Comments on: The Unique Pinscreen Animation of Alexandre Alexeieff & Claire Parker

By: suzidoll

suzidoll — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:40:34 +0000

Hi Sally:

There is DVD compilation that includes THE NOSE called THE ANIMATION OF ALEXEIEFF available from Facets Multi-Media. Go to:http://www.facetsdvd.com/product-p/dv98738.htm

I don’t think it is sold separately.

By: Sally

Sally — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:51:35 +0000

I would appreciate any information on where “The Nose” might be available for purchase. Were copies ever made of any of these films?

Thank you.

By: Pin Screen Animation – Jacques Drouin « Masha

Pin Screen Animation – Jacques Drouin « Masha — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:51:36 +0000

[...] Pin screen animation is made using a screen pierced by thousands of headless pins. The animator creates images on the screen by pushing the pins into the screen. When the screen is lit from the side, each pin casts a shadow – the deeper the pin is pushed, the smaller the shadow, which made it possible to create images with the subtlest of tones, rather like a delicate charcoal drawing. This techniques was invented by Alexander Alexeieff and Claire Parker in the 1930’s. [...]

By: Louis Postel

Louis Postel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:00:01 +0000

Hi — Wonderful site. I am Alexeieff’s grandaughter’s husband and would love to help and am lucky to have some of his work on our walls. Please let me know if I can help shed more light on this important artist. All best, Louis

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:01:52 +0000

My brain can’t even begin to comprehend how many millions of hours it must’ve taken them to create a single movement .. the way the entire process of pinscreen animation was performed seems so impossible when noting the detail achieved in the images! The animations of today don’t come anywhere near to this old-school technique! It’s mind blowingly amazing!

By: Walton Burns

Walton Burns — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 05:13:20 +0000

Thanks so much for posting this. I am Claire Parker’s grand-nephew and I am trying to get more information on Alexeieff. I would love to know the sources of your information. I am also editing his Wikipedia article at the moment and would be grateful if you felt like also adding information. I am taking some of the stuff on this page (with references of course)!

By: ziggy 67

ziggy 67 — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 06:01:04 +0000

I know he wasn’t your subject, but make sure to check out the Yuri Norstein films included in the top you-tube clip. They’re truly beautiful, with the color, delicacy and depth from the multi-plane camera work. Being an animation buff myself, I really appreciate your bringing these names to my attention.
Good luck with your DVD project!

By: Jenni

Jenni — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 21:35:15 +0000

What an informative post. I am always amazed and in awe of people who are so creative. Creating the pinscreen as a way to make animation-amazing to me! Thanks for the clip showing how the device was actually used as I was wondering about that very thing as I read the post. As I read about Alexeieff and his creation of “A Night on Bald Mountain”, I was wondering if Disney perchance had gotten to see Alexieff’s, and if it inspired Disney to have his own version of “A Night” in his animated film devoted to Classical music,Fantasia?

By: suzidoll

suzidoll — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:09:07 +0000

Thanks for the enthusiasm over a little-known animator/artist.

Moira: I think he didn’t storyboard by hand because he “storyboarded in his head,” thinking up the images in advance and keeping them in order in his mind’s eye and then painstakingly recreating them one by one — kind of like Griffith, more or less. And, he admitted later in life that his personal experiences and Russian heritage had inspired/influenced him more than he realized at the time he was creating his animations.

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:02:21 +0000

Did Alexeieff ever explain why he didn’t storyboard his work?

Did he think that spontaneity rather than pre-planning might allow him to be more open to those “happy accidents” that occur while constructing an image?

Was he influenced by Russian folk art, which seems to inform his animation?

I have two more words for you, Suzi: How Wonderful!

Thank you.