Gofmaniada
Encyclopedia
Hoffmaniada is a stop motion
-animated
feature film
from Russia
n studio Soyuzmultfilm
. The concept and all of the art design was done by Mikhail Shemyakin and it is being directed by Stanislav Sokolov
.
It will be based on the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann
. The film will use puppet animation exclusively and will avoid using computer animation for special effects. The first 20 minutes of the film were screened on November 20, 2006, in St. Petersburg and got positive reactions from various news outlets. A November 11, 2006 article said that the money to continue filming could not be found in Russia and that the filmmakers would probably try to find Western investors. A November 18, 2008 article said that the necessary money was finally given by the government. The finished film will run around 78 minutes and, according to the director in October 2008, be ready "not earlier than in one and a half years". A video report from September 1, 2010 shows that work is still ongoing.
and The Sandman), with the main character being Hoffman himself. In particular, it will focus on the duality between the imaginative universe of his writings and his real-life profession as a government clerk (which will be based on his letters and journals).
. The 22 puppets which were used in the first 20 minutes of the film were brought to the November screening. Each puppet took no less than a month to make. Actual filming for the pilot began in late 2005, and the first 13 minutes were screened in late November, 2005.
The full film will have over 150 puppets, some of which will appear on the screen for only a few seconds. The spring of 2008 will be devoted to creating these puppets, and the actual filming period for the rest of the film will begin in the summer.
In November 2008, Shemyakin mentioned that he will be coming to Moscow to again work on the film "in a few months". In a September 6, 2010 interview, Shemyakin said that if funding were given, the film would be finished in a year and a half. However, as of January 2011, the film crew were either not being paid at all (as during one 6-month period) or being paid very little, so progress was very slow.
On June 3, 2011, Soyuzmultdesign published an official booklet for the upcoming film, which says that preparation for shooting the second and final part of the film began on March 3, 2011, and that the final 90-minute film will be released in May 2014. Also, the official English name was revealed to be "Hoffmaniada".
Russian:
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
-animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n studio Soyuzmultfilm
Soyuzmultfilm
Soyuzmultfilm is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union...
. The concept and all of the art design was done by Mikhail Shemyakin and it is being directed by Stanislav Sokolov
Stanislav Sokolov
Stanislav Mihaylovich Sokolov is a Russian stop-motion animation director. He graduated from VGIK in 1971 and has since then worked with Studios Soyuzmultfilm, DEFA, Christmasfilms and S4C. He was awarded a number of prizes for his films, most notably an Emmy in 1992 for his contribution to The...
.
It will be based on the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann
E.T.A. Hoffmann
Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann , better known by his pen name E.T.A. Hoffmann , was a German Romantic author of fantasy and horror, a jurist, composer, music critic, draftsman and caricaturist...
. The film will use puppet animation exclusively and will avoid using computer animation for special effects. The first 20 minutes of the film were screened on November 20, 2006, in St. Petersburg and got positive reactions from various news outlets. A November 11, 2006 article said that the money to continue filming could not be found in Russia and that the filmmakers would probably try to find Western investors. A November 18, 2008 article said that the necessary money was finally given by the government. The finished film will run around 78 minutes and, according to the director in October 2008, be ready "not earlier than in one and a half years". A video report from September 1, 2010 shows that work is still ongoing.
Plot
The film will be based around three of Hoffmann's tales (Klein Zaches, The Golden PotThe Golden Pot
The Golden Pot: A Modern Fairytale is a novella by E. T. A. Hoffmann, first published in 1814...
and The Sandman), with the main character being Hoffman himself. In particular, it will focus on the duality between the imaginative universe of his writings and his real-life profession as a government clerk (which will be based on his letters and journals).
History and technique
The project was initiated by Soyuzmultfilm director Akop Kirakosyan (Акоп Киракосян), who invited Shemyakin to the project; the idea of doing a film about E.T.A. Hoffmann's stories was Shemyakin's. Work began in 2001. It is the biggest project that the Soyuzmultfilm studio has worked on since the collapse of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The 22 puppets which were used in the first 20 minutes of the film were brought to the November screening. Each puppet took no less than a month to make. Actual filming for the pilot began in late 2005, and the first 13 minutes were screened in late November, 2005.
The full film will have over 150 puppets, some of which will appear on the screen for only a few seconds. The spring of 2008 will be devoted to creating these puppets, and the actual filming period for the rest of the film will begin in the summer.
In November 2008, Shemyakin mentioned that he will be coming to Moscow to again work on the film "in a few months". In a September 6, 2010 interview, Shemyakin said that if funding were given, the film would be finished in a year and a half. However, as of January 2011, the film crew were either not being paid at all (as during one 6-month period) or being paid very little, so progress was very slow.
On June 3, 2011, Soyuzmultdesign published an official booklet for the upcoming film, which says that preparation for shooting the second and final part of the film began on March 3, 2011, and that the final 90-minute film will be released in May 2014. Also, the official English name was revealed to be "Hoffmaniada".
See also
- History of Russian animationHistory of Russian animationThe History of Russian animation is very rich, but is so far a nearly unexplored field for Western film theory and history. As most of Russia's production of animation for film|cinema and television was created during Soviet times, it may also be referred to as the History of Soviet...
- List of animated feature films
- List of stop-motion films
External links
Russian: