In a lengthy excerpt from his book "Sneg na trave" ("Snow on the Grass"), a collection of lectures delivered in Tokyo, Japan, in 1994 and Moscow Russia, at the Vysshie kursy tsenaristov i rezhisserov ...(Graduate School of Scriptwriters and Film Directors) in 1987-1988, Norshtein discusses his experiences making animated films, often using examples from his pictures. Norshtein talks about inspiration and how ideas germinate, saying filmmakers can do anything they want as long as they observe the strict conditions of animation. Other topics include collaboration with artists Francheska Iarbusova, opinions of director Aleksei German's pictures, and how screenplays develop from initial ideas.
