The specificity of photo collages of the Ukrainian magazine «Kino» for 1927

Methods

In this article, we used the descriptive method, thanks to which all the information necessary to create a general picture regarding the specifics of the photo collages of the Ukrainian magazine

«Kino» of the above-mentioned period was recorded. The comparative method made it possible to emphasize the peculiarities of some photo collages thanks to the comparison. With the help of the interpretive method, new meanings that arose as a result of the use of photomontage tools and techniques were revealed. Using methods of analysis and synthesis, the form content of photo collages was investigated. The use of a statistical method makes it possible to trace trends in the use of photo collages.

Results and discussion

We divided the 24 photo collages that the authors published in the magazine «Kino» in 1927 into two groups according to their content: photo collages with movie advertisements and photo collages as a visual accompaniment to texts, the content of which does not refer to a specific film.First, let us analyze 22 photo collages with movie ads, which make up 92 per cent of the total number of photo collages, and find out their features.In the magazine «Kino» No. 1 for 1927, the author placed a photo collage (see illustration 1) of the film «Taras Tryasilo» (Taras Tryasilo (film photo collage), 1927) on the front page. It is inlaid with the article of the same name by Д. Ф-y (D. F, 1927), which highlights the historical image of Taras Tryasylo and the historical realities of those times. The space around the article decorated with white vignettes correlates with the overall design of the photo collage. In a collage on a black background, the author placed four rectangular photos with white frames. They, like white large baroque vignettes, as well as white dots (from 5 to 7) of different sizes, located at the bottom and top, on both sides of the photos, contrast with the black background. It is noteworthy that between the photos there is a decorative element in the form of a white line with black splashes that create a pigtail effect.

Illustration 1. Photo collage of the movie «Taras Tryasilo».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 2 for 1927, the author placed a photo collage-advertisement (see illustration 2) of the film «Mitya» (Mitya (film photo collage), 1927), which contains six silhouette photos that capture different, sometimes contrasting emotions. It is noteworthy that the author has placed three characters on a checkered background in the shape of a circle and part of a cone- shaped figure. It is located in such a way that there is an effect of drawing in the silhouette photo of the head of the character holding a gun. The above-mentioned combinations of geometric figures with a checkerboard background with photos of characters expand the interpretive circle of what is depicted due to the created symbolic subtext. In addition, the author has placed some photos in such a way that simulations of new episodes are taking place. At the bottom right, the author has placed a drawing of a flame or a plant, which, given the form of presentation of the image, is open to interpretation. Under the black horizontal line demarcating the photograph and the illustration, the author placed the title of the film «Mitya», on the black background of the letters of which there is a pattern of leaves. Three silhouette photos and a note are placed on a white background.

Illustration 2. Photo collage of the film « Mitya».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 2 for 1927, on the front page, next to the monologue-interview«Directors tell. Okhlopkov» (Ar, 1927), where there is a situation of communication between Okhlopkov and the author of the text, the author modelled it with the help of the provided information about the place of the interview («Mitya» is finished. In the hotel room, packing suitcases, the director of «Mitya» Okhlopkov narrates» (Ar, 1927, p. 8)), facial expressions, gestures of the director («And Okhlopkov bent over a pile of dirty laundry that had not yet been packed. He took a dirty handkerchief from the shelf, suddenly straightened up, and laughed loudly» (Ar, 1927, p. 9)), the use of the verb «see» (Ar, 1927, p. 9). The entire text is the result of Okhlopkov's answers to the interviewer's questions about the film «Mitya» and cinema in general. However, the voice of the interviewer who voices these questions is not in the work. All the questions posed by the interviewer are voiced by the interviewee («Who am I?» (Ar, 1927, c. 8), «I have finished, and here you are curiously asking me: – Did you make an interesting film?» (Ar, 1927, p. 9) «The best thing in my picture?» (Ar, 1927, p. 9) «You ask what is better in the cinema?» (Ar, 1927, p. 9)). In the photo collage (see illustration 3) of the film «Mitya» (Mitya (film photo collage), 1927), about the specifics of the shooting of which Okhlopkov told, the author used silhouette photographs in such a way that they form a general picture that produces new meanings. At the top left, the author has submitted a column-shaped photo with a black frame, which has an image of the main character eating a sandwich. The photo collage contains only the title of the film, which is designed according to the principle of double contrast: black letters are placed on a white background, and white lines are interspersed on the black letters. The author separated the photo collage from the text «Directors narrate. Okhlopkov» at the top with triple stripes of this colour combination (black – white – black) and five lines of different thicknesses at the bottom of this colour (black – white – black – white – black). It is noteworthy that underlining the letters ИТЯ inthe title of the film with the aforementioned triple line not only draws the attention of the recipient to the title but also uniquely highlights the title letter, reducing other letters by underlining.

Illustration 3. Photo collage of the film «Mitya».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 2 for 1927, the publisher published an article by Heorhiy Tasyn«Pieces of Work» (Tasyn, 1927). At the end, the mentioned article is divided into three parts:«1. A short serious introduction» (Tasyn, 1927, p. 2), «2...to some anecdotal facts» (Tasyn, 1927,p. 2), «3. A modest meaning» (Tasyn, 1927, p. 3). The article is about a departure from stereotypes regarding the depiction of the White Guards as murderers, rapists and drunkards. The author models their images as cunning manipulators and hypocrites. This allows the actors to demonstrate psychologism. The author also reports on curious situations during filming, as well as features of public viewing of films in the USSR and the USA. Next to the article, the author submitted a photo collage (see illustration 4), which is thematically related to the text and has only a photographic element. In the photo collage, we observe combined silhouette photos of soldiers and a frightened mother holding her child close to her. In addition, in the cone-shaped photo with the image of the train with the military, we see geometric figures of black color, the placement of which creates the illusion of a tunnel. The aforementioned shadow-casting train moves into this tunnel. In synthetic terms, such a shadow emphasizes the tension and drama of the image.

Illustration 4. Photo collage of the film «Arrest Warrant».

In the magazine «Kino» №3 1927 there is a photo collage (see illustration 5 (1, 2)) of the film The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase (The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase (film photo collage), 1927), which has two parts. The author next to Neal’s film review «The Diplomatic Courier'sBriefcase» places the first part, which performs advertising and informational functions, (Neal, 1927). The author formed the first part of the photo collage with three silhouette photos of episodes from the film. They create an atmosphere of mystery (an episode of communication between sailors, whose facial expressions and gestures testify to the receipt of important and secret information, the image of an elegantly dressed man trying to remain unnoticed) and confrontation (an aggressive man tries to attack a sailor). The imaging system of the second part of the photo collage, consisting of five silhouette photos, is diverse. Here the author presented the image of an unhappy woman, the image of a person lying on the floor and being looked at by other people with different emotional patterns (fear, joy). There is also an image of a sailor, a worker near a large mechanism that resembles a furnace, and an image of a mysterious, elegantly dressed person who seems to be hiding behind this machine. In our opinion, the author of the photo collage placed the silhouette photos in such a way as to create a general picture and encourage the reader to combine all these images, build a specific plot, and interpret it. There are no entries on the photo collages, but additional information about the film is presented in the form of a text («On both pages there are stills from the film «The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase», which its director O. Dovzhenko has already finished shooting at the Odesa Film Factory. The film's script was written by Zats and Shcharanskyi. The picture was shot by the cameraman Kozlovskyi. Actors Minin, Penzo, Klymenko, Shipov and others starred in the main roles» (The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase (film photo collage), 1927, p. 3)).

Illustration 5(1, 2). Photo collage of the film «The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 4 for 1927 there is a photo collage (see illustration 6) of the film«Arrest Warrant» (Arrest Warrant, 1927). In our opinion, the specificity of the design of this photo collage is not only the colour contrast (white image on a black background, black image on a white background) design but also the transition of black to white and vice versa (letters, circles), which creates a philosophical subtext. The increase in symbolism is helped by the image of white and black circles around a circular photograph with the image of the heroine of the film, which can be interpreted as a spiral of life and a whirlwind of events in which the depicted woman. It is noteworthy that the background of the photo collage, on which, in addition to silhouette photos, there are black and white horizontal lines, a black arrow with two grey shadows indicating the direction of movement of the spiral circles, and various geometric shapes in black and white colours. Eight silhouette photos present the images of the main character, a child, a traumatized person, and the military and visualize the dramatic situations in which the main character falls and her emotional state, which, in our opinion, intrigues the recipient. The author submitted the title of the film in different fonts and designed it in an original way. It is about the aforementioned transition of contrasting colors and the placement of the word «order» in a circle, which suggests the idea: that it was this document that caused the appearance of a spiral of dramatic events for the main character. In the title of the film, the three letters (Н A A) in the middle have a downward-pointing triangle, which is associated with the blade of a knife. Wave-like white and black splashes, repeating the shape of the letters of the word «arrest», in our opinion, are related to the general atmosphere of the dramatic tension of the photo collage.

Illustration 6. Photo collage of the film «Arrest Warrant».

In the magazine «Cinema» No. 4 for 1927, on the cover of the essay by G. Remez «Film about Kram» (Remez, 1927) reflects on the unfair fate of women in the East using the example of the film «Tamila», gives his evaluations. The author raises the problem of imposing adat in Muslim countries and the tendency of the influence of the revolution to weaken it. The publisher placed a photo collage (see illustration 7) of a Tamila film (Tamila (film photo collage), 1927) in the mentioned magazine. Thanks to the arrangement of diamond-shaped and silhouette photos, the author created a shape resembling a cross and an hourglass, which, given the plot of the film, acquires symbolism. The use of 75% (9) female images and 25% (3) male images in the photo collage emphasizes the gender orientation of the film and its thematic focus – the plight of Muslim women who have become victims of adat. In the middle of the photo collage, next to the black, there is a wide grey strip where the author has written words in Arabic script. At the top of the photo collage, the author has written the title of the film in Cyrillic, which resembles the Arabic script.

Illustration 7. Photo collage of the film «Tamila».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 5 for 1927, the publisher published an essay by Yur. Yurchenko (pseudonym of Yu. Yanovsky) «History of a Master» (Yurchenko, 1927). The essay has two main parts. The author called the first part («The Introduction», «The Diplomatic Courier's Briefcase»). The second part has four components: «1. Icebreakers «Makarov» and «Harry Liedtke», «2. Deathto the music and admiration of Tevfik-Rushdi-Bey», «3. The sanctity of film or editing nights»,«4. So»). In the text of the essay, the author placed a photo collage (see illustration 8) of the film«The Diplomat's Bag» (The Diplomat's Bag (film photo collage), 1927). This, in our opinion, is logical, since the director of the film is Oleksandr Dovzhenko, about whom the author wrote the mentioned essay. The photo collage contains two bird's-eye photos of the city facing each other, connected by a railway track on which the train travels. In the photo of the city, the destination of the train, the author submitted a synecdoche photo, showing only hands (one with a ring) holding the courier's bag. In addition to the images of the train and cities, in the photo collage, the author used images of excited sailors, an image of an open bag with documents, a man in a cap and a pipe in his mouth, an image of a confrontation presented by the struggle of two men whose silhouette photograph is upside down. This element attracts the reader's attention because it forces him to take a closer look at the collage. The author according to the principle of contrast designs the name: black letters on a white background, as well as some letters with a white frame on a black background.

Illustration 8. Photo collage of the film «The Diplomat's Bag».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 7 for 1927, the contributor used a photo collage (see illustration 9) of the film «Deprived of the Day» (Kryvdin, 1927), the author of which is Yu. Kryvdin. In addition to silhouette photographs, the combination of which creates an indivisible integrity of the picture and generates new meanings open to interpretations, in the photo collage at the top right, the author used a portrait photograph in the shape of a circle. The author depicted mass scenes (a mass procession with a portrait of the emperor) and presented different layers of the population. We characterize such an image as an antithesis at the level of the social status «rich-poor», work and idleness (a craftsman who repairs shoes is a person who, having thrown his legs and reading a book, rests at the table with food). The author designed the title in different fonts according to the principle of contrast (black letters on a white background).

Illustration 9. Photo collage of the film «Deprived of the day».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 9 for 1927, the publisher published M. Lyadov's film review«Two Days» (Lyadov, 1927). The film review has a non-standard composition – 4 parts («Dacha Morozli», «About a tree, a notary count and generally about accessories», «Roasted chicken, Boiled chicken», «Stabovy-Demutsky-Lazuryn»), the names of which are placed at the beginning of the paragraphs. Alongside the text of the film review, the author published a photo collage divided into two parts (see illustration 10) of the film «Two Days» (Yu.K., 1927) by Ю.К. On the part of the photo collage placed on the right, the silhouette photos, due to their dense arrangement, create an overall picture, the vertical placement of which contributes to the effect of watching part of the film. In the first photo from the bottom, the author used a spiral staircase, which, thanks to the technical design, in particular, the use of a winding line to frame other photos, seems to have a continuation and represents the life path of the main character, which is on this spiral staircase. On the part of the photo collage, placed on the right, there are only male images, among which there are White Guards, Bolsheviks, twice the author used the image of the main character. The part of the photo collage on the right has silhouette photos of the main character at the dinner table, the hostess and her son. They, presenting the previous life of the main character, seem to contrast with his life after the Bolsheviks and White Guards came to the manor. The title of the film review, designed by the author according to the principle of colour contrast (black letters on a white background), is common to the photo collage.

Illustration 10. Photo collage of the film «Two Days».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 10 for 1927, the editors published a discussion article by Ol. Ozerov «Rationalization of the scenario case (In order of discussion. Answer to the article byT. S. Or)» (Ozerov, 1927). The content of the mentioned article does not correlate with the content of the photo collage (see illustration 11) «Behind the wall» (Behind the Wall (film photo collage), 1927), which performs informational and advertising functions.The photo collage placed by the author on the first page consists of two parts connected by a silhouette synecdoche photograph with contrasting images of a free hand holding a full cigarette case and handcuffed hands. Each part contains five photos that form a fan-like shape. The motif of deprivation of liberty, present in each part and presented with the help of images of prisoners, in our opinion, performs an intriguing function. The name of the photo collage is designed using colour contrast (black letters on a white background). It is noteworthy that the author designed the title in different fonts, which attracts attention. In particular, the letter З has sharp corners, and the letter A has an inverted triangle in the middle, similar in shape to the blade of a knife.

Illustration 11. Photo collage of the movie «Behind the Wall».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 11 for 1927, the author placed on the cover a photo collage advertisement (see illustration 12) of the film «Mud» (Mud (film photo collage), 1927). To create a photo collage, the author used five photos, four of which he placed in semicircles placed in different directions. In the middle – a column-shaped photo of the hero, this has a purple petal frame. Three images represent the relationship between a man and a woman, in one the author depicted a mass scene. It is noteworthy that in the photo collage and recording «From the film “Mud”» (Mud (film photo collage), 1927, cover) the author placed it on a purple background.

Illustration 12. Photo collage of the movie «Mud» Kino. 1927. No. 11 (cover).

In the magazine «Kino» No. 11 for 1927, the author placed a photo collage-advertisement (see illustration 13) of the film «Signals from the Sea» (Signals from the Sea (film photo collage), 1927) on the front page. The collage does not correlate with the content of L. Skrypnyk's article«Screenwriter and Director» (Skrypnyk, 1927), in which the author highlighted the difficulties of creating a high-quality screenplay. The author along with the mentioned collage submits the article. All the photos are so tightly placed next to each other that, due to the smooth transition of one scene to another, there is the effect of watching episodes of the film, in which pre-confrontational situations are recorded, which, in our opinion, contributes to the creation of intrigue. The author designed the title according to the principle of contrast (black letters on a white background), and placed the title with a ladder, covering the space of the photo collage as much as possible.

Illustration 13. Photo collage of the film «Signals from the Sea».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 12 for 1927, for advertising and informational purposes, the author used a photo collage (see illustration 14) of the film «Borislav Laughs» (Borislav Laughs (film photo collage), 1927). The author placed the photo collage on a blue background and used images of rich and poor people contrasting in terms of social status. It is symbolic, in our opinion, to place photos in such a way that the rich do not notice sad and poor people. In our opinion, a photograph with the image of a dreamy girl holding a bouquet of flowers performs an intriguing function against the background of the pre-conflict social situation.

Illustration 14. Photo collage of the film «Borislav Laughs» Cinema 1927 No. 12 (cover).

In the magazine «Kino» No. 12 for 1927, on the first page, the author published a discussion article «Poverty kino philosophy (To the discussion about the cinema that speaks)» (Rys, 1927). In the article, Rys analyzes the statements of supporters of silent cinema, criticizes them and defends the position of cinema with sound. Next to the article, the author placed a photo collage advertisement (see illustration 15) of Yu. Kryvdin's film «Cement» (Kryvdin, 1927), which does not correspond to the given text. In it, the author presented an image of the plant, the scale of which he emphasized with the help of two large pipes, which are directed deep into a circle, the end of which is not visible. At the end of the pipes, the author placed a column-shaped photo and a figure- eight photo. The author designed the title of the film according to the principle of double colour contrast (black letters are placed on a white background, and there are white splashes on the black letters).

Illustration 15. Photo collage of the film «Cement».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 13 for 1927, on the front page, the author published a discussion article by D. Mariyan «Untimely Thoughts (Discussion notes for the production of «Cement»)» (Mariyan, 1927). In the article, the author highlighted tips for improving the film «Cement» and raised the issue of the lack of public discussions before the shooting of the film. In the text of the article, the author placed a photo collage advertisement (see illustration 16) of the film «Three» (Three (film photo collage), 1927), which does not correlate with the content of the article. The author filled the photo collage with photos of different shapes, silhouette photos, circle-shaped photos with funny situations, images of child kidnappers, Zorzhik with the governess, Zorzhik's father, and Senka. Some photos that perform an intriguing function, in our opinion, will interest the recipient and encourage him to watch the film. In addition, given the large number of characters in the photos, a similar function is perform by the title of the film, which the author has designed in white and placed on one of the photos. The author chose a font for her with the presence of three black stripes in the letters, which, in our opinion, attracts the attention of the recipient with a reduced level of readability, which forces readers to focus more closely on the title of the comedy.

Illustration 16. Photo collage of the movie «Three».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 14 for 1927, on the first page, the author published a discussion article by L. Skrypnyk «Director and screenwriter (To the discussion) » (Skrypnyk, 1927). The article highlights the specifics of various types of relationships between the screenwriter and the director. In the text of the article, the author placed a photo collage-advertisement (see illustration 17) of the film «Borislav Laughs» (Yu. K., 1927); the content of which does not correspond to the content of the article whose author is Ю.К. We conventionally divided the photo collage into two parts.The author presented the first part with a circle in which the photos of the film's episodes are closely related, forming a complete picture, where the author mainly recorded the relationships between men and women of different social statuses and the different emotions of the characters. In the middle of the circle, the author placed a silhouetted male photograph. The second part is represented by two silhouette photos of a concentrated man holding sticks in his hands, the images of which the author placed on three black horizontal lines, and a smiling woman. The author developed the name according to the principle of colour contrast (black letters on a white background), and different fonts. The author placed parts of the name above and below.

Illustration 17. Photo collage of the film «Borislav Laughs».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 15–16 for 1927, on the front page of O. Sorokin's article «Music in Cinema» (Sorokin, 1927), the author raised the issue of the quality of music in cinema. In the text of the article, the author placed a photo collage advertisement (see illustration 18) of the film«Mud» (Mud (film photo collage), 1927), which is not related to the content of the text. The specificity of this photo collage is the design of the title of the film, based on the game with fonts, which allows it to attract the attention of the recipient. Only a detailed analysis of the name allows us to see the letter M created with the help of photographs. The letters У Т Ь in connection with partial placement on a white background and photographs are decorated by the author with the help of a transition from white to black, which given the lexical meaning of the words «mud» and black the colour b acquires a symbolic meaning. We conventionally divided the photo collage into two parts. In the first part of the photo, the author grouped them into the letter M, in the second part, the author presented silhouette photos placed on both sides of the letter M.

Illustration 18. Photograph of the film «Mud».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 17 for 1927, on the front page of L. Skrypnyk's article«Experimental Film» (Skrypnyk, 1927), the author covered cinema and experimental film. The author showed a solution to the problem of the need to organize experimental work. In the text of the article, the author placed a photo collage advertisement for the film «The Invincibles» (The Invincibles (film photo collage), 1927), which is not related to the above text. The specificity of the photo collage is the author's placement of large-scale Nazi symbols on the cover. Her appearance is due to the plot of the film, in particular, the activities of a pro-fascist organization engaged in criminal activities. In connection with the ban on Nazi symbols, we decided not to visualize this photo collage, but to limit ourselves to its analysis. In a photo collage of silhouetted photographs with images of arrested and bloodied workers, the author presented the antagonism between striking workers and fascists and its consequences, visualized through the image of a murdered worker. The author designed the title of the film using the principle of colour contrast (he placed black letters on a white background).In the magazine «Kino» №19–20 for 1927, next to the report by I. Zhivotovsky «About the film “Behind the Wall”» (Zhyvotovsky, 1927), the author used a photo collage in the form of an incomplete frame of the text on the spread (see illustration 19) Ю. K. to the film «Behind the Wall» (Yu. K., 1927). Unlike the collages, we analyzed, which were characterized by experimentation, the creation of new meanings, associations, symbolism, and the use of various artistic techniques, this photo collage is characterized by simplicity and an asymmetric arrangement of photographs. At first glance, the images are perceived as a set of photographs that lack integrity. At the same time, the absence of texts, the presence of the author's initials, the use of overlapping photos to create a connection between them, which the author emphasized with a black line, indicates an attempt to create a complete image.

Illustration 19. Photo collage for the movie «Behind the Wall».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 21–22 for 1927, on the second page of the cover, the author used a photo collage-advertisement (see illustration 20) of the film «ВАСNЛNНА» (Yu. K., 1927), created by the artist Ю. K. The photo collage contains three silhouette photos, two of which present the image of the main character Vasylyna (a smiling girl with a cap on her shoulder, a girl against the background of a wheat field), one of Mr. Yastrzhembskyi. His image attracts attention with an outrageous hairstyle, similar to a woman's. We also see the sensationalism in the design of the film's title. We are talking about the non-standard use of the letter И, in particular its inverted version, reminiscent of N. Part of the film's title is emphasized by the author with two wavy stripes, the background of which is wheat. At the bottom of the photo collage, the author also noted the name of the producer (ВVФKV) of the film, in which he depicted the letter У as V. The author designed the names using color contrast (black letters on a white background). In our opinion, an image resembling a sickle performs an intriguing function.

Illustration 20. Photo collage of the movie «ВАСNЛNНА».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 21–22 for 1927, in A. Borisov's article «The Eleventh» (Borysov, 1927), the author analyzed the skill of experimental shooting of a documentary film about industrialization and placed a photo collage (see illustration 21) of the film «The Eleventh» (Yu. K., 1927), which performs an advertising, informational and illustrative function. The specificity of the photo collage is the use of photos in which, due to the shooting angle (shot from below, shot from above), the author conveys the scale of buildings and mechanisms and visually reduces a person. Thus, in our opinion, the author created a photographic poetization of the work of a person who knows how to manage large mechanisms. The author used a silhouette photo of asmiling sailor not only to give the image an optimistic tone but also to represent the reaction to the development of industrialization in the country.

Illustration 21. Photo collage to the text «The Eleventh».

Therefore, photo collages of film advertisements, which belong to the first group, are filled with various elements that can attract the attention of the recipient, intrigue him, involve him in the process of decoding the images created thanks to the episodes from the films, the symbols used, and make photo collages of film advertisements exclusive. It is noteworthy that Ukrainian photo collages for films, despite the historical discourse, in particular the existence of the Bolshevik regime, do not contain its symbols. In our opinion, thanks to the images used, the photo collage advertisements of the films encourage the recipient to think philosophically and to understand universal human values.We will analyze the following two photo collages, which make up 8% of the total number of photo collages analyzed by us and are a visual accompaniment to the texts, the context of which is not related to a specific film.In the magazine «Kino» No. 8 for 1927, on the front page of the sketch in which it is said about the youth of Ukrainian cinema, the author placed a photo collage (see illustration 22) as an illustration of the text (photo collage for the sketch «Youth on the screen» (Tas, 1927). The collage performs an informative function and correlates with the compositional framing of the text - a fragment from P. Tychyna's poetry (beginning – «It's not the wind from two sides, from our side and from that – It swirled everywhere Weedy and many. Young, young Young!...» (Tas, 1927, p. 8)); the end – «Weedy and many.» Young, young Young!» (Tas, 1927, p. 8)). The author placed four portrait silhouette photos of two actors and two actors in cinematic images on black and white circles. Such circles resemble spirals connected by black and white stripes, the total number of which is seven (four black stripes, three white stripes).

The variety of symbolic meanings of the number seven in different religions (divine perfection, completeness, completeness in Christianity, majesty and power in Islam, awakening, enlightenment and wisdom in Buddhism) creates a philosophical undertone. The author's use of all the above-mentioned elements in the photo collage, the general atmosphere of cheerfulness of the collage, created by the dominance of the emotion of joy, in our opinion, creates a philosophical subtext and encourages a thoughtful recipient to make interpretations. In particular, the following interpretation is possible: in order to achieve perfection and life wisdom, a person must walk a path (the zebra of life), full of joyful events and obstacles optimistically perceive the whirlwind of events and diligently create his future. You should pay attention to the silhouette photos of two confused men, whose emotions are antithetical to the dominant atmosphere of optimism in the photo collage. Their placement on the black lines indicates that the aforementioned men, whose small size contrasts with the large images of smiling young people, are only at the beginning of life's path, after passing which they will be able to grow spiritually.

Illustration 22. Photo collage for the sketch «Youth on the screen».

In the magazine «Kino» No. 18 for 1927, the author submitted a sketch by I. Syp «Steel, Bread and Celluloid» (Syp, 1927). The sketch highlighted the achievements of workers in various fields and poeticized industrialization. All this is author Ю. K. (Yu. K., 1927) placed on a photo collage (see illustration 23). In our opinion, photo collage performs informative and illustrative functions. The author used photographic images, in particular the scale of constructions and industrialization, which symbolically emphasized the absence of visual limitations. The author created such an effect thanks to the use of a photo collage as a background, which strengthened the pathetic tonality of the sketch. An inlaid silhouette photo of a smiling young man adds the optimism of the photo collage with images of workers busy with their work.

Illustration 23. Photo collage to the text «Steel, Bread and Celluloid».

Therefore, the photo collages, which are a visual accompaniment to the texts, the content of which is not related to a specific film, contain the same element – the smiling faces of young people, with the help of which the Soviet authorities created a propagandistic image of a happy future. It should be noted that even in such photo collages there is no emphasis on Bolshevik symbols, which, in our opinion, is an attempt to avoid excessive ideologization of the content and preserve the national coloring of those realities.

Conclusion

In the twentieth «Kino» magazine for 1927, the authors printed twenty-four photo collages. Ninety-two per cent of the photo collages (twenty-two) listed above is movie advertisements, and eight per cent of the photo collages (two) are visual accompaniment to texts. Five (twenty-one per cent) photo collages resemble posters in size and placement on the page, eleven (forty-six per cent) photo collages are placed in texts with which they are correlated, and eight (thirty-three per cent) are in texts with which there is no correlation.

The specificity of photo collages is the use of fonts contrasting in color and size, double contrast and the transition of contrasting colors. The author plays with fonts, writing notes in different fonts, combining photos and illustrations. The author also combines vignettes, dots, leaves, images with inherent ambiguity and a checkered background. The author actively uses cone-shaped forms with the effect of absorption, spirals with an Arabic inscription, Latin instead of separate Cyrillic letters, spirals, intersections, a zebra road with a symbolic number of stripes, fans. The fonts of some photo collages are consonant with the cultural discourse of the film and the dramatic situation created in it. Thanks to the above means and methods of designing photo collages, symbolism and philosophical undertones arise, which makes photo collages open to interpretation. The above-mentioned experimental combinations, devoid of Bolshevik symbolism, were not only a manifestation of the achievements of various directions of the «shot revival» – a cultural Ukrainian phenomenon, but also, thanks to the new visual effects created, contributed to the development of non-linear montage – one of the means of expanding the possibilities of film art.