O homem dos mil truques: Chomón animador

Paulo Roberto de Carvalho Barbosa

doi:10.36025/arj.v2i1.5468

Authors

Paulo Roberto de Carvalho Barbosa Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36025/arj.v2i1.5468

Keywords:

Animation (Cinematography), Silent films, Trick cinematography, Film directors, Colour cinematography

Abstract

The Spaniard Segundo de Chomón was one of the leading figures in the early years of cinema. At the beginning of the 20th century he worked for various European companies, bringing his expertise to hundreds of films. A specialist in tricks, he made use of new technical and stylistic resources, which were later incorporated in the grammar of cinematography. Among the techniques he experimented with, animation has particular importance, being the vehicle for a large number of his films. Chomón found in this new way of making films a means of conferring personality to his creations. He moved easily through the different paths of the medium, trying out its many variations as he did so. This article gives a reading of Chomón's animations in the light of his experimentalism, focusing on the director's contribution to this "art within art".

English version by Francis K. Johnson.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Paulo Roberto de Carvalho Barbosa, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Paulo Barbosa has a PhD in Visual Arts from the School of Fine Arts of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He lectures on the history of cinema for postgraduate courses. He is the author of the book From Tricks to Special Effects: The films of Segundo de Chomón, which was published in 2014. He writes articles about cinema and visual arts for academic periodicals, as well as works as an illustrator for various types of publication.

References

BARBOSA, Paulo Roberto de Carvalho. Do truque ao efeito especial: o cinema de Segundo de Chomón. São Paulo: Terceira Margem, 2014.

CRAFTON, Donald. Before Mickey: The Animated Film, 1898-1928, Chicago: University of California Press, 1982.

CUENCA, Carlos Fernández. Segundo de Chomón, maestro de la fantasía y de la técnica (1871-1929), Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1972.

GAUDREAULT, André. From Plato to Lumière, narration and monstration in literature and cinema, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009.

GUNNING, Tom. “The cinema of attractions: early film, its spectator and the avant-garde”, in ELSAESSER, Thomas (ed.), Early cinema: space-frame-narrative, pp. 56-62. Berkeley: British Film Institute, 1990.

MINGUET, J. M.. Segundo de Chomón: el cine de la fascinación. Barcelona: Filmoteca de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010.

THARRATS, Juan Gabriel, Inolvidable Chomón – Murcia: Editora Regional de Murcia/Filmoteca Regional de Murcia, 1990.

__________. Los 500 films de Segundo de Chomón. Saragoça: Prensas Universitarias, 1988.

VIDAL, Agustín Sánchez. El cine de Chomón. Saragoça: Caja de Ahorros de la Inmaculada Aragon, 1992.

WELLS, Paul. Animation: genre and authorship. Londres: Wallflower Press, 2002.

Consulta à internet

MERCER, Leigh – “Fear at the hands of technology: The proto-Surrealism of the films of Segundo de Chomón”, in Studies in Hispanic Cinemas, nº 2, vol. 4, University of Washington: 2007. Disponível em:

http://www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/pdf/10.1386/shci.4.2.79_1?cookieSet=1. Acesso em 28/08/2011.