Animation &Frame Grabs 19 Aug 2008 07:19 am
Fred Burns/Mogubgub’s Soldier
- A Soldier’s Tale was a film adaptation of Stravinsky’s ballet by R.O.Blechman. It was done in 1979, aired on PBS’ Great Performances and won the Emmy. Within the film were numerous sequences designed off of the constructivist Russian painters.
These sequences were quite daring. Fred Burns and Fred Mogubgub, both unusually strong animation filmmakers, were responsible for many of these. Last week I talked about Fred Burns’ work for Hubley with Everybody Rides the Carousel; here, I’d like to show off two of his opening segments of Blechman’s show.
In the show, a soldier is marching home from war. Fred Mogubgub takes him during this journey through the Urals and turns it into a constructivist head trip.
(Click any image to enlarge.)
It was at this point that Fred Burns picked up the sequence and brought things back to reality – sort of.
Here, Tissa David steps in to do some character animation wherein the soldier gets dressed, looks at pictures of his mother and his love. He then begins to play the violin in the field, and Fred Burns picks up the next sequence. It’s all animated by hand and painted on cel.
The film begins from here. A Faustian competition with the devil.
on 19 Aug 2008 at 7:35 am 1.Rudy Agresta said …
Hi Michael,
One of my favorite films, beautifully done in every respect. Thanks for posting the frames grabs. You’ve prompted me to want to watch it again! I’ll watch my old VHS version first since it has a brief “making of” sequence at the end.
Thanks again!
Rudy Agresta
on 19 Aug 2008 at 11:53 am 2.DH. said …
I had the great luck and pleasure of taking a beginning animation course with Fred Burns while I was in graduate school. He is teaching at Duke University on a well-loved Oxberry camera, kept in a tiny corner of the campus– I’m sure that poor beast will not survive Fred’s retirement, whenever that comes.
In addition to Fred’s awesome ability to create strange and wonderful perspectives in his animation, he has a remarkable ability to inspire and animate the classroom. His war stories are always hilariously told, and his unfailing encouragement for our class of raw beginners (and I do mean RAW) proves his love of the animation medium.
When he talked about this film, A Soldier’s Tale, in the classroom, Fred had interesting stories about the politics of creating the piece, with complicated stories about the color of that flower on the soldier’s hat while he plays the violin, and other details of the process of production that you’d never hear otherwise. Invaluable information, to be sure.
If you can find it anywhere, Fred’s graduate thesis film, which I can’t name just now, is one of the gems of the art form, including original piano music by a young George Winston. It’s a great old western shoot-out.
on 19 Aug 2008 at 2:55 pm 3.Ray K. said …
There are many superb set pieces in this Stravinsky film. Somewhat less easy to appreciate, at full speed, are the many fine touches, especially the delicate airbrush work, in the often deceptively simple looking artwork. These stills show this beautifully. Thanks, Michael!
on 20 Aug 2008 at 8:56 am 4.Mike Rauch said …
Whoah. Pretty beautiful.
on 22 Aug 2008 at 1:14 am 5.Eddie Fitzgerald said …
Wow! Nice work! I’d really like to see the film!
on 14 May 2016 at 8:29 pm 6.Samantha said …
Fred is my great uncle 😀 He is so talented and inspires my family and I everyday