Week 13

Jan Svankmajer and Terry Gilliam: Masters of Surrealism

Jan Svankmajer(1834)

movie showed:

combination of human activities and stop motion. I found the bounciness of the objects and props to be very smooth. well synchronized, the different object is cleanly matted. puppetry technique, darkness to mask the object. 

Interesting story ideas. 

Alice

strange and unusual things happening. 

great stop motion. really good lightning

Alice 1988

1988 creepy Alice





Terry Gilliam
known for the animated sequence of Monty Pythons flying circus.

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/artist-highlight-the-genius-insanity-of-terry-gilliam/


Course Material









































































Blog task:  summarise Jan Svankmajer and Terry Gilliam's careers and their way of working and storytelling.  Discuss their stop motion styles, how they were made and the effect they have, and how they blend stop-motion and live-action in their films. 

Jan Svankmajer: One of the most respected and celebrated animators in the world, mostly known for his work in Alice (1988), Faust(1994), Conspirators of Pleasure(1996), Little Otik (2000) and Lunacy(2005), etc.

he was born in the Czech Republic on 4th September 1934. His works have inspired many media along with many artists like Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many more. 

Born in Prague Svankmajer was fascinated by the artistic development of puppet theatre provided for Christmas as a child. he pursued his education on Applied Arts and studied puppetry at Prague Academy of Performing Arts. His journey began to Lterna Magika multimedia theatre and continues his association with Radok. 

His first theatrical act film was The Last Trick(1964) . that involves classic surrealism,  

he has received a reputation over several decades for a unique stop motion technique, His act has strong sounds well synchronized with movement which overall appears to be strange, Fast motion sequences style of animation are still carried out by him and inanimated object are brought to life. with stop-motion also know as claymation. he has also used pixelation in some movies like Food (1992) and Conspirators of pleasure(1996).

His recent release is Insects. which was made with the help of a funded budget. 

Terry Gilliam

Auteur Gilliam was raised in Minnesota but spent his college and high school years in Los Angeles.

 He started his career as an animator and cartoonist on strips. As the animator of their works, he joined Monty Python but ultimately became a full member and was given acting roles. He became director of feature films in the 1970s. Most of his films examine the theme of creativity and its relevance to life.

Gilliam began his career as an animator and cartoonist on the strip. One of his early strips for Help! Future Python cast member John Cleese was featured in the magazine Folded, Gilliam went to Europe, jokingly declaring in the very last issue that he was "transferring to the magazine's 

European branch,"[8] which, of course, did not exist. He moved to England and animated the sequence.

Terry Gilliam’s films mainly fall into the Fantasy, Drama, and Comedy genres. The fantasy elements are usually the most striking, and although comedy is involved, despite his years working on Monty Python, it is often dark humor or visual comedy. Gilliam is notorious for breaking tradition in Hollywood cinema and for the sake of studios, his films have also gone through massive cuts. His visuals and his style of narration defined Gilliam's films as 'cult' as opposed to the mainstream.

Auteur: Terry Gilliam. (2018, October 05). Retrieved August 11, 2020, from https://www.sothetheorygoes.com/terry-gilliam/

The adventure of baron munchausen.: