A Chairy Tale: Difference between revisions

A Chairy Tale
A Chairy Tale
Directed by	Claude Jutra; Norman McLaren; Animation:; Evelyn Lambart
Produced by	Norman McLaren
Starring	Claude Jutra
Music by	Ravi Shankar; Chatur Lal; Maurice Blackburn
Production; company	National Film Board of Canada
Distributed by	National Film Board of Canada
Release date	1957;
Running time	10 minutes
Country	Canada
Languages	English, French

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A Chairy Tale (French: Il était une chaise) is a 1957 Canadian stop-motion pixilation short film co-directed by Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra for the National Film Board of Canada.^[1] Set to the music of Ravi Shankar and Chatur Lal, it comedically portrays Jutra's attempts to sit on an uncooperative chair.^[2]

Synopsis

The film begins with a seemingly normal chair onscreen. Jutra enters, carrying a book, and attempts to sit on the chair so he can read his book. The chair unexpectedly moves out from under him. The man's persistent become increasingly frenetic and violent to himself. Finally, the man realises that perhaps the chair will let him sit on it if he allows the chair to sit on him first. This gambit succeeds, resulting the man sits on the chair at the end.^[3]^[4]

Filming

The film took place on one indoor scene such as an empty stage and dark curtains in the background. The animated chair method involved using the traditional string-puppet technique with the exception of attaching the string horizontally off-screen on the right side and on the left side with the help of two animators.^[5] The strings were invisible to the camera because they were fine black nylon fishing string.^[5]

The film had variables speed of frames per second (fps) whether it was 16, 12, 8, 4 or 1 fps. In order to control the chair movement and the man action at a normal speed, the camera should capture the chair at half speed, 12 frames per second, and the man at 1/2 speed.^[5] However, if the chair action was difficult to control, the camera would have to capture it at 6 fps which end up the chair moving at 1/4 speed. If the camera had to capture the chair movement at a high speed and the man at a normal speed, it would have to record the chair at 8 fps and the man at 1/3 speed. In order to maintain a balance between the camera and the man or the chair action, the result was to slow them down at the same amount of speed.^[5]

Music

The background music of the film was accompanied with Indian music by Ravi Shankar, the sitar player, and Chatur Lau, the tabla player. The two musicians were invited to view the film after they had arrived in Montreal for a television recital.^[5] They were intrigued, and decided to compose music for the film.^[5] Since the film was already edited, McLaren split the film into two about ten loops and recorded the music into each of these loops.^[5] He added 20 seconds of silence in the loop for synchronizing the music and the performance.^[5]

Analysis

One interpretation of the film is that cooperation is a better option to resolve disputes rather than force. If one side of the party is willing to use violence and aggression in order to achieve their path, the result will end poorly.^[6] The lesson is to listen and to see the other party's point of view in order to solve the situation.^[6]

Another interpretation of the film is that it is a coded queer narrative regarding the tension between 'topping' and 'bottoming,' where the chair refuses to bottom for the top (the man) until it has an opportunity to top. Once this is realised, and assented to, the chair willingly returns to its expectations. The romantic body language shared between the chair and the man support this view.^[7]

Accolades


Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and Nominee(s)	Result
1957	Venice Film Festival	Non-Theatrical Arts and Experimental	Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra	Won
1957	Rapallo International Film Festival	Second Prize, Experimental	Norman McLaren and Claude Jutra	Won
1958	British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)^[8]	Special Award: Work Lying Outside The Feature and Documentary Fields	A Chairy Tale	Won
1958	10th Canadian Film Awards	Award of Merit, Non-theatrical, Arts and Experimental	Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra	Won
1958	30th Academy Awards^[9]	Best Live Action Short Subject	Norman McLaren	Nominated

Title

The title is a pun on the term "fairy tale" (using a portmanteau of "chair" and "fairy"), which is further emphasized by the use of the cliché fairy tale opening phrase "Once upon a time..." at the start of the film. It may also play on the word chary, a British adjective seldom encountered in American English. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines the word as "cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something."^[10]

References

^ "A Chairy Tale". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
^ Weldon, Carolyne (2 August 2012). "Hot Shots: Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra and Ravi Shankar on Set in 1957" (Includes production photos). NFB blog. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
^ Fulford, Robert. "Our very own genius". National Post. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
^ "Current Non-Fiction And Short Films". Monthly Film Bulletin. 25: 132. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Technical Notes on A Chairy Tale" (PDF). 2007-04-02. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
^ ^a ^b "A Chairy Tale: fable about importance of communication, respect and equality – Under Southern Eyes". undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
^ Marti, Emilio. "McLaren's Closet: expressing and hiding homosexual desire in Norman McLaren's filmography through the reinvention of the body and space". Academia.edu. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
^ "The 30th Academy Awards | 1958". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
^ "chary | Definition of chary in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-01.

External links

Watch A Chairy Tale on the NFB website
A Chairy Tale at IMDb
Technical notes on A Chairy Tale from Norman McLaren
Canadian Film Encyclopedia
A Chairy Tale at AllMovie

[1] "A Chairy Tale". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.

[2] Weldon, Carolyne (2 August 2012). "Hot Shots: Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra and Ravi Shankar on Set in 1957" (Includes production photos). NFB blog. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

[Fulford-3] Fulford, Robert. "Our very own genius". National Post. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2011.

[4] "Current Non-Fiction And Short Films". Monthly Film Bulletin. 25: 132. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.

[:0-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Technical Notes on A Chairy Tale" (PDF). 2007-04-02. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-01.

[:1-6] "A Chairy Tale: fable about importance of communication, respect and equality – Under Southern Eyes". undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com. Retrieved 2018-04-01.

[7] Marti, Emilio. "McLaren's Closet: expressing and hiding homosexual desire in Norman McLaren's filmography through the reinvention of the body and space". Academia.edu. Retrieved 19 August 2019.

[8] "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2018-03-31.

[9] "The 30th Academy Awards | 1958". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2018-03-31.

[10] "chary | Definition of chary in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-01.

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[2]

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[10]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 | caption        =
 | director       = [[Claude Jutra]]<br>[[Norman McLaren]]<br>'''Animation:'''<br>[[Evelyn Lambart]]
-| producer       =
+| producer       = Norman McLaren
 | writer         =
 | screenplay     =
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | cinematography =
 | editing        =
-| studio         =
+| studio         = [[National Film Board of Canada]]
-| distributor    = [[National Film Board of Canada]] (NFB)
+| distributor    = [[National Film Board of Canada]]
 | released       = {{Film date|1957}}<!-- {{Film date|Year|Month|Day|Location}} -->
 | runtime        = 10 minutes
 | country        = Canada
-| language       =
+| language       = English, French
 | budget         =
 | gross          =
 }}
-'''''A Chairy Tale''''' ({{lang-fr|Il était une chaise}}) is a 1957 Canadian stop-motion [[pixilation]] short film co-directed by [[Norman McLaren]] and [[Claude Jutra]], starring Jutra with an uncooperative [[chair]]. The film humorously portrays Jutra's attempts to sit on the chair with the music set of [[Ravi Shankar]] and [[Chatur Lal]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Weldon|first=Carolyne|title=Hot Shots: Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra and Ravi Shankar on Set in 1957|url=http://blog.nfb.ca/2012/08/01/hot-shots-norman-mclaren-claude-jutra-and-ravi-shankar-on-set-in-1957/|work=NFB blog|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=2 August 2012|format=Includes production photos|date=2 August 2012}}</ref>
+'''''A Chairy Tale''''' ({{lang-fr|Il était une chaise}}) is a 1957 Canadian stop-motion [[pixilation]] short film co-directed by [[Norman McLaren]] and [[Claude Jutra]] for the [[National Film Board of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Chairy Tale |url=http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/en/our-collection/?idfilm=11152 |website=onf-nfb.gc.ca |publisher=National Film Board of Canada |access-date=26 February 2023}}</ref> Set to the music of [[Ravi Shankar]] and [[Chatur Lal]], it comedically portrays Jutra's attempts to sit on an uncooperative [[chair]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Weldon|first=Carolyne|title=Hot Shots: Norman McLaren, Claude Jutra and Ravi Shankar on Set in 1957|url=http://blog.nfb.ca/2012/08/01/hot-shots-norman-mclaren-claude-jutra-and-ravi-shankar-on-set-in-1957/|work=NFB blog|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=2 August 2012|format=Includes production photos|date=2 August 2012}}</ref>
 == Synopsis ==
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 The film took place on one indoor scene such as an empty stage and dark curtains in the background. The animated chair method involved using the traditional [[Marionette|string-puppet]] technique with the exception of attaching the string horizontally off-screen on the right side and on the left side with the help of two animators.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2007-04-02|title=Technical Notes on A Chairy Tale|url=http://www.nfb.ca/archives_mclaren/notech/NT07EN.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402061823/http://www.nfb.ca/archives_mclaren/notech/NT07EN.pdf|archive-date=2007-04-02|access-date=2018-04-01}}</ref> The strings were invisible to the camera because they were fine black nylon fishing string.<ref name=":0" />
-The film had variables speed of [[Frame rate|frames per second]] (fps) whether it was 16, 12, 8, 4 or 1 fps. In order to control the chair movement and the man action at a normal speed, the camera should capture the chair at half speed, 12 frames per second, and the man at 1/2 speed.<ref name=":0" /> However, if the chair action was difficult to control, the camera would have to capture it at 6 fps which end up the chair moving at 1/4 speed. If the camera have to capture the chair movement at a high speed and the man at a normal speed, it would have to record the chair at 8 fps and the man at 1/3 speed. In order to maintain a balance between the camera and the man or the chair action, the result was to slow them down at the same amount of speed.<ref name=":0" />
+The film had variables speed of [[Frame rate|frames per second]] (fps) whether it was 16, 12, 8, 4 or 1 fps. In order to control the chair movement and the man action at a normal speed, the camera should capture the chair at half speed, 12 frames per second, and the man at 1/2 speed.<ref name=":0" /> However, if the chair action was difficult to control, the camera would have to capture it at 6 fps which end up the chair moving at 1/4 speed. If the camera had to capture the chair movement at a high speed and the man at a normal speed, it would have to record the chair at 8 fps and the man at 1/3 speed. In order to maintain a balance between the camera and the man or the chair action, the result was to slow them down at the same amount of speed.<ref name=":0" />
 == Music ==
-The background music of the film was accompanied with Indian music by [[Ravi Shankar]], the [[sitar]] player, and [[Chatur Lal|Chatur Lau]], the [[tabla]] player. The two musician players were invited to view the film after they had arrived on Montreal for a Television recital.<ref name=":0" /> They were intrigued by it and decided to compose music for the film.<ref name=":0" /> Since the film was already edited, McLaren split the film into two about ten loops and recorded the music into each of these loops.<ref name=":0" /> In addition, he added 20 seconds of silence in the loop for synchronizing the music and the performance.<ref name=":0" />
+The background music of the film was accompanied with Indian music by [[Ravi Shankar]], the [[sitar]] player, and [[Chatur Lal|Chatur Lau]], the [[tabla]] player. The two musicians were invited to view the film after they had arrived in Montreal for a television recital.<ref name=":0" /> They were intrigued, and decided to compose music for the film.<ref name=":0" /> Since the film was already edited, McLaren split the film into two about ten loops and recorded the music into each of these loops.<ref name=":0" /> He added 20 seconds of silence in the loop for synchronizing the music and the performance.<ref name=":0" />
 == Analysis ==
-One interpretation of the film is that cooperation is a better option to resolve disputes rather than force. If one side of the party is willing to use violence and aggression in order to achieve their path, the result will end poorly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com/5204/|title=A Chairy Tale: fable about importance of communication, respect and equality – Under Southern Eyes|website=undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-01}}</ref> The lesson is to listen and to see the other party point of view in order to compromise the situation.<ref name=":1" />
+One interpretation of the film is that cooperation is a better option to resolve disputes rather than force. If one side of the party is willing to use violence and aggression in order to achieve their path, the result will end poorly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com/5204/|title=A Chairy Tale: fable about importance of communication, respect and equality – Under Southern Eyes|website=undersoutherneyes.edpinsent.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-01}}</ref> The lesson is to listen and to see the other party's point of view in order to solve the situation.<ref name=":1" />
 Another interpretation of the film is that it is a coded queer narrative regarding the tension between 'topping' and 'bottoming,' where the chair refuses to bottom for the top (the man) until it has an opportunity to top. Once this is realised, and assented to, the chair willingly returns to its expectations. The romantic body language shared between the chair and the man support this view.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marti |first1=Emilio |title=McLaren's Closet: expressing and hiding homosexual desire in Norman McLaren's filmography through the reinvention of the body and space |url=https://www.academia.edu/27343598 |website=Academia.edu |access-date=19 August 2019}}</ref>
@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 !Result
 |-
+|1957
-|1958
+|[[Venice Film Festival]]
-|[[Academy Awards]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958/A--E?qt-honorees=1|title=The 30th Academy Awards {{!}} 1958|work=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=2018-03-31|language=en}}</ref>
+|Non-Theatrical Arts and Experimental
-|Live Action Film
-|[[Norman McLaren]]
+|Norman McLaren and [[Claude Jutra]]
-|{{Nominated}}
+|{{Won}}
+|-
+|1957
+|Rapallo International Film Festival
+|Second Prize, Experimental
+|Norman McLaren and [[Claude Jutra]]
+|{{Won}}
 |-
 |1958
@@ Line 59: / Line 65: @@
 (BAFTA)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1958/film/competitive-special-award|title=BAFTA Awards|website=awards.bafta.org|language=en|access-date=2018-03-31}}</ref>
 |Special Award: Work Lying Outside The Feature and Documentary Fields
-|A Chairy tale
+|A Chairy Tale
 |{{Won}}
 |-
+|1958
-|1957
+|[[10th Canadian Film Awards]]
-|[[National Film Board of Canada|National Film Board Of Canada]]
+|Award of Merit, Non-theatrical, Arts and Experimental
-(NFB)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FeflDQAAQBAJ&q=chairy%20tale%20award&pg=PA1967-IA24|title=Creative Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-century Creative and Performing Artists|date=1971-12-15|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9781442637832|language=en}}</ref>
+|[[Norman McLaren]], [[Claude Jutra]]
-|Non-Theatrical Arts and Experimental
-|Norman McLaren and [[Claude Jutra]]
 |{{Won}}
+|-
+|1958
+|[[30th Academy Awards]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1958/A--E?qt-honorees=1|title=The 30th Academy Awards {{!}} 1958|work=Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|access-date=2018-03-31|language=en}}</ref>
+|[[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film|Best Live Action Short Subject]]
+|[[Norman McLaren]]
+|{{Nominated}}
 |}
+==Title==
-==The film's title==
-The title is a pun on the term "fairy tale" (using a portmanteau of "chair" and "fairy"), which is further emphasized by the use of the cliché fairy tale opening phrase "Once upon a time..." at the start of the film. It may also play on the word "chary", a British adjective seldom encountered in American English. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] (OED) defines the word "chary" as "cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/chary|title=chary {{!}} Definition of chary in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=2018-04-01}}</ref>
+The title is a pun on the term "fairy tale" (using a portmanteau of "chair" and "fairy"), which is further emphasized by the use of the cliché fairy tale opening phrase "Once upon a time..." at the start of the film. It may also play on the word ''chary'', a British adjective seldom encountered in American English. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] (OED) defines the word as "cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/chary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402035728/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/chary|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2018|title=chary {{!}} Definition of chary in English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries {{!}} English|access-date=2018-04-01}}</ref>
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
+*{{NFB film}}
-*[http://www.nfb.ca/film/a_Chairy_tale/ Watch ''A Chairy Tale'' at NFB.ca]
+*{{IMDb title}}
 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070402061823/http://www.nfb.ca/archives_mclaren/notech/NT07EN.pdf Technical notes on ''A Chairy Tale'' from Norman McLaren]
 *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926231225/http://filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=243&navid=87&fid3=555&offset= Canadian Film Encyclopedia]
-*{{IMDb title|id=0050534|title=A Chairy Tale}}
+*{{AllMovie title|300785|A Chairy Tale}}
-*{{Amg movie|300785|A Chairy Tale}}
 {{Norman McLaren}}
+{{Claude Jutra}}
+{{Authority control}}
-<!-- Please do not remove the 3 primary film categories -Year, Country, Language -->
-<!-- end of primary film categories -->
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chairy Tale, A}}
 [[Category:1957 films]]
-[[Category:Canadian films]]
+[[Category:Animated films without speech]]
-[[Category:Films without speech]]
 [[Category:Stop-motion animated short films]]
 [[Category:Canadian animated short films]]
@@ Line 106: / Line 115: @@
 [[Category:Films scored by Maurice Blackburn]]
 [[Category:Pixilation films]]
-[[Category:Films shot in Quebec]]
+[[Category:1950s Canadian animated films]]
-[[Category:Animated films without speech]]

v t e Norman McLaren
Films	Boogie-Doodle (1940) Hen Hop (1942) Begone Dull Care (1949) Neighbours (1952) Blinkity Blank (1955) Rythmetic (1956) A Chairy Tale (1957) Christmas Cracker (1963) Canon (1964) Pas de deux (1968) Synchromy (1971) Narcissus (1983)
Related articles	McLaren's Negatives Begone Dull Care (album) Evelyn Lambart Maurice Blackburn Pixilation