Iluminace, 2024 (roč. 36), číslo 3

Animation Studios: People, Spaces, Labor

Pavel Skopal, Ewa Ciszewska

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):5-10 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1794  

An Introduction to a Special Issue.

How Serials Reshaped Animation Production. 
Comparative Analysis of Animated Film Serials Produced by the Studio in Gottwaldov and ‘Se-Ma-For’ Studio of Small Film Forms (1960s–1980s)

Michal Večeřa, Szymon Szul

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):11-34 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1793  

The 1960s marked a significant shift in animation production in socialist Czechoslovakia and Poland toward serial formats, and our text focuses on a comparative analysis of the adoption of animated serial production at the Polish studio Se-Ma-For and the Gottwaldov animation studio in Czechoslovakia. In Gottwaldov, evening serials for television were the predominant form of production, while Se-Ma-For favored co-produced serials. The shift to serial production required adjustments in production practices, including changes in workforce composition and skill requirements. Comparative analysis reveals divergent approaches to serial production, influenced...

The Agency and Effect of Technical Equipment on Animation Production in Studios Se-Ma-For and FS Kudlov in the 1970s and 1980s

Tereza Bochinová, Agata Hofelmajer-Roś

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):35-62 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1792  

This study examines the animation studios FS Kudlov in Gottwaldov and Se-Ma-For in Łódź in the 1970s and 1980s through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The goal is to demonstrate ANT as a tool for understanding the role of human and non-human actors (such as equipment, materials, and spaces) in shaping work processes. In Se-Ma-For, the “reprojector kit” used by Zbigniew Rybczyński for the Oscar-winning Tango (1981) prompted innovative techniques, while in FS Kudlov, a work process supplementing a copy machine influenced Karel Zeman’s work. Both studios faced constraints due to limited technology access in the Eastern Bloc,...

From Semi-Amateur to Professional Production Conditions.
The Irzykowski Film Studio and Animation in the Late People’s Republic of Poland

Emil Sowiński

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):63-79 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1790  

The present paper contextualises and closely analyses the production strategy of the Irzykowski Film Studio (a communist-era film institution founded in 1981 that produced debut films of all types and lengths) for animated films in the 1980s. In reconstructing the realities of animated film production, the author points out not only the reasons for their making, but also draws attention to production conditions. It proves that the Studio operated under semi-amateur (1980–1985) where films were produced on extremely limited budgets as well as professional (1986–1989) production conditions. The research draws on archival materials, including...

Transcontinental Studio Collaboration in the Production of the African-futurist Anthology Kizazi Moto

Jane Cheadle

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):81-100 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1791  

This paper explores the production of the animated anthology Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire as a case study for understanding the transnational dynamics and power relations within the global animation industry in the post-colonial context. Utilizing qualitative research based on interviews with key decision makers, the paper examines the production culture, the complexities of identity and representation, and the ideological tensions embedded in the animation tools and processes. Through the interview record, moments of resistance and acceptance emerged, revealing uneven access to resources and the colonial legacies influencing contemporary African...

Bring Your Toys to Works.
Desk Displays at the Animation Studio

Colin Wheeler

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):101-125 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1789  

Animators distinguish themselves through decorating their workspaces, which is why we should explore how this social ritual reflects the values inherent in animation production culture. Previous analyses have interpreted these practices as resistance to the alienating power of the studio, focusing on large companies such as Nickelodeon. However, many diverse office environments remain unexplored. Drawing from long-form interviews with animators across Atlanta, Georgia, this research uses discourse analysis and ethnographic methods to study how decorations differ in their purpose and function. Participants revealed myriad motivations for their choices:...

“Studios Are Fundamentally about Controlling the Environment.”
Space Control and Epistemologically Challenging Failures in the Film Studios’ Research 
An Interview with Brian R. Jacobson

Pavel Skopal, Ewa Ciszewska, Michał Pabiś-Orzeszyna

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):127-135 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1797  

An Interview with Brian R. Jacobson.

Refusing to Fade: Soviet Domestic Photography Archives as Memory Strongholds

Liri Alienor Chapelan

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):137-142 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1796  

Book review: Oksana Sarkisova and Olga Shevchenko, In Visible Presence: Soviet Afterlives in Family Photos (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2023).

I provizorní zastávka může být cíl

Even a Temporary Stop Can Be a Destination

Jan Bergl

Iluminace 2024, 36(3):143-150 | DOI: 10.58193/ilu.1795  

Recenze knihy Jiří Anger (ed.), Digitální Kříženecký: Nový život prvních českých filmů (Praha: Národní filmový archiv, 2023).