The Overcoat (animated film)

Infobox Film
name = The Overcoat


caption = Scene from the film, with Akaky Akakievich at the centre
imdb_rating =
director = Yuriy Norshteyn
producer =
writer = Nikolai Gogol (story)
starring =
music =
cinematography = Aleksandr Zhukovskiy Maksim Granik
editing =
distributor =
released = ????
runtime = ~65min
country = Russia
language = Russian
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
mpaa_rating =
tv_rating =
imdb_id = 0475722

"The Overcoat" ( _ru. Шине́ль, "Shinyel") is an upcoming animated feature film that has been the main project of acclaimed Russian director and animator Yuriy Norshteyn since 1981. It is based on the short story by Nikolai Gogol with the same name.

At least 25 minutes are believed to have been completed to date. The unfinished film has been shown publicly in several exhibitions of Norshteyn's work around the world and clips of it have been included in a few documentary films about Russian animation and culture.

On March 13, 2007, Norshteyn stated that he planned to release the first 30 minutes of the film with a soundtrack into theatres by the end of 2007. [http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/4472.html March 13, 2007 interview with Yuriy Norshteyn] (Ночной полёт. Юрий Норштейн.) (video, at 15:30 and 24:00), Культура, 13-03-2007. Retrieved on 29-06-2007.] However, as of September 2008, this has not yet happened.

History

Upon finishing his film "Tale of Tales" in 1979 Norshteyn decided that the next project for his small team (consisting of himself as the animator and director, his wife Franchesca Yarbusova as the artist and his friend Aleksandr Zhukovskiy as the cinematographer) would be an approximately 60-minute-long film based on Gogol's short story "The Overcoat". Norshteyn has said that he considers "The Overcoat" to be as important a work of literature for him personally as one of the chapters of the Bible.ru iconwikicite | id= rg | reference= Третьякова, Мария. [http://www.rg.ru/2005/06/22/norshtein.html "Шинель" как глава Библии] , "Российская газета", June 22, 2005. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.]

By 1981, when work on the film began, Norshteyn had been working at Soyuzmultfilm (the main Soviet animation studio) for 13 years and had worked on some 40 films and directed or co-directed six. Progress was slow, with many interruptions (Norshteyn estimates that only about three years of work were actually done). Norshteyn says that Viktor Tinyaev (Виктор Тиняев) helped him during this period. In 1986, with only 10 minutes of the film completed, Norshteyn was fired from the Soyuzmultfilm studio in which he had worked. This was despite the fact that his films had gathered many international awards, and "Tale of Tales" had been voted the best animated film of all time by a large panel of international critics in 1984.

With the help of Rolan Bykov, Norshteyn managed to set up his own animation studio in his home. There, he and his team continued to slowly work on the film. Funding has been sporadic and has come from many different sources, including the Savings Bank of Russia (Sberbank) and TNK oil company. A few minutes were shot under the Soros Fund before 1999.ru iconwikicite | id= Ночной полет | reference= Мaкcимoв, Андрей. [http://old.atv.ru/fly/2001/120701s.shtml Стенограмма программы "Ночной полет"] . July 12, 2001. Retrieved on October 13, 2006.] Norshteyn has been known for refusing funding from certain sources. He refused to accept money from Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian Minister of Culture, saying "one cannot take money from those who don't care about you."ru iconwikicite | id= Новая Газета | reference= Боccарт, Алла. [http://2003.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2003/39n/n39n-s37.shtml Юрий НОРШТЕЙН: КАМЕРА КРУПНО-КРУПНО ПРИБЛИЗИЛАСЬ К ЧЕЛОВЕКУ] , "Новая Газета", June 2, 2003. Retrieved on October 13, 2006.] He also refused help from Nick Park's company Aardman Animations, accepting from them only a few boxes of lightbulbs.wikicite | id= Camden | reference= Wright, Jane. [http://www.thecnj.myzen.co.uk/review/021606/feature021606_01.html Tales by a Russian master] , "Camden New Journal", February 16, 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.]

Production came to a temporary halt on November 17, 1999 with the death of cinematographer Aleksandr Zhukovskiy (Александр Жуковский). The loss was crippling for Yuriy Norshteyn - he said of Zhukovskiy that he was the only person who ever saw exactly eye-to-eye with him both as an artist and as a friend. Nevertheless, by 2001 production had resumed with a new cinematographer - Maksim Granik (Максим Граник), one of Zhukovskiy's students. Production soon halted again - this time for three years. Norshteyn spent a year and a half making a 3-minute animation for the introduction to "Good Night, Children" (Спокойной ночи, малыши), a popular Russian nightly show for young children to watch before they go to bed (his segment was taken off the air in the summer of 2001; the show moved to another channel while the copyright for the sequence stayed with the old one).ru iconwikicite | id= spoknochi | reference= Железнова, Мария. [http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/57n/n57n-s19.shtml ПОКЕМОНЫ МОГУТ СПАТЬ СПОКОЙНО] , "НОВАЯ ГАЗЕТА", August 13, 2001. Retrieved on February 23, 2007.] He also spent nine months working on a 2-minute sequence for the Japanese collaborative film "Winter Days" (released in 2003).ru iconwikicite | id= madison | reference= Габриадзе, Резо. [http://www.russianmadison.com/index.php?go=Article&in=view&id=183 Юрий Норштейн. Человек, ушедший в гоголевскую "Шинель"] , "Russian Madison", September 18, 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.] Norshteyn said that this sequence required as much work as a 10-minute film, and that his work on it influenced "The Overcoat" and vice versa (the sequence contains a scene with Bashō searching for ticks in his cloak which is similar to a scene in "The Overcoat").

In a July 4, 2004 interview, Norshteyn said that 25 minutes of "The Overcoat" had been shot.ru iconwikicite | id= svoboda | reference= Боccарт, Алла. [http://www.svoboda.org/programs/shen/2004/shen.070404.asp В студии Юрий Норштейн] , "Радио Свобода", June 4, 2004. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.]

To this day, Norshteyn is still working on the film—his ardent perfectionism has earned him the nickname "The Golden Snail".wikicite | id= golden | reference= Klimenko, Alexei. [http://english.mn.ru/english/issue.php?2002-11-19 Golden Snail of Culture] , "The Moscow News", November 19, 2002. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.] Although he has been offered chances to leave Russia, Norshteyn believes that finishing his film in "circumstances approaching comfort" would be impossible.

Cast and crew

Yuriy Norshteyn is the writer, director, and animator for the film. His wife Francheska Yarbusova is the artist, and she is responsible for the final look of the characters and backgrounds. Aleksandr Zhukovskiy was the cinematographer until his death on November 17, 1999. A student of his, Maksim Granik, has been the cinematographer since 2001.

There is not expected to be much dialogue in the film. Norshteyn originally wanted Aleksandr Kalyagin to play the main role. However, he has said that his idea of the main character has since changed, and that he is not yet sure who the final voice actor will be.

Technique

Norshteyn uses a special technique in his animation, involving multiple glass planes to give his animation a three-dimensional look. The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass planes about a meter deep (one every 25-30cm). The individual glass planes can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera (to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away). Some scenes required a different approach, as can be seen in the image on the right.

The animation used is cutout animation, a type of stop motion.

Norshteyn refuses to use a computer in his work, and says that even watching computer-animated films makes him ill.wikicite | id= Washington Post | reference= Finn, Peter. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/30/AR2005053000982.html 20 Years of Toil, 20 Minutes of Unique Film] , "Washington Post", May 31, 2005. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.]

The film is being shot in black-and-white film. Due to the closure of Moscow labs that develop black-and-white film, Norshteyn's team is currently being forced to develop it themselves.ru iconwikicite | id= Смотри НаСтоящее | reference= Каренина, Жанна. [http://www.inoekino.ru/author.php?id=5395 Юрий Норштейн. Готов ждать] , "Смотри НаСтоящее" (№ 8), September, 2006. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.]

Plot

Based on Nikolai Gogol's "The Overcoat". However, Norshteyn has said that "the cinematographer should not be interested in that which is described in detail - he should look to that which is skipped, to that which is implied but is not explicitly written. The break in the text is the most promising, the most alive place for cinema."ru iconwikicite | id= Дело | reference= Скульская, Елена. [http://www.idelo.ru/282/26.html Юрий НОРШТЕЙН. На Тикусая нищего похож] , "Дело", June 23, 2003. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.]

References

ee also

*History of Russian animation
*List of animated feature films
*List of recent films in black-and-white
*List of stop-motion films
*"The Thief and the Cobbler" (an animated film with a similarly long production time, 28 years)

External links

*imdb title|id=0475722|title=The Overcoat
* [http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline/quicktime/overcoat1.html] , [http://www.pbs.org/weta/faceofrussia/timeline/quicktime/overcoat2.html] - a couple of short, low-resolution clips that have been made available to the public
* [http://community.livejournal.com/animatsiya2/1338.html Pictures of Norshteyn at work on the film] Russian
* [http://www.peoples.ru/art/cinema/animator/norshteyn/ Peoples.ru profile (several articles and interviews)]
* [http://hedgehoginmist.narod.ru/norsht.html Fan page with several more interviews]
* [http://community.livejournal.com/norshtein/ Online group dedicated to Norshteyn's art] - has news on any public showings of his work
*Comments about the unfinished film from those who've seen it: [http://community.livejournal.com/ru_animalife/12089.html] , [http://community.livejournal.com/norshtein/29376.html]
* [http://night-traveller.livejournal.com/35402.html September 2006 interview]