Slavko Vorkapic
Encyclopedia
Slavko Vorkapić (English
Slavko Vorkapich, originally in Serbian Cyrillic Славко Воркапић) (March 17, 1894 – October 20, 1976), was a Serbian
-American
film director and editor, former Dean of USC Film School
, painter, and a prominent figure of modern cinematography and film art.
near Ruma
in Syrmia
, Vojvodina
(at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia), later Yugoslavia
, now Serbia
). His father Petar, the town clerk, insisted that young Slavko should be well-educated. After finishing his primary education, he became a student in a well-known regional high-school in the nearby town of Sremska Mitrovica
, where he made his first steps in art and drawing. (Mileva Marić-Einstein
, the first wife and work associate of Albert Einstein
went to the same high school.) He continued his high-school education in Zemun
and later in the famous Art School in Belgrade
. With a scholarship received from Matica srpska
, Serbia
's highest cultural and scientific institution at the time, Vorkapić went to Budapest
, Hungary
, where he studied art. At the beginning of World War I
he immediately returned to his homeland where, with the country besieged on all sides, he survived the tragic Serbian
retreat across Albania
in order to reach Allied positions in Greece
. From there he sailed to Italy
, from where he reached France
. He managed to enter Art Academy in Paris
but soon after moved to Montparnasse
among other Avant-garde
artists. He took part in the 1917 and 1919 collective painter exhibits.
was fulfilled in 1920. For a short time, he lived in New York City
. Then, for almost a year, he roamed the country nearly homeless, until his arrival in Hollywood in July 1921. Although he started his film career as a painter and an actor, he became best-known as a special effects expert, film artist, film teacher, director, editor and became one of the most respected filmmakers in the period between the two World Wars. Vorkapić made a great number of documentaries and experimental films.
Vorkapić co-directed the experimental short film The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra
(1928) with Robert Florey
, and Moods of the Sea
(1941) and Forest Murmurs (1947) with filmmaker John Hoffman
(1904–1980).
He is best known for his montage work (see montage sequence) on Hollywood films such as Viva Villa (1934), David Copperfield
(1935), San Francisco (1936), The Good Earth (1937), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939). In October 2005, the DVD collection Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
was released and included a one-minute montage sequence Vorkapich did for the otherwise lost film
Manhattan Cocktail
(1928
), directed by Dorothy Arzner
.
The now-common montage sequence often appeared as notation in Hollywood scripts of the 1930s and 40s as the "vorkapich" because of his mastery of the dynamic visual montage sequence wherein time and space are compressed using a variety of editing techniques and camera moves. Vorkapich used kinetic editing, lap dissolve
s, tracking shot
s, creative graphics and optical effects for his stunning montage sequences for such features as Meet John Doe
, Maytime, Crime without Passion
, Manhattan Melodrama
, and Firefly
. He created, shot, and edited these kinesthetic montages for features at MGM, RKO, and Paramount
.
His protege, Art Clokey
, learned kinescope
animation techniques under him and went on to create the Gumby
animated series.
He was appointed dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts
of the University of Southern California
from 1949-1951.
In 1938 Vorkapich commissioned modern architect Gregory Ain
to build a garden house for his Beverly Hills residence. It was a minor landmark in prefabricated architecture. It has since been destroyed.
During the 1950s he was in Yugoslavia
and worked as a professor at the Belgrade
Film and Theatre Academy. In Yugoslavia
in 1955 Vorkapić made his last full-length movie Hanka
.
Slavko Vorkapić died of a heart attack in Mijas
, Spain
, on the estate of his son on October 20, 1976.
Two of his many master drawings, his gift during a visit to Yugoslavia
, are kept in the Syrmia Museum in Sremska Mitrovica
. Recent reports say that his descendants are ready to fulfill Vorkapić’s last will and testament to donate the same museum with all of his remaining art drawings.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Slavko Vorkapich, originally in Serbian Cyrillic Славко Воркапић) (March 17, 1894 – October 20, 1976), was a Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director and editor, former Dean of USC Film School
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
, painter, and a prominent figure of modern cinematography and film art.
Early life
Slavko Vorkapić was born on March 17, 1894, in the small village of DobrinciDobrinci
Dobrinci is a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Ruma municipality, in the Srem District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 1,716 people ....
near Ruma
Ruma
Ruma is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia at . In 2002 the town had a total population of 34,229, while Ruma municipality had a population of 60,006.-History:...
in Syrmia
Syrmia
Syrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
, Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
(at that time part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia), later Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, now Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
). His father Petar, the town clerk, insisted that young Slavko should be well-educated. After finishing his primary education, he became a student in a well-known regional high-school in the nearby town of Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2002 the town had a total population of 39,041, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 85,605...
, where he made his first steps in art and drawing. (Mileva Marić-Einstein
Mileva Maric
Mileva Marić was one of the first women to study mathematics and physics in Europe...
, the first wife and work associate of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
went to the same high school.) He continued his high-school education in Zemun
Zemun
Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...
and later in the famous Art School in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
. With a scholarship received from Matica srpska
Matica srpska
The Matica srpska is the oldest cultural-scientific institution of Serbia. Matica srpska was founded in 1826 in Budapest and moved to Novi Sad in 1864....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
's highest cultural and scientific institution at the time, Vorkapić went to Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, where he studied art. At the beginning of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he immediately returned to his homeland where, with the country besieged on all sides, he survived the tragic Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
retreat across Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
in order to reach Allied positions in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. From there he sailed to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, from where he reached France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He managed to enter Art Academy in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
but soon after moved to Montparnasse
Montparnasse
Montparnasse is an area of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail...
among other Avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
artists. He took part in the 1917 and 1919 collective painter exhibits.
Film work
Slavko Vorkapić's dream to go to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was fulfilled in 1920. For a short time, he lived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Then, for almost a year, he roamed the country nearly homeless, until his arrival in Hollywood in July 1921. Although he started his film career as a painter and an actor, he became best-known as a special effects expert, film artist, film teacher, director, editor and became one of the most respected filmmakers in the period between the two World Wars. Vorkapić made a great number of documentaries and experimental films.
Vorkapić co-directed the experimental short film The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra
The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra
The Life and Death of 9413: a Hollywood Extra is a American short silent experimental film.-Plot:The film tells the story of a man who comes to Hollywood to become a star, only to fail and be dehumanized...
(1928) with Robert Florey
Robert Florey
Robert Florey was a French screenwriter, director of short films, and actor who moved to Hollywood in 1921. In 1950, Florey was made a knight in the French Légion d'honneur....
, and Moods of the Sea
Moods of the Sea
Moods of the Sea is a non-narrative experimental film by Slavko Vorkapich and John Hoffman, set to the music of Felix Mendelssohn known as the Hebrides Overture....
(1941) and Forest Murmurs (1947) with filmmaker John Hoffman
John Hoffman (filmmaker)
John Hoffman , was a masterful editor of montage sequences for several Hollywood studio features....
(1904–1980).
He is best known for his montage work (see montage sequence) on Hollywood films such as Viva Villa (1934), David Copperfield
Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger is a 1935 American film based upon the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield...
(1935), San Francisco (1936), The Good Earth (1937), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
(1939). In October 2005, the DVD collection Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941
Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941 is a 7-disc and 19-hour DVD retrospective released by Image Entertainment in October 2005, and which includes some of the earliest American experimental film. It includes the work of:...
was released and included a one-minute montage sequence Vorkapich did for the otherwise lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
Manhattan Cocktail
Manhattan Cocktail (film)
Manhattan Cocktail was a part-talkie film, directed by Dorothy Arzner, and starring Nancy Carroll, Richard Arlen, and Lilyan Tashman...
(1928
1928 in film
-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 28 - Lights of New York is released by Warner Brothers. It is the first "100% Talkie" feature film, in that dialog is spoken throughout the film...
), directed by Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner
Dorothy Arzner was an American film director. Her directorial career in feature films spanned from the late 1920s into the early 1940s, a time period in which there were very few—if any—other women working in the field.- Biography :Born in San Francisco, California, Arzner grew up in Los...
.
The now-common montage sequence often appeared as notation in Hollywood scripts of the 1930s and 40s as the "vorkapich" because of his mastery of the dynamic visual montage sequence wherein time and space are compressed using a variety of editing techniques and camera moves. Vorkapich used kinetic editing, lap dissolve
Lap dissolve
A lap dissolve is a technical term in film editing, most often used in the United States, applying to the process whereby the fading last shot of a preceding scene is superimposed over the emerging first shot of the next scene, so that, for a few moments, both shots are seen simultaneously...
s, tracking shot
Tracking shot
In motion picture terminology, a tracking shot is a segment in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly, a wheeled platform that is pushed on rails while the picture is being taken...
s, creative graphics and optical effects for his stunning montage sequences for such features as Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe
Meet John Doe is a 1941 American comedy drama film directed and produced by Frank Capra, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The film is about a "grassroots" political campaign created unwittingly by a newspaper columnist and pursued by a wealthy businessman. It became a box office hit...
, Maytime, Crime without Passion
Crime Without Passion
Crime Without Passion is a 1934 American drama film directed by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, starring Claude Rains. It is the first of four pictures written, produced and directed by Hecht and MacArthur for Paramount Pictures...
, Manhattan Melodrama
Manhattan Melodrama
Manhattan Melodrama is a 1934 crime melodrama film, produced by MGM, directed by W. S. Van Dyke, and starring Clark Gable, William Powell, and Myrna Loy...
, and Firefly
Firefly (disambiguation)
Firefly is a common name for a bioluminescent beetle in the Lampyridae family.Firefly or fireflies may also refer to:-Film and television:* Firefly , a 2002 science fiction TV program created by Joss Whedon...
. He created, shot, and edited these kinesthetic montages for features at MGM, RKO, and Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
His protege, Art Clokey
Art Clokey
Arthur "Art" Clokey was a pioneer in the popularization of stop motion clay animation, beginning in 1955 with a film experiment called Gumbasia, influenced by his professor, Slavko Vorkapich, at the University of Southern California.After the Gumbasia project, Art Clokey and his wife Ruth came up...
, learned kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
animation techniques under him and went on to create the Gumby
Gumby
Gumby is a green clay humanoid character created and modeled by Art Clokey, who also created Davey and Goliath. Gumby has been the subject of a 233-episode series of American television as well as a feature-length film and other media...
animated series.
He was appointed dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...
of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
from 1949-1951.
In 1938 Vorkapich commissioned modern architect Gregory Ain
Gregory Ain
Gregory Ain was an American architect active in the mid-20th century. Working primarily in the Los Angeles area, Ain is best known for bringing elements of modern architecture to lower- and medium-cost housing.- Biography :...
to build a garden house for his Beverly Hills residence. It was a minor landmark in prefabricated architecture. It has since been destroyed.
During the 1950s he was in Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
and worked as a professor at the Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
Film and Theatre Academy. In Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
in 1955 Vorkapić made his last full-length movie Hanka
Hanka (film)
Hanka is a 1955 Yugoslavian film directed by Slavko Vorkapić. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Mira Stupica - Ajkuna* Mihajlo Mrvaljevic - Musan * Jovan Milicevic - Sejdo* Vera Gregovic - Hanka...
.
Slavko Vorkapić died of a heart attack in Mijas
Mijas
Mijas is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is a typically Andalusian white-washed village located at a mountain side about 450 m above mean sea level, in the heart of the Costa del Sol region...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, on the estate of his son on October 20, 1976.
Two of his many master drawings, his gift during a visit to Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
, are kept in the Syrmia Museum in Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2002 the town had a total population of 39,041, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 85,605...
. Recent reports say that his descendants are ready to fulfill Vorkapić’s last will and testament to donate the same museum with all of his remaining art drawings.
See also
- Pure cinemaPure cinemaPure Cinema is the film theory and practice whereby movie makers create a more emotionally intense experience using autonomous film techniques, as opposed to using stories, characters, or actors....
- Montage (filmmaking)
- Cinematic techniquesCinematic techniques- Basic Definitions of Terms :Aerial Shot:A shot taken from a crane, plane, or helicopter. Not necessarily a moving shot.Backlighting:The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouetting it, and directed toward the camera....
- Experimental filmExperimental filmExperimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
- Abstract filmAbstract filmAbstract film is a subgenre of experimental film. Its history often overlaps with the concerns and history of visual music. Some of the earliest abstract motion pictures known to survive are those produced by a group of German artists working in the early 1920s, a movement referred to as Absolute...
Sources
- The Most typical Avant-Garde James, David - 2005
- On True Cinema, Babac, Marko - 1998
- Slavko Vorkapich: Reminiscences - Davis, Ronald - 1978
External links
- Slavko Vorkapić article on www.filmreference.com
- Slavko Vorkapić picture circa 1950
- http://purecinema-celluloid.webs.com/slavkovorkapich.htm
