"Making Animation", Tatarskiy's 1986 essay/manifesto

[Esn]

In 1986, Aleksandr Tatarskiy, having already become a famous and award-winning director, wrote an article in the popular Soviet journal "Youth" (Юность) about animation. This great article was an inspiration to young artists at the time, and made more than one of them choose the path of animation.  I began work on translating last year, and now the translation is finally finished!

http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/9422.html

(some of his most well-known films:

"Plasticine Crow" (1981)
"Goodnight Children" (1981) (tv interstitial)
"The Koloboks Investigate" (1986-7)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scve7JbhbH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aHwnKmQJw8
"Gone with the Wind" (1999)

[Tophatwonder]

kinda confusing with the first claymation. but very well done.

[Esn]

kinda confusing with the first claymation. but very well done.

Here's the fairy tale (as it is told traditionally): a crow finds a piece of cheese, a wily fox comes along and praises the crow, the crow opens her mouth to show off her beautiful voice, and the cheese falls to the ground, whereupon the fox snatches it.

I hope it makes a bit more sense now.   That was his second film, and his first "professional" one.