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| Pat & Mat's 1984-85 cottage on exhibition - or is it? (source: unknown) |
Constructing the scale models used in filming of stop motion animation, as well as making all the props, is an elaborate and time-consuming process. The drill Pat & Mat use, as we've already mentioned, is as old as the characters themselves. If it works and looks good, there's no need to change it. As such, some of the sets used for the series are actually repurposed sets from other shorts or series.
A certain part of Lubomír Beneš's Král a skřítek (The King and the Goblin), his version of the King Midas tale, revolves around a fountain with a golden dragon on top. Here's what it looks like in that 1980 short:
Interestingly, an iconic set of the 1979-85 series had also been repurposed.
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| an intruder at the house? |
Just like in the series, the house is bouncy and springy, moving uncontrollably, almost with the breath of its lackluster builder. How exactly this was achieved is not known to me. Presumably, a pulling mechanism was placed behind the house.
Even the wood pieces barely making up the door have moveable parts. The door also looks to be the only part of the cottage slightly changed in the series.
The cottage as it looked like in the series. The cottage stayed the same, but everything around it changed.
We also see the interior of the house in the 1975 short.
A similar, but different, more orderly set was used for the interior in the series.
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| Lubomír Beneš, c. 1983 (photo: ČT) |
It is also revealed that the wardrobe seen on the left of the previous picture is the thing holding the cottage from crumbling into ruin...
... which it does, just like in the Pat & Mat episode Dážď.
While Jakub's home is in complete disarray, his brother's house is very well built and beautiful.
When Jakub finally does build a new house, it is a complete replica, mirror image of Jan's. Jan is, of course, also the titular magic grandfather.
This house was later used as Pat & Mat's new home and appeared in three episodes in 1984 and 1985.
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| as seen in Korčule |
Kouzelný dědeček was the second puppet film directed by Beneš. The third one was indeed a charm as it landed our two heroes, with the help of Vláďa Jiránek. Unfortunately, Beneš's first puppet film, Račte prominout, isn't available online yet. If anyone does have it, I would love to see it. Maybe it also contains interesting details which eventually led to the genesis of Pat & Mat ― at least a prop or two if not whole sets.
Hello, I'm a bit interested about the sets used in the 1979-85 series, and I was wondering about what were the sets used for each episode, of course the series is the only one that takes place in many different sets rather than just one set for every episode, and there are many reused sets in the 1979-85 series such as the Kutaci set which is recognizable from the kitchen and the room next to it, and the old cottage set used in many other episodes, there are also unique sets that are only used for certain episodes, such as Vinari and Klavir.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that the sets were often built from different, already used props and elements, not from scratch. For instance, the fence that appears in Vinari is later on reused in Hrnčiari. I believe that the sets were primarily constructed around elements that were already completed and available for use, like the houses I mention in the post above.
DeleteAlso, I believe sets were mostly designed by Jan Tippman. He is credited for "carving work" on some releases by the studio and for "design collaboration" on the aiF episodes, which now goes out to Jan Bouzek, who does all the sets for Patmat film. There were also some set painters employed as well. They were mostly (or all) women and I know one of them was Eva Jirsova, credited on the 1982 episodes.
DeleteDespite having collapsed twice, the old cottage still exists (https://imgur.com/xPPGTNZ). This picture was taken a few years ago in Patmat film's previous studio, where it was on top of the kitchen cupboards.
ReplyDeleteA lot of it seems to be missing, which I guess is a consequence of the demolition at the end of Dážď. This is from the book by Robert Lagendijk, right? If it is, I would love to see more as that book was never published in any language outside of Dutch. And what do you mean by "previous studio"?
DeleteIt is. Unfortunately, there's no ebook version of it (only a 10-page preview: https://cbonline.boekhuis.nl/pls/cover/p_get_cover_fe?p_hash=3E9B0368A4A2A14744CFE57CE413AB74) and I don't know if there's a website that ships to where you live. It would still be in Dutch of course, but it is full of photos and a picture is worth a thousand words, they say.
DeleteBy 'previous studio' I meant their old location (Kmochova 1297, Hostivice). This address is still on their website, so I think it's their office now. The actual studio moved to Barrandova 4, Praha (lack of space would be my guess), and while looking this up, I see the address has changed again (to Voskovcova 1075/53, Praha).
Thanks for that info. The studio never answers my messages, so I didn't know about them moving! I thought the new episodes were also done in Hostivice, but with three animators working in Czechia in 2018, it makes sense that there was not enough room.
DeleteI tried to find the book, but never managed to find one that would ship to Croatia. I've seen the preview, which is why I recognized the photo. Can you contact me via e-mail?
I just sent you an e-mail.
DeleteNow that you mention the three animators: do you know what happened with Martin Kublak? As far as I can tell, he only animated about half an episode (Plot). In an interview, Marek Benes said that one of the main reasons he went into business with the Chinese studio was lack of animators in Czechia, which makes me wonder why Kublak left so soon.
Thanks. Hopefully, it will come through soon, it hasn't yet - neither has my test message sent right now.
DeleteIf you are also good with figuring out who animated what, that would be of help. I agree - I haven't been able to definitively pinpoint any animation by Kublak except in Plot - he did the scenes on the set with the fence structures P+M are building, while AMP handled those in front of the house. I'm not sure whether Kublak or Smrčka animated about half of the scenes in Krtek.
As for why he left - I believe he just wasn't needed. The Nas bavi series had the quickest release dates, so there were more animators needed to do the episodes quickly.
When I comment here, it says my message has to be approved before it's visible. Is that the work of a spam filter or do you do that manually? If the latter is the case, can I send you my e-mail address from here and you simply don't approve the comment?
DeleteAs far as Krtek is concerned, I'm quite sure Alfons M-P did the scenes in front of the house and Jan Smrcka did the others (except for the garage scene, which seems to have been done in China). It looks like Smrcka also did some shots towards the end of Plot on the same set as Martin Kublak, which made me think Kublak left unexpectedly and Smrcka finished his work.
I do it manually - I read the comment, then approve it. I look out for spam that way and get to catch all the comments. So, that's a good idea for the e-mail.
DeleteFor Krtek, you are (or I should I say both of us) right about AMP's and Chinese scenes. The scenes in Plot towards the end were the ones that made me think that Kublak and Smrčka had similar styles (although Kublak's initial scenes are clunky at times, I thought he settled into a rhythm afterwards). It's quite possible that it's in fact Smrčka.
What is also unusual is that Kublák received credit for some episodes he obviously had no involvement in (e.g. they were done in China). If the episode order is (again) completely out of order, it makes sense that he was just removed after his final work.
Of course, I wanted to make a post about him eventually, but I have about 10 of them in queue, lol.
DeleteI should also mention Krtek contains probably my favorite animation of the 2018 series, the slow pan while P & M get carried away by the incoming flood. It's beautifully animated and shot.
I think you're right about the credits. His name being there isn't as random as it seems and probably just a result of the episodes not being released in production order. I guess the reason all animators are credited for every episode is that they don't keep track of which Chinese animator does what.
DeleteFor me, Jan Smrcka is the best animator of the entire series, especially in recent episodes. His style has really changed for the better since the 2003/4 episodes and has become similar to Jan Klos' (who is my number two, Alfons M-P completes my top 3). I'm looking forward to a post dedicated to him, but I understand there are many more people you want to write about. Take your time and I'll see it in due course.
I guess all the animators (both Czech and Chinese) being listed all the time is a contractual thing or it's just laziness. It certainly doesn't help us. I actually meant to write about Kublák to try to find more of his work in the series. I agree about Smrčka - his style is different than before, while AMP's has also changed due to computer assistance. I don't know if Smrčka was one of Klos' pupils, but they did work together at KF in the 1990s.
DeleteI watched the episodes in detail again now and my conclusion is that yes, Smrčka does take over from Kublák in Plot. I believe Kublák's final scene ends at 6:15 and Smrčka's first begins at 6:35. The way Pat points up and then P&M exit the screen at 6:50 is pure Smrčka.
DeleteIn Krtek, there are only two Czech animators: Smrčka and Mensdorff-Pouilly.
I think you're right about Kublak's final scene, but I'd say the scene from 5:29 to 5:34 is Smrcka's work.
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right again.
DeleteDid you know Alfons Mensdorff Pouilly and Karel Chocholin worked in The King and Goblin. I didn't know they worked here before the episode Malovaní.
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with most of the credits for the crew, yes. That film was done at Bartolomejska, before Beneš moved to the Čiklovka branch of the studio. Interestingly, Chocholin is listed there as an assistant, not an animator. I presume he either did very little animation or helped out with the set and props, which is what he enjoyed doing (even a bit too much!), according to Jan Klos.
DeleteAnother comment is from Faustus House, with Vlasta Pospisilova as the animator (from Racte prominout). The only notice the director is Garik Seko!
Delete