Andrei Rublev: Creative Aspects of Production - Research Paper Example

 Visual Arts and Film Studies Introduction From the perspective a producer, film production is a complex process that requires far reaching considerations and implementations that have to be met in order to bring about the intended effects and results of the film in question. The roles of a film producer have evolved over the years and since the onset of the twentieth century, the functions vary from the person involved in the day to day running of the production process, instilling creativity and analyzing the practical aspects of the film production. Therefore in a nutshell, whether he/she reports to a higher authority within the company, the producer is involved in ensuring the themes, effects and outcomes of the activities of the production process are achieved as intended. In this paper, the film: Andrei Rublev is taken into consideration and the various elements of production are analyzed and critiqued. The results of these aspects are also looked at. The major considerations in film production include the creative and the practical aspects of the production in relation to the desired effect and results. Some of the major creative aspects of film production include magical realism. This is a style that is commonly used as a literal genre but has come to be common in film production and is depicted by what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe (stretcher, 1999, p. 263). Fantasy, a creative style that involves the use of conflicting codes in the film (candy, 1995, p. 30), is also a way of applying creativity and reaching the intended target in production. The practical aspects include the of connecting factors, image production, budgeting and content considerations. Thus, in this paper much is sought in the analysis of these and the results therein as follows. The Film: Andrei Rublev Based in medieval Russia and Moscow at a time of the communist dominance in the 1960s, the film seeks to depict the realistic portrait of the medieval Russia and the effects that people, art, and Christianity has on the government machinery of the time of Russia's historical identity. Produced by Andrei Tchaikovsky and screenplay written by Andrei konchalvorsky, it uses the life of an artist (Andrei Rublev) and how he uses art to tackle the challenges that he faces every day, the role of faith, artistic freedom and the possibility of making art for the repressive machinery of the authority of the time and its hypocrisy, technology and its empiricism (Hoberman, 2007). The film features Andrei Rublev, an icon 15th century painter, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Burlyayev and Irma Raush (Hoberman, 2007). The plot is divided into seven chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue and mainly talks about the icon painter through several episodes of his life and the background is based on the is the 15th century Russia characterized by the turbulent period of of fighting between the rival princes and the invasions. The prologue onsets by showing Yefim (Nikolai Glazkov) in a hot air balloon that commences flight but later crash lands and the scene ends by a horse lolling by the pond. The jester, based on the summer of 1400, sees the three monks; Andrei, Danil and Kirill from the Andronikov monastery heading to Moscow in search of work. Andrei is a character of an observer and humanistic person. He seeks to see the good in people and inspire them, Danil is a withdrawn introvert who pays very little attention to creativity but is in search of self realization while Kirill is a jealous, self righteous but a very witty and individual perspective. After the jester the plot progresses in a series of chapters from Theophanes The Greek, Summer-Winter-Spring Of 1405-1406, The Passion According To Andre, 1406, The Feast Of 1408, The Last Judgment, 1408, The Raid Of Autumn 1408, The Silence , Of Winter 1412, The Bell Spring And Finally, The Epilogue, where, for the first time, the color icons of Andrei Rublev are shown. The scene of the series of religious icons then cross-fades and shows four horses at a river during the rain (Hoberman, 2007). Creative aspects of the production From the onset of the prologue, we are invited to a show where Yefim is roped beneath the air balloon and is ready to take flight. The flight has not gone far since a mob of ignorant people gather around to thwart the flight and as the balloon crash lands, we are shown on the horse that is lolling beside the pond. Furthermore, Yefim and Andrei and his friends Danil and Kirill represent more than meets the eye. They represent characters that are peculiar and distinguish them from one another. This is an example of creative characterization and identity in the film that is supposed to tell the viewer more about the people in the film (Hoberman, 2007). The use of creative symbolism is also evident in the plot of the film. This is as shown by the use of horses to indicate the sign of life and a new beginning in the circumstances in the storyline. The use of fantasy as a creative way of developing an interesting and captivating storyline is also evident in the use of supernatural but largely believed aspects of life such as religion and this brings out the theme of the role of religion as a source of solution to some eventualities. Additionally, short segments of violence and brutality have been applied as a way of shortly inducing psychological shock in the viewer in a bid to make it more captivating while at the same instance, driving home the theme of inhuman brutality (Hoberman, 2007). Costume selection and the use of art as an element of creativity are also an observable kind of creativity in the production of this film as a way of giving a clearer view of the society in which it is set. Practical aspects of the production The practical sides of the production of this film are a multifaceted issue that involves various factors of considerations. For instance, decision making in terms of the length of the film, the contents, the themes surrounding the production, the visual aspect and most importantly, the budget involved. It is worth noting that in the preparation for the production, the initial budget was about 1.6 million rubles but it was cut to 1million rubbles and eventually the production cost 1.3 million rubles (Hoberman, 2007). For an efficient and calculated production to be achieved, a major practical aspect to be checked is the budget. The length of the film was also reduced at the end of production. This is because of insufficient budgetary allocations and the content in the film. Due to the strong political views portrayed, nudity, cruelty to animals and violence in the initial productions, the length was shortened by removal or censoring the parts concerned. Furthermore, as a result of the content, the film had restrictions in showing for some time in the country. Consideration of the weather in times of production was also overlooked in the decision from time of production. This affected the production severely since snow disrupted the shooting between November 1965 to 1966 April (Hoberman, 2007). Despite the presence of areas that needed improvements and corrections, the results of the efforts put into considerations of the creative and productive aspects of film production have gone a long way to to make the film achieves the aims that the producer had in mind and as such led to it receiving many an accolade among which in 2010 it was voted the second among the greatest films of all time in the United Kingdom (the guardian, 2010). Conclusion In the production of the film Andrei Rublev, it is noted that various aspects of creative production have been observed. The use of symbolism, fantasy, magical realism, characterization and suspense induction have been used leaving the captivated with a sense of mystery. However it is worth noting that the practical aspects partially, vaguely or not considered at all, are the greatest contributors to some of the challenges posed. It is therefore important for a producer to consider in equal terms, the practical aspects as the creative aspects of production. Reference list Chanaday, A.M., 1995. Magical Realism and the Fantastic: Resolved versus Unresolved Antinomy. New York: Garland Publishing Inc., 1985. p. 16 Hoberman, L. J, 2007. the criterion collection: Andrei Rublev, Art forum, NY. Stretcher C.M., Magical Realism and the Search for Identity in the Fiction of Murakami Haruki, Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer 1999), pp. 263-298, at 267. Toronto International Film Festival, 2010, the best 100 films of world cinema. Andrei Rublev #87, [online] Available at: < [Accessed 01 May 2013] Read More