Norman McLaren Research

From IMDB.com

Mini Biography

Norman McClaren is one of the most awarded filmmakers in the history of Canadian cinema, and a pioneer in both animation and filmmaking. Born in Scotland, he entered the Glasgow School of Fine Arts in 1932 to study set design. His early experiments in animation included actually scratching and painting the film stock itself, as he did not have ready access to a camera. In the early 30s he worked as a cameraman in Scotland and England, and in 1936 went to Spain to film the Civil War. He emigrated to the US in 1939, aware that war was imminent, and in 1941, at the invitation of John Grierson, he moved to Canada to work for the National Film Board.

McClaren made several propaganda films for the NFB, but continued develop his experimental work in his spare time. He later founded the animation department at the NFB, where he was at his most prolific. His most famous work, Neighbours (1952), utilized a style of animation known as pixilation, where the camera films moving people and objects a few frames at a time, giving the action a frantic, unearthly look. The short film won McLaren an Oscar. He continued to use a variety of styles and techniques on his animated shorts, including the optical editor to film _Pas de Deux (1968)_, filming through a prism for _Line: Horizontal (1962)_ and also using live action featuring himself in Opening Speech(1960).

In addition to film, McLaren worked with UNESCO in the 50s and 60s on programs to teach film and animation techniques in China and India. His five part "Animated Motion" shorts, produced in the late 70s, are an excellent example of instruction on the basics of film animation.

McLaren died in 1987, leaving behind a lasting legacy to the film and animation world. The Canadian Film Board recognized this in 1989 by naming the CFB head office building the Norman McLaren Building.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Mike Konczewski 

Trivia

Is renowned as one of greatest geniuses in animation, best known for his films which he developed new animation techniques such as drawing directly on film stock and pixilation.

He was awarded the O.C. (Officer of the Order of Canada) on June 28, 1968 and the C.C. (Companion of the Order of Canada) on June 19, 1973 for his services to communications in Canada.

Norman McLaren was born in Scotland in 1914. His interest in filmmaking began early in life after he became acquainted with works by the great Russian filmmakers Eisenstein and Pudovkin and the German animator Oskar Fischinger. While a student at the Glasgow School of Fine Arts, McLaren’s fascination with dance led him to make such stylized documentaries as Seven Till Five(1933). He subsequently joined the General Post Office Film Unit (GPOFU) in London, where he worked under John Grierson. It was there that he created Love on the Wing (1937), using the technique of drawing directly on the filmstrip. In 1939, McLaren immigrated to the United States, where he made several abstract films, including Stars and Stripes (1940) and Dots (1940). In 1941, he came to Canada and met up once again with John Grierson, who, at the request of the Canadian government, had founded the NFB. Grierson asked McLaren to put together the NFB’s first animation team.

McLaren animating Le merle (1958) in paper cut-outs. © NFB	McLaren while shooting the film A Chairy Tale (1957). © NFB

McLaren’s personality and philosophy are inseparable from the direction animation took at the NFB. A tireless innovator, he perceived animation filmmakers as artisans who, much like artists in their studios, control every step of the production of their films. Consequently, McLaren set an example for his colleagues, motivating them to develop their own tools and experiment with new techniques. Owing to such masterpieces as Begone Dull Care (co-directed by Evelyn Lambart, 1949) and Blinkity Blank(1955), McLaren’s name has become widely associated with drawing and etching directly on film, yet his impressive filmography shows a variety of techniques: paper cut-outs (Rythmetic, co-directed by E. Lambart, 1956; Le merle, 1958), animating a chalk drawing through a series of modifications (Là-haut sur ces montagnes, 1945), the systematic use of cross fading (C’est l’aviron, 1944), pixillation (Neighbours, 1952;Opening Speech: McLaren, 1961) and superimposing images obtained by an optical printer (Pas de deux, 1967), etc.

Neighbours (1952). © NFB	Blinkity Blank (1955). © NFB

Thematically, McLaren’s work sets itself apart through its humanism (Neighbours; A Chairy Tale, co-directed by Claude Jutra, 1957), its refined sense of humour (Rythmetic; Canon, 1964), and its surrealistic overtones (A Little Phantasy on a 19th Century Painting, 1946; A Phantasy, 1953). While the films where McLaren works with dancers (Pas de deux; Ballet Adagio, 1972; Narcissus, 1983) express a classical concept of beauty based on principles of harmony and balance, his more abstract works (Begone Dull Care; Lines Vertical, co-directed by E. Lambart, 1960) are rooted in a choreographic concept that essentially defines animated film as a kinetic art form unrestricted by theatrical or novelistic influences. Nonetheless, in this last category of films, McLaren does not stray from abstract expressionism. In fact, his work is reminiscent of Jackson Pollock and Barnett Newman.

Begone Dull Care marks a summit in McLaren’s work by the radical freedom of the technique he adopted—painting directly on a frameless filmstrip as if it were a long, thin canvas. The effects achieved by synchronizing images with the piano of jazz artist Oscar Peterson are complex and brilliant: images and music interact through a network of associative connotations that reveal their essence, their rich texture, patterns and energy.

Another highpoint is Blinkity Blank, which unfolds like a fireworks display etched on film. McLaren pushes the explosiveness of etched lines to an extreme—lines that let light burst forth while subtly creating space of astonishing depth. With a few luminous streaks, characters take shape to tell an embryonic albeit satirical tale.

Over his long career, Norman McLaren received an impressive number of awards, including an Oscar for Neighbours and a Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Blinkity Blank. He holds an unparalleled place in the history of world cinema. McLaren died in 1987. In 1990, the NFB produced a full-length documentary film on his life and work: Creative Process: Norman McLarenby Don McWilliams.