Making a visually eloquent short film to interpret the life and art of a musical legend is a tall order, one for which Oscar and Bafta nominated Director Barry Purves is obviously perfectly suited. Released in 2011, this thirteen minute short about classical Russian composer Pyotor Tchaikovsky is a beautiful orchestration in itself. Barry speaks with us about how he surmounted challenges in the production of this inventively staged piece.
Director Barry Purves:
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- The challenge for Tchaikovsky was not only to make a very limited budget go a long way, but also to try to get a respectful flavour of the man and the music in just thirteen minutes. We could only afford one puppet and one set, and that certainly will dictate how you can tell a story. Sometimes such limitations do force creativity. I’m pleased with the photographic images on the walls – these, using just an overhead projector, came about through not being able to build other characters. I had hoped to see Tchaikovsky playing a piano, but, again, I could not afford it, and it seemed to me that I didn’t actually need it. All these restrictions led me to make the film into very much an internal monologue, which seemed ultimately the right way to go. Another challenge of the film was the musicality – we could not afford anyone to do the barsheets (exposure sheets), so a combination of
- ‘s sound facilities, the music score, and myself actually learning to play the particular pieces of music, all helped to make it look as if Tchaikovsky was playing the piano- albeit an imaginary one. The visualization of the music as a heartbeat is so useful, especially for seeing the structure as musical shapes.
The schedule was a tough one with me having to shoot twelve seconds a day without any rehearsal or reshooting. This is where instinct kicks in – helped by the software’s onion skin tool. Having to shoot so fast does not permit constantly watching the sequence as it builds, and making necessary refinements. I just have to go for it, but onion skinning gives me sufficient reference to help me make any decisions about the movement. I’m very pleased to have had the chance to make the film about such a complex character, and whilst the budget was tight I did get to spend a morning in Tchaikovsky’s house in Klin. That is more of a reward than any financial benefits. I just hope people get the chance to see this film, and the other films in the series “Tales from an Old Piano”, which all feature different classical composers.
Making of time lapse:
Tchaikovsky Credits:
Written, directed and animated by Barry Purves
Produced by Irina Margolina and Loose Moose
Director of Photography: Justin Noe
Camera, lighting and graphics: Joe Clarke
Puppet: Mackinnon and Saunders