influence on Western literature, musicology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, psychology, cognitive sciences, cyber design, theatre, opera, ballet, cinema and animation is huge and difficult to be traced not only because of its extent. Many of his ideas and/or works have undergone significant modifications before entering the hall of fame. Often it is through other authors that Hoffmann’s legacy has reached the contemporary world.  For almost two centuries now his works has been referred to, quoted, adapted, or even consciously or unconsciously plagiarized.

   Hoffmann’s art is closely related to animation in three ways. Some of his works or adaptations of his works have been filmed, especially The Nutcracker and the Mouse King[1], because it is widely considered to be his only story, appropriate for children.  The other link to Hoffmann’s literary works is Dr Masahiro Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’ hypothesis[2], which has left traces in the development of computer generated animation of android characters. Dr Mori, a pioneer in robotics and cyber design, based his theory on Dr Ernst Jentsch’s essay On the Psychology of the Uncanny [3], which focused on Hoffmann’s novelette The Sandman[4]. In Dr Mori’s hypothesis people would react emotionally better to a robot, whose design deviates from purely geometric forms and is more similar to humanoid forms, even though stylized.  But if this similarity increases, a zone can be reached where the robot’s design evokes negative human reactions and this may seriously hinder the industrial implementation of robots. Dr Mori’s hypothesis has found a wide response amongst specialists in cybernetics, cognitive scientists, software programmers, psychologists, neurologists, evolutionary scientists, designers. Besides, it has gained large popularity amongst writers, artists, filmmakers and especially, animation directors. We can find anticipations of “the uncanny valley’ existence in the Hellenic world, in ancient China, in medieval Japan.  Inevitably, the birth and evolution of android automata has been associated with observations of human reactions towards them. Still, Dr Mori’s theory derives exclusively from the analysis of Hoffmann’s The Sandman by the German psychiatrist Dr Jentsch.

   Dr Jentsch’s essay interested Freud, who wrote in response his essay The Uncanny[5]  explaining the human need (meaning both artists and audiences) to face horror and go through it again and again. Freud criticizes Jentsch for limiting his concept within the boundaries of the unknown and taking the ‘intellectual uncertainty’ for the most essential factor with regard to human reaction towards androids. Freud introduces another, more important factors for the existence of the ‘uncanny’ than the ‘android’. Analyzing Hoffmann again, he interprets the ‘uncanny’ as a manifestation of our hidden essence, subconsciously reminding us of our Ego and our suppressed impulses. Our Super-ego, tormented by Oedipal guilt and fear of punishment for violating social norms, perceives it as a threat. But Hoffmann’s art has much in common with contemporary art and, in particular, with animation not only because it often borders on horror. Its mixture of genres – fairy tale, documentary prose, dreams, satire, romantic novel, gothic novel, grotesque, caricature – has become one of the features of modern art and in particular, animation. Hoffmann, maybe the most eccentric representative of German romanticism, is up-to-date in the postmodern era with his fragmented narrative, reversed roles, grotesque exaggeration, parallel worlds, imperceptible line between parody and nightmares.

    The Nutcracker is probably the only work that Hoffmann meant particularly for children, devoting it to his friend Hitzig’s children for whom he had made a cardboard castle the previous Christmas. Certainly in the story there is something children-friendly in the unbounded arabesque, drawn by Hoffmann’s imagination. Still, he is not usually regarded as an author of children’s literature and even though dedicated to children, The Nutcracker owes its longlasting fame as a children’s story to its ballet adaptation, which premiered in 1892 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petesburg. The libretto by Dumas Senior, the brilliant and romantic music by Tchaikovsky and the choreography by Petipa and Ivanov, turned the ballet into an evergreen and in its turn, a basis   for numerous interpretations, theatrical performances and films.   Strangely, it conquered even America. Alastair Macaulay, the head dance critic for New York Times, says in his column Chronicles of The Nutcracker: ‘The importance of this ballet to America has become a phenomenon that surely says as much about this country as it does about this work of art.‘[6] Sarah Kaufman[7], also a distinguished ballet critic, says that this ballet corresponds to the Christmas sentiment and optimism of the American audience to such a great extent that most companies do not dare ignore a century old tradition and thus The Nutcracker has already become a holdback to American ballet. Ironically, literary criticism as a whole, and especially in America, looks down upon the original Hoffmann’s tale as being inappropriate for children because it is too scary and because it breaks the rule of thumb in storytelling. Thus it is the ballet, not the story itself, which has brought forth numerous children-orientated animated films. I have hereby made a brief review of several of these films, choosing them mostly for their being representative of their cultural and historic background.

   In 1973 Soyuzmultfilm released a traditionally animated version of The Nutcracker directed by Boris Stepantsev. What distinguishes this Nutcracker from the rest is mainly the script. Although Hoffmann’s name is cited in the credits, the film starts with a Cinderella motive, presumably as a social element. While the other children enjoy their Christmas, little Masha, a broom in hand, dreams for her own Christmas happiness. The final episodes again can be associated with Cinderella. Masha throws her clog against the Mouse King in an attempt to protect her beloved Nutcracker. The clog bounces from the three- headed Mouse (a slight deviation from Hoffmann’s seven- headed mouse) and turns into a beautiful little shoe. The Nutcracker turns into a prince not through metamorphosis. Its outer shell peels off and inside is the Prince, who has always been living within the doll. The score is a Tchaikovsky medley. This makes the film a more romantic, more sentimental and closer to the spirit of Andersen than to that of Hoffmann. Characters are designed in the good Russian tradition in children’s books illustration, although some Disney-style elements are also evident. Still one can feel the 1970s revolt against rounded and oval shapes. The social element is not necessarily due to the Soviet period. I would rather attribute it to the deliberate Andersen's atmosphere of the film, which in a way deprives it of Hoffmann’s spirit but on the other hand makes it a great film for children. I even think children of today might like it despite the new cinematic fashions. The ‘uncanny valley’ factor does not exist here because of the handdrawn animation. Moreover, the Nutcracker is just as alive in the beginning of the movie as it is in the end – an effect due to the Andersen’s atmosphere and not to the poor quality of the animation.

   In 1990 another animated version of The Nutcracker Prince[8], directed by Paul Schibli, was released. This is a typical American production for children. Again, it uses more motifs from the Dumas/ Tchaikovsky ballet than from the original Hoffmann’s story. The main children characters are not a brother and a sister, but two sisters, the younger one feeling jealous of the exciting opportunities that her elder sister has received because of her age.  The storyline is relatively close to Hoffmann’s story, but quite distant in spirit and atmosphere.  The character design for Clara, who dreams of growing up and falling in love, is an animation cliché for an adolescent girl, who is still like the ugly duckling, promising to become a beauty. Furthermore, the cliché is more related to the preliminary stage of storyboard drawing than to a complete cartoon character. The film, made by all American standards, relies to such an extent to battles between the Prince's the Mouse King’s entourages, that it somehow manages to target the largest portion of the American audience – boys in their early teens. 

   The next film which deserves attention, is the CGA  Barbie in the Nutcracker [9] (directed by Owen Hurley). It uses video-capture technology: a direct video link to the New York Opera. This is the first film since 1987 in a series of cartoons where Barbie is a character in popular children’s stories. Like most animated Hoffmann’s adaptations, it is again based on the ballet.  The gracious movements of the real dancers look strangely grotesque not only with the Nutcracker and the other toys but with all the characters.   Barbie being the protagonist could serve as an excuse, regardless of the fact that she is not a doll but a ballerina, who tells the story to her little sister. The film often ‘quotes’ Tchaikovsky's episodes from the Disney Fantasia  (1940) and ironically, thus illustrates the ‘uncanny valley’theory. The fairies from Fantasia are much more graceful and alive than their digital granddaughters. Paradoxically, the ‘terrible’ stone monster, animated in 3D due to lack of a ‘digital actor’ is somehow more likeable than Barbie, who is firmly stuck in the ‘uncanny valley’ with her candy colors, elusive eyes and irritant pretense of being real. The fact that the film is considered in the USA to be the best and most popular film throughout the whole series suggests that the ‘uncanny valley’ is to a large extent   a matter of cultural background, age, even religion.  

   In 2004 was released the Russian-German animated feature film The Nutcracker and the Mouse King[10], directed by Tatiana Ilyina. Again, the film uses motifs from Hoffmann’s tale and Tchaikovsky’s ballet.  The 2004 Nutcracker is remarkable with its phantasy design, abundance of characters, storyline twists and gags. Its masterly handdrawn animation prevents it from entering the ‘uncanny valley’. The scriptwriters Tatiana Ilyina and Michael Morer have tried to make the story suitable for both European and American audiences. The location is St Petersburg where on Christmas Eve Drosselmeyer arrives to look for the girl who could remove the magic from his nephew. On Drosselmeyer’s carriage there are three mice – a fat mouse, a thin one and their king. Drosselmeyer opens a toy shop where he performs a puppet show, telling the story of the Nutcracker Prince. It grabs the attention of a Russian girl, Masha, who takes the play seriously in spite of her brother’s objections.  At night, Masha and her new doll are attacked by the Mouse King. After a series of adventures, everything ends happily – Мasha and the Prince, hand in hand, disappear in the distance. A mouse’s shadow appears as a reflection on the street lantern. Apart from that slight deviation, probably an expression of homage to Hoffmann, the film is made following the recipe for a children’s story. The mice are funnier than terrifying; Tchaikovsky’s music is mixed with an   American-style score. With all respects to the tremendous work that was done in the film, it still looks like a sumptuous gift, waiting for its audience under the Christmas tree.

    The last two versions of The Nutcracker that I have chosen to look into are two live-action feature films, where animation is just a ‘guest’. The first is the Canadian TV film The Secret of the Nutcracker (directed by Eric Till), in which the main character Clara, with her mother and two brothers, wait for her father to return from WWII. The film uses several attractive elements: Tchaikovsky’s music, Venetian carnival masks; 3D computer generated animation, ballet dancers from the prestigious Alberta Ballet. Drosselmeyer (reminding of Einstein) occasionally turns into an owl whose magical eyes are perhaps the most mystic elements in the film. Mice here are the Nazis. Thus evilness receives a concrete impersonification and the strange mingling of dreams and reality, so characteristic of Hoffmann, is lost. This ‘confusion’ is a challenge for any director who decides to tackle the topic ‘Hoffmann and war’, especially when he uses Tchaikovsky’s ballet, by rule included into the Christmas TV programs around the world. Probably that is what made the director choose for the finale a trivial family reunion embrace.

   The same is the problem with The Nutxcracker in 3D[11] by Russian-American director Andrei Konchalovsky. An English-Hungarian production, it had a high budget, which ensured the participation of distinguished performers and professionals - John Turturro, Nathan Lane, Frances de la Tour, Tim Rice, and etcetera.  However, it is considered by film critics to be a complete failure. Some critics focus on the horror children would suffer when watching the movie – a dubious assumption in the modern film environment. Others believe the film to be boring and amateurish, criticizing the choice of 3D technology or the lack of professionalism in using it, and the neglect of Tchaikovsky’s ballet. The idea for the ballet on screen occurred in the late 1960's and belonged to the well-known British film director Anthony Askott. Konchalovsky wrote the script together with his father, Sergei Mikhalkov and Andrei Tarkovsky. Askott’s death cancelled the project. The new script is by Konchalovsky and Chris Solimine. Konchalovsky says that ballets are difficult to be filmed. The only doll in the movie is Nutcracker, shot against green screen to show its wooden texture, and following the preliminary 3D animation. All the other dolls are actors with heavy make-up. Mice are also actors who took special lessons in animal behavior. The atmosphere is an ecclectic mix between the beginning of last century and World War II. The director points at Gustav Klimt’s art and   Fritz Lang’s Metropolis as   sources of inspiration.  I tried to watch the film as impartially as I could, regardless of the critics’ warnings. The film disappointed me: Konchalovsky has replaced the ballet with an American-style musical, shot against disturbing pictures from World War II. Drosselmeyer is here a direct replica of Einstein. The fights between mice and the Nutcracker’s entourage are overloaded with 3D effects and try to combine the surreal and grotesque with blatant American style action. Three film critics, independently from each other – Tasha Robinson[12], Jonathan Crow[13], Claudina Puig[14] – have called the film ‘mishmash’. But it is not the ‘mishmash’ of the plot and the ecclectic atmosphere that disappointed me. The problem is that the film is meant to please everyone – Hoffmann’s and Tchaikovsky’s devotees, children, intellectuals, aficionados of the American musical and most of all, fans of 3D animation, which, like the optical illusions ridiculed by Hoffmann himself, in this film almost suffocate the viewers’ imagination.

   The ‘uncanny valley’ factor here is to be found not so much in the clumsy movements of the main character, but in the whole artificial atmosphere, probably a result of the great ambition of its creators and the high budget.

   Mentioning again the “uncanny valley’, I would like to look into Hoffmann’s original story  The Sandman  once again and examine its influence not only on roboticism, principles of animation design, psychoanalysis, but in postmodern art as a structure, means and purpose. In his story Hoffmann uses an old folkloric belief, common in the Scandinavian countries and Germany: every evening the Sandman comes and sprays ‘magic dust’ into the eyes of children, thus lulling them to sleep. In Hoffmann’s version Sandman takes the eyes of naughty children, and flies to the moon to feed his own offspring with them.  As I have already mentioned, Freud’s analysis of the story differs from the one Dr Jentsch made in his essay. But Hoffmann himself with his versatility suggests different points of view to his work, depending on the reader’s occupation, character, and background. It is clear why the story has provoked the interest of psychoanalysts - the traumatic incident as a child and the post-traumatic experiences of the protagonist, the 'accidental' repetition of the same experience, character or symbolic element, the image of the father who for some strange reason assists the Sandman only to be brought by this collaboration to his death. The story can be accepted as a ‘horror’, fantastic or satirical genre. Western culture perceives it primarily as a ‘horror’ story. Central European and Russian cultures more easily accepts Hoffmann’s diversity. My attitude certainly also depends on my professional and cultural background. Being an animator, for me the continuing issue that arises with Hoffmann is not a problem - what is dream and hallucination and what is real. The boundary between imagination and reality in animation is also dynamic, often invisible and subtle. What most strikes me in The Sandman is Hoffmann’s irony: to the rationalism and pretentiousness of scientists from the Enlightenment era, to the common sense of the German Burger, to the subjective idealism of the romantics, and mostly to himself. The ‘eyes’ motif, also subject of various interpretations, for me is the most accurate metaphor for the puzzle that constantly tormented not only Hoffmann but philosophers of much more serious reputation than his. Which is more real, what we see outside or what we see within us? Is what we see within us simply a reflection of the outside world? Or vice versa – is the outside world a reflection of what we think? Hoffmann does not provide answers but the questions can be found in all his works. Moreover, in his texts these questions are more vividly and clearly interpreted than in many academic works. I have always associated Hoffmann’s texts with Heisenberg’s   ‘uncertainty principle‘ and the famous Schrödinger's cat paradox. Notably, Hoffmann has often been declared by researchers mad, an alcoholic, addicted to gambling and opium. Yes, he visited Bamberg’s madhouse to watch the patients and in his diaries often reflected on his own mental condition. Yes, at that time opium was promoted as an omnipotent remedy, especially against the writer’s diseases. In several of his works Hoffmann praises alcohol never leaving out the pitiful consequences that drinking can lead to. I take skeptically speculations about Hoffmann’s personality. How could an addicted or mentally deranged person be such a prolific writer, composer, conductor, musical critic, artist, lawyer, theatre manager and director, lawyer, as described by his contemporaries – this is a minor problem. But it is very difficult to reconcile with his image of a deranged person his brilliant philosophical insight, his noteworthy fluency in several languages (which makes his literary works so difficult to translate and read), his accuracy as a musician and sharp eye for caricature.  Cognitive science has now and then pointed at Hoffmann as an example of ‘synesthesia’. But even without any scientific methods anyone can see that his work is polyphonic and this is the key to my perception of The Sandman . There are several themes in it that develop simultaneously: the fear of the small Nathanael grows along with his curiosity towards the unknown, incomprehensible and horrible. What happens in front of the fireplace in his childhood is similar to what he witnesses years later – the scene where Spalanzani and Coppola fight over the automaton Olympia and tear her apart, her legs drooping terribly from their sockets, and her two ‘pretty’ eyes tumbling on the floor. While the childhood incident evokes real horror, the second scene is ridiculous. The fireblast that kills Nathanael’s father later appears in another mood and circumstances - his student’s lodging burns out, forcing him to settle against the home of the mysterious Olympia. The tune of his relationship with Clara, the ‘common sense’ girl, is played with a sense of comedy, while his falling in love with the automaton is played in a satirical, even grotesque mood.  Hoffmann suggests that Olympia’s constant reaction ‘Ah, ah’ is the reason Nathanael prefers her to Clara, who is often annoyed with his ongoing romantic prattling.

   In 1991 the deceased English animator Paul Berry finished his short animated film Sandman. For many critics Sandman is a source of inspiration for Nightmare Before Christmas where Paul Berry participated as an animator. A masterpiece made in the best traditions of the remarkable puppet animation studio Cossgrove Hall, Sandman crosses several borders. This film not only changed the reputation of the studio, achieved mainly by the beautiful animated adaptation of the Wind of the Willows but forbode the Gothic trend in animation. The film defies some experts’ prejudice that puppets can never be as scary as digitally animated characters. Paul Berry did not name Hoffmann in the film credits but it atmosphere (definitely not for children) is an exploration of the deepest childhood nightmares - when we are afraid that someone will come out from under the bed and we hear the strange noises of the night that seem to breathe like a huge, unfamiliar monster.

    Sandman is the title of a monthly comics series (1988-1996) by the British author Neil Gaiman. Apart from the main storyline, it includes several horror stories by guest writers and artists. The main character is Morpheus, an anthropomorphic incarnation of ‘sleep’, who, like Hoffmann’s character, steals his victims’ eyes. The design is dark – much more sinister than one can find in Hoffmann’s art. Reminding of Art Nouveau, it distances away from Hoffmann’s sarcasm, humor and caricature.  Gaiman is known to the younger generation not only for Sandman (DC Comics edition), but also for his novels Stardust, American Gods and Coraline, all of which were turned into successful Hollywood movies. Gaiman became a passionate reader from his early childhood and his work is characterized by numerous literary references. As he says in an interview, when he began reading at the age of 4, he instantly fell in love with ‘brackets’. The skill to use brackets can be interpreted as the ability to make implications, to use subtexts, to put things into context. Brackets are also used in playwriting when the character turns directly to the audience, and then continues to perform. Regardless of all possible implications, it is easy to associate brackets with the well known and trendy quotations gesture. Sometimes it is a way to show one’s ironic attitude to the meaning, invested in the quoted text.

   One of the most commercially realized and award-winning contemporary writers, Gaiman definitely uses brackets in all possible ways, including as a reference. I have not met Hoffmann’s name in Gaiman’s interviews, but the vast majority of his work, and separate facts from his personal life resemble Hoffmann’s world.   Anonymous,   revised and updated, Hoffmann parades on the pages of comic books, graphic novels, and on the big screen. The latest example is Coraline[15] (2009) by Henry Selick.  The plot is an implicit reference to Hoffman’s Sandman, to Alice in the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. A girl with blue hair (a reference to the blue-haired fairy in Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi?), moved with her parents into an old house. The eccentric new neighbours are two old Scottish actresses (the landladies), their grandson and a Russian acrobat. Coraline's parents are nice, but too busy to pay attention to her. Exploring the house, Coraline finds a door in the wall (a reference to Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia?), behind which there are only bricks. In the night the door leads her to a parallel world (a reference to Hoffmann’s The Devil’s Elixir[16]?) where her parents and neighbours have their counterparts. Instead of eyes they all have buttons, but otherwise they look more amusing and pay special attention to Coraline, luring her to remain forever in their world. The girl continues to visit the parallel world despite the warnings of the landladies’ black cat (Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat?) The pseudo mother invites the girl to remain forever in their world, which will cost her the eyes. Coraline disagrees and the witch sends her through the mirror into a tiny room, full of children’s ghosts. Their eyes have been stolen and their parents –abducted. Her own parents are also kidnapped. Coraline challenges the witch - if the girl manages to find the children’s eyes and parents, the witch should leave them alone. Otherwise Coraline would lose both her eyes and her parents. An important role plays the witch’s mechanical hand. It penetrates into the real world, pursuing Coraline everywhere, until finally the landlady’s grandson helps the girl out and everything ends with the expected ‘happy end’. Contrary to the end, the opening scene is no less and even more sinister than the film itself. Moreover, it may make by itself a short film for adults – a mechanical hand tears down a raggedy doll. The impact of these images, to which the music conributes a lot,  is so   disturbing that even the credits fail to remind us that we are just watching a movie. Henry Sellick has admitted that the film was a   risk, and I am certain that the horror element is one of the risk factors.  Metaphors of the eye and the hand appear repeatedly both in history of animation, in Gothic novels and, as one can see in contemporary art. The ‘eyes’ and ‘hand’ theme appear, already interpreted in a utilitarian aspect, even in the ‘uncanny valley’ theory. The film brings another important issue - the question of references, such a favourite with the writer of the film, Gaiman, who is known for a long legal fight with an artist over the copyright of some characters from the comic strip Spoon. Paradoxically, in the times of postmodern interpretations, variations and references which are a logical development of human culture, copyright issues are constantly on the agenda. The dolls in Coraline are printed with a 3D printer. The agility of the characters’ faces almost equals the plasticity of Disney-style animation, probably a purposefully sought effect to avoid the ‘uncanny valley’. Besides, Selick is a graduate from CalArts, the very centre of the Disney culture. One way or other, Coraline is a vivid example of how Western culture has been influenced by Hoffmann, even though his name is not explicitly mentioned.

   Sandman is one of the three Hoffmann’s tales on which Stanislav Sokolov and Mikhail Shemyakin have been making for years the animated feature film Hofmaniada, whose premiere is expected this year. The project originated in 2001 at the initiative of Shemyakin and is the largest of its kind in Russia. The production began in 2005, but due to financial difficulties, has not been finished yet.  Excerpts from the film show exceptional puppet animation and a specific approach to Hoffmann. Horror and phantasy exist together with good-natured humour, growing into satire. At times these notes fade away to let us hear the clear ‘sound’ of beauty.  In 2001 Shemyakin also put on stage at the Mariinsky Theatre his version of the ballet, where Masha and the Prince eventually become sugarmade decorations on top of their wedding cake.  Even if we leave apart his interesting background of a political exile, painter and sculptor, and if we judge only from this version of The Nutcracker, Shemyakin seems to be one of the truest heirs of Hoffmann.

    I have abstained from going deeper into Hoffmann’s life because of time limitations, although his life and personality have much to do with his work and its worldwide impact on art, philosophy and culture. Nevertheless, I will finish with an episode from his life. A month before he died, Hoffman wrote My Cousin’s Corner Window– a story about a paralyzed man who watches from his window the market square below. His cousin – a poet, receives a lesson on how one should see - not using his eyes, but his imagination. Food items from the market become theatrical characters. On the day before his death, Hoffman again flies on the wings of imagination to the cookies kingdom from The Nutcracker. Relieved from pain, due to complete paralysis, Hoffmann asks his friend to turn him face to the the wall and says: ‘It is time to think of God’. Thus he departed from this world, leaving a significant, often unaccounted for, legacy.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Bibliography

1.       Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816),  Nachtstücke (2 vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]

2.       Mori, M. (1970), Bukimi no tani. The uncanny valley (Translated by K. F. MacDorman & T. Minato). Energy, 7 (4),33–35  [ originally in Japanese]

3.       Yentsch, E. (1906), Zur Psychologie des Unheimlichen, Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift 8.22 and 8.23. 195-198., Angelaki, 2.1, Routledge. Translated by Roy Sellars.

4.       Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816),  Nachtstücke (2 vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]

5.       Freud, Z. (1919), Das Unheimliche, Imago, Bd. V.; Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works (1995).Translated by James Stratchi, Hogarth Press, London.

6.       Macauley, A. (2010). ‘The ‘Nutcracker’ Chronicles: The Marathon Begins’, The New York Times (New York City). November, 10.

7.       Kaufman, S. (2009). ‘Breaking point: 'The Nutcracker' takes more than it gives to world of ballet’. The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.). November, 22

8.       Robinson, T. (2010)’ The Nutcracker in 3D’, Rotten Tomatoes. Available at www.rottentomatoes.com/m/​nutcracker-the-untold-story[23 November 2010]

9.       Crow, J. (2010) ‘The Nutcracker in 3D’, Yahoo Movies. Available at movies.yahoo.com/​movie/1809912514/​details [23 November 2010]

10.    Puig, C.(2010), 'Nutcracker in 3D is not at all relative USA today”, USA Today. Available at www.usatoday.com/.../2010-11-23-nutcracker3D_ST_N.htm[23 November 2010]

11.    Hoffman, E.T.A.(1815),Die Elixiere des Teufels: Nachgelassene Papiere des Bruders Medardus, eines Capuziners [published anonymously]

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[1] Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816),  Nachtstücke (2 vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]

[2] Mori, M. (1970), Bukimi no tani. Energy, 7, 33–35, [in Japanese]

[3] Jentsch, E. (1906), Zur Psychologie des Unheimlichen, Psychiatrisch-Neurologische Wochenschrift 8.22

  and 8.23.

[4] Hoffmann, E.T.A.(1816),  Nachtstücke (2 vol., 1816–1817), [published annonymously]

[5] Freud, Z. (1919), Das Unheimliche, Imago, Bd. V.

[6]  Macauley, A. (2010). ‘The ‘Nutcracker’ Chronicles: The Marathon Begins’, The New York Times (New York City). November, 10.

[7] Kaufman, S. (2009). ‘Breaking point: 'The Nutcracker' takes more than it gives to world of ballet’. The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.). November, 22

[8] Lacewood Productions and Warner Bros.

[9] Produced by Jesyca Durchin and Jennifer Twiner McCaron. 

[10] Produced by Media Cooperation One,I.F.A. Infine,Telemagination, Argus International Sandstorm Films

[11] Produced by Paul Lowin and Moritz Borman

[12] Robinson, T.(2010)’ The Nutcracker in 3D’,Rotten Tomatoes. Available at www.rottentomatoes.com/m/​nutcracker-the-untold-story[23 November 2010]

[13] Crow, J. (2010) ‘The Nutcracker in 3D’, Yahoo Movies. Available at movies.yahoo.com/​movie/1809912514/​details [23 November 2010]

[14] Puig, C.(2010), 'Nutcracker in 3D is not at all relative USA today”, USA Today. Available at www.usatoday.com/.../2010-11-23-nutcracker3D_ST_N.htm[23 November 2010]

[15] Produced by Laika.  

[16] Hoffman, E.T.A.(1815),Die Elixiere des Teufels: Nachgelassene Papiere des Bruders Medardus, eines Capuziners [published anonymously]
Published in Visual and Performing Arts, edited by Stephen Arbury and Aikaterini Gergoulia,
Athens Institute for Education and Research, 2011