DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2024.1.69639

Abstract: The subject of research in this work is the so-called "funeral" documentaries, the creation of which was initiated before the revolution. At all times, they carried an important informational and semantic load. They fixed the authority of the deceased in the eyes of the mass public. There were public and private funerals. The ritual was canonical in nature, which was first resonantly violated during the funeral of Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, as evidenced by the preserved films. The article examines the features and modification of "funeral" films over time. They underwent a radical transformation with the advent of modern times after the February revolution of 1917 and the Bolsheviks came to power. A new funeral ritual with its own peculiarities and new meanings has been established on the cinema screen. The methodological basis of the research is a system analysis. The work used a cultural-historical method and an art historical analysis of preserved films and film materials. The novelty of this study is due to the fact that it has now become possible to use not only the most general impressions in the analysis, but to take a closer look and describe in sufficient detail the films and film documents being studied. This allows you to avoid annoying mistakes and inaccuracies in understanding and interpreting what you see. And it also reinforces the role of visual evidence in understanding history. This article is devoted to an overview of how the paradigm of the funeral ritual vision has changed since pre-revolutionary times during the transition to a new world after the 1917 revolution, as well as to the identification of meanings. Her conclusions are connected with a fundamental change in the main idea of the funeral ceremony – from saying goodbye to the deceased before sending him on a long journey, a transition was made to the idea of sacrifice and swearing an oath to continue the struggle for a bright future. The results of the research can be useful to professional documentary filmmakers, archivists and can be used in practical work and in training courses.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2023.4.38611

Abstract: The purpose of this work is to reveal the peculiarities of perception of historical archival newsreels on the example of pre-revolutionary non-fiction films. The objective of the study is to identify the qualities of pre-revolutionary newsreels that influenced the mass audience before the revolution and compare them with those qualities that come out on top when perceived by modern viewers. In the work, an analytical approach is used as a method, which is based on theoretical provisions arising from the consideration of the specifics of newsreels as a special type of cinematography. The formation of Russian non-fiction cinema at an early stage is also considered, the techniques used in its development are revealed, and the extant evidence of the perception of newsreels in the first cinemas is studied. Films considered are : "The Sovereign Emperor, the Empress Empress and the Heir Tsarevich are pleased to taste sailor food on the imperial yacht "Standard" during their stay in the Skerries in 1908" (1908), "Asbestos mining in the Urals" (1911) and "The opening of the bridge across the Volga in the center of Rzhev" (1911). The results of the study confirm the influence of the so-called visual turn that occurred and indicate a fundamental difference in the perception of visual information compared to verbal. When analyzing the preserved film materials, including documentaries, it is noticeable that now these ephemeral screen images convey the breath of authentic life, and we look at the screen not to learn any story, but to feel the atmosphere of being of those people. The novelty of the undertaken research lies in the development of a model of perception of pre-revolutionary newsreels both in general terms and from the point of view of a specific audience before and now.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2017.6.21822

Abstract: The article deals with the question of how accurate is one or another filmed event, as well as its correspondence with the realities of time. Having analyzed a number of archival chronicle film footage, the author can be assured that multiple scenes were filmed using the staging elements, and some of them staged. This becomes noticeable in working with the early national newsreel of the World War I period. Although, separate scenes are authentic. The author attempts to identify which criterion and knowledge form the accuracy of the footage. The source of such knowledge usually imply the ordinary experience of the audience, previously seen films, books, and other types of mass media. In addition, in shooting the chronicle material, the camera operators try to follow the certain moral and ethical norms of the historical period. Staging elements in the early newsreel are traced not only on the example of the World War I period, but also the so-called imperial documentaries and film magazines of the era. It is noted that in separate cases, the camera operators during the film editing, used not only the linear methods, but also acquired the skills of essential film editing, which was inherent to the later period. It is concluded that the historical newsreel not always demonstrates the objective truth of an event; the filmed images often carry the organizational and prearranged character, beginning from staging separate scenes, ending with following to the established ritual of one or another ceremony.