12 Dec 2008
Postgate postscript : lessons in creativity
The death a few days ago of Oliver Postgate (obits) has prompted an
outpouring of middle-aged nostalgia that I am unable to prevent myself from adding to.
For me, it is not just the TV programmes that have stayed with me from childhood (my favourite is the surreal genius of the Clangers, whose fluty sing-song voices still echo in my memory), I aso loved the books, in particular Noggin the Nog, before the sing-song of Postgate’s own voice became familiar to me (you can hear him here, and enjoy some Noggin while you’re at it).
After the TV industry had cast Postgate and Firmin aside (cry Scandal!), OP ventilated his opinions and creativity on his website.
Reading an article on his site written by Postgate in 2003, where he compares the way he and Firmin worked with contemporary production methods, it struck me that P&F had a lot in common with the homebuilt, low-budget approach of some of today’s YouTube stars like Simon Tofield’s Simon’s Cat (several of whose delightful animations have already had over 5 million views).
Postgate, writing about his heyday in the ’60s and ’70s: “…we were thrown back on the real staple of television: telling and showing a good story, carefully thought out and delivered in the right order for stacking in the viewer’s mind”. And also from the same article, another passage which must surely be largely true for Simon Tofield… “we were lucky enough not to have time or money for lengthy conceptual meetings. All we could do was try to turn out two minutes a day of film that was fun to watch and hope to pay the bills. It was a happy time.”
Oliver (sorry; Mr Postgate), for those of us who love your work, it still is a happy time, and always will be when we visit the Clanger planet, or Noggin’s kingdom. Thank you.
